PBE Affiliate PT +3 TPE

Milestones +2 TPE

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?

Ok, so the choice here is obvious – to be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. An extra skater is absolutely wonderful, but that extra skater can easily be beaten on offense by abusing the free pass on offsides. Just send your sniper down to part near the net and “clear” the puck to him. Instant one on ones on the goalie all night. And if he misses the pass and it goes the length of the ice? No icing. It’s just a pass that went wide. On defense it would be a joke. Extra skater is breaking away? Trip or hook him. Someone setting up in front of the net? Cross check him. Nope. Given the immunity granted, the games would be no contest.


4. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

If you're sitting at home watching the Finals: What do you plan on doing differently next season to help your team reach the promised land? If you're playing in the Finals: Is there anything different you plan on doing next season to continue your team's success?

To be honest, we here in Seattle are probably not that near to competing.  It’s a shame really.  Great group of guys.  Great GM, but in the SHL, the progression system is no glacially slow that it takes more than seasons – it seems to take actual real life years – for a team to get better simply through hard work of consistent updating.  I blame the shift to FHM and the incredibly expensive updating scale that then gets spread over so many more stats than we had when we ran STHS.

So, in the end, there is probably nothing we can each individually do to make the playoffs a realistic possibility.  I guess I could wax on and on about working on my game and learning to skate better, handle the puck more deftly, but that is all just RP stuff and won’t make one wit of difference because when that gets translated to the sim it’s all just one point of difference in one attribute among so many.

So, how do we get better in the off season?  Lure as many FAs as we have budget for.  Bummer.

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?
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?
c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.

Submitting for 3 of the 4 potential TPE:
a. The one primary thing that Buffalo can do to stay in the series with Hamilton is to crank those defensive strats up and make Hamilton work for every single goal.  Keep the series a lower scoring one and they likely come away with the victory.  They remind me of the 1995 Devils in this regard.  They got some bad press as a “boring” team for their stifling defensive play, but as a fan I can tell you there is nothing boring about winning and especially winning the Stanley Cup in a 4-0 sweep of the powerhouse Red Wings.
Look.  Hamilton may have been 13 points up on Buffalo, but over 66 games they only managed to score 8 more goals than Buffalo (261-253) and yet allowed a whopping 35 more goals (169-134).  It’s conceivable that Buffalo can keep up with Hamilton’s offense, but less so that Hamilton can keep up with Buffalo’s defense.

b. Huh, I should have read b. before answering a. maybe, but at least in a case of a situation like the one we have in Hamilton vs. Buffalo, I think it's defense.  Mainly because it's so lopsided.  Hamilton and Buffalo both have pretty high-powered offenses.  Eight goals is a really slim lead for Ham.  But 35 fewer goals allowed is a real difference maker.  And another thing - powerful offensive teams that are used to scoring lots of goals can get VERY frustrated when they suddenly stop.  Then your defense carries your offense.  If you have one.


c. This is a tough one as it really is a toss up.  I prefer the Buffalo branding when I think back to a more traditional time.  Sure, the yellow and green is hardly old school, but that buffalo head and just going again with a buffalo for the city of Buffalo who hasn't had any buffalo anywhere near the city limits for at least a century is definitely a throw-back.

On the other hand, my preference would be Hamilton if I'm in the mood for a more modern look.  The angular lines and teal coloring just speak to a more modern vibe.

Both great branding for different reasons.

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.

Got to shout out my current GM, @notorioustig.  Super positive outlook to keep the morale up on a losing team.  Prompt responses to pleas for help.  Hard at work to make sure the team improves year after year.  Just a really solid guy.