2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.

a. Winnipeg made the finals last year and came up just short against the Forge. Last year, their offense ran through Mikko Rashford - this year, their top line has been much more of a balanced attack, with Gonzo Gobbledygook and Lias Ekholm-Gunnarsson stepping up hard. Does this make Winnipeg a stronger team, or would it be better to spread this firepower out and run multiple scoring lines?
Personally I believe that doubling down like this, isnt a clear cut choice. If your first line is already outscoring most opponents, then why double down? If it isnt and does need more power than what happens to the Second Line when they are out there? As long as they can make sure to keep up their level of play on both ends of the ice with either line it wont matter but I believe this might weaken them more than it powers up the first line. (87 Words)

b. New England finds themselves in a similar situation to Winnipeg's last year: star winger Petr Svoboda has an absurd 30 points in 23 playoff games at the time this is posted. 18 of those are goals, 12 are assists: how do you shut this guy down?
I think someone like that needs to be forced into physical situations, where his obvious talent with the puck plays a secondary role. Challange passes along the bords, try to set up open ice hits, make sure the defense anchors on him, etc. But it is hard to say how you can shut down players like that, teams have entire coachings staffs to help them with such analysis. (68 Words)

c. Olof Karsikko has made 823 saves in these playoffs, nearly twice the number of saves made by Winnipeg's Rebecca Montagne. What can New England do to help their tendie out? Or should they settle on a strategy of allowing their goalie to face a high volume of low-danger shots to get in the zone and stay hot? Alternatively, how can they rattle Montagne?
Goalies are complex creatures. I think it would be best to attempt a few less blocks when it comes to longer ranged shots but in general I do not believe you will be able to coax out a better performance by force and any measures might mess with the goalies mojo and backfire. (53 Words)

d. If it ain't broke don't fix it: Who you got? Who wins? Why?

Its tough to make a call, two great teams are meeting each other in the finals as is to be expected. It will be a close contest but personally I believe the Wolfpack will be leaving with the trophy. Mainly because I believe the Wolfpack as a team is focussed on achieving this goal and wont let their opponents escape. (60 Words)

3. Written, 3 TPE, History Repeating (150 words min.)
Tell me about something good that happened in your SHL career which you hope will happen again! What is it, what will it look like? Did it happen to your current player or one of your former players? What can you do to stack the odds in your favor?
Uskjal has so far been quite the scorer when playing the Vancouver whalers. It started all the way back in his second game where he scored his very first goals agains the team and since then he has attempted to make sure they remember him after every meeting. This goes back to the rivalary that emerged when Uskjal first enetered the league via waiver. He was even able to score a game winning goal in a few of their meets which is something he intends to keep up, therefore i hope a few more points against the whalers will come Uskjals way. It would be especially pleasing if Uskjal also performs good at faceoffs during their match as that is one of his so far underutilized skills. So hopefully Uskjal will be able to put on a commanding performance, controlling the puck from the faceoff and nursing it into the Whalers net, during the next match of the two teams against one another. (163 Words)

4. Written, 3 TPE, Dream Series (150 words min.)
Many teams have rivals they'd love to trounce in a playoff series. Maybe you as a player have another specific player you'd love to beat to win the cup and lord it over them for the rest of their lives. Tell me who you'd love to play in a playoff series and why! Why would you love to beat this team or player? What would it mean to you or your team? Keep it friendly.
When Uskjal first enetered the league there were a few team interested in him but most of the league ignored him. The whalers were one of the few teams entertaining the idea of signing Uskjal but after having spoken with the team it became clear Uskjal would not be a good match for them. Something which left Uksjal with the will to prove them wrong. As stated before he has been able to make them ponder their choices in the regular season but so far Uskjal has yet to meet the Whalers in the Playoffs. An opportunity he would hope to use to leave his mark on the league as a waiver player more worthy of more than being just a back bencher. That would also allow Uskjal for the rest of his career to mock them for "passing on a free cup" as they could have acquired him in waivers, and while this indeed sounds like a dream for Uskjal in all likelyhood it will remain so. (168 Words)

5. Written, 3 TPE, Blood on the Ice (150 words min)
Continuing with the branding wars: this year's final features the return of the glowing bear god against a fresh opponent - a mighty wolfpack! This one seems slanted in the bear god's favor, but don't count the wolves out so easily! Tell me who wins and why! The arena and the rules of the fight can be whatever you desire. Get creative!
My take might be unpopular but I believe its pretty clear cut. On a frozen lake one bear loses to a wolfpack every damn time. I mean the wolves can simply encircle him and make sure he exhaust himself trying to chase them, while the wolves can swap out and rotate their posistions allowing them to rest and recover. When it gets to the gnarly part I also think a wolfpack has the clear advantage, their numbers can be quite high and while I do expect them to take some casualties even if each wolf can only get a minor bite in the accumulated injuries will surely surfice to send the bear down. Lastly wolfs are better at long distance travel, meaning if the engagement turns against them they should be able to disengage and kite the bear until it is unable to continue its chase, once more leaving it in a positions the wolves can exploit. (157 Words)

6. Written, 2 TPE, Hopeful Haiku  (5 words min.)
Write a haiku telling me what you hope to accomplish in Season 71! A haiku is a three line poem where the first line is five syllables, the second is seven, and the third line is five again. None of your lines may rhyme with each other.
Become Contender
never surrender desire
Defensive Player