Matchday Recap: S02D08
Bonsoir. Matchday 08 gave us five upsets, three games that needed extra hockay to settle, and a fourteen-goal night in Mumbai that nearly broke the scoreboard. Quelle soirée. Let's get into it.
PER 2 — MTL 1
The Red Furnace produced a result close to the modest home favoritism, 1.47 to 2.7, in a thirty-two-hit slugfest that needed a fourth period and a shootout to settle.
Sienna Kapoor opened the scoring at 5:22, Mia Thornton assisting, before Zara Patel and Chloé Moreau dropped the gloves late, matching majors—part of a first period dominated by hits on both sides. 1-0 after twenty.
Amélie Bouchard tied it for Montréal on the power play with the second period winding down, Catherine Lavoie assisting, after Riley Dawson and Chloé Moreau fought, coincidental majors. 1-1 after forty.
The third stayed level—Simon Côté and Eliza Cartwright fought, coincidental majors, and Alexandre Paquette and Cooper Hale followed with five and five—but neither side could find the net. 1-1 after sixty.
Overtime was scoreless and hit-filled. In the shootout, Jack Mitchell ended it. Final: 2-1—Perth hold on at home in a game defined by contact more than skill.
GDL 3 — WEL 1
Upset. El Rincón Perdido was supposed to favor Wellington—1.51 to Guadalajara's 2.59—but Sofía Navarro's two-goal third period buried the Kahurangi.
The first period was scoreless and combative—Sofía Navarro and Hemi Sullivan fought early, five and five—the only event of note.
Manaia Walker put Wellington ahead in the second, 10:36, Tane Wiremu assisting, after Rodrigo Vargas and Charlotte Hemi fought, matching majors. Olivia Rangi and Rodrigo Vargas fought a second time late, offsetting majors. 0-1 after forty.
The third belonged entirely to Guadalajara. Diego Hernández tied it forty-five seconds in, Santiago Torres assisting, and Sofía Navarro put the Gatos ahead less than a minute later, Jimena Castillo assisting, before completing her brace at 3:04, Andrés Rojas with the feed. Andrés Rojas and Awhina Clarke fought late, coincidental majors, and Camila Flores and Olivia Rangi closed the night with one more set, five and five. Final: 3-1—Guadalajara's home upset, three goals in under three minutes.
GND 1 — SAO 0
The Waypoint produced a result close to the odds board, Gander at 1.80 to São Paulo's 2.03, and it took overtime to settle a defensive, hit-heavy slugfest.
The first period was scoreless and combative—Amanda Barbosa and Bridget Walsh traded early hits, and the physical play never let up.
The second was busier still. Lucas Almeida and Brian Mercer fought, offsetting majors. Amanda Barbosa and Wade Bursey followed, five and five, and Gustavo Ribeiro and Liam Coish closed it out with another set, matching majors—three fights, no goals. 0-0 after forty.
The third stayed scoreless—Rafael Oliveira and Hazel Strickland fought late, matching majors—pushing it to overtime.
Cyril Hynes ended it at 3:19, Bridget Walsh assisting. Final: 1-0—twenty-two hits and four fights before a single goal decided it.
MUM 10 — WPG 4
Quelle nuit! The Salt Pavilion produced fourteen goals, close to the modest home favoritism, 1.77 to 2.07, and a second period that buried Winnipeg for good. Rahul Nair finished with a goal and three assists; Divya Mehta with two goals and an assist.
Pooja Verma opened the scoring at 3:30, Meera Naik assisting, but Winnipeg answered with two—Leah Blacksmith at 7:30, Tyler Chicken with the feed, and Tyler Chicken himself at 10:36, Curtis Favel returning the assist. 1-2 after twenty, the visitors ahead.
The second was a six-goal avalanche the other way. Pooja Verma tied it at 0:25, Kiran Bhatt assisting, and Rahul Nair put Mumbai ahead twenty-four seconds later, Divya Mehta with the feed. Vikram Joshi made it 4-2, Meera Naik assisting, and Divya Mehta struck at 2:05, Rahul Nair returning the favor. Meera Naik herself scored at 5:05, Joshi with the feed, and Divya Mehta capped a two-goal night at 8:31, Nair picking up his third assist. Jake Fehr pulled one back for Winnipeg late, Anna Flett assisting. 7-3 after forty.
The third kept the scoring open—Brendan Fehr answered for Winnipeg at 3:50, but Aditya Rao, Sanjay Pawar, and Rohan Deshmukh all found the net for Mumbai. Final: 10-4—Mumbai's most explosive offensive showing of the season.
MCM 2 — NRB 3
The Remote Range produced a result close to the odds board—Nairobi the favorites at 1.45 to McMurdo's 2.76—and the Narwhals' depth scoring caught up to an early Monoliths lead.
Tobias Frey opened the scoring at 9:39, Amira Hassan assisting, for the only goal of the first.
McMurdo doubled its lead in the second. Ji-hoon Baek converted at 1:20, Ingrid Solheim assisting, but Nairobi answered twice—Peter Kimani at 2:25, Kevin Otieno with the feed, and Kevin Otieno himself at 12:10, Moses Okello returning the assist. 2-2 after forty.
Amara Osei won it for Nairobi in the third, 13:21, Dennis Wafula assisting, capping a quietly physical period on both sides. Final: 2-3—Nairobi's depth scoring carries the favorites through.
CAI 1 — BUS 5
Upset. The Pyramid Basin was supposed to favor Cairo—1.73 to Busan's 2.12—but Sang-hoon Bae's two-goal night, with two hits to spare, led a complete road performance.
So-hee Hwang opened the scoring at 8:06, Tae-hyun Lim assisting, and Sang-hoon Bae doubled Busan's lead at 10:46, Yuna Kang with the feed, in a twenty-three-hit period that set the tone. 0-2 after twenty.
Sang-hoon Bae struck again in the second, 12:02, So-hee Hwang returning the assist, after Mostafa Rashad visited The Sixth. 0-3 after forty.
The third was more of the same. Seung-ho Jung made it 0-4 at 6:00, Hye-jin Choi assisting, and Dong-wook Yoon added a fifth at 11:16, Eun-bi Han with the feed, before Nour El-Sayed got Cairo on the board late, 13:29, Layla Mostafa assisting. Final: 1-5—Busan's road upset complete, four different goal-scorers in a dominant night.
RIM 2 — HEL 4
Upset. The Coastal Pavilion was a coin flip on the odds board—Rimini at 1.88, Helsinki at 1.93—and Erik Johansson's two-goal night sent the Howlers home with the points.
Erik Johansson opened the scoring on the power play at 4:29, Noora Koskinen assisting, and Koskinen returned the favor with a goal of her own at 7:41, Petteri Salonen with the feed. Jenni Laine made it 0-3 at 8:10, Saku Järvinen assisting, before Giulia Bianchi got Rimini on the board late, 8:19, Luca Ferretti assisting. 1-3 after twenty.
Valentina Colombo pulled Rimini within one in the second, 12:20, Chiara Ricci assisting, before Juhani Rantanen and Lorenzo Fabbri fought, coincidental majors, and Erik Johansson restored Helsinki's two-goal cushion at 14:35, Elina Heikkinen with the feed. 2-4 after forty.
The third was scoreless, mostly hits—Anniina Tuominen and Niko Mäkelä keeping the pressure on Rimini's attackers—before Lorenzo Fabbri capped the night with a trip to The Sixth. Final: 2-4—Helsinki's road upset, Erik Johansson's two-goal night the difference.
STO 6 — TOK 3
Upset. The Still Strait was supposed to favor Tokyo—1.53 to Stockholm's 2.54—but the Sirens erased a one-goal deficit and ran away with it in the third.
Sakura Shimizu opened the scoring at 1:05, Yuki Sato assisting, before Maja Forsberg tied it for Stockholm, 8:34, Axel Lindqvist with the feed. 1-1 after twenty.
Aoi Yamamoto restored Tokyo's lead early in the second, 0:52, Ren Inoue assisting, but Stockholm answered twice—Axel Lindqvist at 11:34, Klara Åström assisting, and Klara Åström herself at 13:26, Hugo Wikström returning the favor. 3-2 after forty.
The third was Stockholm's. Mio Kobayashi tied it for Tokyo early, 4:12, Mei Fujita assisting, but Astrid Engström restored the lead at 7:00, Lucas Bredberg assisting, before Sakura Shimizu and Maja Forsberg fought, five and five. Albin Nordlund converted a power play at 10:58, Engström picking up her second assist, and Hugo Wikström capped it at 14:59, Forsberg with the feed. Final: 6-3—Stockholm's home upset, four unanswered third-period goals deciding it.
USH 1 — HAV 3
Upset. The South Passage was supposed to favor Ushuaia—1.46 to Havana's 2.74—but Adonis Reyes' two-goal night, bookending the scoring, sent the Hammers home with the points.
Adonis Reyes opened the scoring at 5:11, Yarelys González assisting, after Camila Aguirre and Dayana Rodríguez fought, coincidental majors. 0-1 after twenty.
Julieta Ríos tied it for Ushuaia early in the second, 6:11, Tomás Peralta assisting, but Osmany Leyva restored Havana's lead on the power play at 10:21, Mailén Domínguez assisting. 1-2 after forty.
The third was quiet until the final minute. Adonis Reyes completed his two-goal night at 14:55, Lázaro Valdés assisting. Final: 1-3—Havana's road upset, the heaviest favorites of the matchday left empty-handed at home.
VLA 7 — PRA 4
The Last Terminal hosted eleven goals and a result close to the odds board, Vladivostok at 1.87 to Prague's 1.94, in a back-and-forth track meet.
Martin Procházka opened the scoring at 0:41, Kateřina Dvořáková assisting, before Kirill Morozov and Markéta Polák fought, matching majors. Artyom Volkov tied it for Vladivostok at 5:02, Nikita Sorokin assisting, and Dvořáková restored Prague's lead at 8:25, Eliška Veselá returning the favor. Yelena Pavlova tied it again at 10:12, Anastasia Ivanova assisting, before Darya Kuznetsova put the home side ahead on the power play at 12:22, Sorokin picking up his second assist. 3-2 after twenty.
Maxim Petrov extended Vladivostok's lead early in the second, 1:02, Ruslan Kozlov assisting, but Kateřina Dvořáková completed her two-goal night at 3:48, Eliška Veselá with her second assist. 4-3 after forty.
The third kept the pace. Olga Smirnova made it 5-3 at 2:30, Petrov assisting, before Lucie Šťastná answered for Prague, 3:10, Tereza Horáková assisting. Anastasia Ivanova restored the two-goal cushion at 4:27, Kirill Morozov with the feed, and Artyom Volkov capped his own two-goal night at 7:58, Denis Baranov assisting. Final: 7-4—Vladivostok hold on in a track meet.
ANC 3 — JBG 4
Quel match! The Watch Station needed a shootout to settle this one, with Johannesburg the favorites at 1.63 to Anchorage's 2.28. Naledi Khumalo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner.
Thandiwe Radebe opened the scoring at 12:01, Pieter Botha assisting, but Cody Tulik tied it for Anchorage with the period winding down, 14:00, Heather Braund with the feed. 1-1 after twenty.
Naledi Khumalo restored Johannesburg's lead early in the second, 1:11, Thabo Mokoena assisting, but Mason Kluane tied it again, 10:10, Kira Naluktaq returning the assist. 2-2 after forty.
The third went back and forth. Cody Tulik put Anchorage ahead at 3:06, Isaiah Tobin assisting, before Naledi Khumalo completed her two-goal regulation with the equalizer at 9:33, Thandiwe Radebe with the feed. 3-3 into overtime.
Overtime was scoreless. In the shootout, Naledi Khumalo buried the winner. Final: 3-4—Johannesburg hold on as the favorites, but only after the extra frame.
DKR 4 — MDE 1
The Sandy Parlor produced a result close to the odds board, Dakar at 1.67 to Medellín's 2.21, Cheikh Fall's goal and two fights setting an early tone.
Isabella Gómez and Ousmane Diallo fought early, matching majors, before Cheikh Fall and Isabella Gómez followed with another set late, also matching. Daniela Mejía opened the scoring for Medellín at 12:23, Juan Esteban Ramírez assisting, but Modou Diouf tied it on the power play at 13:42, Aminata Sow with the feed. 1-1 after twenty.
Dakar took over in the second. Awa Diop put the Djinns ahead at 0:34, Mamadou Guèye assisting, and Cheikh Fall doubled it twenty-two seconds later, Abdoulaye Touré with the feed. Mariana Zapata and Cheikh Fall fought late, coincidental majors—Fall's second fight of the night. 3-1 after forty.
Fatou Mbaye capped it in the third, 14:05, Rokhaya Faye assisting, after a stretch of penalties on both sides. Final: 4-1, Dakar comfortable at home.
Five upsets, three games that needed extra time, and a fourteen-goal explosion at the Salt Pavilion that nearly outscored Vladivostok's eleven-goal track meet combined. Quelle journée. See you for Matchday 09.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Matchday 08 occurred. Five results were inconsistent with pre-game expectations. Le Council further notes that Mumbai and Winnipeg combined for fourteen goals, a tally Le Council finds excessive but not, strictly speaking, against the rules. The record has been updated accordingly.