2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?
Immune to penalties offsides, and icing is a bit more overpowered compared to 6 skaters on the ice at a time. A 6-to-5-man advantage is good, but it is not game breaking, teams are able to defend against that all the time. However, teams do not have experience with playing against teams with total immunity. The team with immunity could do whatever they want. A breakout happens? Trip the guy. Run into the goalie and not worry about goalie interreference. This would break the game and give the team with home ice advantage the guaranteed series win. Not sure if the non-immune team would be able to play a whole series after all the brutal hits and head targeting.

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?
Switzerland is going to have a good tournament this off-season. I have been calling for the Swiss to win it all for a the past few seasons, but I think they are now primed for sure. They have immense talent and have matured into a strong team with deadly offense and well rounded throughout the lines and pairings. It will be a battle, but this tournament will put Switzerland on the map of the international hockey community. It will be interesting to see what aging forward Anthony Archer is capable of. This could be one of his final IIHF tournaments and so he might have something to prove so that the IIHF community remembers him. What better way to be remembered than by contributing to a tournament championship. It will be great for the country if we can win the championship since it will motivate young Swiss to stick with hockey instead of venturing off to other sports. Bet on the Swiss and you will be good this off-season.

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?
Hamilton will have home ice advantage. Buffalo will need to win a game on the road to win the series. If they can do this in one of the first games they play in Hamilton, it will be good news for them. Winning on the road will be more important for Buffalo than Hamilton. The sooner they do, the better. Cutting the series down from best of 7 to best of 5 and then best of 3 is ideal. (80 words)
c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.
I like Hamilton’s branding better. I think Buffalo Stampede is a fine name, but I do not like the logo. I like some of the logos that try to give the illusion of being 3d. The Steelhawks does this a bit by having the hawk over the shield. I’d say they are pretty equal in terms of location due to their proximity. (62 words)



15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=114645

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.
Jepox and Eggy are the two users I still frequently talk to that go back 4+ years now. Jepox gets the nod here because he's active and we record podcasts together. They may be crappy podcasts, but they are fun to make.


PBE PT +3 tpe


16/16