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***JKortesi81*** · 10-30-2022, 08:32 PM

GM pass

***Nike*** · 10-30-2022, 08:38 PM

Code:
1. CW TRIVIA +3

Nike

Code:
3. Written, 3 TPE, Song of the Playoffs (150 words min.)

Every season the NHL buys the rights to a song that they edit their playoff promotional materials to. This season we’re doing the same thing for the SHL! Pitch me your “Song of the S67 Playoffs”! Who sings it? Why do you think it would make a good hype song?

The song of the playoff for this season’s SHL Challenge Cup run is Down With the Sickness. I’m not entirely sure why that is the song that the league chose, considering there are hundreds of millions of other songs out there in the universe that probably would have been better suited for this exact purpose, but here we are. The song isn’t all that applicable to hockey or the playoff, but it definitely has that violent vibe that perhaps we get from the game when the stakes are this high? It’s probably better served as a pre-game skate song rather than the “song of the playoffs” but I am not in charge of the league executive office. Fans will find themselves singing along, because that goofy intro vocal riff is very catchy and everyone knows it. But, it’s not likely to be the song that gets butts in seats or eyeballs on the television coverage. It’s just an interesting choice, but we’ll live with it this season.

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4. Written, 3 TPE, Tough to Swallow (150 words min.)

In your opinion, who was the best SHL or SMJHL team to NOT win the Challenge Cup / Four Star Cup? Who was on that team, and why do you think they deserved to win it all? What round did they lose in and how? Was it bad luck? A hot opposing goalie? Inexperience?

The best SHL team that did NOT make it to, or win the Challenge Cup this season is the Chicago Syndicate. Why, you might ask? Well, because the Syndicate is just a scrappy bunch who won't seem to go away. They have talent from top to bottom that is up there with some of the best in the league. And while the aging core has seemed to get older year over year, the truth is that most would have expected their demise from playoff relevance a few seasons ago. Yet, they are still holding on. Likely due to really great goaltending from Smith, and the occasional injection of youth into the lineup. If there's one thing that you can say about Chicago, is that they have been creative with finding ways to continue to increase the quality of their roster despite the retirements and regression of their group. Some skillful trading without compromising future draft capital. And when you look at it, Chicago has also been really solid on the draft front. Getting good late round value, nailing those first round picks, and generally just being really solid on draft day. So that is the reason that Chicago deserved to win it all. Old players, new players, good coaching and management leads to success. These other teams are fine but they are no Chicago.

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6. Written, 3 TPE, You’re Weird (150 words min.)

During long playoff runs or exceptional mid-season winning streaks players have been known to do some crazy things in order to keep the luck going. What’s the weirdest superstition your player or someone in your locker room has? Did it actually work?

It’s not the players that get really weird during our playoff runs in Chicago, but instead the coaching and management staff that really freak me out. In fact, this past season, our Assistant General Manager Jordan Nugent Hall was found out by one of the executive assistants in the front office. Nugent Hall walked by her desk and she caught a really spicy scent. Well, it turns out that Nugent Hall had caught on to a winning streak post-game meal. He was eating spicy curry after every Chicago playoff win. And normally, a little bit of curry wouldn’t be too bad. But he was having heaps of it every night. The assistant said that she could smell the peppers and spices coming out of his pores. He was literally sweating spicy sweat from all of that spice that he was taking in on game day evenings. Eventually though, the superstition was not enough to carry the Syndicate to the Challenge Cup.

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18. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)

Congratulations, procrastinator!  Through your terrible time management skills, you’ve unlocked a special task! [TEAM] has won it all! Were the playoffs as you expected this year, or were there some surprises? Did anything stand out to you about this season’s results? How do you feel about season two of FHM 8?

The playoffs had a few surprises this year, which I’m sure is refreshing for a lot of folks around the league. However, I have felt like since Hamilton wrapped up their stretch of winning consistently, the league has had quite a bit of variety in the playoff the last few seasons. With Seattle becoming a mainstay in the late rounds, Chicago and Buffalo still hanging around the conference championship areas, and Atlanta finally getting their time to shine; it has been a good balance of both new and old guard teams finding their way. Manhattan making the finals this year was a surprise for quite a lot of folks. Its good to have new, fresh blood making waves and I’m sure that FHM 8 had something to do with that injection the last two seasons. We’re all still learning and growing and that’s good for the league.

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23. Written, 2 TPE, Say Something Nice (100 words min.)

I’m not sure when we did this last, so that probably means it’s a good time to bring back the positivity prompt! Tag some other folks on the site and let them know why you appreciate them! Could be a GM, a friend, a department head, anyone! The goal is to make someone happy.

@SDCore thank you for continuing to be a great friend and GM for all of my seasons in Chicago. You may not have wanted to draft my sorry ass, but I hope that I made you guys proud. From our time together in the Berserkers LR to these last few weeks of you as my GM, you have been such an integral part of my return to the SHL and for that I am appreciative. You deserve all the accolades and recognition you get throughout the league and we are glad to have had you as our leader. Enjoy some more time with your family and less focus on virtual hockey. Thank you.

*NorwegianDemon* · 10-30-2022, 09:25 PM

Code:
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.

norway

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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.

Code:
b. Manhattan has charged from a ninth place regular season finish to an Eastern conference championship and a shot at the Challenge Cup. I don't think that it's out of line for me to say that not many saw this coming. How do you think they got to this point? Who's performing better than expected? Do you think they have enough gas to complete the Cinderella run?

Manhattan got there because their best players step up massively. Lev Lebedev has been producing at a way higher level than he did during the regular season. But mainly, it’s because of their goalkeeping has been nothing sort of extraordinary. Name Redacted will probably end the playoffs with a higher goals saved above average than the regular season leader.

59 words

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c. At this point in the playoffs, Manhattan has played four more games than Seattle. With the schedule as tight as it is in the playoffs, do you think that extra hockey will affect them? Could it be a positive that MAN has been in a near constant routine of game days while SEA has seen a bit more rest? Or do you think that wear and tear will start to show on MAN if this series goes to 6 or 7 games?

I think it could clearly affect them. Being fresh and having rest days is something that can be critical during the regular season and even more during the playoffs. It also gives you time to heal small injuries and you also get free time that you can use to prepare for your next opponent when you win a round earlier.

60 words

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5. Written, 3 TPE, Hotel Rooms (150 words min)

During the playoffs it’s not uncommon to have to spend several days on the road in the same city. Whether you’re in the playoffs or not, who does your player share a room with on the road? What do you get up to? Are you the type to drag around a PS5 everywhere you go, or are you the first to hit the bar after the game? Are you a night owl or an early riser?

Since I’ve now got a coupe of seasons in the SHL with the Inferno, I got offered the possibility to have my own room and I gladly took it, which means I don’t have a roommate, which is great got I really like to have some private alone and quiet time before I got to sleep. Usually, when we got back to the hotel after the room, I will go out to share a small meal with some of my teammates either at the hotel restaurant or at a restaurant that is a small walk from the hotel. Then, I will go to my room and read a book for half an hour to an hour before closing the light and going to sleep. On the days we spent in a hotel where we don’t have a game, I usually carry a laptop around on which I either play games or watch movies and TV shows. Sometimes, I will have teammates bringing their own computer and with play games together sitting right next to each other.

176 words

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6. Written, 3 TPE, You’re Weird (150 words min.)

During long playoff runs or exceptional mid-season winning streaks players have been known to do some crazy things in order to keep the luck going. What’s the weirdest superstition your player or someone in your locker room has? Did it actually work?

I’ve seen plenty of players use superstition to keep his streak alive during my career. Most of the time, it’s a small thing they did differently during their pregame routine that they wouldn’t even think about it again if it wasn’t from the fact that they had a good game and they wanted to go back in time to figure what they did differently. The first one was a player who had to put a Band-Aid on one of his fingers, because of a small cut cause by paper. He went on to score two goals in his first game with the Band-Aid and decide to put a new one on before every game even if the cut had healed. It didn’t really work since he didn’t get any points in the five following games. Another one, back in my junior days, is when a player decided that he needed to take his shower with his helmet on during the playoffs, because it would give us luck. We did end up winning the first round, but unfortunately, we got eliminated during the second round and he didn’t try it again during the playoffs the next year.

196 words

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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.

S67 Milestones +3 TPE

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18. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)

Congratulations, procrastinator!  Through your terrible time management skills, you’ve unlocked a special task! [TEAM] has won it all! Were the playoffs as you expected this year, or were there some surprises? Did anything stand out to you about this season’s results? How do you feel about season two of FHM 8?

The playoffs were both surprising and not surprising at the same time. We knew before that Seattle had a good team, so seeing them winning the title is really not surprising after being a finalist last year. But we did see some big surprises in the Eastern Conference. Seeing both Manhattan and Montreal reaching the Conference final by beating Atlanta and Toronto was something not expected, especially after the regular season that the top two regular-season teams in the Eastern Conference had. What happened in the East during the playoffs seem like a sign of good things to come with FHM8, since it seems like everything is a bit less predictable, without being too unpredictable, although the sample is still too small to come to a proper conclusion.

128 words

***Big Newff*** · 10-30-2022, 10:05 PM

CW Pass

Seymour · 10-30-2022, 10:07 PM

cw pass

Evok · 10-30-2022, 10:31 PM

1. CW Trivia
kms

2. Grab Bag
a. Well, i know it's enough to finish the job this time around as Seattle managed to win the season against the Manhattan Rage. they made the change they needed in the offseason to aquire and developpe their talents. I think keeping their great player while acquiring some clutch players like Wagner in the off season really payed off. 58
b. They unfortunately did not had enough to complete the Cinderella run, per the look of it, even though they came really close, leading 3-2 at one point, but Seattle managed to outplay us. I think Manhattan is just finally at that level after a few seasons in the basements. They had great draft for a few seasons in a row and it's where they are supposed to be now. We will definitively see more of them. 76
c. I don't believe wear and tear are a thing in the engine we are using with the format we are using. The players have enough stamina and recovery to be able to get going after a few days of rest that the engine allow between game. Momentum is way more important, but being in the finals, it does not matter anymore at all. 63
d. Well, i know for a fact that Seattle kept their streak going all the way to the end, but it's not to fault of bad luck by Manhattan, as they are still really high, with only Nickelback under 100. So i think it was just two highly lucky team crashing at each other with a pretty equal chance. 58

4. Tough to Swallow
Yeah, no one will be surprised to hear that my tough to swallow team to not win the cup are the Quebec City Citadelles. They came so close to get their hand on the cup for the second time in their history to finally lose to Maine in the finals. The team won the laurifer trophy, though should have been in the middle of a rebuild, and made it all the way to the end, the decisive game 7, where they fell short at home. It's heartbreaking for me to see some great player not winning a cup with Quebec and graduating for a 2nd time in a row after a final appearance, after losing last season to Nevada Battleborn in the finals as well. I'm really hoping this is not a thing I'll experience again, both as part of their management and as a player on the team. This was really a position where we lost to the power of a more senior team, as i do not believe we are inexperienced and the goalie wasn't really hot. We lost the flip of the coin. 186

6. You’re Weird
I'm a highly superstitious person when it come to game. I do not know why, but it's just like that. I know it make no sense, even for me, as this is literally a video game where we have no impact, but im always looking at 'what i did' before or after a win and trying to do it again the next time we play. For example, we win when i don't watch? well, you better bet that im not watching the game after. We are winning when i post a specific emoji? you better be ready to see it again until we lose. And even when we lose, i sometime go back at like, ALL OF THOSE because in my mind, i probably did them wrong and that's why we lost? This season, in the playoff, we had a few wins when i was driving with the game on my phone on my dash, me watching with only the sound (thanks goalsong so i know when we score). You bet i was on the road again the next day with the volume up even if it was 9pm and i had nowhere to go! 195

7. Milestones
https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3280932

***goldenglutes*** · 10-30-2022, 10:36 PM

cw pass

Signatures by Vulfzilla, Jepox, Jess, rum_ham, Ragnar, and myself
[Image: 9vAsr7c.png]

*AgentSmith630* · 10-30-2022, 10:45 PM

CW Pass

*JURT* · 10-30-2022, 11:14 PM

CW Pass

Runningman434 · 10-30-2022, 11:31 PM

1. CW Trivia
aero

5. Hotel Rooms

Sean Davies is definitely not the type to be lugging around any gaming consoles or anything for entertainment on these road trips. Just give him his phone to scroll through, and a tv he can throw on some ESPN or something for background noise and he’s set. He’s probably not going out and hitting the city too much, preferring to lounge around the hotel and relax before/after games. He does enjoy spending time with the team however, so will often find himself bouncing from hot room to hotel room to check in on the squad and have some nice chats with his teammates. Most days he tries to get to bed and get up relatively early so he can stay rested and get a good jump on the day, although sometimes he gets wrapped up in some weird conspiracy videos and ends up staying awake until dawn. The team’s working on that with him though, since their sick of him mumbling about the moon landing being fake.

7. S67 Milestones
+3 TPE - S67 Milestones

13. crAIyon? More like CWaiyon!

[Image: ECcZUkD.png]

A nice shiny championship ring for when New England wins the cup!

17. Nu Metals
So we’re replacing medal metals, eh? Well in that case let me give my ideas. Instead of bronze, I’m rocking with Ytterbium. Why you ask? I don’t really know but it looks kind of dull gray with a greenish-yellow tint. The tint will help separate it from my choice of silver, giving some distinction in the ranks. It will serve as a solid baseline for our medals. Next, for silver, I’m going with Niobium. It looks like silver, and is nice and shiny, so would be great way to celebrate a runner up finish but is not quite as cool as my replacement for gold. My replacement gold is Bismuth. Picture a rainbow-colored Bismuth medal. How cool would that be? It’s admittedly a little tacky, but I think a well done bismuth medal would look pretty clean, hence my decision to put it as the ultimate reward in place of gold.

21. Speedrunning

Well, the obvious speedrun choice(s) are Fastest Player to X number of INSERT STAT HERE. Or, similarly, Fastest player to win X number of games and/or win the cup. These would be fun for sure, but I think we can do better. A simple, but admittedly stupid one could be fastest to post their retirement after being approved. It would be hard to track but would probably provide some amusement. Another interesting idea would be fastest time to play a game for every SHL and/or SMJHL. Again, kind of goofy but it would be kind of fun trying to finesse trades and such. My last speedrunning idea involves literal speed running of ones build, by becoming the fastest player to 20 speed/20accel. Would it be worth sacrificing all your other attributes just for a chance at SHL speedrunning history? Who knows, but we’ll find out! Let me know what you think, and we can make some additions to the rulebook!

Total TPE: 13+Trivia

Symmetrik · 10-30-2022, 11:32 PM

Code:
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.

extralife

Code:
2. Written, 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. Seattle is back in the finals for the second time in a row. While last season was an unexpected run led by a miracle goalie performance-- this season's appearance comes at no surprise to those who watched their offseason closely. What roster changes do you think have put Seattle in this position again? Do you think it's enough for them to finish the job this time around?

b. Manhattan has charged from a ninth place regular season finish to an Eastern conference championship and a shot at the Challenge Cup. I don't think that it's out of line for me to say that not many saw this coming. How do you think they got to this point? Who's performing better than expected? Do you think they have enough gas to complete the Cinderella run?

c. At this point in the playoffs, Manhattan has played four more games than Seattle. With the schedule as tight as it is in the playoffs, do you think that extra hockey will affect them? Could it be a positive that MAN has been in a near constant routine of game days while SEA has seen a bit more rest? Or do you think that wear and tear will start to show on MAN if this series goes to 6 or 7 games?

d. In many ways this seems like a battle of who can stay hotter longer. Both teams have PDO ratings as high as 110 while barely having any players that dip below 100. Seattle and Manhattan are both on absolute heaters of strong goalies and high shooting percentages. What do you think is driving this, and who do you think can keep it going longer? Who comes out on top?

a. Luukas Lilja was certainly the biggest change to put Seattle in this place again. Lilja was the SHL's leading scorer last season for LAP, and joining Seattle was certainly a big boost offensively. Make no mistake, goaltending was still a huge part of their run this season, but the added firepower of the addition of Lilja was impossible to match for any team. (63 words)

b. Lebedev came alive in the playoffs almost like nothing we have seen. 22 goals in 27 games, 43 points, and more hits in the playoffs than the entire regular season. Goaltending I think shouldn't be dismissed either - Name Redacted got the full confidence in the playoffs, starting every game. In the regular season, Adam Rage had 23 games and Redacted had 41. Getting the stability and the mental confidence is not to be underestimated for Redacted. (76 words)

c. I don't think it will make a huge difference. Both teams played 6 games in the conference finals, so no one is getting any extra rest, and even the conference semi finals was only a difference of 1 game. Seattle pulled off a sweep in round 1 compared to a 7 game series for Manhattan, but by this point both teams have been in a groove of playing consistently. (69 words)

d. I think Seattle is much more likely to have the stability. The base talent level is much stronger, their strength in the regular season shows that. The underlying stats for Seattle show a much better chance to sustain their trajectory. Even if their luck comes down, if it happens for both teams, Seattle's stats still put them in a much better place than Manhattan would be. (66 words)

Code:
4. Written, 3 TPE, Tough to Swallow (150 words min.)

In your opinion, who was the best SHL or SMJHL team to NOT win the Challenge Cup / Four Star Cup? Who was on that team, and why do you think they deserved to win it all? What round did they lose in and how? Was it bad luck? A hot opposing goalie? Inexperience?

- 309 words

I would have to say of course my own team, the Winnipeg Aurora. Not only is it my own team, but we were the best team in the regular season, and we didn't win, so it's pretty fair to say we were the best team to not win. We made it to the conference finals, before losing to Seattle. We lost to FHM doing FHM things. In game 1 against Seattle, we lost 3-2 in OT, despite outshooting them 39-27, we also got 0 POWERPLAYS. We lost game 2 3-0 despite again outshooting them 33-26. Both these games were on home ice as well. We were better in every metric but Seattle fluked their way to a shutout. Game 3 we were able to get one back, FHM giving us a little bit of favour back after screwing us in the first 2 games, we won 3-1 despite being outshot 30-20. Montagne had the only good game that FHM allowed her to have, despite being better in virtually every stat. She had 1 game above a .900 save%, compared to 4 for Miller. We lost game 4 4-3 despite outshooting Seattle 34-32 once again. Seattle scored 4 consecutive goals in a span of 7 minutes in the last half of the 3rd period. No goals for 2 and a half periods and FHM just decides they can suddenly score 4. We won game 5 to stay alive 4-3, once again outshooting them 25-24. Game 6 we lost as FHM just decided for some reason that we would play with no goalie and Montagne turned in a .790 save% and gave up 6 goals. The shots were almost even, and Miller gave up 1 goal. Seattle outshot us 29-28 which doesn't reflect the 6-1 scoreline they walked away with. We outshot them 179-168 in the series but were outscored 20-13.

Code:
7. Milestones, 2 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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

Milestones

Code:
13. Graphic, 1 TPE, crAIyon? More like CWaiyon!

In the spirit of the insanely easy ring task that stayed around forever, we can keep running this one! Try using OpenAI’s DALL E Mini (now known as crAIyon) to generate a Challenge Cup related image. It could be a championship ring, your player lifting the cup, a locker room celebration. Go nuts as long as you’re attempting to make it SHL related! The results will be weird, but it’s fun!  https://www.craiyon.com/

Code:
21. Written / Graphic, 3 TPE, Speedrunning (150 words min.)

Speedrunning is a huge movement in the video game world, and frankly I feel like the SHL is falling behind in this department. Pitch me a few different speedrun categories we could have in the SHL. Take it seriously! Or don’t! Is there any actual potential in this idea, or am I silly for suggesting it? As a graphic option, depict your player as a Twitch streamer going for a world record in the game of your choice!

[Image: maxresdefault.jpg?width=1202&height=676]

TheHammer43 · 10-30-2022, 11:53 PM

20. Written, 3 TPE, Championship Leek (150 words min.)
If you were the judge of a Leek competition, what would you be looking for? How would you choose the championship Leek? Aesthetics only? Is taste a factor for you? How do you weigh each factor in your decision? Tell me, in 150 words, how you would define the perfect championship winning Leek.

If I were a leek competition judge heres how I would decide which leeks were the best of the best. First of all, we want the best tasting leek, we don't want any terrible tasting leek winning the competition, that is a huge no-no. Secondly I think size definelty should be a big factor here, there are tons of contest where the biggest fruit and or vegetable are the winners, it's really upsetting that they don't taste them, I would be judging to see how long the "leaves" of the leek are and how "girthy" the base of the leek is. Lastly I think the prettiest green colors should be a deciding factor in this leek contest, either pretty dark green colors or a beautiful light green, no browns due to wilting "leaves" or any blemishes, we're going souly for presentation, length, girth, and taste, and that is how I would score if I were on a judge in a leek competition.
[162 words]

21. Written / Graphic, 3 TPE, Speedrunning (150 words min.)
Speedrunning is a huge movement in the video game world, and frankly I feel like the SHL is falling behind in this department. Pitch me a few different speedrun categories we could have in the SHL. Take it seriously! Or don’t! Is there any actual potential in this idea, or am I silly for suggesting it? As a graphic option, depict your player as a Twitch streamer going for a world record in the game of your choice!

Could we speedrun through an entire Simulated hockley league season? I mean we definelty could but obviously no one would probably enjoy it and I feel like we all would feel like there would be so much potential lost in the season, I have no idea why but whenever one of my games are simmed and we lose I feel even though it probably would have had the same outcome that if the game were to be watched that there would have been a better chance at winning, at least as far as my luck goes. Lets just say for the fun of it, what would happen if we were to sim a whole season, what would we expect? I think I would be really eager on one hand to see how my team did but I also feel like there would be no point in that whole season, like it would be wasted. Now if we're talking about simming a whole players career now that would be something interesting, I'm not too sure how the TPE would work out like maybe we would just add the amount of potential TPE that player would have earned during that peroid of time and continue simming, but I would like to see something like that, would they win any cups? would they break any records? who knows? maybe one day.
[228 words]

22. Written / Graphic, 3 TPE, We Should Start a Band! (150 words min.)
Hockey is no longer in fashion, we’re doing music now! Choose a couple of friends from around the league to form a band with! Who do you choose, what instruments do they play, and what kind of music do you all make together? As a graphic task, show me your band together performing in their home arena.

okay I'm choosing these players solely because I like them so don't come at me bro, I think Caleb Hayden, Myself, Ekaterina & Artemis (Kelowna) would be my band, why do I choose mainly Kelowna Knights? Because Kelowna rules and it's my band, why Caleb Hayden? Because he's a cool dude and we're chill like that homie. Alright, I would be the lead singer of the band because I got some dope lyrics and some pipes, Caleb Hayden gives me huge drummer vibes so he's gonna be rocking the drums, Arty? I want Arty slamming some mad guitar for me so I pick him to play the guitar, and finally, because Ekaterina gives me eastern-blocker vibes I think I'm gonna give Ekaterina the accordion, I have no idea if that is a Eastern-blocker instrument but it gives me eastern blocker vibes so I assume Ekaterina can slay some mad accordion notes. This bands name? Hammer and the nails, hell yeah now that's what I call a band name, and we'll play some rock music and everyone will love it.
[179 words]

14. Podcast, 3 or 4 TPE
Record a mini-podcast on any of the below topics!
-The S67 Challenge Cup series
-The S67 Four Star Cup series
-An S67 IIHF preview
-A Breakdown of how your favorite hockey team’s season has started off

1 person Mini-Pod: 3 TPE for 8 minutes or 4 TPE for 10 Minutes
2 person Mini-Pod: 3 TPE for 10 Minutes or 4 TPE for 15 Minutes
Post the direct link to your podcast.

LINK TO THE PODCAST HERE

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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
[url=+ TPE - [/url]].SMJHL MILESTONES

Shylo_Moxii · 10-31-2022, 02:26 AM

1.) Shylo2022 trivia

2.)

a.) The LAP deal put Seattle over the top. Adding Lilja, Wagner, and Kahnwald. It really proved to be what Seattle needed at the time. I feel this boosted the roster both bolstering the D and F core while still running a solid goalie from last season. It's truly a great orchestrated roster by Tig.

b.) Manhattan has been Goaling teams. Truly a run because of their goalie. It was much of the same for Seattle last season and they couldn't finish it off. I expect the same out of Manhattan this season as Seattle truly has a deadset powerhouse that painstakingly annihilated all playoff competition.

c.) I don't think it truly affects play all that much with rest in between I think it will be a 5-6 game series that ultimately goes Seattle's way. I have no doubt Lev and his insane team with a lot of depth in the forward core will do fairly well, but their defense will need to keep up I don't think you can rely on the goalie stealing you games in this series.

d.) I believe the factor becomes who's defense holds up. I don't think goalies will be able to hold up under endless rushes of offensive pressure. I would believe Seattle wins. Their D is stellar and has not failed in these playoffs yet. I have yet to see Seattle defense make a mistake.

3.) Miracle by A day to remember. I believe the lyrics embody what the playoffs feel like. Sometimes you don't need a miracle you just need to be in the game "right here, right now. We've waited long enough" it also embodies the hype of the playoffs. I can picture the hype of the guitar behind big highlight reel plays on the big screen. It embodies a mentality of right here, right now we can in fact win this entire thing. Get a challenge cup and take it to the homelands. The biggest moments are just mere seconds away from either winning or losing, but every team comes in knowing you have a shot at the cup no matter how big or small the chances are you still have one of the greatest opportunities to win a Challenge Cup which many have tried and failed. Some have risen to the occasion, and the same thing was said "right here, right now we don't need a miracle we've waited long enough let's go get us a cup."

5.) I spend my time on the road with Mads my draft partner so to speak. We play video games, but Mads has an old soul. All he does is play on his computer with a bunch of kids playing civilization 6. I've also seen him play dungeons and dragons on the road. He plays a ton of magic the gathering and cards against humanity. I normally stick around playing my PS5 we'll play SHL 67 or NHL 23. I know I've played Call of Duty MW2 and the occasional 2k or madden game. But other than that he decides to watch war documentaries on the road and fall asleep shortly after he's done picking out his belly button and brushing his teeth. Not easy to sleep with someone who snores like a kid tumbling down the stairs in a laundry basket. Much to that affect I still get along with him and he's the best teammate I've ever had.

S67 Milestones

23.) I wanna thank @CampinKiller for a wonderful season we got, so far and so close to making it to the cup finals. I wanna thank the entire team that i'm able to actually ping @vic03 @NJBadApple @G2019 @Benpachi @brickwall35 @Serpe x 13 for the great job done. I wanna thank @boom for carrying on the QCC legacy. Ended very sadly for the S64 graduates but S65 class you are fulfilling the dream of being a true QCC warrior. I am honored to have been with you all for so long. It's been over 10 months that i've been back on the site and it's really been a fun experience being back overall. Some bumps along the road of course, but it's truly been an adventure.

*Keven* · 10-31-2022, 04:37 AM

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1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 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.

fish

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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. Seattle is back in the finals for the second time in a row. While last season was an unexpected run led by a miracle goalie performance-- this season's appearance comes at no surprise to those who watched their offseason closely. What roster changes do you think have put Seattle in this position again? Do you think it's enough for them to finish the job this time around?

There's no doubt Seattle had a big offseason. Adding top players such as Luukas Lilja, Anton Mihailov, Jimmy Wagner, and Jonas Kahnwald clearly put them in a better position to win this season compared to last season. Although their regular season didn't reflect the impact of these additions, the playoff experience that comes with these players will allow them to do better.

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b. Manhattan has charged from a ninth place regular season finish to an Eastern conference championship and a shot at the Challenge Cup. I don't think that it's out of line for me to say that not many saw this coming. How do you think they got to this point? Who's performing better than expected? Do you think they have enough gas to complete the Cinderella run?

Manhattan's young core has really stepped up to the plate during these playoffs, Especially Leb Levedev and Tomas Lind who are hitting the peak of their careers and have been scoring at a ridiculous rate for the Rage during the playoffs. These two players certainly couldn't have come this far alone, every other member of the team have been putting up solid numbers too.

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c. At this point in the playoffs, Manhattan has played four more games than Seattle. With the schedule as tight as it is in the playoffs, do you think that extra hockey will affect them? Could it be a positive that MAN has been in a near constant routine of game days while SEA has seen a bit more rest? Or do you think that wear and tear will start to show on MAN if this series goes to 6 or 7 games?

In a long and stressful playoff gauntlet I think it's much better to finish series early and earn some rest days rather than go through full 6 or 7 game series with each team you face. Shorter series not only provide physical rest, but the mental reassurance you can get from beating a team quickly more than makes up for the rust that may build over the time of games not being played.

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d. In many ways this seems like a battle of who can stay hotter longer. Both teams have PDO ratings as high as 110 while barely having any players that dip below 100. Seattle and Manhattan are both on absolute heaters of strong goalies and high shooting percentages. What do you think is driving this, and who do you think can keep it going longer? Who comes out on top?

When high PDO and a strong goalie faces more high PDO and another strong goalie there's only one way to determine the winner: just another flip of the coin. Good luck is almost required to make it this far, so whichever team is able to play well but also continue to have some good luck will ultimately take the cup.

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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.

+3 https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=127309&pid=3280433#pid3280433

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18. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)

Congratulations, procrastinator!  Through your terrible time management skills, you’ve unlocked a special task! [TEAM] has won it all! Were the playoffs as you expected this year, or were there some surprises? Did anything stand out to you about this season’s results? How do you feel about season two of FHM 8?

On one hand seeing the 5th seed win for only the second time in the FHM era is quite surprising, but looking at how Seattle underperformed expectations in the regular season this year seeing them win the cup makes sense after they came back from the finals loss last season with more experience. Most of the series overall went as expected with the exception of Toronto and Atlanta losing in the second round and Winnipeg not making the finals. What's also surprising is the sheer amount of games Manhattan had to play. All of their series went to 7 games with the exception of Montreal which went to 6. Rarely do you see a team come out on the winning end of that many long series.

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20. Written, 3 TPE, Championship Leek (150 words min.)

If you were the judge of a Leek competition, what would you be looking for? How would you choose the championship Leek? Aesthetics only? Is taste a factor for you? How do you weigh each factor in your decision? Tell me, in 150 words, how you would define the perfect championship winning Leek.

Every leek is unique, so selecting the best of the best requires a lot of thought. You have to consider everything from colour distribution, size, shape, and how much sand is stuck between the layers, to both the raw taste and the cooked taste of the leek. In terms of the aesthetic categories, a smooth gradient from a deep green to a seemless white is what to look for. If there's too much of one colour or the other it's not a perfect leak. The leek can be any length and width as long as the colour is okay. The less sand between the layers the better. Taste is the final category to judge the leeks by and this one is the most important. There's one simple criteria that defines a champion. Is the leek edible? As far as I'm concerned if the leek is good to eat then it's fit to win a championship. There's no point in calling any piece of good food anything less than championship worthy.

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23. Written, 2 TPE, Say Something Nice (100 words min.)

I’m not sure when we did this last, so that probably means it’s a good time to bring back the positivity prompt! Tag some other folks on the site and let them know why you appreciate them! Could be a GM, a friend, a department head, anyone! The goal is to make someone happy.

There's no way I'd be able to ping everyone who I appreciate on this site so if you're reading this and have ever been a teammate of mine in Quebec, San Francisco, or Team Canada, I very much appreciate your presence on the site. In terms of showing gratitude to specific people, I definitely haven't given enough thanks over the years to the wonderful people who brought my player and the league to life via signatures. @enigmatic thank you for providing me with a sense of awe during my early days in the league by creating not one or two, but three wonderful sigs for my player. I was (and still am) astounded by the quality of your work and felt immersed in the world of the Citadelles thanks to your signatures. @sulovilen thank you for welcoming me to the Pride with your amazing work which continues to be the absolute best on the site. I continue to be amazed by all the effort and detail that goes in to every one of your signatures and am incredibly grateful to be able to show off my player with your amazing artwork. @Matteo and @zeagle1 I hope you two don't mind me thanking you at the same time for your beautiful sigs. They both bring such a unique variety to my rotation with Mat's genius two-team design and Zeagle's sleek monochrome style and the most fabulous text font I've ever seen. I'm very lucky to have such lovely artwork accompanying my every post on the site.

dankoa · 10-31-2022, 06:19 AM

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.

Verification word: Trust

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. Seattle is back in the finals for the second time in a row. While last season was an unexpected run led by a miracle goalie performance-- this season's appearance comes at no surprise to those who watched their offseason closely. What roster changes do you think have put Seattle in this position again? Do you think it's enough for them to finish the job this time around?

b. Manhattan has charged from a ninth place regular season finish to an Eastern conference championship and a shot at the Challenge Cup. I don't think that it's out of line for me to say that not many saw this coming. How do you think they got to this point? Who's performing better than expected? Do you think they have enough gas to complete the Cinderella run?

a. I am writing this after the finals have finished so I have the miraculous gift of hindsight but I think the moves Seattle made in the offseason were clearly informed and had a plan behind them, and it's evident that they have paid off. I think going big in the way they did carries an element of risk if it doesn't come off, but in times like these where it proves successful, they look like the smartest team in the league.

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b. Not sure that anyone knows what Manhattan did to change their fate from the regular season to the playoffs. We see it in sports a lot that teams can put together miraculous runs and I think that this is what happened here, the performance level the team demonstrating in the closely-contested, highly charged playoff games being a lot higher than they showed in the regular season. Ultimately it's unfortunate for the team to not get a ring out of it all but they did a great job getting as far as they did.

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4. Written, 3 TPE, Tough to Swallow (150 words min.)
In your opinion, who was the best SHL or SMJHL team to NOT win the Challenge Cup / Four Star Cup? Who was on that team, and why do you think they deserved to win it all? What round did they lose in and how? Was it bad luck? A hot opposing goalie? Inexperience?

I think that the best team in the SHL this season to not win the Challenge Cup was the Buffalo Stampede. Look, people might not agree with this and might think that the numbers suggest something different but as someone who has been in and around this league for as long as I have, trust me, you get to know what a cup winning team should look like. And in this case, I think that the team that had that championship winning X-factor but ultimately fell short was the Stampede. Built on a foundation of exciting young players and experienced veterans, the Stampede were very well put together going into the season and enjoyed a steady regular season where they rested up to make a deep playoff run. Ultimately, fate was against the Stampede and the referees rigged them out of the playoffs. A first round exit was unthinkable but the league made their agenda very clear, not wanting the humble city of Buffalo to enjoy another championship and instead trying to justify their decision to expand to Seattle. Ultimately, a very sad day but the real fans of the league know what happened.

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194 words

5. Written, 3 TPE, Hotel Rooms (150 words min)
During the playoffs it’s not uncommon to have to spend several days on the road in the same city. Whether you’re in the playoffs or not, who does your player share a room with on the road? What do you get up to? Are you the type to drag around a PS5 everywhere you go, or are you the first to hit the bar after the game? Are you a night owl or an early riser?

After spending as many seasons in the league as Kaarlo Kekkonen has, you earn a lot of money and you also earn the right to not have to share a hotel room when you're playing on the road. After 14 seasons playing in the SHL, Kaarlo has been everywhere and seen it all and had the chance to share a room with a lot of great people but that is something that he's not interested in anymore. Instead, Kaarlo now focuses on using his time in a hotel room to rest, talk to family and either read or watch a TV show. Given his advanced age, rest and relaxation is now more important than ever before, and he makes sure that he spends as much time as possible taking it easy to give his best performance on the ice. Travelling is a part of the job that nobody loves but all have to endure, so Kaarlo just focuses now on being as comfortable as possible when he's on the road.

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170 words

7. Milestones

Center:
PIM: 24 or fewer (20)
Take Aways: 56 or more (57)

Total: 2 TPE

15. Written, 3 TPE, IIHF Round Up (150 words min.)
Write your predictions for this year's IIHF tournament or WJC! Tell me about your team! Are they up and coming? Win now mode? Entering into a re-build phase? What are your expectations for your player? What teams are you watching out for this time around?

As sure as night turns into day, I'm back to give some completely baseless predictions around what is going to happen in the upcoming IIHF tournament. Every year I do this task and every year I am a long way off, but I think I'll be even further off now that Team Finland has cast me aside after so many years of loyal service. With that being said, I am going to go with the same pick I make every year; Canada is the team to beat. Beyond them I really have no idea, I could see anyone realistically having a shot at the medal games, but lets go with my other trusty pick, Team USA. Seen as I don't have a team and ageism is real in this league, I can't answer to who plays there anymore, but I wish them all the best. Would be good to still be able to play in my final seasons but that's the way life goes and I'll have to experience IIHF as a spectator who doesn't actually watch!

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177 words

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