1: TRIVIA (3TPE)
Confirmation Word: Bengals
2: CHAMPIONSHIP PROMPTS

(a) The Edmonton Blizzard were able to complete the series in 7 to win a challenge cup. Beating the Philadelphia Forge juggernaut was impressive - especially after Philadelphia had beaten a 53 win New England franchise who were heavily favored. Both teams did not go the distance until the finals. Throughout the series, Edmonton failed to really take advantage and close it out - so I must applaud them for their game 7 performance. (1TPE, 71 WORDS)
(b) Now that Edmonton have won it in 7, I guess I have a short memory - it is a lot less pressure to be the veterans who have completed a championship with your core, but all of the glory comes with finally overcoming that hump and achieving greatness - Also, even if Edmonton lost, most young cores have to go through growing pains, so rather than being the seasoned vets, i'd rather be the young and up and comers - definitely much more rewarding getting the monkey off your back. (1 TPE, 88 WORDS) 
© The Forge beating the 53 win Wolfpack in 6 games is impressive and almost unexpected - im sure the forge busted a lot of our brackets with this dub. It was such a weird series;  when New England won game 1 by like 6 goals, everyone was hopping on the wolfpack bandwagon. I'm glad my 2nd fave team weathered the storm. (1 TPE, 60 WORDS)

12. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)
Looks like [TEAM] won Season 73! Who won and why? What could the other team have done differently to change the result? What was your favorite part of the series?

The Edmonton Blizzard have inexplicably won the Challenge Cup - I think this has been a long time coming. I think ELITE performance in the overtime of Game 5 by Luke Laraque. After dropping games 3 and 4, It was critical for edmonton to win Game 5 - evidently, this was correct, as they had lost game 6. In the 4-3 Edmonton win in Game 7, I think we have to thank Justin Time, who posted a .910 - This obviously was not Time's finest series, as the scoring was incredibly high, but when the bright lights were on him, he ended up securing the win, and ultimately the series. (2 TPE, 105 WORDS). 

4. Written, 3 TPE, Winter is Coming (150 words min.)
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?


A rebuild is something complex; not exactly something I can accurately determine or gauge success levels without knowing the implications within the locker room. For one, Edmonton did not blow up their core after losing in game 5 for the past two seasons. I think after losing twice after getting so deep, some more liberal GMs would blow up the whole operation and refer to their window not being realistic with an Aurora juggernaut there to obviously destroy them. Since Season 67, The Blizzard have felt NOTHING but playoff disappointment for 6 seasons - they were beyond due after the fourth year, and they just kept pushing. Edmonton didn't shake up the room too much, and kept their core of kobliksa, winter and laraque to name a few. Edmonton believed that their guys could get it done, and they made it happen. Perhaps the TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS could take notes!
(3 TPE, 150 WORDS) 

10. Written, 3 TPE, IIHF Analysis (150 words min.)
How do you think the IIHF federation you play for will do this season? Will you be better than last seasons? Why or why not?

I do not have high hopes for Canada at the IIHF. I know what you are thinking - why not? Canada is a hockey powerhouse. The problem doesn't lie in the country, or perhaps it does. The problem lies in the romanticization of the other - good Canadian kids create Sim characters, and rather than show any form of patriotism or loyalty to their country, their forefathers, the place where the culture was born, they'd rather rely on media depictions of countries that appear to have an export of unique culture, all while being just as sterilized and soulless as Canada itself. Ireland for instance, is often depicted in Media as a romantic island of longing, famine and resistance; when the entire country is a diluted global capital hellscape now void of organic subcultures. People love to claim Irish ancestry, as if being Irish is any more unique than being British; but you'll seldom hear a Canadian boast about their English heritage. with that being said, I think Canada again will be middle of the pack until our good canadian boys can all monopolize and finally take pride in our great country. (3 TPE, 175+ WORDS). 



14 TPE total if trivia answers are correcT