We've wrapped up the last games of the regular season. It's playoff time!
Written Option: How did your team prepare for the playoffs? (150 word min.)
Graphic Option: Create a game day program for a playoff matchup involving your team. Must include 2 team logos and 1 render.
You will receive 3 TPE for fulfilling all the requirements for any of the options. (You only need to do one of the options to get the credit and wont get additional credit even if you do more than one).
All responses are due on Wednesday, July 17th at 11:59 PST. NOTE: IF YOU SUBMIT/EDIT AFTER THE DEADLINE YOU WILL RECEIVE REDUCED/NO TPE.
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Our team locked in, we weren’t doing the best in our regular season, and so we all piled into the locker room, and started thinking about what specific assets each of us brings to our line, and then how each line can be best formulated and played overall - and it turns out we actually *do* have a really solid team under the hood, we just hadn’t been utilizing it in the best way. Once we got to grips with that, things really started to fall into place - though now that we’re staring down the barrel of Maine Timber, we’re likely going to have to do it all again, as well!
07-11-2024, 06:25 AMGyro_Hero Wrote: Our team locked in, we weren’t doing the best in our regular season, and so we all piled into the locker room, and started thinking about what specific assets each of us brings to our line, and then how each line can be best formulated and played overall - and it turns out we actually *do* have a really solid team under the hood, we just hadn’t been utilizing it in the best way. Once we got to grips with that, things really started to fall into place - though now that we’re staring down the barrel of Maine Timber, we’re likely going to have to do it all again, as well!
Things like position combinations, line maintenance, and making everyone as effective as possible maximally as a team is so incredibly important, and we realized that opening up our stats pages and making it work, regardless of ego or personal effectiveness, was far more effective than just “my stats say play me in [x] so I play [x].”
As we were just about pumped that we managed a triumphant return to the playoffs with better seasons stats than last year, motivation was a given.
We knew this wasn't actually "our" season yet, as we are a very young team that is playing mostly rookies on defence and goalie. So the pressure was kinda off.
That said, we were confident that we could avoid a first round exit since we got a fairmy favourable draw with the Grizzlies, who we were beating comfortably in the head to head.
Winning the 1st round already feels like a "mission accomplished" for this season. Everything else is a bonus and we know that.
So we concentrated on staying fit and healthy to bring our physical A game and show our persistence on the rink.
Other than that, daily tactics drills were mandatory, since we all have much to learn and room to grow still.
Thankfully, some relaxing evenings were not off limits though.
Our Ottawa Highlanders team was buzzing throughout the season. We had a seriously streaky season, with more win streaks than losing skids, and the overall attitude was very positive. We have a different lineup than when we started the season, but the core remained intact. A lot of line juggling at the start and mid-point of the season yielded the beginning of our characteristic streaky play, but we did come out on top more than the other teams. I recall our first streak which began our early season slump, it was around the end of October and we put a string of games together where we saw our potential. The leadership and management took notice of what we could do and told us that if we could continue playing this way, by the time the playoffs come around, we could be a serious threat to contend. Fast forward to now, we swept one of our rivals, the Colorado Raptors, and are now two games ahead of our other rivals, the Carolina Kraken.
Regina finished 3rd in the regular season and were excited for the playoffs. With some star forwards and rookie goalie leading the way with potential at individual awards that wasn't anyone's focus. The team took a day off before getting back onto the ice to practice. That off-day was a great way to relax for one of the last times in the season so we all went out and enjoyed our day. Some alone and some were together. Everyone on the team has their own version of relaxing and we all did just that. There is the ultimate goal of continuing our regular season success into the playoffs but eventually be named the champions, some players still in their rookie season and others who have been here before are mentoring the rookies to keep their nerves down. All I can say is we have a great team with great fans and we should just go out their and play the game that we love.
Allegiant Historian
S3, S28, S36, S38, S41, S43, S47 Challenge Cup Champion
It's not easy to prepare for a match-up against the reigning champions, especially when that championship team has retained much of its strength over the course of the previous season. Nobody in the Newfoundland locker room thought the series against Quebec City would be easy, but the only way to prepare was to maintain the status quo. There was some game-planning, sure -- a whole lot of extra hours watching tapes with the video coach.
But, for the most part?
The Newfoundland Berserkers did what they did for every other game, every other month of the year. It was business as usual and practice as usual. That's not to say that there wasn't that added layer of tension in the air, or that the team wasn't taking their destination seriously. Rather, there was a belief that the team had reversed their slow start to the regular season, and so what had worked for them then would work for them throughout the playoffs.
It didn't, but it's hard to say whether any special preparation would have changed things.
Preparation is different when you live in Alaska. You can't count on going for a brisk walk during hockey season - a blizzard could strand you. You can't count your go-to meal before the game - a blizzard might have caused a shortage. You can't count on watching your go-to pregame show - a blizzard might have - you know what, you get the idea.
On top of that, the two day bus trip back and forth from most road games means that you're using the short amounts of free time you have to take care of the affairs that you've neglected.
So, that's been an adjustment for Elaina. When she lived in New York, a pregame muffin or soup was a staple, so her friend Giorgiy will sometimes ship her jars in temperature controlled freight. That stopped all of the sudden, without explanation, though.
Lately it seems like her most common pregame is to have a massive fight with her long distance boyfriend Dave. I think they're broken up right now? It's hard to keep track. They weren't made for long distance, that's for sure. Or for close distance.
The Vancouver Whalers prepared for the playoffs by going about 5-5 to end the season. They trusted the brain power of the young-ish Dexter Aria, past GM of the Vancouver Whaler, apparently current coach. While they didn't do as hot as they had hoped, they still were able to do well enough to lock up 6th in the league and 2nd in the conference, defeating the likes of the 1st place Maine Timber, Ottawa Highlanders and other top teams. As for the players, they were ready to play whatever style it took to get the team going so they worked hard and continued to practice hard leading up into the playoffs. Going 4-1 in the first round and currently 3-0 in the second round (the sim starts in a few minutes, it seems like the recent coaching additions and changes to the lines and tactics have paid off so far. The team is gelling and let's see how far it'll take them.
It was no doubt a season filled with many ups and downs for the Newfoundland Berserkers. One year removed from a conference final appearance, The Zerks lost many key players in the offseason and struggled to find consistent form this season. Despite this there was a true belief amongst the team that they could challenge anyone they were up against in the playoffs. This was a mentality that the veteran players on their last playoff runs tried to instill amongst a team with a lot of younger players. The formidable rookie class took in this mentality of believing they could beat anyone because not only did they want to do right by the fourth year players on the squad but also because they knew if they wanted to lead the team in the future they must also always think like this. Despite this approach to the playoffs, Newfoundland ultimately lost a hard fought series against the defending champions, the Quebec CIty Citadelles, but the lessons learned will no doubt benefit this young core in the future.
The Highlanders prepared for the playoffs like any other well organized team. Hours and hours of bagpipe music. The sweet drone of the pipes leading the team onto the ice for practice, drowning out the coaches' instructions, and accompanying all their drills and scrimmages. The bagpipes probably did not last the entire time, but they have a way of sticking around in your ears, droning endlessly and incessantly. This strategy probably sounds crazy, but this is the first trip to the playoffs for the second year expansion team, and Frenchie loves the bagpipes. Maybe he is on to something though. The pressure can be immense on an inexperienced team and the bagpipe distraction might be just what they need to make a deep playoff push. With a 4-0 sweep of Colorado and a 3-1 lead over Carolina, the Highlanders must be doing something right. Maybe the music of the Scottish Highlands can play them to victory.
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