Matchday Recap: S01D23

Matchday 23 arrived with the weight of a season at its turning point—ten games across every corner of the globe, and not a single one short on drama. Four upsets on the card, a goal-fest in Guadalajara, overtime heartbreak on the Adriatic coast, and a third period in Mumbai that had to be seen to be believed. Let's get into it.

MTL 4 — TOK 0

The Oldest RinkMontréal Maples · 31,272 capacity · Syrup was electric from the drop of the puck, and the Montréal MaplesMontréal wasted no time making their case. Jean-François TremblayLW · MTL · ●●●●○ batted one out of the air at 1:42 of the first—just a remarkable piece of skill to open the scoring—and Jean-René BergeronC · MTL · ●●●○○ doubled it up before the period hit the six-minute mark. Tokyo's Mei FujitaD · TOK · ●●○○○ and Aoi YamamotoLW · TOK · ●●●○○ · Foggy, Translated, Sharp were physical throughout, but the Titans couldn't find the net to match their jam. A pair of penalties in the first disrupted any rhythm Tōkyō tried to establish.

The second period was when the Maples put the game to bed. Simon CôtéLW · MTL · ●●○○○ capitalized midway through the frame, assisted by Chloé MoreauD · MTL · ●●●○○ · Quiet who'd been taking her share of punishment all night, and then Élodie GagnonC · MTL · ●●●●●—who was everywhere, logging three hits on top of her goal—fired home to make it 4-0. Gagnon was simply outstanding. The third was a quiet, physical coda, with Catherine LavoieLW · MTL · ●●●○○ drawing two consecutive penalties, though neither cost Montréal anything.

Now here's the thing worth noting: Tokyo came in as the favorites at 1.81 to Montréal's 2.01. This was an upset, and a decisive one. The Maples didn't just win—they shut out the Titans completely. Quel match from this Montréal side.

RIM 2 — VLA 3 (OT)

C'est incroyable—the Coastal PavilionRimini Rinklers · 3,214 capacity · Riviera gave us everything we could ask for on a Matchday 23 evening. The Rimini RinklersRimini were the favorites at 1.78, and they fought their hearts out only to fall in overtime to Vladivostok's Darya KuznetsovaC · VLA · ●●●●○ · Heavy, Burning. What a story this one was.

Vladivostok drew first blood late in the first when Igor ZaytsevD · VLA · ●●○○○ batted one out of the air at 14:26—a goal that echoed back across the ice when Zaytsev himself took a penalty in overtime that briefly swung momentum. But Rimini answered emphatically in the second. Valentina ColomboD · RIM · ●●●●○ · Clumsy, Echo, Brittle, Foggy finished at 2:15, then Luca FerrettiRW · RIM · ●●●●○ · Clumsy, Heavy, Luminous put Rimini ahead at 9:32 with a beauty assisted by Giulia BianchiC · RIM · ●●●●● · Foggy, Echo, Awake, Brittle—and between those two Rinkler goals, Denis BaranovD · VLA · ●●●●○ · Quiet had kept Vladivostok level. The back-and-forth was breathless.

The third was a grinding, physical affair—eight hits and no goals, both teams clearly feeling the occasion. Rimini held on for what looked like a home win. Then overtime came. Elena MorettiLW · RIM · ●●●○○ · Brittle, Wandering went to The SixthThe dimension behind the penalty box. Players who enter may return changed. at 5:15, ZaytsevD · VLA · ●●○○○ followed at 8:51, and with both sides momentarily back to even strength, Darya KuznetsovaC · VLA · ●●●●○ · Heavy, Burning found the winner at 10:50, assisted by Artyom VolkovRW · VLA · ●●●●○ · Foggy. Rimini, the favorites, leave empty-handed. Heartbreaking for the home side.

PRA 4 — JBG 3

The Stone OperaPrague Phantoms · 11,111 capacity · Encore hosted what may be the wildest opening period of Matchday 23—four goals in the first fifteen minutes, with the Prague PhantomsPrague storming out to a 4-1 lead that looked like it might be a rout. Martin ProcházkaRW · PRA · ●●●●○ · Sharp struck at 1:06 off a gorgeous feed from Tomáš NovákLW · PRA · ●●●●○, Kateřina DvořákováC · PRA · ●●●●○ made it 2-0 with Novák picking up his second assist of the period, and Lucie ŠťastnáLW · PRA · ●●●○○ added a third before Johannesburg got on the board through Sipho NkosiRW · JBG · ●●●●○ at 7:49. Barbora KrálováC · PRA · ●●○○○ · Brittle, Echo, Luminous then capped the first with a fourth Prague goal—it was a stunning display in the opening frame.

But the Jaguars had come in as 1.65 favorites, and the upset alarm was sounding. Johannesburg chipped away. Pieter BothaD · JBG · ●●●●○ · Hollow cut it to 4-2 in the second, and then the game turned physical in a way you don't forget—Mandla ZuluLW · JBG · ●●○○○ laid two hits on Lucie ŠťastnáLW · PRA · ●●●○○ in quick succession at 14:02 and 14:27, and seconds later they dropped the gloves. Coincidental majors, and the ice temperature rose several degrees.

In the third, Sipho NkosiRW · JBG · ●●●●○—who finishes with two goals on the night—converted on the power play to make it 4-3 at 10:52, and suddenly the Phantoms were clinging on. Prague weathered the storm, but only just. A gritty, hard-earned result for the home side against the odds.

MUM 2 — STO 3

If you turned this game off after forty minutes, I understand you. Two scoreless periods at The Salt PavilionMumbai Monsoons · 67,843 capacity · Downpour, fourteen combined hits, a handful of penalties—and not a single puck finding the net. The Mumbai MonsoonsMumbai and Stockholm SirensStockholm were stuck in an attritional standoff, with Hugo WikströmD · STO · ●●○○○ throwing his body around with relentless energy for Stockholm and Kavya IyerC · MUM · ●●○○○ answering for the home side.

Then came the third period, and everything happened at once. Saga EkströmRW · STO · ●●●○○ lit the lamp at 0:37. Maja ForsbergC · STO · ●●●●○ made it 2-0 at 2:05—and then Rohan DeshmukhRW · MUM · ●●●●○ responded for Mumbai thirty seconds later at 2:35. Then Arjun PatilLW · MUM · ●●●●○ made it 2-2 at 6:23. Three goals in under six minutes, a dead game suddenly alive. Mumbai, the slight favorites at 1.83, had the Sirens rocking.

But it was Stockholm who had the final word. Filip NyströmRW · STO · ●●●●○, assisted by the excellent Maja ForsbergC · STO · ●●●●○ who also logged two hits and a goal, buried it at 14:42 to steal the win. An upset on the final shot of the game. Mumbai will rue those first forty empty minutes. Forsberg was the difference—simply outstanding.

HEL 4 — SAO 3

The Dark SaunaHelsinki Howlers · 13,780 capacity · Steam earned its name on this one—a hot, physical game that kept threatening to boil over. Helsinki came out flying, with Liisa NieminenD · HEL · ●●○○○ · Brittle, Hollow opening the scoring at 2:24 and Erik JohanssonD · HEL · ●●●●○ adding a second at 9:44. Juliana SantosC · SAO · ●●●●○ · Echo pulled one back for São Paulo—and she would be the Serpents' best all night, finishing with two goals—but Saku JärvinenD · HEL · ●●●○○ restored the two-goal cushion before the period was out. A 3-1 lead for the Howlers, and it felt comfortable enough.

Comfortable until Camila FerreiraLW · SAO · ●●●○○ batted one out of the air in the second to make it 3-2 and set up a tense final frame. The third started with a penalty to Anniina TuominenD · HEL · ●●●●○ · Awake, Tidal, and then at 3:06 Gustavo RibeiroD · SAO · ●●●○○ · Awake drove Aleksi KorhonenLW · HEL · ●●●●○ into the glass—and the gloves came off seconds later. Ribeiro and Korhonen, coincidental majors, both heading to The SixthThe dimension behind the penalty box. Players who enter may return changed.. The physicality was unmistakable.

Helsinki needed a response, and they got one: Aleksi KorhonenLW · HEL · ●●●●○—same Aleksi Korhonen who'd just been in a fight—scored the 4-2 goal at 13:01 with an assist from TuominenD · HEL · ●●●●○ · Awake, Tidal, the same player who'd been penalized earlier in the period. And then SantosC · SAO · ●●●●○ · Echo struck again at 14:48 for 4-3, but there wasn't enough time. Helsinki holds on. Thiago PereiraRW · SAO · ●●●●○ · Sharp's two assists for São Paulo were immense, even in defeat.

GDL 8 — ANC 3

Mon dieu. El Rincón PerdidoGuadalajara Gatos · 21,758 capacity · Nine Lives witnessed a statement performance from the Guadalajara GatosGuadalajara—this wasn't just a win, this was a declaration. Eight goals, and the game was effectively over before anyone had time to blink. The Gatos rattled off four goals before the midpoint of the first period: Molly KavairlookC · ANC · ●●●●○ · Clumsy at 1:48 (in what was Anchorage's only real moment of joy early), Daniela SalazarD · GDL · ●●○○○ · Luminous, Brittle at 2:26, Sofía NavarroD · GDL · ●●●●○ · Quiet at 3:01, and then Diego HernándezLW · GDL · ●●●●○ at 10:58 made it 4-1 even as the Auroras' Cody TulikRW · ANC · ●●●●○ · Wandering, Burning scored a fine power-play goal to keep things briefly interesting at 13:33.

Guadalajara came in at 1.52, so no upset here—but the margin was something else. Rodrigo VargasD · GDL · ●●●○○ was the star of the evening, finishing with two goals and an assist to go with two hits—a complete performance. Diego HernándezLW · GDL · ●●●●○ and Daniela SalazarD · GDL · ●●○○○ · Luminous, Brittle each contributed a goal and two assists respectively. In the third, Vargas struck twice more at 2:06 and 9:51 to put the game entirely out of reach. Anchorage scored three, which flatters them slightly. The Gatos were merciless.

WPG 3 — BUS 1

The Cold LodgeWinnipeg Wendigos · 15,321 capacity · Hunger was lively from the very first shift. Leah BlacksmithD · WPG · ●●●●○ opened the scoring for Winnipeg at 0:57 of the first—less than a minute in—and the Wendigos looked like they'd set the tone. Then Dylan FifeC · WPG · ●●●○○ · Heavy laid a hit on Hye-jin ChoiLW · BUS · ●●●○○ at 7:13 and Choi didn't appreciate it—gloves off, and both players earned coincidental majors. Physical, feisty HockayA sport no one asked for but everyone needed. at its best. Hye-jin Choi got the last laugh on that sequence too, scoring the equalizer at 14:59 off her own assist from that penalty kill. Tied at one after twenty.

The second was tight and scoreless, all forechecking and grinding. Winnipeg controlled the pace but couldn't convert. Then the third period belonged entirely to the Wendigos. Brody FlettLW · WPG · ●●●●○ · Wandering scored at 0:42—a beauty assisted by Curtis FavelD · WPG · ●●●●○ · Clumsy, Burning—and Nicole FlettLW · WPG · ●●●○○ followed at 1:50 off a Jake FehrD · WPG · ●●●○○ · Heavy, Quiet, Magnetic feed to make it 3-1. Three different Fletts on the scoresheet for Winnipeg, which is either remarkable depth or a very confusing dressing room. Either way, the game was settled. Winnipeg holds at home without drama after those early fireworks.

DKR 3 — MCM 1

The Sandy ParlorDakar Djinns · 19,482 capacity · Wishes delivered an upset that the odds did not see coming. The McMurdo MonolithsMcMurdo Station came in as 1.76 favorites, and the Dakar DjinnsDakar were priced accordingly at 2.08. By the end of the night, it was Dakar running away with a comfortable 3-1 victory. Ousmane DialloLW · DKR · ●●●●○ · Clumsy, Heavy, Luminous opened the scoring in the first at 11:13—a clean finish off an Aminata SowC · DKR · ●●●●● · Foggy, Awake assist—and the Djinns never really looked back.

The second period was when Dakar put the game out of reach. Ingrid SolheimD · MCM · ●●●●○ pulled one back for McMurdo at 2:17, which gave the visitors hope, but Abdoulaye TouréRW · DKR · ●●○○○ · Hollow answered at 8:21 and then Cheikh FallLW · DKR · ●●○○○ · Sharp—who'd taken a penalty in the first—cashed in on the power play at 11:01, assisted by Mariama CisséC · DKR · ●●●○○ · Awake. Three goals on the board for the Djinns, and that was more than enough. The third was largely administrative: six hits, four penalties, and McMurdo unable to find a way through. Ousmane DialloLW · DKR · ●●●●○ · Clumsy, Heavy, Luminous was dangerous all night alongside a textbook check, and Touré's goal-and-physical combo was exactly what this Dakar team needed. A statement result at home.

HAV 1 — NRB 3

The Rhythm BureauHavana Hammers · 14,623 capacity · Rhythm was buzzing, but it was the visiting Nairobi NarwhalsNairobi who left with the music playing. Havana came in as a narrow favorite at 1.98, Nairobi at 1.84—but the Narwhals were the sharper side throughout. Samuel NjorogeRW · NRB · ●●○○○ · Heavy, Quiet opened the scoring with a beauty at 5:12 in the first, Dennis WafulaLW · NRB · ●●○○○ picking up the assist, and Akinyi OchiengLW · NRB · ●●●○○ · Awake made it 2-0 at 13:22 with Mailén DomínguezC · HAV · ●●○○○ · Heavy, Awake doing her best to disrupt Nairobi's rhythm with three physical efforts in the period.

The second saw Osmany LeyvaRW · HAV · ●●○○○ · Clumsy lay a hit on Kevin OtienoRW · NRB · ●●●●○ · Brittle, Wandering and then the gloves came off—another fight on the night, coincidental majors issued—and Brian KipchogeC · NRB · ●●●●○ made it 3-0 on the resulting power play at 6:47. That was effectively the game right there. Havana found a late consolation through Dayana RodríguezLW · HAV · ●●●○○ · Echo on the power play at 2:45 of the third—a nice finish assisted by Lisandra ÁlvarezRW · HAV · ●●●○○ · Wandering—but it was a case of too little. Nairobi's Akinyi OchiengLW · NRB · ●●●○○ · Awake finishes with a goal and an assist in a controlled road victory. The Narwhals were disciplined where Havana was not.

USH 0 — PER 2

Down in Ushuaia, The South PassageUshuaia Undertow · 4,137 capacity · Drag lived up to its reputation as a place where goals go to die—at least for the first fifty minutes. Two scoreless periods of structured, disciplined, occasionally penalty-plagued hockay. The Perth PyresPerth, who came in as 1.64 favorites, looked like the better team but couldn't find the breakthrough. Gemma FletcherRW · PER · ●●●○○ was active defensively, laying big hits on Agustín MedinaD · USH · ●●●○○ · Echo and Tomás PeraltaC · USH · ●●●○○ · Heavy, and Sienna KapoorD · PER · ●●●●○ · Doubled, Brittle, Awake, Echo, Luminous was quietly influential even without a goal to her name.

The third period started with fireworks of a different kind: Mia ThorntonC · PER · ●●○○○ · Burning, Magnetic put Martina VegaC · USH · ●●○○○ · Doubled into the boards at 0:57 and Vega wasn't having any of it—fight at 0:59, coincidental five-minute majors. The ice was charged. And then, almost as if the fight unlocked something, Gemma FletcherRW · PER · ●●●○○ found the net at 5:54 with Sienna KapoorD · PER · ●●●●○ · Doubled, Brittle, Awake, Echo, Luminous picking up the assist. Then Tahlia NguyenLW · PER · ●●●○○ · Tidal added a second at 10:50, KapoorG · MUM · ●●●●● assisting again—a masterful playmaking performance from Kapoor across both goals. Ushuaia drew a blank all night. Perth takes the two points they were priced to take, but they had to work for every inch of it.

Matchday 23 was the kind of card that reminds you why we do this—four upsets, an overtime thriller on the Adriatic coast, eight goals in Guadalajara, and a third period in Mumbai that defied everything the first two frames had told us. Sixteen games into the second half of the schedule, the standings are being written in real time. I'll be back for Matchday 24. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other.

—JM Laflèche, Voice of HockayA sport no one asked for but everyone needed.

Le CouncilThe governing body of Hockay and Unexplained Ice Phenomena. acknowledges that Matchday 23 occurred. Ten contests were played. Five home teams won. Four did not. One required overtime. The Council notes, without further comment, that this is consistent with hockay.