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jjaybs · 11-20-2016, 06:13 PM

THIS PT IS FOR SHL PLAYERS AND SEND DOWNS ONLY. IT IS NOT FOR SMJHL ROOKIES.

Championship week is here! The best week of the season!

You can earn up to 13 uncapped TPE with this year's championship week. You must choose four of the following tasks, which will be worth three TPE each, and answer the prediction question at the end correctly to receive all thirteen.

Code:
Pick the game in a series that lost the losing team their chance at the cup (e.g. going down 3-1, letting a team come back to force a game 7), and write 200 words about what specific element of the game (a line, a statistic, a fight, etc) contributed the most to the loss. 

Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.

Write 200 words about which single stat is most important in playoff success, for example goals, plus/minus, shots on goal, sv%)

Write 200 words about your chosen unsung playoff hero. Must include three stats.

Design playoff merchandise for a team. Can be a t-shirt, or a hat, or something a little more unusual. Be creative! Must include a team logo somewhere on the item.

Design a poster for the finals, matching the teams against one another. Must include at least two player renders, and both team's logos.

Make a graphic matching up a "Player To Watch" on each team in the finals. Must have 3 stats minimum, two player renders and team logos.

Design the Championship banner that will go at the top of the site. Must include at least one render, the team name and logo, and "S31 Challenge Cup Champions".

Prediction: Who scores the Cup winning goal? EDIT: I will be monitoring this question to close it when the final sim happens

Deadline: Tuesday November 29th, 7PM EST (I extended the deadline after realising it was Thanksgiving weekend this weekend)

Grading deadline: 3 days after that.

Jepox · 11-20-2016, 06:20 PM

2. Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.

Filip Granlund did not make it far during the playoffs in what may have been his final season down in the SMJHL. While this is disappointing, he had plenty of time to get some rest, before it was time to start training for next season. But before he did any of that, he headed to warmer places, and went to the island of Maui in Hawaii. It was a great trip for him. He went on a whale watching trip, and visited to ocean centre. But for him, the best part of the trip was sitting on the beach, and going swimming in the ocean out front of his hotel, and swimming with dolphins being a close second. All of these activities were quite fun, and his trip was a great experience for him. He was sad when he had to leave, but it was time to prepare for next season.

Bonk · 11-20-2016, 06:24 PM

Place holder

1. Pick the game in a series that lost the losing team their chance at the cup (e.g. going down 3-1, letting a team come back to force a game 7), and write 200 words about what specific element of the game (a line, a statistic, a fight, etc) contributed the most to the loss.

Tanner!!!! Tanner!!!! F-ing Tanner!!! Were the screams out one Slappy McDoodle after losing another playoff game seven this time to the New England Wolfpack. Slappy must be getting use to the bad taste in his mouth of losing to Wolfpack for the second year in row. This is the second year in two years that the West Kendall Platoon have face defeat at the hands of the New England Wolfpack and Jakob Tanner. At least this year the West Kendall Platoon stretch the series to seven games as opposed to season 30’s six game series and there is no doubt that the New England Wolfpack are in the West Kendall Platoon heads. At 6:14 of the first period of game 5 fight broke out between Slappy McDoodle and Nathan Russell, Oliver Pettyfer and Raven Silverwing, and Ales Smirnov and Patrikov Bure. Game five started with quick goal by the Wolfpack and the Platoon players did not take it well. Nathan Russell noticed how upset the Platoon players and figured he would exploit this, so he punched Slappy Mcdoodle in the face. This lead to the brawl in which the platoon won but they glory ended there as they were emotionally defeated and proceed to lose the game and the next game and ultimately the series.

Word count ~215

2. Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.

So what did Big Manius do once the offseason began which sadly in the case of Winnipeg start about a two weeks before the season thirty-one ended? The first thing Manius needed to do after be eliminated for the play offs was do the exact opposite thing did when he began has off season after winning the season 25 Challenge Cup. First he ran from the city of Winnipeg to his country home along the shores of Lake Manitoba. From there he swam from Twin Lakes Beach through the narrows to in to Lake St. Martin a small community of on the shores of Lake St. Martin. Where upon completing this trip in reverse 6 season ago Manius proceeded to party by drinking champagne with hookers. So figured do to the opposite so he proceeded to call Esa Anrikkanen’s Hot Dragons phone sex line with bottle of ripple and passed out on the floor as Manius figured that had to the furthest thing from the enjoyment of winning the cup.

Word count ~170

3. Write 200 words about which single stat is most important in playoff success, for example goals, plus/minus, shots on goal, sv%)

There are several stats that come to mind when I first started to think about the single most important stat. When I first read this I was immediately thought was plus/minus, partially due to the fact that I always lead toward team stats, when look at the most important stats. Although many will call this an individual stat, which is, but is speaks to the players on the ice with that individual. Some of the other stats that I ran through my mind were shots on goal, power play percentage, shots for/against and penalty kill percentage. I have to admit I was having a hard time picking stat. As I was debating in my head about what stat I was going to write about. It hit me like a ton of bricks, it occurred to me that the most important stats is Goals Against, because at the day of the end no matter what game you are in, if the team with least number goals against wins the game. It does not matter if skater with an amazing plus or minus, lots of assist and goals and has crazy shooting percentage. Nor does it matter if you are goalie with an outstanding save percentage with lots of shots faced. None of the stats matter if you don’t have a lower goals against because if do not, you lose period.

Word count ~229

4. Write 200 words about your chosen unsung playoff hero. Must include three stats.

Thinking of the unsung hero of the of the SHGL season 31 playoff several people must be looked at such as Slappy McDoodle, Esa Anrikkanen, Alex Mack, Patrikov Bure, Kristian Eriksson, Ivan Koroviev, Dean Colt and Chernika Banananov just to name few. My pick for most unsung hero could be debated as whether he is unsung. He was on the championship winning team the New England Wolfpack and was the second leading scorer on the team with eight goals, eleven assists, and nineteen points; making Raven Silverwing my unsung hero for season 31 playoffs. Raven is in the top ten of goals, assists, and shots. Mr. Siverwing was on the championship winning team which had the most games in the playoffs so he should be on those lists. The stat that impressed me most in this playoff run was his league leading points per 20 minutes which when you look at the total minutes played in the Season 31 playoffs he was 16th in the league with 358 minutes played. He out scored his own team mate Japser Clayton who played for 502 minutes, more than two hours more than playing time of Mr. Siverwing. As matter of fact there were eight players who play for entire hour or more the Mr. Siverwing during the Season 31 playoffs including Patrikov Bure, who is the only person to score most for New England Wolfpack during their playoff run. The points per 20 minute makes Raven Silverwing my unsung hero.

Word count ~248

Copenhagen · 11-20-2016, 06:25 PM

2. Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.
â€œGagner to Hill, Hill to Jagr. Jagr shoots.... HE SCORES early in the third period! Calgary is just one goal behind in this Game Six versus Seattle!â€

Unfortunatley the Dragons couldnâ€™t muster up another goal, thus knocking them out of the S31 playoffs and allowing Seattle to advance. Every off season although, Calgary left winger, Shane Gagner finds a way to lift the spirits of his team. This season he organized a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada.

â€œItâ€™s not about celebrating a loss in the playoffs, itâ€™s not about celebrating our regular season successes. Itâ€™s about forgetting our names in a bottle of Patron and losing our minds in a stripperâ€™s booty.â€ comments Gagner on the subject.

All Calgary Dragons players and alumni are invited to the event, scheduled just one week before the S32 pre season begins. Rumor has it that even the disappeared Steven Jalopski will return for the trip.

3. Write 200 words about which single stat is most important in playoff success.
When asked about the most important stat in hockey, I always give the same answer and that answer is, shots on net. Assists are great and goals are even better, but neither of those stats can come unless you take a shot at the net. The greatest player to ever play the game once said, â€œYou miss 100% of the shots you donâ€™t take.â€ Wayne Gretzky was that player. The point Gretzky was trying to make is that shots turn into goals and goals ultimatley turn into a win. It never hurts to rip on at the net, especially in tough situations when you have not much else for an option. Iâ€™ve seen goals from center ice, anything can happen when you take a shot. Anything can happen in the playoffs as well. Let me put it to you this way, no team has ever won a hockey game without a goal. You must score at minimum one goal to win, weather it be a shoot out, OT or regulation, youâ€™ve got to score at least once. Furthermore, no goal can ever be scored without first taking a shot on net.

5. Design playoff merchandise for a team. Can be a t-shirt, or a hat, or something a little more unusual. Be creative! Must include a team logo somewhere on the item.
[Image: RUpNHhz.png]

8. Design the Championship banner that will go at the top of the site.
[Image: FcyfVFM.png]

Grapehead · 11-20-2016, 06:26 PM

NJBadApple · 11-20-2016, 06:30 PM

Placeholder

Kevin Juice Bieksa · 11-20-2016, 06:30 PM

1. Pick the game in a series that lost the losing team their chance at the cup (e.g. going down 3-1, letting a team come back to force a game 7), and write 200 words about what specific element of the game (a line, a statistic, a fight, etc) contributed the most to the loss.

Game 6, New England Wolfpack vs West Kendall Platoon, The Platoon had a 3-1 series lead but the Wolfpack managed to scrape by as the Wolfpack delivered a comeback winning 3 games in a row. But the game that lost the Platoon the series was game 6. The first goal of the game was scored by New England but that's not what's important, what's important was the line brawl happening a few minutes after that goal. One hit started off the line brawl, Slappy McDoodle was skating up the ice and passed the puck to the left winger, Patrikov Bure however intended to finish his check and nailed him in a very devastating hit.

[Image: Nathan_Horton.gif]

Both team's 1st line forwards all engaged in a brawl, it seemed that West Kendall would ultimately win out the advantage from the line brawl as key forwards Raven Silverwing and Nathan Russell were kicked out of the game. Luckily for the Wolfpack, their veterans stood up as Blake Sherrill and Benjamin Reid were given bonus ice time and were eventually given the 1st and 2nd star of the game respectively. The fact that the Platoon still managed to lose despite New England's top two players point wise were kicked out of the game led to the victory for the Wolfpack in game 7

2. Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.

Season S31 is finally over, it was a long ride to the finish for every team but only one team ended up on top this season. The New England Wolfpack defended their spot as the Challenge Cup Champions and are perhaps on their way to the first three-peat in SHL history next season, but for now, the offseason is here.

To celebrate the Challenge Cup victory, the Wolfpack met in Vegas before they would split off for the offseason. Most of the team were in the casinos playing slots but Bure and Clayton weren't interested in that as there was a new MLP episode that day and they were going to go back to their rooms. They probably should have brought someone along though as the two have a terrible sense of direction, eventually finding themselves lost backstage somewhere

Bure: Shit Clayton, where the fuck is the exit?
Clayton: I don't bloody know, look around for an exit sign or something, we're gonna miss the MLP episode!
Bure: Alright alright, just fucking help me look then
...
Clayton: Bure, look! I found a laptop here! It has some video here of a golden knight logo.
Bure: How does this help us?
Clayton: It's connected to the wifi, we can at least watch the new episode here right?
Bure: This is some backstage, this laptop has a wire connected to it probably to stream the video, we shouldn't touch it. *turns around
Clayton gazes at the screen as the MLP intro starts*
Bure: Clayton! What the fuck man?! The people in the audiance are going to be seeing a MLP episode instead of the video they prepared! Quick pull out the wire!
Clayton pulls out the wire*
Bure: Shit we gotta move, there's a door here, let's get out of here before anyone comes in!
Clayton: But the episode i-
Bure: GRAB THE LAPTOP AND MOVE

Bure and Clayton managed to successfully get out of the backstage and into their rooms.
Meanwhile the Las Vegas Announcement was a disaster for the NHL. Their video didn't play, a MLP video came on, and a laptop was reported stolen. What a trainwreck of an announcment and the world will never know who caused it.

3. Write 200 words about which single stat is most important in playoff success, for example goals, plus/minus, shots on goal, sv%)

The most important stat in playoff success in the SHL is goals. While keeping the puck out of the net is important, it's more important to be able to score goals so your goalie doesn't have to play a perfect game every night. In the case we are looking at, we'll be looking at the New England Wolfpack's run to the cup.

The Wolfpack had two top scorers on the team that contributed to making it past the first and second round. Raven Silverwing was the largest contributer to the New England Wolfpack getting past the 1st round against the West Kendall Platoon. Raven scored 5 goals during the series and was the leading point man for New England at the time because of it. The 2nd round hero was Patrikov Bure. He scored 6 goals in the comeback vs Toronto and was the first star for Game 1,5, and 6 to bring the Wolfpack back from their 3-1 deficit. The Finals were also led by Patrikov Bure as he scored another 4 goals to finish off with 11 goals in the playoffs and the playoff MVP award for it.

The point I'm making it is that key players have to step up in the playoffs. If a player can consistently score goals for you in the playoffs, you will always have a fighting chance.

4. Write 200 words about your chosen unsung playoff hero. Must include three stats.

For the New England Wolfpack, the unsung playoff hero was Brandon Pomery, a top six defenseman. Pomery isn't a star player for the Wolfpack but instead fills in as a role player, something that he's been very successful at for the past two seasons. In the playoffs, Pomery put up solid numbers for his role on the team, he scored 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points, he also was a +11 and blocked 21 shots. Pomery shined the brightest during the first round of the playoffs against the West Kendall Platoon, The New England Wolfpack went down 3-1 in the series before mounting up an incredible comeback before moving on to the 2nd round. This comeback has much to thank for from Pomery who scored not just one, but two OT winners in the series. He would even later score his other two goals in the Challenge Cup Finals. Although Pomery was labelled as a hero after his game 7 heroics, the hype quickly died down and he has once again returned to a role player for the New England Wolfpack, not one to take the spotlight away. For that reason, he is the clear unsung hero of the playoffs.

Prediction: Patrikov Bure

All-time New England Wolfpack scorer
[Image: Derisraka.png]

fgh · 11-20-2016, 06:40 PM

1. Pick the game in a series that lost the losing team their chance at the cup (e.g. going down 3-1, letting a team come back to force a game 7), and write 200 words about what specific element of the game (a line, a statistic, a fight, etc) contributed the most to the loss.
It doesn't seem like a Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals would be a turning point for the series, but a dramatic loss like the one Seattle endured was a decapitation of a team that was riding an asterisk into the series. Down a player to suspension in Orlov, multiple players had to make up the minute difference, resulting in sloppy play on the defensive end. On top of that, regressiongate resulted in the immediate aging of a good 4 players on the team that were critical to the cup run. This made the Riot down a solid 1200 TPE from their winning team against the Dragons, and the Blizzard would take full advantage. Nikolaus Scholz put up 3 points to help the Blizzard run over the Riot on Seattle turf, and there would be no looking back. Edmonton would take the next 2 games and finish the Riot's improbable run to the Cup, but without that Game 3 loss, there was some semblance of a comeback possible for the Riot. The other 4 games were all 2 goal wins or less, and Game 5 even went to overtime before killing the dream, but it was that Game 3 that was the 3 goal blowout to determine the series and the Riot would lose because of this game.

2. Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.
Viatcheslav Orlov had to watch his Riot lose in 5 to the Blizzard due to suspension circumstances, so his immediate kickoff to the offseason was watching the postseason! Buying out a luxury box for both home and away games, Orlov would invite his family and local fans from Seattle to watch the games in person, making it a fun lottery thing for the community. Unfortunately, despite the fun events like jersey signings, a quick behind-the-scenes look at the team pre-game, and some other VIP-level activities, the games would take a turn for the worse with close losses and the eventual 3 goal blowout on home ice in Game 3. Orlov would try to make the best of his invite to his guests, but neither the buffet of local cuisine nor the Ice Rebels (the Riot dance team) making a surprise appearance could take the sting from the game. A few TVs were broken thanks to thrown vodka bottles, but Orlov would pay for it, as he had paid multiple times over for his zealous actions.

3. Write 200 words about which single stat is most important in playoff success, for example goals, plus/minus, shots on goal, sv%)
Taking a look at the 8 teams that were in the playoffs and comparing stats, there is one that creates the trend necessary for the result of how each series played out: Goals For/Game. Some of this has to be taken with a grain of salt, like West Kendall leading the pack at 3.286 GF/G but eventually losing to the 'Pack in the semifinals, who are second on the list at 3.214 GF/G. I take that to mean that the North Stars were a tougher defensive opponent than the Platoon, but the Wolfpack offense is more sustainable than the Platoon's, even given their same goal total for the first series. Edmonton leads the West with 2.909 GF/G, with Calgary coming in second and probably would be better had they not gone up against a juiced Riot team. The bottom 4 makes sense for both conferences, with Minnesota dead last, Texas right next to them, Seattle a bit juiced to 3rd-to-last, and the North Stars just a small fraction behind Calgary. Ultimately, this Goals For/Game shows the true teams that should make the Challenge Cup Finals, with Edmonton being the clear Western favorite and the early series between New England and West Kendall determining the East champion.

5. Design playoff merchandise for a team. Can be a t-shirt, or a hat, or something a little more unusual. Be creative! Must include a team logo somewhere on the item.
Pony Night, Game 1 of the Challenge Cup Finals.
[Image: FhWa7Be.png]

Prediction: Who scores the Cup winning goal?
Since I simmed the final game, can I just get the point?

vbottas17 · 11-20-2016, 06:41 PM

2. Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.

How the fuck did that happen? Did we really just lose 3 games in a row? Are we that weak where we are prone to consistently cracking under pressure in overtime and unable to win close games? I guess so... We did just lose the Four Star Cup with pretty much the same team that won it all last season.

JLR - Hey Reeder, fuck this shit man, I need to get my fucking mind of hockey for once.. let's go out and get some blow and go see what we can get into down at the pub or something.

Reed - You don't have to ask me twice. I was already planning on heading down there anyways, let's get the fuck out of here.

JLR and Reed, accompanied by Reed Laing, Richard C. Hocolate & Georgette Pel proceed to get some blow from the team connect and go get shitfaced at the bar. Laing gets arrested early on but released soon after somehow, Pel ends up disappearing with some random from the bar & Hocolate ends up getting in a fight with some of the Kelowna locals who were giving him a hard time about the loss. As for Reed & Reflieux, they don't exactly remember what happened but they both wake up in the county jail with busted up knuckles.

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5. Design playoff merchandise for a team. Can be a t-shirt, or a hat, or something a little more unusual. Be creative! Must include a team logo somewhere on the item.

[Image: 8TxzB3B.jpg]

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6. Design a poster for the finals, matching the teams against one another. Must include at least two player renders, and both team's logos.

[Image: Z3hJmR9.jpg]

Ballerstorm · 11-20-2016, 06:59 PM

You can earn up to 13 uncapped TPE with this year's championship week. You must choose four of the following tasks, which will be worth three TPE each, and answer the prediction question at the end correctly to receive all thirteen.

2. Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.
Each and every off season for Randy Randleman starts the same way. This isn't the first time he's spoke about it, even going as far as writing a Players Tribune article about it earlier in his career. Randy doesn't go on a vacation, or spend a week on a bender when the seasons end, he goes home to Llanflwnyddwndllwnmawr to try and help nurture the next star out of his small home town. When Randy was growing up there wasn't a single ice rink in Llanflwnyddwndllwnmawr and nobody really had an interest in it, but now after coming back every off season the growth is really starting to show. Randy brings home teammates like Esa Anrikkanen, Shane Gagner, and Hunter Wong to help him teach both players and coaches about hockey. Llanflwnyddwndllwnmawr has a few ice rinks now and the game is growing. They even have their own team, the Llanflwnyddwndllwnmawr Whales" and they finished a respectable 8-8 in their very first season. After a couple of weeks, sometimes longer, Randy returns to Calgary and gets back to the grind of training his body for the upcoming season, eager for another shot at the ever elusive third Challenge Cup.

Code:
200 words

5. Design playoff merchandise for a team. Can be a t-shirt, or a hat, or something a little more unusual. Be creative! Must include a team logo somewhere on the item.
Logo on the front view
[Image: mBnX1KG.png]

6. Design a poster for the finals, matching the teams against one another. Must include at least two player renders, and both team's logos.
Logos on the jerseys of the 2 player renders
[Image: d4QVPnt.png]

8. Design the Championship banner that will go at the top of the site. Must include at least one render, the team name and logo, and "S31 Challenge Cup Champions".
Name, logo, renders, and title all included
[Image: 3LnVQlJ.jpg]

Prediction: Who scores the Cup winning goal? - Patrikov Bure

Eggy216 · 11-20-2016, 07:00 PM

1. Pick the game in a series that lost the losing team their chance at the cup (e.g. going down 3-1, letting a team come back to force a game 7), and write 200 words about what specific element of the game (a line, a statistic, a fight, etc) contributed the most to the loss.

Clearly the biggest mistake the Toronto North Stars made against the New England Wolfpack in round two was taking a 3-1 series lead. As we've seen throughout these playoffs, when a team has a 3-1 lead against the New England Wolfpack it's the Wolfpack who will end up emerging victorious. That's just how things happen here in the SHL - if you poke the wolf you're going to get the fangs. Overall it was a terrible game for the North Stars. They totall outshot the Wolfpack, by a ratio of 32 - 24 including a 20 - 10 differential in the opening two periods (and taking the only shots of overtime). The biggest mistake of the game was made by Eriksson, who went as far as picking up the game winning goal a minute into overtime which came on the powerplay with New England's Charlie Winchester in the box (for hooking with a second left in regulation). Perhaps the most telling comment of all came from North Stars goaltender Mark Harter who, following the 2-1 win, immediately commented that this was the point when the team would fall from grace as he knew their 3-1 lead would spell their eventual doom. And spell it did, with a capital D, as the Wolfpack would battle back from the jaws of defeat and win the final three games to move on to the finals and face the Edmonton Blizzard.

2. Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.

The offseason. It was finally here. But for the second season in a row, for Jasper Clayton it was to be a short one. Winning the cup in back to back years, those long seasons of tanking for top picks seemed almost like a distant memory. He had been so young then, watching the drafts from his television at home as the Wolfpack would make first or second overall selections at each and every draft. Usually he'd spend those offseasons jumping from one MLP convention to the next, but not this season. This season, he wanted to honor his roots. Clayton was going home.

Clayton stepped out of the London airport and was greeted immediately by cheers and flashing cameras. He smiled and waved to the crowd as he headed to the car that was waiting to take him to Birmingham. There, the celebration was even greater. It seemed that everyone in the city had turned out to see the cup and the hometown hero who had won it not once, but twice. It was every player's dream, bringing the cup back home to show all your friends and family who had supported you over the years. Even his first coach, now confined to a wheelchair after the tragic accident that snapped his leg a few years back, was there to see him. It was the greatest moment of his career thus far.

3. Write 200 words about which single stat is most important in playoff success, for example goals, plus/minus, shots on goal, sv%)

While our version of STHS doesn't actually track them, I'd say that possession metrics are the most important stats to playoff success. You look at the teams that are doing well, they're the ones that are holding on to the puck and managing to steal the puck away from their opponents. In STHS, this can be tracked by looking at Giveaways (GA) and Takeaways (TA), and in other newer(?) versions of the sim engine we're actually able to take a look at how this plays out. In the past we've had these stats tracked in various off-season tournaments held by our non-regular simmers, and when you look at how these tournaments play out the members of the New England Wolfpack tend to rate very highly in these areas. While obviously we can't look at how these ratios play out here in the SHL playoffs, it stands to reason that this strong success at maintaining control of the puck and ensuring that their opponents lose the puck is continuing to be reflected in their play at this level as well. Potentially this may be reflected by what seems to be an increase in shot totals by the Wolfpack when Laukkanen is playing in goal, who likely has less control over loose pucks than his teammate Jakob Tanner - thus meaning the Wolfpack are winning more battles from loose pucks and turning them back offensively on their opponents than the teams they're playing (by extension it would stand to reason that they're winning battles near the opposing goalie as well). This is a strongly possession-oriented team here in New England, and their efforts to try and make themselves the only ones with the puck have really paid off as they find themselves back in the Challenge Cup Finals for the second straight season with a chance to close things out up 3-0 in the series.

4. Write 200 words about your chosen unsung playoff hero. Must include three stats.

In these playoffs, there's no doubt in my mind that the postseason MVP should be going to Patrikov Bure for his league leading 11 goal and 24 point performance. But as far as my unsung hero? That goes to do defender Jasper Clayton

While his teammates were out making flashy plays up and down the ice throughout the playoffs, Clayton was quietly contributing in whatever way he could. With 36 hits and 22 blocked shots (good for second on the team), Clayton showed that he was more than just an offensive power on the ice for the Wolfpack. Add on to that his 65 minutes spent on the penalty kill, and you can see that his contributions to the Wolfpack defensively were irreplacable. On the other end of the ice, Clayton had 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points - a total that was third amongst Wolfpack players. Along with all of those impressive numbers, Clayton boasted a 14.29% shooting percentage from the blue line - equal to that of star winger Raven Silverwing. When all is said and done, while he didn't do the most to contribute to the Wolfpack's successes this postseason, he was certainly doing a lot to carry them up and over the always dangerous Edmonton Blizzard.

Bonus: <s>Raven Silverwing</s> Me

***Tomen*** · 11-20-2016, 07:17 PM

1. Pick the game in a series that lost the losing team their chance at the cup (e.g. going down 3-1, letting a team come back to force a game 7), and write 200 words about what specific element of the game (a line, a statistic, a fight, etc) contributed the most to the loss.

I think game 2 of the whole series was the turning point because the Edmonton Blizzard lost that game without scoring even one single goal. Once you get shutout by an opponent in the finals it affects your game and your mentality a bit no one can deny that you either get fired up by it or have some first doubts planted into your mind.
My own opinion on who contributed the most to the loss is the second defensive pairing of Viktor Svensson and Winston Windsor. The only other player from the Blizzard that had more minutes than these 2 was Barney Stinson who had an okay game being a plus minus zero, laying out 7 hits which is the most by a margin of 3 to the next player in the entire game and 4 shots blocked. Stinson did everything he can to keep his team in the game defensively. On the other hand we have WIndsor and Svensson who are combined a minus -6 , laid out only 5 hits combined and only blocked 3 shots combined. They also combined for 1 shot while Stinson had 2. So you can see the difference here very clearly. Stinson did his job and way more. Windsor and Svensson did a poor job in this game which lead to Edmonton losing the game in a shootout and being down 2 to 0. That was a massive psychological loss for Edmonton which led to New England dictating this final series.

2. Your player is out of the playoffs! Whether this is because the team didn't make it, or you have been eliminated, or you won the cup, write 150 words about the first thing they do to kickstart the offseason.

First of all Eduard Selich would fly over the pond to see his family again over the off-season because the off-season is all about relaxing and seeing your loved ones again as well as recharging your so called “batteries” the mental and the physical ones. Eduard would spend one or two weeks in his beautiful hometown called Fulda in Germany without working out and just relaxing and recharging his batteries. The remaining time would be used to work out and stay in shape for the upcoming season and do some work for the local hockey community so other people from his general area can have an easier or better guided path to the SHL. The Eduard Selich hockey camp would probably take place in Eduard’s first junior hockey team in Lauterbach in the local rink there. It would be mainly focused on the kids from age 7 until age 14 so they young generation of future hockey player. Afterwards everyone will be able to get some autographs and different stuff signed as well as free ice-cream for everyone.

3. Write 200 words about which single stat is most important in playoff success, for example goals, plus/minus, shots on goal, sv%)

In my opinion the most important single playoff stat is the goals for/against percentage. My reasoning for this is that you obviously can’t win a championship if you concede more goals than you are scoring in every game. This stat can obviously be inflated by games which ended in a shootout but usually once this individual team stat is above 130% you can say that the team is winning the majority of their games and if you think about it playoff hockey is exactly that. Winning the majority of your games so you can advance to the next round and chase the so elusive title everyone yearns for. So let’s hope into the analysis of both finals teams for this stat. The Blizzard has a goals for/against percentage of 102,50% in the playoffs. Which is a pretty average stat and means that they are able to just barely outscore their opponents. This is reflected by the fact that they only scored 1 more goal in the entire playoffs than the Blizzard conceded. The Wolfpack on the other hand had 137,78% in that stat which is HUGE. This is a sign of a truly successful team because they are able to score one third more goals than they concede over the entire playoffs. And Hockey is easy as long as you score more goals than you concede you win. They might concede 3 but if they concede that many they are usually able to score 4 on your team which is the thing that counts the net total of your goals. The wolfpack scored 17 more goals than they conceded in the S31 playoffs.

4. Write 200 words about your chosen unsung playoff hero. Must include three stats.

My unsung Playoff hero is Benjamin Reid. Reid was a big cornerstone for the Wolfpack in this seasons run for the playoff crown. Reid led the league in shots blocked in the playoffs with 33 the next person on the shot blocked list was Edmonton defender Barney Stinson with 28. The next New England Wolfpack player was Jasper Clayton with 22. So over the course of the playoffs Reid basically blocked than Jacob Tanner and Mikke Laukkanen had to face in one night as an average in the playoffs. That is something that truly helps the team and especially the goalies. Reid also had a total of 13 Points which is good enough to be tied at 5 for the Wolfpack. 12 of these 13 points were assists so you can truly say that Reid is a team player and rarely took shots himself but rather tried to get his teammates in a favorable scoring position. Reid also had the 2nd most average ice time of the whole New England Wolfpack which further displays why Reid was a cornerstone for the New England Wolfpack in the title run. The only other player with more average ice-time was Jasper Clayton. Even though Reid played so many minutes he only took 4 penalty minutes which is something that people often forget. Players that are usually not seen in the penalty box can play more and therefore impact their own team better than not so high disciplined players.

Cup Winning Goal: Jasper Clyton

Thank you all for the amazing sigs & player cards
Germany

3. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 5 (Maximilian Wachter, Alexis Metzler) at 16:25
5. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 6 (Steven Stamkos Jr., Brynjar Tusk) at 19:48
8. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 7 (Brynjar Tusk, Alexis Metzler) at 13:55
9. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 8 (Anton Fedorov, Mikelis Grundmanis) at 15:12
10. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 9 (Dickie Pecker) at 19:43 (Empty Net)

Harry Hans · 11-20-2016, 07:34 PM

#3

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204 words

There is many important stats when it comes to the playoffs, wheither thats goals, assits, and shots blocked, but i think the most important stat is sv%. The Playoffs are so intense, veteranes will start bringing their A game, rookies wants to make a good impression during the playoffs, so the goalies have to be willing to save all those shots be brick wall for all those that come in. You also got star players ready to tear it apart in the playoffs, so the goalies of many obstacles so its important that they have their A game like everyone else.of course goals is what win a hockey game but if the team foucus on scoring goals, obviously the otehr team is going to score, however if you foucus on defensve and helping the goalie not only it decraese the chance of the other team scoring, and you also be scoring as you be foucsing on defense you will be taking shots as well.Sv% can will effect a game as your goalie be saving thsoe shots left right and center.It really matters if the team can many shots and maybe can get one in. So imo the most important stat is the sv%

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#8

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Prediction - Raven Silverwing

***Wally*** · 11-20-2016, 07:46 PM

2. Seeing was we didn't even qualify we have plenty to do. Portland needs to make a splash in the draft. The first thing we were able to do was to stem the growing period of our core by trading our top players who would hit regression when we hit stride. By using those picks, we hope to round out a strong core of active prospects that will backstop our growth and provide a bright future.

3. . As a goaltender, I honestly think the face-off dot is a good indicator of success. How often do you score goals off the dot, if you can't win the faceoff to create an opportunity. I think momentum is key and being able to have confidence in your centers I feel is an underrated trait in the SHL. While it didn't necessarily show in the Challenge Cup Finals as Edmonton won the battle 49% to 47%, that doesn't mean New England didn't execute. By nearly successfully winning almost half of the opportunities, they clearly were able to take advantage of the opportunities they did have at a much better rate than the Blizzard.

In the series you can look at Nathan Russell, he pulled a 54% success rate in the circle. In addition he managed to accumulate 14 points and finish with a plus / minus of +12 to lead the Wolfpack. Set aside the fact he centered the top line, which accumulated 51 total points in the playoffs and finished with an impressive plus-33. It isn't hard to argue the fact that the success at the dot was a huge contributor for the line's monsterous success in the championship S31 playoff run. Now what is to be determined is the ability NEW will have to keep this threat as S32 rolls around.

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8.

Prediction - Raven Silverwing

r1c3bowl22 · 11-20-2016, 08:04 PM

Hi

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