M'Baku Olubori believes in himself, sometime to a fault. He has largely remained a good team player throughout his SHL career with Baltimore, filling whatever role the coaches needed of him. However, when the big moment hits, Baku wants to be in the mix. Over the years he’s also gotten better at explaining his instincts and try to reflect a veteran’s strategery. He would likely mix legitimate scouting intel about the other team as well as total bullshit in order to get his way. He knows he’s still the team’s best offensive center, and wants his chance to prove it at the end of the game. He’d likely try to point out successful plays he was part of earlier in the series that led to goals, and highlight his skill at high level shit talk to get in the opponents’ heads. He’s gonna get his way, and we’re gonna win. Just trust Baku.
Thank you karey, OrbitingDeath Ragnar, and sköldpaddor for sigs!
The mysterious stranger pulls out a peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwich. The exact same type of sandwich Valerija Serapin's adopted father would make for her before games and the one she makes on her own after she turned pro. Clearly this individual had done their homework, which made Valerija even more worried. Caught between two different gut feelings, she trusted her streen honed instincts. She knocked out this stranger out with one mighty punch. Her gut made the right call as the stranger was actually a Russian mobster and his attempt to rig the game against the Patriotes. The fact that someone would come after her made her angry and with that anger she put togther a amazing performance on the ice that night. Hunger and stress were her reality in her early days and the certainly had no chance of slowing her down for even a minute.
Robo Sven has a pretty good relationship with his coaches. They are very aware of the capabilities of his modifications and trust him completely. When Robo Sven taps his coach on the shoulder and tells him to take a time out, he knows that Sven is cooking, and he always lets him cook. Sven is constantly recording games in real time and running simulations to maximize the chances of scoring a goal both when he is on and off of the ice. So when they're losing 4-3 and the game is on the line, he's running hundreds of simulations and calculating the best chances of scoring the equalizer. He taps the coach on the shoulder and sends the signal, which leads to a quick timeout while Sven hurriedly scratches the play on the tablet for the rest of his teammates. Of course it doesn't always work since there's no perfect way to predict the future, but as evidenced by the Whaler's record this season, it does work more often than not.
The old man approaches. You smelt him before you saw him. His shuffling gait brings him ever closer, the knock of his crude walking stick echo in the darkness of this back alley. You already regret coming here but when you're in a slump, you'll try just about anything to get out if it. "I'm such a fool," you say as you begin to turn to walk away. "You're only a fool if you give up, boy," the old man says through his yellowed teeth. He speaks of treasure beyond your wildest dreams. You tell him you're only interested in getting your game back on track. He assures you he can help, if you help him first. He needs you to enter a cave of wonder. You wonder if he's talking about buttstuff and you pause to consider for a second before he continues on, asking you to retrieve something for him and in return he'll turn you into a bonafide all-star. Suddenly, Jaromir Jagr swoops in on a magic carpet, his majestic mullet flowing behind him as he veers toward you and lifts you onto the flying rug. He bursts into a Czech medley of "A Whole New World" and "Arabian Nights" as the two of you race across the horizon.
Suddenly, you awake. The old man. The Cave. Jagr. Sadly, it was all a dream. You begin to wonder if your ritual of watching Aladdin and downing a basket of jalapeno poppers before your pre-game nap is such a good idea after all. But just before the last remnants of your dream dissipates, you remember that dreaming about Jagr is never a bad thing and so you close your eyes and attempt to fall back into your new world.
"Arabian nights Like Arabian dreams This mystical land of magic and sand Is more than it seems"
My coach knows what I can bring and I make sure I have a high flex stick ready to go so there is less chance of it breaking. It's an unspoken communication, lock eyes, a bit of a stare down and that subtle head knod that says everything that needs to be said. At this point in my career I have that calmness that you need in these situations. Urgency is there, but you gain nothing by rushing for a goal and making a mistake. The most important thing to do here is absolutely not make a mistake. If you dump it in your team needs the puck, not to get into a battle. Passes hard and on the tape, gain zone entry, and get pucks to the net with bodies plugging up sight lines.
Sounds easy, but pulling it off needs experience. So many things can go wrong, and the ice is in bad condition, so there is likely going to be some puck dribbling. It's bad for them too. Suck it up and get that goal.
Ace Lightning has a pretty standard pregame ritual. He goes to Subway and orders a footlong sub with just Swiss cheese on it. On the day of the big game, he was told that they are all out of Swiss cheese and the shipment isn’t coming for hours. By then, it will be too late! Luckily a man approaches from the alley outside Subway and says he knows a guy who can get him a whole wheel of Swiss cheese if he just follows him to his big white van. It’s a deal! Ace gets in the van and they travel for an hour out of town until they get to a farm which is full of many animals, including a magic cow. This cow produces the finest Swiss cheese in all the land, but it comes with a price. You must give the cow your first born child. Is it worth a whole wheel of cheese for game 6 when you aren’t even guaranteed to get out of the first round? After some thinking, Ace agrees and he gets to carry out a whole wheel of Swiss cheese from the farm, however, the shady man is out of gas so he has to call an Uber to get back to the city. Will he make it back in time for the game??
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I think if a weird man came up to me and offered to feed me and help with my pre-game ritual, I would be very likely to decline that offer. However, with all the strange occurrences that have happened this season with spirits and whatnot, I think maybe this is just another messenger from one of the hockey players of the past.
When it comes to a pregame meal I’m particular in that I want some pasta with tomato sauce. I love the carbs before a game and it fuels me. This would be my request, so I hope he’s able to get me a plate of that. A couple of meatballs with the dish would be nice as well.
For a pre game ritual, I don’t have anything in particular. I just like to stretch and try to loosen up before the game, but nothing I stick to all the time. Maybe the man can help me stretch, but I don’t know if I would let him get near me or touch me like that. I guess it depends how good the pasta is…
yosh SMJHL GM
cut back down to my knees, gotta get back, gotta get free, cut back to my knees, lean back now, lean back and breathe
Game seven with 2 minutes to go? No problem, put me out there. I, Leonard Wood, have the utmost confidence that I will tie up the game. I may be just a rookie but I have the drive to succeed. Maybe its just a youthful energy I bring to the game or perhaps just a youthful naiveté. Either way, I'm going to go out there and give it my all. That's what I would tell my coach anyways. It's not like I saw any weaknesses from my opponents or anything. My gut just tells me to go out there, play my game and fire one home to send it to overtime. And I have the post-season track record from the SMJHL to prove that as well. Currently, I am the franchise record holder for playoff points for the Colorado Raptors. That's where I went to the finals twice and one a cup the second time. When it's playoff hockey time, I show up. I show up big time and help my team win games.
While getting ready in the Barracuda locker room, Dunkler stresses over not having had time to consume a protein and carb powered pita wrap before the game. He normally has one prepared by his favorite team chef with all the best ingredients: beans, olives, grilled chicken, peppers, lettuce, cheese, anchovies, bacon, and pistachios. Dunkler keeps his own bottle of ranch dressing in his locker with a label, “DUNKLER’S RANCH DO NOT USE”. Both the bottle of ranch AND the chef have gone missing!
Suddenly a scratchy voice from the dark hallway leading to the massage room beckons him. There he finds an old barefoot man, with his hair sticking out wildly underneath a straw hat. The stranger is holding a picnic basket emitting a sweet smelling aroma, like fresh baked donuts mixed with carnival food. “You look like you could use a snack! Try the goodies in my basket! Eeeeeehehehehehe!”
Despite the cackling, Dunkler happily partakes in the old man’s goods before the game.
Written Option 2: For skaters:
It's game 7, 2 minutes left in the 3rd and are losing 4-3. You haven't had the most stellar game but you have a feeling in your gut that if you're on the ice for the next 2 minutes, your team will score a goal. How do you convince your coach to make sure you get put out there? Do you have a plan of attack? Did you find a weakness in the opponent's gameplan? Do you just tell your coach to trust your hunch?
The final minutes were approaching, that is when Chicken just knew it. These last 2 minutes he needed to be on, he would score the qual to equalize and not just that he would win it all with 2 goals in 2 minutes. Even as a defender this would be possible. But 1 thing was in the way, all the way from the J-league to the SHL Chicken has been a very mediocre player, and while last season was a good one this one has been the worst he has had so far. He went to the coach with 30 seconds to go he needed to convince him. After a big and amazing speech including a powerpoint presentation being made live, one of the Buffalo’s got send off, and Chicken needed to come on. But this was not according to plan, there was only 1 minute and 57 seconds on the clock, and the 4-4 had already fallen 1 second ago. Chicken tried warning the coach but it was too late this was the doomscenario, and Chicken managed to make the 5-4, with an own goal.
Written Option 1: You can’t play on an empty stomach, nor can you play without performing your pre-game ritual. So when everything goes wrong and your player can’t get their usual pregame meal or perform their pregame ritual, your player looks to find something, anything to salvage the situation. An interesting, yet perhaps shady looking man comes by and offers your player a meal that will up their game and also offers to assist in their pregame ritual. Does your player trust their hungry gut and take up this interesting man on their offer? What meal do they ask for? What is your player’s ritual and how does the man assist them? What do they do if they don’t take the man up on the offer?
Oh doom and disaster, what absence of mind! Tibuk had forgotten his most precious golden apricots which he eats before each game. While only providing minimal health nutrition they provide ample opportunity for Tibuk to launch into his pregame routine. Without this precious catalyst how can his warm up and work outs begin? The first thing to try will to see if he can substitute something else in its place. But nothing seems to fill the void left by the apricots. Tibuk instead tries to launch into warm ups without a nutritional start. It begins well enough but he soon finds that he doesn't have the energy provided by apricots to fuel him through his morning. It suddenly occurs to Tibuk "maybe this is the reasoning behind doping in sports". It was as he was contemplating this revelation that Tibuk's Uber delivery driver arrived with a fresh supply of apricots. Disaster averted! time to get up for the game.
When I'm hungry, it's certain that I need a good meal, so not being able to get my pregame meal in is quite a big deal to me and could potentially affect how I play the game. If a sneaky man approached me on an empty stomach and offered me a meal, what would I do, you ask? Well, honestly, I would probably accept it. I just hope it's not soup—I'm not a big fan, especially on game day when I don't want more liquid in my stomach. The meal needs to have substance; I'm hoping for good protein like chicken or beef, maybe pork, but pork is definitely third on the list. If he brought out something like pasta, rice, or vegetables, I'd definitely take a second look, as I'm a pickier eater when it comes to those. As for drinks, nothing beats a nice cold Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Dr Pepper, or an iced coffee, so any of those will do. I really hope the suspicious man brings me one of these meals, or I'll have to go to the game hungry, and that won't help anyone.
hhh81
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