1. Chill

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. During the Conference Finals Panthers had no players who had multi goal game, yet they beat the Texas in 5 games. Can New England shut down a team with such depth, how could they do it?
New England has always relied on their top tier defenders to help shutdown the other teams. Looking at the composition of the wolves you can see that each defender already acts as mini goalies with shot blocks nearing the 100's compared to other teams that barely scratch 50. New England is going to be looking to that defense again to bewitch the other players.
b. On New England side Ivan Lacksamus is back on MVP form, scoring 15 goals and 38 points in 19 games, including the 15 points scored in Conference Finals. Should Los Angeles try to find a way to stop him or hope that their stars kick in the next gear to meet the challenge head on?
Ivan is solvable, we have seem him shut out of scoring many times. Looking at the beginning of this season he had a slow start as other teams were keeping him off the board. I think Los Angeles can find a way to stop him and it will go a long way to making their plan work in the long run. New England runs only a few good scorers, but those that score are elite.
c. Olof Karsikko, who has won the Razov and the Challenge Cup with both teams, while already past his peak comes into finals with higher save percentage than Grzegorz Brzeczyszczykiewicz who on the other hand has lower goal against average. Which team in your opinion has advantage on net and how much of an impact you think it will have on the series?
Playoff Olof is a real thing. That being said, he is starting to show his age as his games this playoffs have been a little leaky. Olof has a great defense in front of him preventing even more shots to come his way so it's a chance we could see him return to form and absolutely dominate. A lot will come down to these two goalies and who is a better net minder.
e. If it ain't broke don't fix it: Who you got? Who wins? Why?
This cup is most likely going to Los Angeles. While the New England Wolfpack are all veterans and returning to a back to back cup, their age is starting to show. They have young blood who are up and coming but in the regular season, and now, it is Los Angeles's time to shine. They are the ones we should expect to come out on top in this contest just by stats alone as well as hunger.

6. Written, 2 TPE, Maybe next season (100 words min)
Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?
Look, this is not even a question but EDM got cursed by the president's trophy. EDM should absolutely have made it all the way to the finals and had a good push for the cup with the team they had this year. While Los Angeles was right on their tails the whole season, what with the 3 way tie for second place, EDM still had the top notch scorers who should have been able to get the job done all the way to the finals. A match up of LAP vs EDM was inevitable and a match of the year, but to be defeated 4-1 just shows how strong this LAP lineup was throughout. After LAP secured that victory they breezed their way to a cup and almost did it without losing a single game.