Milestones +3 TPE

1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?
For me, the most surprising part of the season was the reigning cup champions, Chicago, missing out on the playoffs entirely and the nascent Toronto North Stars taking their place as the 3rd team out of the Great Lakes. Was I rooting for Toronto to make it over them? Yeah, and I think most neutrals were rooting for them as well; the story of a team that had inadvertently almost ruined their tank by making the playoffs in the final STHS season making the playoffs with a cup worthy roster that fell just short of actually making the finals themselves (i feel for u star gang) is just fantastic to see. Chicago missing out when they would make the playoffs in any other division draws attention to the disparities of the current playoff format but also could show that this may be the end of Chicago's playoff stretch as they lack a lot of youth and prospects.

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6. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?
I am very excited for this upcoming IIHF tournament and my Switzerland boys. We've been a consistent medal round team for a while now and last season Nicolae Antonescu really stepped up for us (and the playoff series against TOR confirms that yes he can steal your team some games). This season we're going to be adding some nice young talents in Luukas Lilja and Arsene Leclerc, and I'm excited to see how the rookies do for us as we try to win a gold. Of course, Canada, the US, and the Czechs are a favorite, along with a sneaky Germany team who did really well last year. Austria and Latvia are my bottom feeders this season; I just don't think they have enough to really compete. Overall, I'm really excited to see how we do, and to get a gold medal and complete my Triple Gold hunt would just be awesome and mean so much to me.

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12. Written, up to 4 TPE - Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?
I hope they don't do anything to get a leg up because as a proud Steelhawk I would like to win the cup and celebrate my team's success this season by raising the big bad cup over my head. Should be a tough series but I would really like my team to have the advantage in this one.
b. Hamilton was 3rd in the league in GF this season. Buffalo was 2nd in GA. This begs the age old question: what will win out, a great defense or a great offense? Why?
I think a great offense is better because it can mask a mediocre to bad defense with sheer goal scoring talent. We have a great offensive team with stars like Jones, Scarn, and Wilson, and our defense has strong enough players (Zlatan, Bork Bork, my main man Sam) to lock down Buffalo's offense so we can keep scoring at high levels.
c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.
While green is my favorite color, I honestly don't like Buffalo's branding that much as much as I like the Steelhawks branding. Buffalo is a better location, but the Hamilton logo is better than Buffalo's quasi ripoff of the North Stars logo, the colors fit better for me and are pretty classic, I think steelhawks are scarier than buffaloes so I'd go with that too, and realistically yeah that's it
d. It's all come down to this: game seven overtime. Which four players are you sending out to win the game for you. This is in a fantasy sense, so feel free to mix and match from both teams.
I want Samuel Michaud out there on D since he's been a clutch offensive defenseman for us this year and he pots some big points. Aron Hernadivic has been a good playmaker for Buffalo this postseason and I want someone who can sauce it out there. His other wing will be the man, the myth, the legend, Theo Morgan. Because he's Theo Morgan. And finally, I'd pick myself since I scored that one goal in the finals and I haven't lost a finals game yet so yes I am choosing myself for ego but also proven playoff scoring.

16. Written, 3 TPE
I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

thank you keenan for giving me three free tpe from this you kind generous #1 prospect easily coachable soul