Matchday Recap: S02D04
Bonsoir. Seven upsets on Matchday 04—a new high for the young season—and two of them needed overtime to confirm. Quelle nuit pour les outsiders. Let's get into it.
MDE 2 — WEL 5
Upset. La Ladera was supposed to favor Medellín—1.86 to Wellington's 1.95—but the Kahurangi blew the doors off in the third with three unanswered goals.
Rāwiri Patel and Sofía Estrada fought early, matching majors, before Manaia Walker put Wellington ahead at 6:47, Tane Wiremu assisting. Daniela Mejía tied it for Medellín at 12:15, Sofía Estrada with the feed, and Charlotte Hemi and Juan Esteban Ramírez fought late, coincidental majors. 1-1 after twenty.
Mariana Zapata restored Medellín's lead in the second, 7:43, Andrés Quintero assisting, and Valentina Ospina and Olivia Rangi fought late, coincidental majors. 2-1 Medellín after forty.
The third belonged entirely to Wellington. Manaia Walker tied it at 3:47, Nikau Edwards assisting. Olivia Rangi put Wellington ahead at 5:02, Charlotte Hemi with the feed. Liam Tomoana made it 2-4 at 5:33, Edwards picking up his second assist, and Rangi struck again at 9:27, Aroha Ngata assisting. Final: 2-5—Olivia Rangi with two goals, a hit, and a fight, and Manaia Walker matching her with a brace of his own. Medellín's lead evaporates in eighteen minutes.
GND 3 — MCM 1
The Waypoint produced a result almost dead even with the odds board—1.90 to 1.91—and Gander's third period was the difference.
Trina Pickett opened the scoring at 1:47, assisted by Brian Mercer, before Sven Lindberg tied it on the power play at 9:12, Chris Elliot assisting. 1-1 after twenty.
The second was quiet—penalties on both sides, no goals.
Gander pulled away in the third. Janice Hapgood made it 2-1 at 12:56, Hazel Strickland assisting, and Vera Tobin sealed it at 14:13, Brian Mercer picking up his second assist of the night. Three-one, Gander hold home ice.
USH 6 — HEL 3
The South Passage hosted nine goals and Ushuaia's biggest offensive showing of the young season, close to the modest home favoritism, 1.88 to 1.93.
The first period was Ushuaia from start to finish. Facundo Álvarez opened at 1:25, assisted by Santiago Figueroa. Agustín Medina doubled it at 2:10, Julieta Ríos assisting, and Tomás Peralta made it 3-0 at 10:02, Camila Aguirre with the feed. Florencia Ramos and Petteri Salonen fought late, coincidental majors, before Agustín Medina struck again at 13:44, Valentina Giménez assisting. Four-nothing after twenty.
The second was scoreless save for Santiago Figueroa and Jenni Laine dropping the gloves, coincidental majors.
Helsinki staged a third-period rally that fell well short. Aleksi Korhonen opened it at 2:20, Saku Järvinen assisting, and Nicolás Sosa answered for Ushuaia at 2:53, Agustín Medina picking up his second assist. Noora Koskinen pulled Helsinki within three at 3:13, Järvinen with his second assist, before Florencia Ramos made it 6-2 at 9:12, Camila Aguirre with her second helper of the night. Jenni Laine closed the gap to 6-3 at 10:30, Järvinen completing a three-assist night. Agustín Medina: two goals and an assist to lead the rout.
HAV 3 — WPG 1
The Rhythm Bureau saw Havana control the night against Winnipeg, close to the modest home favoritism, 1.89 to 1.92.
Yanelis Peña opened the scoring at 10:11, assisted by Orlando Machado, for the only goal of the first.
The second got chippy. Reinier Cruz extended Havana's lead at 2:38, Osmany Leyva assisting. Anna Flett pulled Winnipeg within one at 7:03, Jake Fehr with the feed, before Adonis Reyes and Curtis Favel fought, coincidental majors, and Yanelis Peña and Brody Flett followed with another set, also coincidental.
Orlando Machado sealed it in the third at 13:18, Lázaro Valdés assisting, and Leah Blacksmith and Mailén Domínguez closed the night with one more fight, coincidental majors. Three-one, Havana comfortable at home.
DKR 0 — PRA 4
Upset. The Sandy Parlor was supposed to favor Dakar—1.88 to Prague's 1.93—but the Phantoms delivered a shutout that built steadily across all three periods.
Kateřina Dvořáková opened the scoring at 3:47, assisted by Tomáš Novák, and Novák doubled the lead himself at 14:07, Markéta Polák with the feed. Two-nothing after twenty, Dakar already chasing.
Ondřej Marek made it 3-0 in the second, 10:58, Adam Fiala assisting.
The third saw Martin Procházka and Modou Diouf fight, coincidental majors, before Eliška Veselá completed the rout at 5:46, Lucie Šťastná assisting. Ousmane Diallo and Ondřej Marek closed with one more fight, five and five. Four-nothing, Tomáš Novák with a goal and an assist—Prague's road shutout against the odds.
MUM 3 — JBG 4
Upset. The Salt Pavilion delivered an overtime classic that Mumbai, the modest home favorites at 1.88, ultimately dropped. Thabo Mokoena with two goals and an assist for Johannesburg.
Mokoena opened the scoring at 0:46, assisted by Naledi Khumalo, and converted a power play just over two minutes later, Khumalo assisting again. Rahul Nair pulled Mumbai within one before the period ended, 8:09, Divya Mehta assisting. 1-2 after twenty.
Mumbai tied it in the second—Ananya Kulkarni on the power play at 1:42, Vikram Joshi assisting—before Pieter Botha and Kiran Bhatt fought, coincidental majors, and Zanele Ndaba and Divya Mehta followed with another set, also coincidental. Divya Mehta put Mumbai ahead at 10:34, Aditya Rao assisting. 3-2 after forty.
Lindiwe Sithole tied it for Johannesburg in the third, 11:05, Thabo Mokoena returning the assist. Three-three.
Overtime belonged to the visitors. Lerato Dlamini struck at 9:18, Bongani Mthembu assisting. Incroyable—Johannesburg steal it on the road.
CAI 1 — MTL 2
The Pyramid Basin produced a tight, mostly scoreless affair that needed overtime to settle, with Montréal the very slight favorites at 1.90.
The first two periods were almost entirely fights and nothing else. Layla Mostafa and Marc-Antoine Dufresne dropped the gloves in the first, coincidental majors, and Nour El-Sayed and Jean-René Bergeron followed in the second, five and five. No goals through forty minutes.
The third finally broke open. Salma Ibrahim and Dmitri Volkov fought, coincidental majors, and Nour El-Sayed and Amélie Bouchard followed with offsetting majors. Then Mariam Khalil put Cairo ahead at 12:54, Mostafa Rashad assisting, and Sarah-Maude Fortin answered just seven seconds—sorry, sixty-seven seconds—later, Lucas Pelletier with the feed. 1-1 into overtime.
Marc-Antoine Dufresne won it for Montréal at 5:17, Jean-François Tremblay assisting. A goal, two hits, and a fight for Dufresne—a complete night for the Montréal winger.
RIM 1 — SAO 4
Upset. The Coastal Pavilion was supposed to favor Rimini—1.88 to São Paulo's 1.93—but Amanda Barbosa's two-goal night, with a fight to spare, sent the Sambas home with the points.
Valentina Colombo opened the scoring for Rimini at 4:37, Lorenzo Fabbri assisting, for the only goal of the first.
São Paulo answered in the second. Amanda Barbosa tied it at 3:32, Gabriel Rodrigues assisting, and Chiara Ricci and Felipe Carvalho fought, coincidental majors, before Lucas Almeida put São Paulo ahead at 14:38, Camila Ferreira assisting. 1-2 after forty.
The third was all São Paulo. Francesca Serra and Amanda Barbosa fought, coincidental majors, before Barbosa struck again at 11:06, Rafael Oliveira assisting. Bruno Nascimento and Lorenzo Fabbri fought late, also coincidental majors, and Rafael Oliveira capped the night at 14:59, Felipe Carvalho with the feed. Final: 1-4—São Paulo's road upset complete.
STO 2 — NRB 4
Upset. The Still Strait was supposed to favor Stockholm—1.89 to Nairobi's 1.92—but the Narwhals' depth scoring carried the day, Kevin Otieno and James Odhiambo combining for four points.
The first period was scoreless—two minor penalties, little else.
Axel Lindqvist opened the scoring on the power play at 6:23, Filip Nyström assisting, before Amara Osei and Hugo Wikström fought, offsetting majors. Faith Wanjiru tied it late, 14:23, James Odhiambo assisting. 1-1 after forty.
Nairobi took over in the third. Kevin Otieno put the Narwhals ahead at 4:12, Wanjiku Mwangi assisting, before Albin Nordlund tied it again at 7:00, Axel Lindqvist with the feed. Kevin Otieno restored the lead at 11:15, James Odhiambo assisting, and Moses Okello sealed it at 12:54, Faith Wanjiru with the helper. Final: 2-4—Nairobi's road upset, built on a relentless third period.
GDL 5 — TOK 2
El Rincón Perdido produced a comfortable Guadalajara win, close to the modest home favoritism, 1.90 to 1.91. Daniela Salazar and Camila Flores combined for three goals and three assists.
Andrés Rojas and Sakura Shimizu fought early, five and five, before Daniela Salazar opened the scoring at 6:06, Camila Flores assisting, and doubled it at 9:01, Santiago Torres with the feed. Two-nothing after twenty.
Camila Flores extended the lead in the second, 0:29, Rodrigo Vargas assisting, before Yuki Sato pulled Tokyo within two, 2:02, Haruto Nakamura assisting. 3-1 after forty.
The third opened fast. Valentina Ramírez made it 4-1 at 0:19, Santiago Torres assisting, and Mateo Guzmán doubled the cushion to 5-1 just twenty-seven seconds later, Camila Flores picking up her second assist of the night. Yuki Sato added a second for Tokyo at 8:38, Shūta Tanaka assisting. Final: 5-2, Guadalajara comfortable from the second period onward.
VLA 1 — BUS 3
Upset. The Last Terminal saw Vladivostok favored at 1.88, but Busan's special teams—and a pair of early fights—set the tone for a road upset.
The first period was scoreless and combustible. Nikita Sorokin and Hyun-woo Kwon fought twice—coincidental majors first, then matching majors moments later. Twenty minutes, no goals, two sets of fighting majors between the same two players.
Denis Baranov opened the scoring for Vladivostok in the second, 4:34, Vera Orlova assisting, before Eun-bi Han tied it for Busan, 6:56, Seung-ho Jung with the feed. 1-1 after forty.
The third belonged to Busan. Eun-bi Han converted a power play at 7:44, Ji-eun Shin assisting, for her second goal of the night, and Ji-eun Shin completed the comeback at 11:58, So-hee Hwang assisting. Final: 1-3—Eun-bi Han with two goals, Busan's road upset complete.
ANC 1 — PER 3
Upset. The Watch Station was supposed to favor Anchorage—1.89 to Perth's 1.92—but the Pyres' special teams did the damage early and Anchorage's third-period push fell short.
Liam O'Brien opened the scoring at 4:00, assisted by Oscar Whitfield, for the only goal of the first.
Jack Mitchell doubled Perth's lead in the second, 11:35, Nate Hargrove assisting.
Anchorage answered in the third—Jake Hensley at 1:21, Molly Kavairlook assisting—but Nate Hargrove restored the two-goal cushion at 11:35, Sienna Kapoor with the feed. Final: 1-3—Perth's road upset, Nate Hargrove with a goal and an assist.
Seven upsets, two overtime winners, and a Dakar shutout that nobody saw coming. Quelle soirée. Twelve games down, plenty more to come. See you for Matchday 05.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Matchday 04 occurred. Seven results were inconsistent with pre-game expectations—a new high for the season. Le Council finds this volatility acceptable, within reason, provided it does not become a habit. The record has been updated accordingly.