1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.


Penguin 

(3 TPE)

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?


Overall Pengu had had a surprisingly good career. Historically I've always played players who were more roleplayers or took the jobs no one else wanted because I've never really cared about my player and typically would just rather see other people happy. That's why I even designed and created Pengu with the idea of him being a stay at home defenseman. I wanted him to support the team and the goalie. I didn't need stats, I didn't need points. Despite that Pengu has stepped up and blown me away despite that and it all culminated in a season where he led all defensemen in scoring and won the defensive player of the year award. It was an absolutely magical season where it seemed like he couldn't be stopped as he slapped in puck after puck from the blue line while also putting up respectable defensive numbers. He was top ten in almost every category and played a huge role on the team's success overall. That really meant more to me than I expected and it was a truly exciting time that I would absolutely love to see repeated before the penguin retires. (191 words) 

(6 TPE)


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


a. I think it is fantastic overall for Winnipeg to have a bit more of a varied attack this season. I think any time you have to rely on just one player to get you points on the board, it makes for a bad time regardless of who you are. A really talented player might be able to slip past a badel team by himself, but a more balanced approach like what Winnipeg has now should help them against the good teams like the Wolfpack going into the finals! (88 words)


b. As I mentioned with Winnipeg, it is hard to run an offense through a single person and beat good teams. Somehow though Svoboda has been pulling it off and despite having debatably the hardest path to the finals and have beaten really quality teams, which makes Svoboda look unstoppable. Winnipeg has played good defense all season though and I think if they can mark Svoboda with one of their top guys and bracket him when he gets close to the goal, they might actually slow him down and could have a shot at stopping him. (95 words)


c. I've recently gotten into watching hockey and if there is anything I've learned in limited viewing, it's that it doesn't matter how good your goalie is, you never want to see them getting a high volume of shots. There are too many things that could go wrong that aren't in control of the goalie. Wild bounces and the like that can cause a stray puck to slip just in. The more shots the more likely it is. I feel like if the Wolfpack want to win this cup, they have to find a way to give their goalie some relief. (100 words)


d. I feel like I have to pull for Winnipeg here. They were the best team all season long while the Wolfpack just barely slipped into the playoffs. They've risen to the task don't get me wrong and have knocked off absolute titans like Philadelphia, but I feel like at some point teams have to stop choking and finally put an end to the Wolfpack. It would be incredible to see them slip out of another seven game series though! (79 words)

(10 TPE)


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.


If I could beat any one team in a playoff series. It absolutely would have to be Seattle. Don't get me wrong. I love Seattle, I love a ton of their players and have good rapport with them. In fact the user behind their goalie, Willie Miller, is one of my favorite people in all of sim leagues. That said I would absolutely kill to finally get over the hump that is the Seattle Argonauts. As a member of the Syndicate, Seattle has been our gate keeper. Unfortunately we didn't even get a shot at them this season, but three seasons in a row we met Willie Miller and the Argonauts in the playoffs and three seasons in a row they sent us home packing. I don't know what his grudge against Chicago is, but Willie really has our number and has put up elite games against us. Some of his best have been put towards our eliminations. I feel like if we ever got past Seattle, we would have a good shot at the cup. Unfortunately I doubt Willie ever let's that happen. (184 words)

(13 TPE)


7. Milestones, up to 3 TPE


Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 7 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
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Post your claim in the milestones thread for tpe earned per stat, and then link that post in your CW submission. This is done because the person who grades CW will be a different person than double-checks milestones.

Pengu's Milestones

(16 TPE)