Matchday Recap: S02D01
Bonsoir, and welcome back. Season Two is underway, and if Matchday 01 is any indication, nobody around the league spent the off-season resting. Twelve games, four results that didn't match the odds sheet, and a few buildings that got considerably louder than the bookmakers expected. On commence, mes amis.
JBG 2 — USH 0
Die Goue Myn opened the season with a defensive struggle that nearly tipped into a brawl more than once. Johannesburg and Ushuaia were essentially even on the board—1.87 to 1.94—and the scoreline reflected a tight night.
The first period had no goals but plenty of theater. Lerato Dlamini and Valentina Giménez dropped the gloves at 9:03 and both took majors, the first of three fights Dlamini would be involved in before the night was through. Hits piled up on both sides, but the nets stayed clean.
Dlamini broke through in the second, going top shelf at 5:18 off a Bongani Mthembu feed for the opener. Four minutes later she was fighting again—this time Martina Vega—another set of coincidental majors. Lerato Dlamini: three fights in one game. Incroyable.
The third belonged to Lindiwe Sithole, who finished off a Thabo Mokoena feed at 13:59 to make it 2-0, the eventual final. Jaco van der Merwe and Florencia Ramos added one more fight to the ledger at 5:47. A quiet scoreline, a noisy night. Johannesburg starts 1-0.
NRB 7 — MUM 3
The Ochre Reserve hosted the highest-scoring game of the opening matchday, and Nairobi never trailed. Amara Osei was the story—two goals, an assist—in a Narwhals win that matched the modest home favoritism on the board.
Amara Osei opened the scoring just 25 seconds in, assisted by Peter Kimani, and the floodgates were already creaking. Kimani returned the favor at 6:14, and Osei made it 3-0 thirteen seconds later off a James Odhiambo feed. Three goals in the first six and a half minutes.
Mumbai found their feet in the second. Arjun Patil converted a power play at 5:20—Kiran Bhatt assisting—and Dennis Wafula brought the Monsoons within two late in the period. 4-1 after forty.
The third was chaos in both directions. Akinyi Ochieng and Divya Mehta traded goals in the opening four minutes, then Brian Kipchoge and Moses Okello struck for Nairobi within two minutes of each other. Kavya Iyer and Brian Kipchoge fought at 11:41—coincidental majors—before Rohan Deshmukh closed it out at 13:41, Kiran Bhatt picking up his second assist of the night. Final: 7-3. Ten goals, a perfect line for Amara Osei, and a statement win for the Narwhals.
CAI 3 — STO 1
The Pyramid Basin opened with fists before it opened with goals. Khaled Naguib and Axel Lindqvist dropped the gloves at 1:08—five and five apiece—setting the tone for a game that finished close to the pre-game odds, 1.90 to 1.91.
Ahmed Zaki broke through at 11:08, assisted by Mariam Khalil, for the only goal of a chippy first period that also saw Axel Lindqvist and Layla Mostafa exchange blows in the final minute—more coincidental majors. 1-0 Cairo after twenty.
The second period flipped the game on its head twice. Freja Sandström tied it for Stockholm at 5:55 off an Albin Nordlund assist, but Khaled Naguib answered just over two minutes later, finishing a feed from Ahmed Zaki. Karim Fahmy struck on the power play at 14:42, Farida Abdel-Rahman with the helper, and Cairo carried a 3-1 lead into the third.
The final period was all penalties and no goals—six infractions split between the sides, including a major from Albin Nordlund. Cairo's special teams did the damage early; the Crocodiles' discipline did the rest. Ahmed Zaki: a goal and an assist to open his season.
PER 5 — RIM 0
The Red Furnace lived up to its name. Perth opened the season with a shutout and four fighting majors, against odds that had this one nearly even—1.87 to 1.94.
Sofia Barbieri and Zara Patel set the physical tone early, fighting at 2:45 for matching majors, before Callum Reeves opened the scoring at 6:24 off a Mia Thornton feed. 1-0 Pyres after one.
The second saw Eliza Cartwright double the lead at 10:27, Sienna Kapoor assisting, before Francesca Serra and Cooper Hale traded blows at 13:39—coincidental majors, and Rimini's frustration starting to show.
The third was Perth at their most ruthless. Zara Patel opened the scoring herself at 0:37, assisted by Liam O'Brien, before Oscar Whitfield and Valentina Colombo fought at 3:03 and Cooper Hale and Chiara Ricci fought again at 5:51—two more sets of coincidental majors inside three minutes. Sienna Kapoor made it 4-0 at 6:38, and Gemma Fletcher capped the rout at 8:52, assisted by Patel for her second point of the night. Five-nothing, four fights, and a goalie who barely had to work for the shutout. Perth opens with a statement.
TOK 3 — HAV 2
The Neon Crossing delivered a tight, low-event game that came down to a frantic final period. Tokyo were modest home favorites at 1.85, and they needed every bit of the edge.
Shūta Tanaka opened the scoring on the power play at 2:37, finishing a feed from Haruto Nakamura, and that 1-0 lead held through a hitting-heavy second period that produced no goals from either side—just two teams testing each other's patience.
The third turned into a four-goal sprint. Mailén Domínguez tied it for Havana at 2:23, assisted by Reinier Cruz. Shūta Tanaka restored the lead at 9:21 with Sakura Shimizu picking up the assist, and barely two minutes later Shimizu scored herself off a Sōta Watanabe feed—3-1 Tokyo. Yordanis Sánchez pulled Havana within one at 14:21, Claudia Pérez with the helper, but time ran out before the visitors could find the equalizer.
Shūta Tanaka: two goals on the night, the difference-maker at The Neon Crossing. Tokyo open the season 1-0 in a game that was closer than the final score suggests.
BUS 2 — GDL 0
The Frozen Dock stayed scoreless for forty minutes, but it was never quiet. Busan and Guadalajara—even on the odds board at 1.87 to 1.94—spent the first two periods working out their differences with fists rather than the puck.
Dong-wook Yoon and Santiago Torres fought at 10:55 in the first—matching majors—and So-hee Hwang and Santiago Torres squared off again at 3:31 of the second, five and five apiece. Santiago Torres: two fighting majors before either team had scored. Penalties piled up throughout, but neither power play could connect.
The third period finally broke the deadlock, and it was the two players who'd been fighting all night who delivered. Dong-wook Yoon scored at 12:52, assisted by Ji-eun Shin, and So-hee Hwang answered for himself at 14:14, Soo-yeon Park with the feed. 2-0, the eventual final—a shutout built on patience as much as discipline. Busan's goaltending was the quiet story of a noisy night at The Frozen Dock.
HEL 4 — WEL 2
The Dark Sauna produced the wildest first period of the matchday—four goals and three fights inside fourteen minutes—and Helsinki never gave the lead back, edging out Wellington in a game close to the pre-game line, 1.86 to 1.96.
It started with Hemi Sullivan and Juhani Rantanen fighting at 4:19—offsetting majors—before Manaia Walker put Wellington ahead at 5:00, assisted by Awhina Clarke. Niko Mäkelä answered forty-five seconds later for Helsinki, Anniina Tuominen assisting, and Erik Johansson made it 2-1 at 8:52 off Mäkelä's feed. Aleksi Korhonen extended it to 3-1 at 9:29, Mikko Hämäläinen with the helper. Then Mikko Hämäläinen and Hemi Sullivan fought at 12:32, and Elina Heikkinen and Liam Tomoana followed two minutes later—five fighting majors and four goals before the period even ended. Quel début!
The second period, by contrast, was nearly silent—hits, no goals, both sides catching their breath.
The third saw Mereana Brooke pull Wellington within one at 0:45, assisted by Nikau Edwards, before Aleksi Korhonen and Kauri Thompson fought at 10:17. Elina Heikkinen sealed it at 11:11, assisted by Saku Järvinen—her third hit and first fighting major of the night to go with the goal. Final: 4-2, Helsinki.
MTL 1 — WPG 3
Upset. Montréal were the slight home favorites at 1.87 against Winnipeg's 1.94, but The Oldest Rink belonged to the Wendigos from the opening minute onward.
Curtis Favel needed just 51 seconds to open the scoring, assisted by Brody Flett, and Winnipeg never trailed. Dylan Fife and Dmitri Volkov fought at 9:15—five and five each—in an otherwise even period that ended 0-1.
The second period buried Montréal's chances. Jake Fehr converted a power play at 5:10, assisted by Anna Flett, and Marissa Spence made it 0-3 with nineteen seconds left in the period, Fehr collecting his second assist of the night. The home crowd at The Oldest Rink had little to cheer.
Chloé Moreau got Montréal on the board at 5:44 of the third, assisted by Catherine Lavoie, but it was academic by then. Jake Fehr finishes with a goal and two assists, and Winnipeg opens the season by knocking off the favorites on the road. Une belle surprise pour les Wendigos.
SAO 2 — DKR 4
Upset. São Paulo were favored at 1.87 at home, but Dakar controlled The Green Canopy from the opening goal and never looked back. Ousmane Diallo: two goals in a complete team performance for the Djinns.
Diallo opened the scoring at 5:45 of the first, assisted by Aminata Sow, and that was the only blemish on an otherwise quiet opening period.
The second period was where the game got away from São Paulo. Diallo struck again at 13:46, this time finished off a Moussa Ndiaye feed, and Ibrahima Sarr made it 0-3 with twenty seconds left in the period, Fatou Mbaye assisting. Three-nothing after forty, and the home crowd had gone quiet.
São Paulo's response in the third came too late to matter on the scoreboard, even as it got loud. Aminata Sow made it 0-4 at 11:25, returning the favor with an assist to Mamadou Guèye. Amanda Barbosa finally got São Paulo on the board at 14:16, assisted by Thiago Pereira, and Isabela Costa added a second with 1 second on the clock, set up by Mariana Lima. Final: 4-2, Dakar—but the result was decided long before that late flurry. The Djinns open the season with a statement road win.
PRA 2 — MDE 4
Upset. The Stone Opera was supposed to favor the home side—Prague at 1.87 to Medellín's 1.94—but Luciana Vélez had other ideas, scoring twice including the eventual winner.
The first period went back and forth. Valentina Ospina opened the scoring for Medellín at 0:53, assisted by Santiago Restrepo, before Eliška Veselá and Andrés Quintero fought at 7:12, matching majors. Martin Procházka tied it for Prague at 8:38, Tomáš Novák with the feed. 1-1 after twenty.
The second saw Santiago Restrepo and Tomáš Novák drop the gloves at 2:22—offsetting majors—in an otherwise tense period that turned on a single goal. Mariana Zapata restored Medellín's lead at 10:55, assisted by Mateo Arango. 1-2 after forty.
The third period was the most penalized of the night for either side, and it decided the game. Markéta Polák and Andrés Quintero fought at 2:52—five and five—before Luciana Vélez converted a power play at 3:55, Nicolás Betancur assisting, to make it 1-3. Adam Fiala and Valentina Ospina fought at 6:11, also five and five, and Tomáš Novák pulled Prague within one at 13:40, Martin Procházka returning the assist for his second point of the night. But Luciana Vélez sealed it with one second on the clock, Betancur picking up his second assist of the game. Final: 4-2, Medellín—Nicolás Betancur with two assists and two hits, Vélez with the brace that made the difference.
MCM 2 — VLA 4
Upset. The odds had this one nearly a coin flip—McMurdo 1.88, Vladivostok 1.93—and Vladivostok made the slight edge count at The Remote Range, despite a third-period scare.
Maxim Petrov opened the scoring late in the first, finishing a Ruslan Kozlov feed at 10:14, and the Monoliths spent the rest of the period absorbing hits from the league's most remote building.
Darya Kuznetsova doubled the Vodkas' lead at 4:51 of the second, assisted by Igor Zaytsev, in a period otherwise dominated by hits and penalties on both sides. 0-2 after forty.
The third opened with Anastasia Ivanova making it 0-3 at 0:42, Kirill Morozov assisting—but McMurdo refused to fold. Chris Elliot answered at 3:29, assisted by Yumi Takeda, and Kofi Mensah brought the Monoliths within one at 12:08, Tobias Frey with the helper. The Remote Range came alive, sensing a comeback. But Tatiana Novikova restored the two-goal cushion at 14:51, assisted by Artyom Volkov, and Vladivostok held on for a 4-2 final. A nervy finish to a game the books called even.
GND 4 — ANC 3
The Waypoint hosted a slow burn that exploded into six goals over the final twenty minutes. Gander were the very slight home favorites at 1.89, and they needed every one of those four third-period goals to hold off Anchorage.
The first period was pure attrition—hits from end to end, nothing on the board. Molly Kavairlook and Wade Bursey opened the second with a fight at 0:31, matching majors, before Vera Tobin buried a power play chance at 14:04, assisted by Mary Quinlan, for the only goal of the period. 1-0 Gander after forty.
Then the third happened. Levi Simmonds made it 2-0 at 2:27, assisted by Carlos Medina, and Bryce Denison extended it to 3-0 at 4:50, Isaiah Tobin with the feed. Wade Bursey answered for Anchorage at 6:35, Calvin Roebothan assisting, and Cyril Hynes made it 3-2 just ninety seconds later, Liam Coish with the helper—suddenly The Waypoint was wide awake. Bridget Walsh restored a two-goal cushion on the power play at 11:52, assisted by Janice Hapgood, but Kira Naluktaq pulled Anchorage back within one at 12:37, Mason Kluane assisting. The clock ran out before Anchorage could complete the comeback. Final: 4-3, Gander survive.
Twelve games, four upsets, a four-goal first period in Helsinki, and Amara Osei's perfect night in Nairobi—Season Two has not wasted any time reminding us why we love this league. One matchday down, many more to come. À la prochaine.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Matchday 01 of Season Two has occurred. Four results were inconsistent with pre-game expectations. Le Council notes that the off-season was, by all accounts, sufficiently restful, and that this fact is no longer relevant. The record has been updated accordingly.