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*Pyro182* · 10-09-2023, 08:39 AM

Which team is your team's biggest rival in the league and why? This could be due to recent history, old history, medium history, personal beef, branding antagonism, passing on you in the draft, etc. - whatever the reason, which team in the league would you consider to be the biggest rival of your team?

Written option: 150 words on the above

Graphic option: Make a Rivalry Week promo graphic highlighting the two teams squaring off

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3 TPE for doing the thing. (Just one of the things, not both.)

Only S73 SMJHL Rookies (S74 SHL Draftees) are eligible for this PT.

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Deadline: Sunday, October 15th @ 11:59pm PST

***Chevy*** · 10-09-2023, 09:38 AM

Looking back into the history of the Grizzlies, two teams come to mind as the main antagonists to our story. The first of course stems from the great expansion of S61 where the Grizzlies found themselves created alongside the Regina Elk. Naturally being expansion "sister" teams, it makes a valid argument for both to become rivals to each other, though unfortunately that rivalry wouldn't come to pass nearly as hard as the one initiated in Season 63. In Season 63, the Grizzlies had the best seasonal and post-season run in the franchise's history making it all the way to the finals against...Newfoundland. Now, the Berserkers aren't strangers to being major rivals of other SMJHL teams, but in losing in the finals to an extremely stacked Newfoundland team, the Grizzlies found a new rivalry that superseded the one with the Elk, and throughout the next several seasons after that finals loss, the Grizzlies would find themselves locked in bitter battles on ice against the Berserkers, sometimes coming out on top...but many times being shut away.

honey · 10-09-2023, 09:48 AM

I'd consider Quebec City to be our biggest rival this year, as another team in our division struggling to remain out of the fourth place spot. Not only are we competing for a playoff spot, but both teams loaded up in this last draft - most notably with St. Louis taking Bog Damsel at the end of the first, while QCC snubbed her for the Solberg twins. One of these twins went on to write a Deep Dive lambasting the Crows slow start to the season, further deepening an already intense rivalry. This has left us 1-1 against each other so far this season, with the Crows overtaking QCC for third in the division with our last win.

Lastly, our colors and branding are almost completely opposite. A bright, happy bird wanting to take advantage of the field of battle (ice rink) only to be held off by a domineering scarecrow. What could be more poetic of a rivalry than that?

ibuprofenaddict · 10-09-2023, 10:03 AM

Detroit is a major league city, or it should be. In the world of the SHL/SMJHL, there are not many natural rivals for the current SMJHL Falcons. Naturally, we'd first look to the division. Newfoundland and Regina. These would be natural rivals through the in-season competition. What about geography? Nope, nobody is really close, with St.Louis probably being the nearest rival, still 8 hours by car.

Rivalries in the J can be a bit different. Since players don't have a lot of tenure, the animosity ebbs and flows in short bursts depending on recent results and roster makeup. Based on this, I'm going to choose Anchorage based on recent history. With three decisive wins over Detroit in the first four weeks of the season, they've become a bit of a bogey team for us. With a combined 44 PIM across three meetings, there is no love lost between the two sides. Additionally, on the strength of taking 6 of a possible 6 points out of Detroit to begin the year, Anchorage current sit joint-first place in the standings, with the Falcons wallowing down in thirteenth. Detroit, however, has a strong and large rookie class who will look to turn the tide of this rivalry over the remainder of this season and the following two. Attempting to do so will either prove very fulfilling, using the current leaders as a measuring stick for our own progress - or incredibly disheartening, should their dominance over our squad continue. Anyway eff those dudes.

Furio · 10-09-2023, 10:16 AM

Probably our biggest rival in recent memory would be Anchorage. I wasn’t here of course, but can see we played them in a seven game series last year. And we even took the win! They’ve had a really hot start to the season, and beat us in both games that we played them (2-1 in a shootout, and 6-4). We play the today! So hoping for the win there. Also geographically they’re the closest to us, so that definitely adds to it all.

The other guys on the team really hate St Louis and Maine. I’m warming up to that, all in due time. We played St Louis in the conference finals last year and lost in seven, so that definitely helps to breed that sort of thing. It looks like we’ll be competing with Maine for playoff position this year, and could definitely see us meeting them in the first round.

PSUwithBigBlue · 10-09-2023, 10:39 AM

For Colorado, I think almost every other team in the league should be considered our rivals.

That sounds like such an easy way out for answering this question, but it is true. Our smashmouth style of play, truthfully, pisses teams and players off. On Thursday night, we shut down arguably the best line in the SHMJL right now, Vancouver's first line. I'm sure the number one team in the league saw us, Colorado, as an easy two points, and we won 7-5, with about 5 or so players having an 80+ DGR, with Nik Smith having a 99.

Teams already hate us, and as we get better and better, teams are just going to hate us more and more. I cannot wait until the fruit of our labor pays off and we're sitting on top of the standings. We already have targets on our backs, and getting to that point will only mean larger targets, but we want it. We will embrace it. It's our drive to continue to be better.

Juho · 10-09-2023, 11:25 AM

For mutes Saint loius scarecrows and timber main are the rival teams
Saint loius is because i heard that they agreed to a trade but backed out and traded with somone else so now we hate them because they backed down from an agreemant and nobody likes that because it just sucks man
also main is because they have bented rules to get active players get to the bench to get a higer TPe team and yukon eliminiated in the playoffs and seeing that your team loses in a playoff series becuase some team bends the rules just sucks and thus we hate them for it
so in conclusion like we hate both of those teams because they fucking suck and have in some form just fucked over our team making us lose something or just be bad in long term and no one really likes that thus they are rivals

Troy_McClure03 · 10-09-2023, 11:56 AM

Our current rival is the gosh darn Detroit Falcons. This season we haven't been able to beat them once, losing both games. Both times the games were pretty close, losing first in regulation by one goal, with the final being 3 to 2. The second time we lost in overtime, by a score of 4 to 3. If we got those three points, we would have a solid hold of 2nd place right now. Instead, we sit at 5th. While we have games in hand, we still play them 4 more times! We have to figure out a way to Crack their goalie, Wayne Holloway. Hopefully they play the less experienced, but still feared Dako Nanokov. If we can't find a way to Crack this nut I think our season looks rough.

If we miss the playoffs by one point OR get an unfavorable match up by one point this post season, I will never forgive Trevor Lahey for scoring the overtime winner.

Eat a bag of expired skittles, Detorit.

Rabidsponge21 · 10-09-2023, 01:44 PM

As a long standing Regina Elk who has been in this league for quite some time, I can say without a doubt our rival is the St.Louis scarecrows.

Why you ask? Well thats fairly simple.

They use yellow as part of their logo as well and are used to scare off animals. The Elk naturally get aggressive when approaching these effigy's of horror and are instantly transported into attack mode to defend their hard earn territory. With our logo also having the much superior shade of yellow, many of the scarecrows alumni tries to lie to themselves that theirs is better as they clutch to their pillows at night in a cold sweat as they know the truth, that saying that aloud is one of the biggest lies they can utter in their own existence.

Like the very idea they represent - they are full of straw and lies and only represent a false narrative much like their current record. See you lot celebrating your draft position before a playoff win.

*thedangazone* · 10-09-2023, 02:07 PM

Since I am still pretty new to the entire organization in Regina, I am not sure who the team considers a rival or not just yet. Personally I do have some beef with teams and some respect for others so most of my rivals are going to be from personal issues myself and as a player but nothing that is team mandated, just yet anyways. Starting out has to be Kelowna for me, they are doing pretty well this season so far but there was only one team I was not super interested in going to during the draft. Another team that I have started getting some hatred for is St. Louis. Those stinky crows in Missouri are flying up my list of teams I want to beat up on a nightly basis. I have some friends in the past that played for them and while they said they enjoyed their time there at the time they started to really dislike the team before it ended. So maybe it's a bias I have before I even got scouted but whatever works to feed that fire in those games.

188 words

skyrrhawk · 10-09-2023, 02:52 PM

It's got to be St. Louis for the Citadelles.
I mean, look at the standings. The material. Both of us are scrabbling around in the middle, trying to get things sorted out and make a run. Plus, it sounds like someone, not naming names, is planning to go full Goon on the Solberg twins. Everybody knows that targeting a star rookie or two is prime rivalry material!
Unfortunately, QCC doesn't really have a goon to match that energy and protect said rookies. Maybe that'll change. It's unclear as of yet.
And, of course, it's the J. Things can change a lot just in the course of a season! But for now, it's for sure St. Louis, and we're going to dislodge them from that spot above us very, very quickly. That's a promise.

Plus, it's objectively hilarious to have a rivalry with a team that's essentially at the other end of a geographic extreme from you. (It would be funnier if Nevada were in the running for this rivals slot, but they are not, so St. Louis it is.)

ViN · 10-09-2023, 03:42 PM

CaptainCamel · 10-09-2023, 03:56 PM

I'm gonna go ahead and say Anchorage (love you guys <3) because my original player was a Boat. The fact that they had the gall to pass on Paul Bondage through two rounds is a travesty. Aside from that, I guess just because they're really good? After my original player left them to go be with ATL up in the big boys league, ANC took a heavy spiral after being top contenders for multiple seasons in a row. I'm not saying it was my last player's doing that kept them in that contention... but I'll just let the win loss record speak for itself compared to when I was on the team versus when I wasn't. But anyway, as I digress, they were kinda poopoo for a good while so it's good to see them finally back on top where they should be.

WC: 150

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