CW Trivia: Codeword - Bacon

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.

I'll need to write these after the fact so I'll do a bit of an analysis instead. 

a. Winnipeg has put together an impressive streak of Challenge Cup Finals appearances, but has no hardware to show for their dominance in the west so far. What do the Aurora have to do differently to get over the hump this year?

I don't like to put blame on any one player because we all know the sim will sim but having your top goalie never have a playoff save percentage better than .900 is clearly not a recipe for success even if you have record setting offensive performances from your star players. (51 words)

b. Buffalo, fresh off a rebuild, crushed their way through the first two rounds of these playoffs after coming in as a wildcard, scoring two consecutive sweeps against two of the best teams in the East. Have the Stampede convinced you? If so, what sold you?

So if you look at how they won the majority of their games, it's obvious their defense and goalkeeping was one of, if the THE, main factor in their championship run. In 21 games, they only allowed more than 2 goals in 7 of them and 4 of them came in the series against Philadelphia which was coincidentally they're toughest series and the only one that went to game 7. (70 words)

c. Two very different teams took two very different routes to the Cup Final: which of them impressed you more? Why?

It's easy to have perfect vision in hindsight here but I was more impressed with the Aurora on their way to the cup finals simply because of the absolute mind blowing offensive performances they put up. I also didn't expect Buffalo's magic to take them to glory. I fully expected them to falter at the finish line against WPG. However, looking back at the teams they had to get past in order to get their cup, it's even more impressive and speaks to how important a great defense is in this league. (92 words)

12. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)
Looks like [TEAM] won the cup! (Sorry, Micool.) What was your favorite part of the series? Who won and why? What could the other team have done differently to have a better chance?

I think my favorite part in the series was it absolutely looked like Buffalo was stumbling across the finish line. WPG came in and blasted them in games in 1 and 2 and it looked like the offensive prowess of the Aurora was too much for Buffalo's defense. Then game 3 came in the Stampede won a nailbiter to keep the series interesting in an overtime win. Then the Stampede did what they hadn't needed to do often this playoffs which was win a barnburner with 8 goals. And then from then on, Buffalo did what they did pretty much all playoffs which was the play good D, limit the playmakers and keep the scoring down. They didn't lose a single game all playoffs in which they limited the oppostion to three or less goals and games 4 and 5 were no different. It really was a magical run for a wild card team and one that reminds us why playoff hockey is so great. (165 words)