Playoff Recap: S01P03
Perth and Rimini were already through. Today belonged to the two series that needed all three games to produce an answer—Guadalajara hosting Montréal at El Rincón Perdido, Tokyo hosting McMurdo at The Neon Crossing. One team from each series would advance to the Semi-Finals. One would go home. C'est ici que ça se termine.
GDL 2 — MTL 4
Montréal had won on the road in Game 1 and lost at home in Game 2. Guadalajara had the building, the crowd, and a Daniela Salazar who had been the best player across both games of this series. None of it was enough.
The Maples scored twice in the first period and made both of them look easy. Catherine Lavoie batted one out of the air at 2:42—Chloé Moreau assisting, the same combination that has produced goals all season—then Marc-Antoine Dufresne found the back of the net at 8:43, Sarah-Maude Fortin with the feed. Moreau added two hits on the night to make clear she was in every corner of this game. Two-nothing Montréal through twenty minutes, and El Rincón Perdido went quiet in a way it rarely does.
The second brought a response. Salazar converted a power play at 4:38—Élodie Gagnon had been called at 3:41, Rodrigo Vargas threading the setup—and the building woke up. Montréal answered almost immediately: Amélie Bouchard at 5:06, Lavoie picking up her second point of the night. One-three, and Guadalajara kept pressing without finding another way through.
The third became emotional. Diego Hernández converted on the power play at 7:17—Valentina Ramírez assisting, Moreau serving her time in The Sixth. Then Sofía Navarro drove Marc-Antoine Dufresne into the boards at 9:04 and they dropped the gloves—coincidental majors, a series-long rivalry reaching its natural conclusion. Philippe Dubois sealed it at 13:02, Dmitri Volkov with the assist. Dubois and Salazar fought at 14:48. A final answer to a question this series had been asking since Game 1. Montréal win 4-2. Les Maples sont en demi-finales.
Series: Montréal wins 2–1. Montréal Maples advance to the Semi-Finals.
TOK 2 — MCM 1
The Neon Crossing hosted the third game of this series and its most controlled. After a chaotic opening game and a grinding defeat in Antarctica, Tokyo came home and played the kind of disciplined, purposeful Hockay that closes out series. Two goals. Three fights. McMurdo never found a way to make it level.
The first period was the loudest. Two fights in the opening twelve minutes: Yumi Takeda hit Kaito Itō into the glass at 6:05, they fought at 6:07—coincidental majors—and Sakura Shimizu and Priya Anand followed at 10:19. Through everything, Mio Kobayashi scored on the power play at 11:27—Diego Fuentes had been called at 5:30, Aoi Yamamoto with the assist. One-nothing Tokyo after a period that asked everything of everyone who played in it.
The second was cleaner and decisive. Mei Fujita made it 2-0 at 6:15—Sōta Watanabe with the pass—and Natasha Borova fought Kobayashi at 8:14, both departing for five. McMurdo were trailing by two and running out of periods.
Kofi Mensah gave McMurdo life at 5:55 of the third—a beauty, Borova with the assist after her own return from The Sixth—and the building held its breath for the final fourteen minutes. Tokyo held. Ingrid Solheim took a penalty at 13:48, giving Tokyo a power play they didn't need to convert. Final: 2-1. Kobayashi: one goal, one fight. Fujita: one goal. Mensah: one goal, two hits—the thread of a comeback that came up one short. The Monoliths leave Tokyo for the last time this season.
Series: Tokyo wins 2–1. Tokyo Titans advance to the Semi-Finals.
The Quarter-Finals are over. Four teams remain: the Rimini Rinklers, the Perth Pyres, the Montréal Maples, and the Tokyo Titans. Two series ended in sweeps. Two went to three games and ended today with clean, earned wins for the home side.
The Jambono has resurfaced. The bracket is set. Les demi-finales commencent.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Playoff Matchday 3 occurred and that the Quarter-Final round is now complete. Four teams have advanced: Rimini, Perth, Montréal, and Tokyo. Le Council notes that the Montréal Maples have now won a deciding playoff game on the road, which is being logged alongside the other entries in the Montréal file, which has grown considerably. Le Council confirms that Semi-Final brackets will be announced through appropriate channels with the gravity the situation deserves. The Jambono has resurfaced. Le Council is aware. The record has been updated accordingly.