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GabeyD · 01-24-2025, 04:50 PM

1. Trivia Verification Word: Thorn

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4. Both Tibuk Soonika and Justin Time are playing extremely well for their teams, boasting very similar numbers all around. Soonika does have the edge on goals save above average however. Will this give the 

advantage to Tampa Bay going into the finals, or will SFP find a way to outdo the goalie playing above expectations?

While a team's success relies very much on the goalie and their progress and skills, I think ultimately it will come down to the team as a whole or the line depth for both teams. If you can get a solid 2nd and 3rd line that can beat expectations and perform well against better goalies, then you definitely have a shot to beat a team with better goalie stats, like Tampa Bay. Both teams have a very good shot.

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5. If the SHL finals were to be held in another country this season, where would the best place be and why?

Both of the teams facing off in the finals are on the coasts, so I think the best place for the finals is a tropical city like Cancun in Mexico or Nassau in the Bahamas. Both teams would be fairly acclimatized already and adjusted, plus after the series the players can relax on the beach and in fancy hotel resorts. However the one problem is the price of flying for fans, but it's only for 4-7 games right?

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6. Which team would your player root for in the finals and why?

6. If Dominic isn't playing in the finals then he'd love to see his old team the Vancouver Whalers play for the cup. The Whalers have been very supportive of the Citadelles Cup run and Dominic loves to see his old teammates and friends excel and succeed if he can't. Besides, it's time to bring it back to Vancouver anyway.

*Keven* · 01-24-2025, 05:00 PM

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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.

boat

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10. Written, 50 to 200+ words. The Unexpected

Toronto ended up making it into the playoffs by one point while Atlanta had the best regular season since S71 Winnipeg. Yet in the playoffs Atlanta ended up losing the second round, while Toronto made it to the conference finals. Does regular season success matter in the long run if the team fumbles in the playoffs? Should teams give much importance to the regular season or focus all of their energy to playoffs once their team has secured a spot? Should the league in general regard the regular season results more highly?

I think regular season success matters in the sense that home advantage seems to matter a lot in FHM8. It's a huge advantage for the playoffs, but it would be really disappointing if it determined every series. In the vast majority of FHM8 playoff matches the team with more regular season success does end up winning, but cinderella runs like what Toronto had this season are still ultimately healthy for the state of the league. It's a fun storyline to follow and while it's probably very disappointing for teams like Atlanta to lose, the whole point of the playoffs is that only one team can win and it can be anyone regardless of regular season performance.

100+ words 2 TPE

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11. Written, 50 to 200+ words. Did We Really Win

This seasons we saw something unusual as both conferences featuring a division where winner got arguably harder matchup than the second place team as the wild card from the other division finished with more points than the third place team in their division. How does it make you feel about the playoffs structure? Was it actually even worse for New Orleans and Buffalo to have won their division? Or does it really matter as if you are reaching for the cup likely should be prepared to face any team anyway? How much do you think it benefited Los Angeles and Philadelphia to face opponents out of their own division during first round?

I've never been a fan of the divisional and wild card playoff format. I think the most exciting possible structure is to have the top 16 teams in the league make the playoffs regardless of division and all face each other in a standard 1-16, 2-15, ..., 8-9 format. I think divisions only make sense in the real world where travel time is a huge consideration for the teams, but in a simulated league where I assume the sim doesn't take travel time into account, I'd much rather see chaos year to year rather than the same 5 teams always fighting in the same first two round matchups. The situation was made worse this year due to the strength of the Atlantic and Pacific divisions. At the end of the season I was hoping to see Manhattan earn the first wild card spot and face the North East opponents because I 100% believe it was an easier route through the first two rounds. I think what happened this season should be avoided and since it's a virtual and smaller league anyways, I see no reason to keep the format the way it is now. We can't operate things the same as the NHL and should absolutely see this season as a sign to change the format.

200+ words 4 TPE

a_canuck · 01-24-2025, 05:03 PM

1. Verification word: verification

3. A total of 5 goals separates SFP and TBB’s goal differentials. The difference? SFP has 17 goals from Logan Webb with most of his teammates just feeding him puck while TBB has no player besides 1 to have less than 2 goals scored this playoffs. Which team’s strategy is more likely to pay off in these finals and why?

It all really depends on if Webb can stay hot. Some times a player will just get hot at the right time and take over the post season. This is great but is not always sustainable. Over a long playoff series and against a strong team like Tampa Bay eventually they will find a way to lock a player down. It is a team sport and one player can not carry a team forever. So the question becomes can the Pride win before Tampa figures out a way to lock it down. If the series goes long it will probably lean in Tampa's favour. (104 words)

6. Which team would your player root for in the finals and why?

I think Jack Ellul would root for Tampa Bay but probably just because he is currently playing for Thunder Bay! The bay/fish teams need to stick together and root for one another. That said the Pride are a very strong team and are a great team to watch and support. (51 words)

7. Who you got? Who wins the Challenge Cup or Four Star Cup? Why?

I think the Pride take it at the end of the day. They have the experience from last year and have shown that they do not have any sort of post championship hangover. They are an extremely strong team which plays great hockey and has the ability to win. Tampa has shown spirit and was able to beat Atlanta on their run to the final which is no small feat but the pressure of the finals is something new. I think that they will be back next year to claim it all. So, season 80 goes to San Fransisco but I would not be surprise to see Tampa Bay as our season 81 champs. (114 words)

**No Goal** · 01-24-2025, 05:38 PM

GM CW PASS Falcons

OVOXO · 01-24-2025, 05:44 PM

GM CW Pass!!

*NaomiMannequeen* · 01-24-2025, 06:26 PM

Offseason Pass

***hockeyiscool*** · 01-24-2025, 07:05 PM

GM pass

***WannabeFinn*** · 01-24-2025, 07:12 PM

CW/Offseason Pass

***Atheist_Caliph*** · 01-24-2025, 08:51 PM

CW Pass

xjoverax · 01-24-2025, 09:54 PM

Code:

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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.

xjoverax

Code:

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16. Graphic, 3 TPE, Ancient Coverage

Create an image that looks like a cover of a sport magazine, hyping up the finals and highlighting one of the top players going to the finals.

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15. Graphic, 3 TPE, This Is The Ultimate Showdown

Create an image that has mascots or logos of the two teams in the finals fighting each other.

Ricer13 · 01-25-2025, 01:09 AM

1. Trivia - 3 TPE

Verification word: Rice

enigmatic · 01-25-2025, 02:52 AM

CW Pass

st4rface · 01-25-2025, 05:29 AM

10. Written, 50 to 200+ words. The Unexpected

As a player who has been playing for Toronto ''North Stars'' his entire career, I can say that us getting that far was a surprise as well. Of course, with time we got more confidence and thought that we can qualify for Finals too, but we fell a bit short. I still think that regular season success is somewhat important. You don't need to be exactly in the first place, but TOP 5 teams usually have much better chances of getting the title. Of course, it's easier to play as a lower seed. Why? We literally almost didn't qualify for ''play-offs''. We had no pressure. We could've lost in the first round by a sweep and it would've been okay. Regular season is important just to get better opponent in the first round. The thing is that nowadays it's pretty hard to predict which team you will get in ''play-offs''. I think that league should go back to the format of 1-8, 2-7, 3-6 and 4-5 in each conference. That's my opinion, but it would've made league a bit more interesting. However, I think we did something that no one expected. Even we were pretty sure that ''play-offs'' will end up fast, but at the end we had confidence of getting to Finals. Didn't work out this time, but that's sports. Everyone can't win and that's okay.

227 words / 4 TPE

12. Written, 50 to 200+ words. IIHF Back To Back

IIHF has always been pretty hard to predict, because there's only 12 games to get ''play-offs''. So, each game is really important. Season has passed and some players have progressed more while others - less. If you don't use math and just try to figure out how it will go, it might go completely wrong. However, I am pretty sure that Canada will still make at least to TOP 4. Czechia and Switzerland were TOP 2 seeds after 12 games in previous IIHF and I have a feeling that one of those teams will make it TOP 4 as well. Not sure which one exactly though. I don't see a chance of Latvia making that far this time. I think that it was a one time miracle. There are plenty other nations who are pretty good and might fight not for TOP 4 only, but for the gold. As I have mentioned before, IIHF is hard to predict. There are plenty of luck involved. Sometimes even an underdog can win it all just because there ain't no series. Just one game in ''play-offs'' and you can win it all or be out against underdog in the first round. I know that IIHF will be interesting this season too, but can't predict an exact outcome. Hopefully, Finland will finally win it after some time.

222 words / 4 TPE

TOTAL: 8 TPE

Cobbenstein · 01-25-2025, 10:01 AM

1. CW Trivia

Tree

soulja · 01-25-2025, 10:37 AM

3.
I mean the statement is pretty controversial in the sense that it is somewhat depicting that Logan Webb is carrying San Francisco Pride alone on his back where as Tampa Bay Barracuda is displaying a team effort to score in the playoffs. But let me tell you this is not bad at all. Tampa Bay is basically a team filled with jack of all trades. Everyone contributing their part and you know where they are heading. Whereas, San Francisco Pride have a game plan to just feed Logan Webb. Webb is an elite forward and he does what he does best, which is to rack up points. In that sense, I think SFP will end up victorious in their strategy since they have already been here before and have always been a top team. Thus, it is evident that their strategy is the one that has worked and will continue to work. As a result, I sincerely believe that San Francisco Pride will emerge as the victorious team and claim the challenge cup. We also cannot forget that San Francisco have made the finals twice in a row and also won the cup two times in a 5 season rally. Whereas TBB have mostly been a mid tier team and have just had all their work come to fruition. They are still relatively new to this and thus, their tactics may not play as well as they imagine it to be. However, we still need to admire their efforts thus far.

4 TPE

6.

My player is sincerely hoping Tampa Bay Barracuda to win the championships and claim the Challenge cup. They are then underdogs of this finals matchup and have always been a mid tier team prior to this season. I am sure they put a lot of effort to get here and must have adjusted their tactics as well. The biggest let down in their team during the playoffs is Johnny Wagner Svensson. For a man that led the team in points during the regular season, I would have expected him to do more during the playoffs. I mean he is still almost ppg but the man finished the regular season with 111 points, so it is only natural to expect him to do more. The biggest surprise on this team Dag-Otto Bjorntjanst, a player with only 1597 tpe applied. I like how he is outperforming everyone to help his team fight for the championship. He might actually be the reason why I am rooting for TBB. Another player whom I want to obtain the challenge cup is Tibuk Soonika. This man always played so well and has been a top goalie in the league for a while. I just want him to finally make it and win it once and for all. I'm hoping TBB wins but something tells me the experience of SFP may allow them to get this one done.

4 tpe

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