Matchday Recap: S01D16
Matchday 16 delivered the full range—shutouts and nine-goal thrillers, shootout drama and a bruising one-goal grind. If you missed a single puck drop tonight, mes amis, you missed everything this league has to offer.
PRA 4 — MTL 2
The Stone Opera had barely settled into its seats before Pavel Krejčí drove Dmitri Volkov into the glass at 0:46, and forty-eight seconds into the game the gloves were already on the ice. Coincidental majors, and Prague and Montréal were off to the races. Élodie Gagnon gave the Maples the early edge on a power play finish at 4:33, but the Phantoms answered immediately—Barbora Králová converting on their own man advantage at 7:23. By the end of the first, the scoreboard read 1-1 and the penalty sheet was already a novel, with four separate fights logged and seventeen penalties across the full sixty minutes. Quel match incroyable!
The second period was where Prague seized control. Dmitri Volkov—who, to his credit, kept skating hard after the opening-bell brawl—buried the go-ahead goal at 2:15, assisted by Chloé Moreau. Martin Procházka made it 3-1 before Tereza Horáková capped a productive middle frame with a power play conversion, pushing the Phantoms to a 3-2 lead entering the third. Kateřina Dvořáková, who fought twice and scored once tonight—c'est incroyable—sealed it at 3:48 of the third. At 1.61 to win, Prague were the expected victors, and they delivered. Dvořáková was simply everywhere.
STO 3 — VLA 2
This one was an upset in the standings, a war in the trenches, and a shootout gem all at once. The Vladivostok Vodkas came into The Still Strait as the slight favorite at 1.78, and they did everything right for 58-plus minutes—yet they still left without the two points. Igor Zaytsev was magnificent, potting a pair in the first period to give the visitors a 2-1 edge they protected deep into the game. Viktor Hallberg and Astrid Engström traded assists as the Sirens clawed back to 2-2 in the second, and the game descended into a grinding physical contest—22 total hits, four fights, including Klara Åström and Yelena Pavlova going at it in overtime itself.
Through regulation and a full overtime frame that produced nothing but bruises, neither team could break through. Then came the shootout, and it was Oscar Söderström—steady, composed—who ended it at 4:31 to give Stockholm the extra point. Söderström had been a physical force all night, with an open-ice hit in the third that set the tone; his shootout winner was a fitting punctuation mark. The Sirens stole this one, and the hockey gods were watching from The Still Strait's rafters. Magnifique.
TOK 1 — HEL 3
At odds of 1.67, the Tokyo Titans were comfortable favorites heading into The Neon Crossing—but the Helsinki Howlers had other plans. The upset was set in motion in the very first minute: Shūta Tanaka took a penalty at 0:26, and Saku Järvinen needed just twenty-one seconds of power play time to beat the Tokyo netminder. That early deficit would shadow the Titans all night.
Tokyo fought back in the second, Ren Inoue tying it at 5:51 off a Mei Fujita assist—but Anniina Tuominen answered before the buzzer at 13:54, restoring Helsinki's lead after Elina Heikkinen drew a penalty. Tuominen was simply relentless tonight. She came back in the third to put it away on a power play at 6:22, her second of the game, while Fujita and Järvinen—who'd already been trading hits all night—dropped the gloves in the second in a bout that felt personal. Two goals, strong board work, and a commanding road win for the Howlers. Tokyo needed this one at home. C'est dommage.
ANC 1 — RIM 3
The Anchorage Auroras came out with purpose in the opening frame, throwing bodies early and often. Isaiah Tobin, Tara Alexie, and Heather Braund all delivered punishing checks before the game erupted at 4:35, when Lorenzo Fabbri dropped the gloves with Kira Naluktaq after a thunderous collision along the boards. It set the tone immediately—physical, emotional, and absolutely uncompromising. Bryce Denison gave Anchorage life midway through the period with a sharp finish off a Sierra Peters setup, but the response from Rimini was clinical. On the power play, Fabbri buried the equalizer just over a minute later, and suddenly the Rinklers had momentum.
The second period belonged entirely to Rimini. Not just on the scoreboard, but in composure. Before play could truly settle, the game was interrupted by a measured flare from The Sixth at 5:23. Every player vanished from the ice simultaneously. The arena fell silent. Le Council offered little beyond confirmation that observation continued. C'était complètement fou how quickly both clubs resumed once play returned, but Rimini adapted faster. Fabbri struck again at 8:28, finding space in traffic and finishing with authority, and Sofia Barbieri added a spectacular bat-out-of-the-air goal later in the frame that stunned even the Anchorage crowd into admiration.
Anchorage pushed in the third but never truly solved Rimini’s structure. Chiara Ricci and Valentina Colombo continued the heavy physical play, while Francesca Serra closed the evening with one final crushing hit on Heather Braund. The Rinklers were disciplined where it mattered, opportunistic on special teams, and anchored by a dominant performance from Lorenzo Fabbri—two goals, a fight, and complete control of the emotional temperature of the game. That is how road victories are earned in this league.
JBG 1 — WPG 0
Die Goue Myn hosted what appeared on paper to be a Winnipeg Wendigos win—the visitors were priced at 1.63—but Lerato Dlamini had no interest in the oddsmakers' opinions. Her goal at 3:39 of the third, set up beautifully by Lindiwe Sithole, was the only tally of a game defined by structure and physicality. Jake Fehr was tireless for Winnipeg, recording three hits across the evening and putting consistent pressure on the Jaguars' defensive structure, but the Wendigos couldn't convert despite the territorial play.
Two scoreless periods gave way to a third that came alive only briefly—and Johannesburg made that moment count. Naledi Khumalo added some exclamation later in the frame, dropping the gloves with Tyler Chicken to protect the lead and send a message. It wasn't a pretty win, but in this league, une victoire est une victoire. The Jaguars take a well-earned upset and climb in the standings.
MCM 3 — MUM 2
This was a fascinating game at The Remote Range—a coin-flip matchup on paper (McMurdo at 1.95, Mumbai at 1.87) that lived up to the billing. The first period set the tone immediately: Ji-hoon Baek opened the scoring for the Monoliths at 0:50, Vikram Joshi answered for Mumbai at 2:07, and the teams were level heading into the intermission. C'est incroyable how fast these two exchanges went.
McMurdo pulled away with two quick goals in the second—Yumi Takeda and Natasha Borova each finding the net within 44 seconds of each other to make it 3-1—and that cushion proved just sufficient. Mumbai's Kiran Bhatt pulled one back at 7:36 of the third, and the Monsoons pressed hard to the final buzzer, but the Monoliths held on. Chris Elliot was the engine, picking up two assists and finishing his checks throughout. McMurdo won a game they were expected to win narrowly—and in a result this tight, that's no small thing.
SAO 2 — HAV 0
The Green Canopy was electric as the São Paulo Serpents handled their business against the Havana Hammers with clean, disciplined hockey. At 1.68, São Paulo were the clear favorite, and they delivered a professional performance from start to finish. Rafael Oliveira opened the scoring on a power play in the first, Lisandra Álvarez—who'd taken the penalty—watching from The Sixth as her team went down a goal. Felipe Carvalho made it 2-0 in the second with a spectacular bat-out-of-the-air finish, Lucas Almeida setting him up perfectly.
What's notable about this Serpents win is what didn't happen—no fights, well-managed penalties, disciplined from the opening faceoff. Havana tried to impose themselves physically, 13 combined hits tell that story, but they never truly threatened the São Paulo net. Gustavo Ribeiro was a consistent presence up front, setting up the opener and finishing his checks. The Serpents look every bit like a team with ambitions this season. Beau travail, São Paulo.
PER 1 — GDL 2
The Red Furnace hosted a brawl masquerading as a hockey game, and when the smoke cleared, the Guadalajara Gatos had pulled off the upset—coming in at 1.94 to Perth's 1.87, essentially a coin flip, but still a road win in a hostile building. Six fights in a single game, mes amis. Six. The first period alone saw Mia Thornton mix it up with Andrés Rojas and Valentina Ramírez go after Eliza Cartwright, and Carlos Morales gave Guadalajara the 1-0 lead on a power play while Perth was serving time.
The game remained 0-1 through a scoreless second that somehow produced four more fights despite zero goals, the tension building like a pressure cooker. Then the third cracked it open: Emilio Delgado—who'd assisted on the opener—batted home his own goal at 11:57 to make it 2-0, and when Zara Patel scored at 13:37 for Perth, it was too little, too late. Emilio Delgado and Carlos Morales each finished with a goal and an assist—a two-man show that carried the Gatos through a very hostile night in Western Australia.
BUS 4 — USH 0
The Frozen Dock was in full voice as the Busan Blizzards dismantled the Ushuaia Undertow without mercy. Four goals, 23 hits, and a shutout—the Blizzards were home favorites at 1.71 and they played like it, taking command early and never relinquishing it. Eun-bi Han opened the scoring at 6:49 of the first—right after the early fighting settled—and Seung-ho Jung converted a power play in the second before Hye-jin Choi made it 3-0 less than fifteen seconds later. Extraordinary sequence. Luciana Romero fought three times for Ushuaia and kept skating, but there was nothing the visitors could do to slow the Blizzards' momentum.
Yuna Kang added the fourth at 3:47 of the third, assisted by So-hee Hwang, who had herself dropped the gloves earlier in the game. Eun-bi Han was the standout—a goal, an assist, two hits, and a fight. She set the tone before the game was two minutes old and never let off. A complete, dominant performance from Busan. Quelle démonstration de force.
NRB 5 — DKR 4
Save the best for last. The Ochre Reserve witnessed something remarkable tonight—nine combined goals, a stunning four-goal first period, a Dakar comeback from 4-2 down, and then an overtime winner to send the Nairobi Narwhals home with the win. At 1.84, Nairobi were the slight home favorites, and they looked world-beaters through the first twenty minutes. Faith Wanjiru was extraordinary—two goals, an assist, and the kind of physical presence that makes forwards earn every inch—and Moses Okello, Samuel Njoroge, and Khady Bâ all contributed as the teams combined for six goals in the first period alone. Quel match!
Dakar didn't fold. They went quiet in the second—both teams played tentatively with the two-goal advantage on the board—but in the third, Ibrahima Sarr and Khady Bâ brought the Djinns all the way back to 4-4, Awa Diop picking up both assists in a remarkable comeback push. The Ochre Reserve collectively held its breath through the third. In overtime, it was Amara Osei—assisted by Dennis Wafula, who had been quietly excellent all night—finishing at 11:13 to give Nairobi the dramatic win. C'est incroyable. What a matchday to close out on.
Sixteen matchdays in, and this league continues to reward the faithful. We've got upsets from Helsinki to Guadalajara, a nine-goal thriller in Nairobi, and Stockholm surviving on a shootout goal. Stay warm out there, wherever you're watching from. This is Hockay, and there is no sport like it.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council notes that Matchday 16 has concluded. Nine games were played. Goals were scored. The standings have been adjusted. Le Council has no further comment at this time.