13.
I want to start off by saying I disagree with this change. Sure, there are real world problems surrounding Russia and I understand retiring them as a nation, but bringing in a Canadian Province seems like the wrong call. I would rather see other countries added that could allow people to explore other cultures with their characters. What is next, every State in the USA getting their own teams? I think when it comes to Hockey around the world, the main Nations are represented, besides Russia now. I think if you want to expand the IIHF, maybe bring in some other underrepresented nations before you start pulling provinces and/or states.
[111 - 2 TPE]
14.
Well well well, Los Angeles Panthers are the Challenge Cup Champions this season! Congrats to them and their hard work. Not only did the win the league, but to lift the cup as well is fantastic. It just goes to show they have put together a powerhouse of a team. Tampa Bay had a chance to break a steak of theirs, but unfortunately came up short. I will say the Tampa Bay stood a solid chance to take the Cup home, but were shut out in game 6. Which is strange because the game prior, saw them potting 6 goals. If they could have somehow figured out how to keep the goal scoring going, this would have been their series. Los Angeles came into this series looking like the top team in the league would. While Tampa managed to win two games, Los Angeles were able to stay consistent throughout the whole playoffs.
[153 - 3 TPE]
Quote: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.
perfection
Quote:5. Finals can often come down to smallest details and teams are looking for any edge they can have. On average Tamba Bay players have longer names by almost 2 characters, how can either of the teams take advantage of that?
I think the clear advantage is from the hype inside the stadium. As someone who has a last name that is a word salad, or as I like to say, alphabet soup, its hard to pronounce and get right even. Hard to get hyped when you hear it said wrong and you just roll your eyes or ignore it. But if your name is shorter, than bam, the announcer can say it clearer, more often and it makes people get hyped more for you on the ice. Lets be honest, ain't nobody cheering for anybody on the ice that has a name on the back of their jersey that looks like a cat walked across a keyboard.
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153 Words
Quote:6. How was the season for you player? What you expect from next one?
So it was a mixed bag of emotions. Partially because for whatever reason, my players overall rating seems to have gone down despite my TPE having gone up. That in and of itself isn't terrible though as I did show up in more stat columns and as a "Top 10" leader in numerous places. However, those stats and points, ultimately fell short of what I was able to accomplish last season and ultimately the goal is to improve each and every season. Now the good news is that the Mutes almost made it to the Finals and only lost in the last round before 2 games to 4, so we had a strong showing and the future looks bright. Having made it far in the playoffs with great stats was a huge win. I expect next season to have better ratings, better stats, be competitive and win the finals!
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.
Dex
Code:
Written, 50 to 200+ words each. Short Prompts
2. Derek Martin is player with most points that plays in finals. Los Angeles has 3 other players that are also above or tied in points with Tampa’s Max Carnage. Does Los Angeles have advantage on scoring or does it just seem like it as they have also played 3 more games?
3. Many of Tampa Bay’s defencemen, like Jølngüštrâädüvich DuBølk and John Brown have better defensive stats compared to Panthers defencemen. Do you think they can keep shutting down the offensive of Los Angeles or do you think that Los Angeles defencemen just appear worse because of the tougher opponents they have had to face?
4. Before finals both goalies have pretty similar Goals Against Average, Soonika leading 2.51 to 2.55, but Brzeczyszczykiewicz has edge on save percentage 0.927 to 0.919. Which of the teams do you think has edge on net?
5. Finals can often come down to smallest details and teams are looking for any edge they can have. On average Tamba Bay players have longer names by almost 2 characters, how can either of the teams take advantage of that?
6. How was the season for you player? What you expect from next one?
7. This time for J: Who you got? Who wins the Four Star Cup? Why?
2. I think it is pretty clear that the Los Angeles Panthers have the advantage when it comes to offense as if you standardize the points to a point per game statistic, the Panthers still dominate the Tampa Bay Barracuda with their top players out scoring the Barracuda pretty convincingly with 5 players to 3 players on the first page of the scoring sheet. (63 words)
3. Sometimes, having better defensive stats (i.e. having more shots blocked or hits) can mean a bad thing as that means that the team is hemmed in their own zone often whereas the Los Angeles Panthers have "worse" defensive statistics, maybe because they have limited time in their own defensive zone so I definitely won't count the Panthers out for defense. (60 words)
4. Between Soonika and Brzeczyszczykiewicz, I would give the edge to Brzeczyszczykiewicz because he's been here before with the Panthers back in the S75 season, as well as the fact that he has a couple more seasons under his belt compared to Soonika. In cases like this, I take experience over anything. (51 words)
5. With the Tampa Bay Barracuda having longer names on average by 2 characters, they can use this to their advantage as they can pass the puck frequently between players with long names to hopefully confuse the other team on the defense end so in the moment of chaos, they can strike with a solid offensive opportunity. (56 words)
6. My player had a down year this season as Ville Sato-Maki only had 33 points compared to his rookie season where he had 41 points. Definitely a step down in all aspects (expect for goals and hits) with more giveaways, fewer takeaways, less blocks, and less overall presence on the ice. This is a season to forget. (57 words)
7. It is the Maine Timber in the finals, I don't think I have to say anything more as with their regular season performance and their track record, it is clear that the Kelowna Knights are the major underdogs and they will need to pull every trick out of the hat just to make this a close series. (57 words)
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. +3
09-24-2024, 11:21 PM(This post was last modified: 09-28-2024, 02:24 AM by MattyIce. Edited 2 times in total.)
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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.
Chillin
2. Derek Martin is player with most points that plays in finals. Los Angeles has 3 other players that are also above or tied in points with Tampa’s Max Carnage. Does Los Angeles have advantage on scoring or does it just seem like it as they have also played 3 more games?
Yeah they had the advantage in scoring, it wasn't just a 'games played' advantage. Their forwards were just more dominant on the puck for most of the series. They were strong enough to the point that they didn't have to rely on their defense to get the job done, which is pretty impressive. (53 Words - 1 tpe)
3. Many of Tampa Bay’s defencemen, like Jølngüštrâädüvich DuBølk and John Brown have better defensive stats compared to Panthers defencemen. Do you think they can keep shutting down the offensive of Los Angeles or do you think that Los Angeles defencemen just appear worse because of the tougher opponents they have had to face?
They definitely had the opportunity to shut down the Los Angeles offense, sure, but they did have to work double duty, trying to keep the Panthers' offense in check, plus support the forwards. It wasn't an easy series for the defensemen, but after they got in a 3-0 hole, they showed they could be relied on heavily to stay alive. Had they tied the series up at three games each, the defense corps could have played a huge role in a reverse sweep, but it was not to be. The Los Angeles Panthers offense was too strong over the course of the series. (103 words - 2 tpe)
6. How was the season for you player? What you expect from next one?
Easton Schaffer's season was a pretty interesting one. He did see an improvement pretty much everywhere this season, setting himself up for his next two TPE capped seasons. While Ottawa stormed themselves to the Four Star Cup finals last season, this season saw Ottawa get eliminated in the second round. He did learn many lessons this past season. His biggest challenge this season will be to assume a leadership role, as the veterans have moved up into the SHL. The interesting thing next season to note for Ottawa is that their team will now mostly have players they selected in the SMJHL Drafts since their inception a few seasons ago, as players they selected in the expansion draft will be leaving the team. This makes for a very interesting dynamic, and plenty of opportunities abound to assume leadership of the team. The team has gotten much younger, the step to take forward to repeat a Finals appearance is massive, so I'm personally expecting a small step forward into a two-season window. (171 words - 3 tpe)
10. Written, 50 to 200+ words. Took Me By Surprise Pick one SHL or SMJHL team, that isn’t your own, that did not play as you would have expected at the beginning of the season. Did they do better or worse than you expected? Why you think your expectations were off, can you find an explanation for their performance? Does this change how you view them going into next season?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm surprised by the Maine Timber. They haven't had an average season since S68, and while I know they have some great players, I figured maybe this season they would just fall a bit flat for whatever reason. I kind of had the sentiment that it's a question of 'when' they get pegged back and not 'if' they fall back down somewhere to earth, eventually. Should I be surprised to see them again somewhere in the top three or five, or many even a top two team yet again? Maybe next season? The season after? Whenever I guess. (108 words - 2 tpe)
09-25-2024, 01:25 PM(This post was last modified: 09-25-2024, 01:38 PM by leviadan. Edited 1 time in total.)
1) bang
8) In the past I would have said the path matters, but after many years of experience I'm not so sure it does. It's easy to argue for either side, and say something like oh the easy path means you're so well rested while LAP will be worn down or, oh the longer path is better because you're hungrier and you haven't gotten complacent and been sitting around! But at the end of the day I think it just comes down to who wants it more. These are all professional atheletes at the top of their game in the Challenge Cup finals-- there's no better place to be as an SHL player because that's what you work your whole life for! You're going to be damn motivated whether you've had 12 games to get there or 21, trust me because I've more or less done both! The bigger factor if any might be the even bigger picture "path" meaning, who does and doesn't have a cup yet? Because I think some players have a ferocious drive to keep winning, but there's also some guys out there that get their "one" and then lose a bit of the edge. To win it all you've got to want your fourth cup as bad as you wanted your first! (215)
10) Honestly the team that surprised me the most this season was probably Tampa Bay! I know they've been up and comers for a long time with a great young core, but it's easy to kind of forget how strong a team is when they don't make a major splash in the playoffs like this. They're a great team that's been stuck behind a couple of other powerhouse, and this was finally the season they broke through and made themselves known. Good for them! I hope they continue to kill it and bring some much needed fresh blood to the final round of the playoffs. I always like to see a new wave of teams up there as the last group of powerhouses wanes off, and TBB being one of them this time is a lot of fun. They seem like a great group of people and I like their branding a ton! (152)
09-25-2024, 02:35 PM(This post was last modified: 09-25-2024, 02:35 PM by hockeymil. Edited 1 time in total.)
1. Trivia
Verification Word : champion
(3 tpe)
6. How was the season for you player? What you expect from next one?
It was a really good one for me this season. I had another 20+ goals season with almost 30 in S78 with 28 goals. It was fun to see the team getting better than my first season as a Crows. After almost a point per game season in S77 with 62 pts in 66 games, I had a better one with 71 pts. With a little bit more ice time and with playing alongside better players, it helped me producing more and get the team to another level.
For the next one, it will be a bit difficult as we lost 3 players who played in the top 6 that moved to the SHL. The defense will still be good, but we will need help on the offensive side as me and Louis Bélanger are the only two threats that are left (at least on paper, we will have to wait on the ice).
(154 words for 3 tpe)
9. It Has Been A While
As for the next one, I think Toronto and Baltimore are the closer one as they are teams that made some waves in the playoffs. I don't know if they have what it takes to get to the next level, but Baltimore was close a couple of season ago. Calgary and Manhattan are rebuilding so maybe if none of Toronto and Baltimore do it in the next 2-3-4 seasons, it will be one of the two. They have some interesting pieces after getting some top picks, so they have their core players, but they will need more than that to compete for the Cup.
(104 words for 2 tpe)
9. Written, 50 to 200+ words. It Has Been A While
Tampa Bay has potential to end the longest standing cup drought in the league, even longer than what San Francisco ended by winning their first cup in S76, and even if they fall short here they should be in position to be competing for cup for seasons to come. But even as we have seen some droughts end there are still multiple teams that have had to wait for more than 25 seasons by now. Toronto hasn’t won since S35, Minnesota since S39, Baltimore since S47, Calgary since S50 and Manhattan since S52, which of these teams do you think is in best position to end their drought and why?
Despite losing in the finals this season I agree with the question in that the window for Tampa Bay is just opening and they should hopefully have a few more cracks at it before they start to fall off so they would be my front runner to end their long cupless drought. Of the other teams listed above I think Toronto, Calgary and Baltimore have shown the most promise, especially Baltimore having just been to Challenge Cup finals a couple of seasons ago. Minnesota managed to squeak out a playoff series win just last season and have definitely shown flashes of brilliance, but I think they are a step behind those other names right now. That being said that could quickly change if their top players find another level. Unfortunately for them the west is a bit of a log jam with a few heavy hitters at the top like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Texas. Manhattan unfortunately finds itself at the bottom of my list. It's too bad they couldn't convert on one of their trips to the finals in the lates S60's. [184 words, 3 TPE].
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10. Written, 50 to 200+ words. Took Me By Surprise
Pick a one SHL or SMJHL team, that isn’t your own, that did not play as you would have expected at the beginning of the season. Did they do better or worse than you expected? Why you think your expectations were off, can you find an explanation for their performance? Does this change how you view them going into next season?
Oddly enough I would have to say Tampa Bay, but in a good way. Last season they finished 10th in league standings with a decent record of 37-25-4, 78 points and a goal differential of +56. By no means bad, but definitely not contender worthy, which was the case as they were promptly eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Atlanta in 7 games. They made some moves and their young core gained another year of experience and growth and we knew they'd improve, but I don't think anyone had them pegged to win their division, win the eastern conference and finish 4th in league standings. They finished this season with a stunning record of 45-14-7, 97 points and a goal differential of +115. What's more, it translated in to the playoffs as we can see they made it to the Challenge Cup final this season. A significant improvement after a first round exit just last season. Going in to next season I think many other, including myself, will not be sleeping on the Tampa Bay Barracuda. [179 words, 3 TPE].
Nictox![[Image: Niktox.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Niktox.gif)
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