05-01-2022, 03:39 PM(This post was last modified: 05-08-2022, 10:06 PM by Count Chocula. Edited 1 time in total.)
Code:
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.
JNH
Code:
7. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
Milestones are folded in with CW. Just link your Milestone claim below this task for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
2. Written - 2 TPE
a. Atlanta is a recent expansion team reaching it's first finals appearance. Chicago has been a dominant force in the league for a long time now, with their last cup win only seven seasons ago in Season 57. If you're betting on these finals, do you go for the experienced vets in Chicago, or the hungry Atlanta first-timers?
If I chose I would go with the hungry Atlanta first-timers. They were able to get past teams like Hamilton & Buffalo & with them out of the picture they are looking good. I think that Atlanta has what it takes to get past Chicago & bring the cup home. They have proved they are top contenders & are due to make history. (63 Words) c. Atlanta has only 32 penalty minutes in these playoffs compared to Chicago's 45. With emotions high and the Challenge Cup on the line, do you think discipline will play a big role in this series?
I think the penalty minutes between each team are pretty close. But truly ya I do think discipline determines the outcome of a game. If you are out there taking stupid penalties each game your team is gonna pay for it. I think in order to win you need to stay out of the penalty box. (56 words)
3. Written - 2 TPE a. Newfoundland has gotten 25 points in 11 games from two of their top D, Rand al'Thor and Mikko Rashford. If you're Quebec's coach, how do you adjust to Newfoundland having guys on the blue line that are just as offensively dangerous as the wingers?
First off those are some solid stats for those two players, especially for defensemen. If I were Quebec it would be hard to shut them down but id try to line match & get my two best defensemen on the ice & get a very offensive first line out there to try to get passed these defensive defensemen. It's not always that easy but it's worth a shot. (68 words) c. Looking at each teams' PDO, we see that Quebec is riding a bit of a hot streak while Newfoundland has actually been a bit unlucky. Do you think this a is a good thing for either team? Is Newfoundland bound to find some luck, or are they going to get stuck in a rut? Is Quebec going to come back down to Earth, or did they get hot at the right time?
Hot streaks are definitely something you want heading into the finals & playoffs especially if you are the Citadelles. However, you never know how long that's going to last. I think that Quebec got hot at the right time & they are going to bring the cup back to Quebec where it belongs. (53 Words)
16. Written, 2 TPE, Home Country (100 words min.) - 101 Words - 2 TPE
I didn't actually choose my IIHF country - my country chose me. I was adopted at a very young age & moved from country to country until I found my forever family. When I declared I was entering the SMJHL I actually did not know what country I was eligible to play from. Therefore I entered the league as "world". Immediately after declaring I was eligible to be picked up from any team that had space I was contacted by the head of Czech & knew that's where I belonged. They were very accepting & happy to have me on their team.
22. Written, 2 TPE, Be Nice (100 words min.) - 108 Words - 2 TPE
I really enjoyed the PT's this season & loved that we had a few options to choose from every week for some variety. I really think we should keep the option 1 and 2 for seasons to come. I know how stressful of a job this can be as I used to be head PT director in the PBE & also was a grader in the SHL for many seasons. So just wanted to say kudos to you & your team for making the PTs more enjoyable for everyone. Keep up the great work & thank you for having most of the PTs graded in a timely matter
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.
text
Code:
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. Atlanta is a recent expansion team reaching it's first finals appearance. Chicago has been a dominant force in the league for a long time now, with their last cup win only seven seasons ago in Season 57. If you're betting on these finals, do you go for the experienced vets in Chicago, or the hungry Atlanta first-timers?
b. Chicago's lineup much more active with their sticks than Atlanta's, racking up 97 takeaways to Atlanta's 79. This late in the playoffs, how do you adjust to a team that's so adept at picking your pocket?
c. Atlanta has only 32 penalty minutes in these playoffs compared to Chicago's 45. With emotions high and the Challenge Cup on the line, do you think discipline will play a big role in this series?
d. Similar to last season's finals, we see Chicago running a balanced ice-time attack against Atlanta's targeted approach that has some players seeing sheltered minutes. Last season the more balanced attack won out. Do you think we'll see the same again? Why or why not?
a. Despite beating Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Hamilton which are three very good teams, FHM has proven time and time again that underdog stories don't usually end well in the playoffs. Even though micool is gonna win the cup one day, it seems like a battle against the top team in the regular season is going to be an uphill battle for the Inferno.
b. Locking down and focussing on defense is probably the best way to counter the many takeaways of Chicago. If you can't keep the puck away from them, the least you can do is limit the quantity and quality of their shot attempts. Biding your time and waiting for perfect moments to strike will be the only way to generate offense without having the puck stolen.
c. It feels like it's much more difficult to capitalize on powerplays in the playoffs. Keeping penalty minutes down is important, but the majority of the game is decided 5 on 5 anyways. If you happen to take a few penalties in a game just make sure that you put your best effort out on the penalty kill and limit their chances.
d. A balanced attack seems to work wonders in this league. While star players are still going to carry most of the weight of the team, a cup winning roster needs to be able to hold the fort down regardless of which lines are on the ice. Making sure that every minute of 5 on 5 play is of a certain standard is more important than making some minutes more critical than others.
Code:
3. Written, up to 4 TPE - Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 Four Star Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Newfoundland has gotten 25 points in 11 games from two of their top D, Rand al'Thor and Mikko Rashford. If you're Quebec's coach, how do you adjust to Newfoundland having guys on the blue line that are just as offensively dangerous as the wingers?
b. Quebec has three players shooting 20% or better in Bertrand, Utah, and Kidd. If you're the Newfoundland defense, how do you find a way to bottle up three forwards that can't seem to miss the back of the net?
c. Looking at each teams' PDO, we see that Quebec is riding a bit of a hot streak while Newfoundland has actually been a bit unlucky. Do you think this a is a good thing for either team? Is Newfoundland bound to find some luck, or are they going to get stuck in a rut? Is Quebec going to come back down to Earth, or did they get hot at the right time?
d. Newfoundland has appeared in all 4 of the last SMJHL finals and won 3 of them. Quebec, a consistently strong presence in the SMJHL, has a lot of playoff success behind them as well, having won several series since their last 4 Star in S58. How do you approach this series mentally on either side? If you're Newfoundland, are you worried your streak can't last forever? If you're Quebec, do you fear that you can't take down a goliath?
a. Positioning and shotblocking will be key ways to defend against blue liners with a ton of points. If the defense of the other team are allowed to move the puck freely and take opportunities to shoot in open lanes, unfortunately that will result in them racking up a ton of points. Limiting their options and getting in the way of the puck will be important.
b. Make sure to play tight man to man defense against these players to really prevent them from getting any sort of quality shooting opportunities. If a shot must be taken by the enemy team, put in your best effort to ensure that the shot is taken by someone other than those three. Don't give them any open ice to find a perfect shot.
c. This sort of situation looks pretty bad for Quebec. If Newfoundland has been unlucky and has still found ways to dominate their way through the playoffs then just imagine what a lucky Berserkers squad would look like. It's very tough to maintain a hot streak against the best team in the league so Quebec cannot rely on their luck in this series.
d. When you're a team with as much success as Newfoundland, the mentality of this series has got to be one of confidence. They easily dispatched of the second overall seed of Colorado so the third overall seed of Quebec shouldn't be a worry for them. Quebec needs to stay strong against this goliath of a team but I wouldn't be surprised if they already assume their fate is sealed.
Code:
6. Written, 3 TPE, Dream Team 150 words min
You have to create the perfect SHL or SMJHL line for your player to be on. Who do you put on your line and why? Is it something about their style of play that compliments yours? Does it only include players from the present, or do you dip into the past to find an incredible D pair? Or are you just choosing your friends ‘cause they’d be fun to win the cup with?
There's no better line to play on than a cup-winning line. To re-live the success of the past, I'd reunite my old line mates from the S58 four star cup winning roster.
F - Kev Kevens
F - William Salming @Salming
F - Zdenko Beranek @ztevans
D - Jasper Maximov @enigmatic
D - Yuuto Kira Cloudera Jr. @kentakira
G - Mat Smith @Matteo
The trio of forwards here is pretty self-explanatory since these were the exact three players who played together on a line during the cup run. William Salming especially was a linemate of Kev's for a very long time and each player has developed into a star player on their respective teams. Bringing back their chemistry from the J would be wonderful. Although Zdenko Beranek didn't end up having the SHL career that Salming and Kevens had, adding him into the mix would surely do good things and revitalize the same energy he had in the J league. The defensive options were slightly more flexible since my player didn't play directly on the same line with any of them, but picking Jasper Maximov and Yuuto Kira Cloudera Jr would surely result in the best line. Maximov was a superstar in Quebec and has continued that stardom in Baltimore. They're a key piece of any successful blue line. Cloudera Jr. on the other hand has had one of the most underrated careers in both the J league and the SHL. They've quietly been making an impact for 10 full seasons and would be a great addition to my dream lineup. Finally we have the multiple cup winning goaltender Mat Smith who has graced every team he's been on with success. He's been one of the best goalies no matter which league he's been playing in and has already earned a ton of accolades before even hitting regression. The word count here clearly paints a picture of how amazing this lineup was in the past and still would be in the present and future.
Code:
7. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 12 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.
1. AJ
4. The Challenge cup was originated from a man named Henry C. Cup. He was playing stick puck with his boys back in the day and decided to create a league for them to play in. He called up a bunch of buddies and got enough people to start a league with teams. They played a bunch of games but eventually had the idea that playoffs would be needed to see who the real winner is. Henry's buddy Thomas took his mom's vase she never notices and painted over it in a silver colour. This was the start of the Challenge Cup! They ended up breaking the vase while drinking after the final game, but the solution was to grab some metal scraps and weld a new cup together. Also the reason why the Challenge Cup is named after Henry is because first of all he created the league, and second of all he scored the game winning goal in the final game to win for his team.
3 TPE
7. 3 TPE - Milestones
15. I am hyped for the IIHF's because I have no experience with the tournament so far. I do not know the history at all but I do know that my player, AJ Williams, will be playing for Canada and should be lighting it up. Williams tallied 28 goals in 66 games for Newfoundland (8th in the league) this past season so he should be seen as a sniper for Canada. I am pumped to see how he performs, whether he is a good player with other teammates besides his stacked Newfoundland team. I think there are a lot of teams playing in this tournament so it will be cool to see how everyone is matched up! I'm pretty sure I saw there was a team from Iceland? Did not even know they had hockey there so that is exciting. But in the end Canada should win since this is our sport and we drink maple syrup and what not. So go Canada go!
3 TPE
16. I chose Canada for my player because that is where I am from in real life! I have lived in Canada, more specifically Ontario, my whole life so I would want my player to be from the same parts as well. It makes it a lot easier to write about Canadian stuff too that my player is involved with when writing out media tasks or answering TPE tasks throughout the season. It is cool to make foreign players like many members do, but I stuck with the proud Canadian vibe for my player. Also Canada runs on hockey so it only makes sense to me.
2 TPE
18. Newfoundland won again in the SMJHL and I am really not surprised at all. We had the same solid core of players from the season prior, and our rookies/send downs who were not maxed on TPE got better and better. Including my player who jumped in TPE and basically doubled his stats this season for a solid production for the Zerks. I was a bit suprised that we swept Quebec though after having a tough series against Colorado. It was nice to just get it over with and win, but I was expecting a longer series for the finals.
2 TPE
Total TPE: 16
2a- I think since both of these teams are rather equally skill wise, you would bet on Chicago considering they have the experience. Atlanta doesn’t really know what it’s like to be in a final, and Chicago having that experience means the bright lights of the final are a little less bright(if that makes any sense) also Chicago already won so.
2b- Keeping the puck on your stick is extremely important, obviously. I think the major thing to change for Atlanta is they have to be aware of their surroundings. Sometimes you could get some tunnel vision and not see the person about to take the puck. Or they could just be better and not give the puck up who knows I’ve never actually played hockey.
2c- Discipline is obviously extremely important in the game, if you keep giving up power plays you run the risk of losing control of a game quickly. Sometimes though you can’t control the penalties though because the refs just suck ass. You gotta do the best you can to try and reduce the amount of penalties that refs are able to call because refs are always unpredictable.
2d- I do think it will happen again(mostly because it already has) but If I were to write this before I would say a balanced attack is great because it means you have the depth to be able to pull it off, and you can’t really win championships without good depth unless you have an extremely solid core.
3A- Al’Thor and Rashford are extremely good at getting points so you have to defend them almost like a forward, but at the same time they get a lot of points from the powerplay so being able to limit the amount of pp time they are able to get would be very important in slowing down their scoring production.
3b- if you’re the Newfoundland Defense you just have to cut off their shooting and try to make sure they don’t get into the slot. If you force them to take longer shots and less risky ones you’ll eventually drive down their shooting percentage because 20% really isn’t sustainable unless you’re consistently getting high danger opportunities.
3c- well obviously looking back on it, the hot streak did not continue. I think it was obvious that Quebecs luck ran out just as the finals hit, and the fact that Newfoundland really didn’t need any luck to win we’re both contributing factors. Newfoundland is just such a strong team that they’re able to overcome this bad PDO and beat teams that are probably more lucky than they are
3d- looking at this as a Newfoundland player there really wasn’t pressure. Yes there’s the streak we don’t want to lose but it’s not that big of a deal, three cups in a row would be insane so it wouldn’t be the end of the world if we lost. We either won and took home three in a row, or lost and could say “well it was bound to happen after winning twice in a row”
16- honestly in picking my home country I didn’t really care about picking where I actually lived. In fact if I did and picked the USA I’d be fighting for a spot and might take a long time before I’m able to get on the team. With Latvia I’m already on the squad and hopefully can end up being one of the pillars that we use build a squad able to win gold. Why I picked Latvia instead of another smaller country though? It was sort of random I guess. I just saw they needed centers, knew I wanted to make a Bergeron inspired two way center, so I decided to go with them in the end(or well technically in the start coz it’s the start of my career)
Topic 2
a. For my money, I am going with experience in this case with my bet going on Chicago. While Atlanta has put together a strong team, it will be tough to see them beating Chicago for the championship. I could of course be completely wrong as I have not even looked at their records or head to head match ups but I just need to get this done.
b. This is a good question but I do not see where this is a huge gap between the two teams. Sure Chicago has put up about 20 percent more take aways but that will not mean too much in the grand scheme of things. Atlanta will need to be a little crisper with their passing to not allow Chicago to put too much pressure on their players which force the turn overs. It is easier said than done.
c. Giving another team extended power play time is a sure fire way to end up losing a playoff series. Usually they let things go a bit in the playoffs so you can still play aggressively but you need to avoid the bad penalties like retaliation for a late hit with a slash or a bad trip. At the end of the day, smart hockey usually wins out so I expect both teams to try to avoid the box.
d. In a championship final, your team has been through hell to get there and is likely dealing with some minor injuries or at least fatigue. Trying to rely on a shortened bench certainly gets your best players on the ice, but how effective will they be? To me the best teams can run a balanced approach that involves their fourth line stepping up and giving the top players the time they need to rest and be most effective.
10/16 TPE
Trivia Verification Doneso 13/16 TPE
Topic 5 Cup Check - The difficulty of winning a championship in either league is actually a very good question to consider. While I would say that in the SHL, you have some very tough teams that end up making life difficult for everyone else in the league, however when you consider that in the SMJHL, you have capped players taking up most of the top spots on a team, you are very much limited to tactics and team make up to determine if a GM is able to get their squad to the championship and to win it. This is a very difficult task, especially with the terrible participation in most of the junior league. You are lucky if you get three to four players who update on a weekly basis so what can you really do. Of course if you are looking at it from the standpoint of pure difficulty of getting to the championship, then you have to give the nod to the SHL. There are more teams and more full participation teams that are all going after the crown.
Count Chocula![[Image: Chocula22.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Chocula22.gif)
goilers
![[Image: vhY18i8.png]](http://i.imgur.com/vhY18i8.png)
![[Image: nBgNUTY.png]](http://i.imgur.com/nBgNUTY.png)
![[Image: goilers.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/goilers.gif)
![[Image: sig-hlemyzd.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1129715651569795083/1134813042144718858/sig-hlemyzd.png)
![[Image: 8E70VfU.png]](https://i.imgur.com/8E70VfU.png)
![[Image: image.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/423562851114811394/1039304171880456324/image.png)
![[Image: ROZESIG.png?ex=6622170a&is=660fa20a&hm=2...height=655]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/734592232707063869/1169894373547323442/ROZESIG.png?ex=6622170a&is=660fa20a&hm=258d7415f5f96e76c41022f49d895f938b9c4cd52735f872bf1d9d9782ffadc4&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1042&height=655)
![[Image: kpALfz6.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/kpALfz6.jpg)
![[Image: unknown.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/477951418158809089/912414697985277972/unknown.png)
| ![[Image: specterspp.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537644128066994197/593600679130431523/specterspp.png)
![[Image: spectersupdate.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537644128066994197/593594692164255784/spectersupdate.png)
![[Image: cainbanner_35.jpg]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/763788165953355846/879485847517429760/cainbanner_35.jpg)
![[Image: Keven.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Keven.gif)
![[Image: sIjpJeQ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/sIjpJeQ.png)
![[Image: sve7en.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/sve7en.gif)
![[Image: 1tWWEzv.png]](https://i.imgur.com/1tWWEzv.png)
![[Image: 8zFnf2t.png]](https://i.imgur.com/8zFnf2t.png)
![[Image: 6Lj3x8E.png]](https://i.imgur.com/6Lj3x8E.png)
![[Image: xkAdpbO.png]](https://i.imgur.com/xkAdpbO.png)
![[Image: xnZrhKU.png]](https://i.imgur.com/xnZrhKU.png)
![[Image: 9YigPG2.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9YigPG2.png)
![[Image: bpYxJ69.png]](https://i.imgur.com/bpYxJ69.png)
![[Image: doubtfulalpha.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/doubtfulalpha.gif)
![[Image: 0XJkcN5.png]](http://i.imgur.com/0XJkcN5.png)
![[Image: sN8N4xa.png]](https://i.imgur.com/sN8N4xa.png)
![[Image: 639861613880541184.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/639861613880541184.png)
Cal Juice ![[Image: RyzkmSj.png]](https://i.imgur.com/RyzkmSj.png)
![[Image: Eo2nBCt.png]](https://i.imgur.com/Eo2nBCt.png)
![[Image: snacnei.png]](https://i.imgur.com/snacnei.png)
![[Image: ice-level.svg]](https://cards.simulationhockey.com/images/ice-level.svg)
![[Image: petrov2.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/671882832578084866/871230208970215494/petrov2.png)
![[Image: muford_hof_sig.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/733472731638661202/765420902346522664/muford_hof_sig.png)
![[Image: vKrOFwy.png]](http://i.imgur.com/vKrOFwy.png)
![[Image: VbtOVyg.png]](http://i.imgur.com/VbtOVyg.png)
![[Image: Thunder39.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Thunder39.gif)
