1.
Trivia Verification word: MayuuVerification

2.
b. The Forge have won a cup with this core, while the Blizzard are sniffing this air for the first time in a while. Who would you rather be - the veteran team that's been here and won it before, or the hungry youngsters taking their first shot at glory?
I'd pick the latter, I was part of Buffalo when they hadn't won a cup, and were yet to reach finals I believe. Being part of something building up, seeing everyone band together and push everyone to the max, was something I can't describe properly. I want to do that again with Buffalo.

d. If it ain't broke don't fix it: Who you got? Who wins? Why?
I got my money on Blizzard. I haven't checked who won afterward. The reason is because I belive in the up-and-coming team. It drives the site to be more engaging when a group of newish players gets to win and the energy rubs off on the whole site. That is why Blizzard will win!

4.
Unlike their rivals, who have literally never been bad, the Blizzard were deep in the doldrums not too many seasons ago. Now that they've reached the mountaintop, how did they pull off such a strong rebuild? What can other teams currently facing hard times learn from their success?
There's one thing I believe will make any team stronger and better, it doesn't really involve good scouting or picking certain personalities. It's a good locker room where people engage with each other genuinely. This site can become a bit of a slog when you look at it over a long period of time but when you have people you want to talk to and share not just SHL-related things with but your other passions and desires it changes from a fun little hockey game to an actual community.
If it weren't for people WannabeFinn, Tomen, Karey, Tig, Grok, ZombieWolf, Fantobens, Mcgridleluver, and many many more I would have dropped this site as soon as I got bored or things didn't go well. Instead, I found myself wanting to continue not only for myself but for the people on my team who dedicated hours a day so that we all had fun. That is what makes a good team.