Matchday Recap: S01D17
Matchday 17 is in the books, folks, and what a collection of results to sort through. The favorites took their lumps across the board tonight—upsets piled up like snow against The Cold Lodge's outer walls—and more than a few arenas saw tempers boil over in spectacular fashion. Buckle in.
MTL 3 — STO 2
The Oldest Rink hosted what looked, on paper, like a straightforward Stockholm Sirens win—the Sirens came in as slight favorites at 1.78—but the Montréal Maples had other ideas, earning a genuine upset by the final buzzer.
The opening period was a lively affair. Oscar Söderström and Dmitri Volkov both found themselves in The Sixth within 33 seconds of each other early on, and Filip Nyström made Montréal pay on the power play, burying the chance at 9:28 with help from Albin Nordlund. The Maples answered quickly—Philippe Dubois, assisted by Catherine Lavoie, knotted it at 12:28 after Chloé Moreau softened things up with a heavy check on Lucas Bredberg.
The second period was where Montréal seized control, and they did it in breathtaking fashion. Élodie Gagnon went top shelf at 4:31, and then—sixteen seconds later—Dubois made it 3-1. Seize secondes. Lucas Pelletier's open-ice hit on Nyström at 3:45 seemed to set the tone for that stretch.
Stockholm refused to fold. Viktor Hallberg found the back of the net just 51 seconds into the third, and the Sirens pushed hard, collecting four penalties between the two clubs in the final frame. But Montréal's goaltending held. Philippe Dubois—two goals on the night—was the difference-maker in this one. Quel match!
HEL 5 — PRA 3
C'est incroyable—the Dark Sauna delivered everything its name promises tonight. The Helsinki Howlers entered as home underdogs at 2.52 against the Prague Phantoms at 1.53, and they sent those odds straight through the glass.
The first period was ugly in the best possible way. Within the opening four minutes, David Růžička had driven Mikko Hämäläinen twice, the second encounter sparking a full fight at 4:02. Both men drew matching majors. Sixty-seven seconds later, Noora Koskinen and Eliška Veselá squared off for another five-and-five. Prague eventually cashed in on a power play advantage, Růžička—a man who earned his extra ice time the hard way—converting at 10:09 off Lucie Šťastná's setup. Fourteen total hits and two fights in the first period alone. Helsinki's home faithful had their money's worth before the midpoint of the game.
Saara Virtanen steadied the Howlers in the second, scoring twice—once at 6:38 and again at 14:12—to give Helsinki a 2-1 lead after forty minutes.
The third was a wild five-goal period. Martin Procházka pulled Prague even on a power play at 4:43, but Aleksi Korhonen answered at 5:31. Then Jenni Laine scored at 7:18, Procházka struck again at 7:39 to keep it tight at 4-3, before Saku Järvinen—three points on the night, the quiet backbone of this win—buried a power play goal at 13:07 to seal it. The Howlers earned every one of those five goals.
VLA 1 — ANC 10
There is no polite way to write about this one. The Vladivostok Vodkas, playing at home at The Last Terminal, came in as 1.62 favorites. They lost 10-1. Mon Dieu.
Kira Naluktaq was simply unstoppable—four goals and an assist across all three periods, the kind of performance you expect to see maybe twice in a full season. The Anchorage Auroras built a 3-0 lead in the first, with Naluktaq scoring twice and Sierra Peters adding one, all of them assisted by the tireless Carlos Medina, who finished with three helpers. The brawl between Mason Kluane and Yelena Pavlova at 12:12 barely registered against the scoreline damage being done.
By the end of the second it was 7-0. Bryce Denison, Naluktaq again, Heather Braund, and Paige Riordan all found the net. The Vodkas were chasing ghosts. Denis Baranov's goal in the third at 11:03—the Vodkas' lone tally—was a small mercy, bookended by three more Aurora goals including Cody Tulik's finish off Naluktaq's assist at 11:41.
Sierra Peters finished with two goals and two assists. Medina had three assists and still found time to drop the gloves with Nikita Sorokin in the third. The Auroras were a machine tonight, the Vodkas a cautionary tale. Results like this shake standings in a hurry.
WPG 3 — TOK 4
The Cold Lodge had a barn-burner on its hands, and the Tokyo Titans—listed as 2.03 underdogs—walked out with a 4-3 upset victory over the Winnipeg Wendigos. Eighteen total hits. One glorious final-second fight. This is why we watch.
Haruto Nakamura got the Titans on the board first at 6:01, Sakura Shimizu setting the play up. Winnipeg's Jonas Brevik tied it at 8:19. The first period was a physical chess match, bodies flying everywhere—Nicole Flett, Anna Flett, and Leah Blacksmith all delivering big moments along the boards.
Tokyo took control in the second. Kaito Itō and Ren Inoue scored within 91 seconds of each other—Riku Mori picking up assists on both—to give the Titans a 3-1 lead heading to the third.
Winnipeg came out swinging in the final frame. Anna Flett scored at 3:37, Mei Fujita answered on a power play at 5:06, but Leah Blacksmith—who batted a puck clean out of the air at 11:56—made it 3-4. The Wendigos couldn't find the equalizer. And when Kaito Itō finished Dylan Fife with a massive hit at 14:59—then immediately dropped his gloves and challenged him—it was the punctuation mark on an already-memorable evening. Both men took coincidental majors and skated to The Sixth together. Itō: one goal, two assists in his own right (via the stats), and one lasting statement.
RIM 3 — MCM 4
A coin-flip game if ever there was one—the McMurdo Monoliths at 1.89, the Rimini Rinklers at 1.92—and The Coastal Pavilion delivered a result that matched those nearly identical odds. McMurdo edged it 4-3, and it was a penalty-riddled, fist-throwing affair from first puck drop.
Rimini actually struck first through Giulia Bianchi at 7:32, Luca Ferretti earning the helper after his earlier open-ice hit set the tempo. McMurdo responded with Ji-hoon Baek's goal and then a Sven Lindberg power play conversion—two goals in the span of 103 seconds—to take a 2-1 lead.
The second period brought chaos. Ferretti and Kofi Mensah dropped the gloves at 1:18. Five penalties hit the books in the first nine minutes. Through the disorder, McMurdo's Priya Anand and Ingrid Solheim—Solheim showing two-way dominance with a goal and an assist across the night—stretched the lead to 4-2. Nico De Luca pulled one back for Rimini at 9:51.
In the third, Alessandro Conti and Priya Anand had their own private war—a big hit at 6:44 followed immediately by punches thrown and five minutes apiece. Marco Rossetti scored for the Rinklers at 5:36 to make it 3-4, but Rimini couldn't find the tying goal despite sustained pressure. Sven Lindberg—a point in each period—was the steady hand McMurdo needed. Credit to the Rinklers: they never stopped pushing.
HAV 0 — JBG 1
Low-scoring, high-tension, deeply stubborn. The Johannesburg Jaguars came into The Rhythm Bureau as 2.24 underdogs and left with a 1-0 upset that was built entirely on one great goal and defensive grit.
Naledi Khumalo scored the only goal of the night at 10:31 of the first period, Sipho Nkosi providing the setup. After that, Havana threw everything at the Jaguars and came up empty. Thirteen total hits in a game with one goal tells you everything—this was defensive warfare masquerading as a hockay game.
The second period produced no goals despite a Lindiwe Sithole penalty giving the Hammers a power play opportunity. Havana's heavy hitters—Claudia Pérez, Yanelis Peña, Yoandri Hernández—kept slamming into Jaguars defenders, but the puck refused to cross the line.
By the third, tempers were fully through the roof. Thabo Mokoena and Orlando Machado traded punches at 2:35. Then Claudia Pérez and Lindiwe Sithole went at it at 9:38—both earning five minutes. The Hammers pressed to the final whistle, Yanelis Peña picking up a late minor penalty in one last act of frustrated urgency. None of it changed the number on the board. Johannesburg—steady, composed, willing to absorb—deserved every point.
MUM 2 — PER 5
The Perth Pyres arrived at The Salt Pavilion as 2.07 underdogs against a Mumbai Monsoons squad listed at 1.76. They left with a convincing 5-2 victory. Another upset—Matchday 17 is relentless.
The first period was competitive, both sides trading goal for goal—Divya Mehta for Mumbai, Mia Thornton for Perth. Nineteen total hits tell you how physical this contest got, and it started building immediately.
Perth seized the game in the second. Gemma Fletcher opened the scoring at 1:37, then Ananya Kulkarni replied to keep Mumbai within reach at 2-2. But Sienna Kapoor—a goal and an assist tonight—gave the Pyres the lead at 8:18, and Tahlia Nguyen, batting a remarkable goal out of the air at 12:03, made it 4-2. Kulkarni's spark wasn't enough against Perth's relentless counter.
Things got heated early in the third—Pooja Verma challenged Gemma Fletcher to a bout at 1:14, both women drawing matching majors. The hockay didn't change the trajectory. Riley Dawson buried a power play goal at 9:26 to put it out of reach at 5-2. Perth's depth up front was the story here: five different players found the scoresheet as goal-scorers across the game.
USH 2 — SAO 3
The South Passage hosted a physical grudge match—four fights across sixty minutes, the kind of game where every goal felt earned in blood and sweat. The São Paulo Serpents came in at virtually the same odds as the Ushuaia Undertow (1.90 vs. 1.91), and they took the win 3-2 in regulation.
The first period was all São Paulo. Lucas Almeida scored at 12:11 before Isabela Costa buried a power play goal at 14:52, Almeida picking up the helper on both. Before those goals, Thiago Pereira and Julieta Ríos had already dropped the gloves at 9:21—the game announcing its physical nature early.
Ushuaia showed character in the second, Florencia Ramos scoring a beauty at 2:06 to get one back. But the middle frame was more notable for its chaos—Santiago Figueroa and Gabriel Rodrigues fighting at 6:39, then Tomás Peralta and Mariana Lima exchanging blows at 10:42. Three fights in two periods.
The third brought two more goals and more intensity. Juliana Santos gave the Undertow hope at 4:19, before Valentina Giménez—two hits and a beautiful goal at 6:02—put São Paulo back ahead at 3-2. Gustavo Ribeiro and Florencia Ramos added a fourth fight late at 7:09 before both sides settled into jockeying for position. Ushuaia couldn't find the equalizer. The Serpents, physical and resilient, have plenty to be proud of tonight.
GDL 3 — NRB 2
Save the best for last, as they say—El Rincón Perdido gave us the full drama of a shootout victory, Guadalajara Gatos edging the Nairobi Narwhals 3-2 after overtime and a tiebreaker. The Gatos came in as heavy 1.59 favorites, so no upset here, but the Narwhals made them work every minute for every point.
The first period was scoreless but ferocious. Sofía Navarro and Wanjiku Mwangi squared off at 5:33 in what set the competitive tone. Andrés Rojas—three hits across the night, the motor of this Gatos side—was all over the ice from the opening shift.
Nairobi actually took charge in the second. Jimena Castillo opened the scoring for Guadalajara at 6:46, but the Narwhals answered through Nyambura Kamau and then Kevin Otieno within four minutes to lead 2-1. The Gatos needed a response.
Emilio Delgado delivered it in the third—a power play goal at 11:43, Andrés Rojas assisting, to tie it at 2-2. James Odhiambo and Daniela Salazar had already added their own five-and-five to the narrative moments earlier. Overtime solved nothing; one hit from Kamau was the only event of the extra frame. Then the shootout—and Emilio Delgado, cool as the Antarctic air, delivered the winner at 4:31. La victoire appartient aux audacieux. Delgado, two goals on the night including the one that mattered most, takes the headline.
What a matchday. Seven upsets across eleven games—the favorites had an abysmal evening, and the standings across this league are going to reflect that. Kira Naluktaq and Emilio Delgado were the individual stories, but Matchday 17 was really about teams refusing to follow the script. That's what makes this league something special.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Matchday 17 occurred. The volume of upsets has been logged. The record has been updated accordingly. Le Council expresses no surprise.