Matchday Recap: S02D09
Bonsoir. Matchday 09 gave us six upsets and four games that needed extra Hockay to settle—two of them decided in a shootout. On continue. Let's get into it.
TOK 3 — ANC 2
Upset. The Neon Crossing was supposed to favor Anchorage—1.67 to Tokyo's 2.21—but the Titans scored three times in the second period and held on.
The first period was scoreless and hit-heavy on both sides, Mei Fujita, Sakura Shimizu, and Cody Tulik all visiting The Sixth before it ended.
The second produced four goals. Molly Kavairlook opened the scoring for Anchorage, 5:27, Jake Hensley assisting, but Riku Mori tied it on the power play at 7:07, Mei Fujita with the feed. Mio Kobayashi put Tokyo ahead at 10:52, Mori returning the assist, and Sakura Shimizu added a power-play goal of her own at 12:52, Kobayashi with the feed. 3-1 after forty.
Bryce Denison pulled Anchorage within one late in the third, 14:48, Sierra Peters assisting, but it wasn't enough. Final: 3-2—Tokyo's home upset, a complete second period the difference.
WEL 5 — MUM 4
Quel match! The Howling Harbour produced nine goals, five fighting majors, and a shootout, close to the modest home favoritism, 1.79 to 2.03. Kauri Thompson finished with two goals and two assists.
Rahul Nair opened the scoring for Mumbai at 10:28, Divya Mehta assisting, after Aroha Ngata and Vikram Joshi fought, offsetting majors. Kauri Thompson tied it with seconds remaining, 14:59, Charlotte Hemi assisting. 1-1 after twenty.
Mumbai pulled ahead twice in the second—Sanjay Pawar at 3:12, Kavya Iyer assisting, and Arjun Patil on the power play at 14:23, Rohan Deshmukh with the feed—but Kauri Thompson answered in between, 6:09, Olivia Rangi assisting. Hemi Sullivan and Ananya Kulkarni fought late, coincidental majors. 2-3 after forty.
The third matched it again. Hemi Sullivan tied it on the power play at 7:52, Thompson with her second assist, before Priya Sharma restored Mumbai's lead, 9:50, Divya Mehta assisting. Awhina Clarke tied it for the final time at 10:33, Thompson completing her two-goal, two-assist night. 4-4 into overtime.
Overtime was scoreless. In the shootout, Aroha Ngata ended it. Final: 5-4—Wellington hold home ice in a nine-goal classic.
MTL 1 — USH 3
The Oldest Rink produced a result close to the odds board—Ushuaia the favorites at 1.51 to Montréal's 2.58—and Santiago Figueroa's two-goal night did the rest.
Martina Vega opened the scoring for Ushuaia at 3:04, Santiago Figueroa assisting, before Marc-Antoine Dufresne tied it for Montréal, 12:15, Chloé Moreau with the feed. Figueroa restored Ushuaia's lead moments later, 12:42, Nicolás Sosa assisting. 1-2 after twenty.
The second was quiet, mostly penalties on both sides. 1-2 after forty.
The third turned chippy—Valentina Giménez and Sarah-Maude Fortin fought, coincidental majors; Facundo Álvarez and Chloé Moreau followed with matching majors; Tomás Peralta and Élodie Gagnon added another set, also coincidental—before Santiago Figueroa completed his two-goal night at 11:23, Martina Vega returning the assist, and Nicolás Sosa and Sarah-Maude Fortin closed the night with one more fight, coincidental majors. Final: 1-3—Ushuaia's favorites confirmed on the road.
SAO 3 — CAI 1
Upset. The Green Canopy was a near coin flip on the odds board—Cairo at 1.88, São Paulo at 1.93—and the Serpents' fast start carried them through.
Gustavo Ribeiro opened the scoring at 3:05, Lucas Almeida assisting, and Thiago Pereira doubled the lead at 4:22, Juliana Santos with the feed, before Rafael Oliveira and Ahmed Zaki fought, five and five. 2-0 after twenty.
Khaled Naguib pulled Cairo within one on the power play in the second, 11:13, Farida Abdel-Rahman assisting. 2-1 after forty.
Juliana Santos restored São Paulo's two-goal cushion early in the third, 2:09, Rafael Oliveira returning the assist. Final: 3-1—São Paulo's home upset, Juliana Santos with a goal, an assist, and a hit.
HAV 5 — DKR 3
Upset. The Rhythm Bureau was supposed to favor Dakar—1.49 to Havana's 2.63—but the Hammers raced to a three-goal lead inside the first period and never let go.
Yarelys González opened the scoring at 5:06, Mailén Domínguez assisting, and Dayana Rodríguez doubled it at 6:56, Yoandri Hernández with the feed. Yanelis Peña made it 3-0 at 9:17, Lázaro Valdés assisting, before Lázaro Valdés and Aminata Sow fought, coincidental majors. Mariama Cissé got Dakar on the board late, 12:59, Rokhaya Faye assisting. 3-1 after twenty.
The second was scoreless, mostly penalties. 3-1 after forty.
Dakar pushed back in the third—Lisandra Álvarez extended Havana's lead at 1:28, González with her second assist, before Khady Bâ and Moussa Ndiaye pulled the Djinns within one, 4:14 and 4:41—but Adonis Reyes sealed it at 13:12, González completing her three-point night. Final: 5-3—Havana's home upset, the heaviest underdogs of the matchday cashing in.
HEL 4 — VLA 1
The Dark Sauna produced a result close to the odds board, Helsinki at 1.88 to Vladivostok's 1.93, and a third-period flood that buried the visitors. Anniina Tuominen finished with a goal and three assists.
Kirill Morozov opened the scoring for Vladivostok at 4:58, Vera Orlova assisting, after Darya Kuznetsova and Petteri Salonen fought, matching majors, and Anastasia Ivanova and Aleksi Korhonen followed with another set, coincidental majors. 0-1 after twenty.
Mikko Hämäläinen tied it for Helsinki in the second, 8:10, Anniina Tuominen assisting. 1-1 after forty.
The third belonged entirely to Helsinki. Erik Johansson converted a power play at 8:27, Tuominen with her second assist, after Saku Järvinen and Darya Kuznetsova fought, five and five. Anniina Tuominen scored herself at 12:50, Jenni Laine assisting, and Saara Virtanen capped it at 13:59, Tuominen completing her four-point night. Final: 4-1—three unanswered third-period goals settle it.
MDE 1 — GDL 3
Upset. La Ladera was supposed to favor Medellín—1.61 to Guadalajara's 2.33—but a scoreless forty minutes gave way to a Sofía Navarro-orchestrated third period that won it for the Gatos.
The first two periods produced no goals but plenty of edge—Camilo Henao and Andrés Rojas fought, coincidental majors, in the first, and the second was mostly penalties.
The third was Guadalajara's. Camila Flores opened the scoring at 1:46, Sofía Navarro assisting, before Sofía Navarro and Santiago Restrepo fought, coincidental majors, and Nicolás Betancur and Rodrigo Vargas followed with matching majors, and Isabella Gómez and Daniela Salazar added a third set, also matching. Valentina Ramírez doubled Guadalajara's lead at 11:32, Navarro picking up her second assist, before Santiago Restrepo pulled Medellín within one on the power play, 12:57, Mateo Arango assisting. Camila Flores sealed it with her second goal at 14:35, Navarro completing a three-assist night. Final: 1-3—Guadalajara's road upset, Sofía Navarro the engine behind all three goals.
BUS 3 — MCM 2
The Frozen Dock produced a result close to the modest home favoritism, 1.55 to 2.46, and it took overtime to settle a defensively tight night with zero total penalties.
Ingrid Solheim opened the scoring for McMurdo at 11:04, Diego Fuentes assisting, for the only goal of the first.
Dong-wook Yoon tied it for Busan in the second, 11:52, Ji-eun Shin assisting. 1-1 after forty.
The third went back and forth. Diego Fuentes restored McMurdo's lead at 11:47, Priya Anand returning the assist, but Soo-yeon Park tied it less than thirty seconds later, So-hee Hwang assisting. 2-2 into overtime.
Min-jun Lee won it at 2:52, Eun-bi Han assisting. Final: 3-2—Busan hold home ice in a clean, hard-fought game.
JBG 2 — GND 3
Upset. Die Goue Myn was supposed to favor Johannesburg—1.78 to Gander's 2.05—but the Geese answered every Jaguars goal and won it in overtime.
Nomsa Mahlangu opened the scoring at 5:17, Kagiso Molefe assisting, after Pieter Botha and Mary Quinlan fought, coincidental majors. Nomsa Mahlangu and Wade Bursey fought late, matching majors, and Naledi Khumalo and Dermot Power followed with offsetting majors, before Liam Coish tied it for Gander, 12:12, Cyril Hynes assisting. 1-1 after twenty.
Cyril Hynes put Gander ahead seven seconds into the second, Liam Coish returning the assist, but Jaco van der Merwe tied it with seconds remaining, 14:59, Lindiwe Sithole assisting. 2-2 after forty.
The third was scoreless but penalty-filled—Kagiso Molefe and Pieter Botha both visiting The Sixth—pushing it to overtime.
Mary Quinlan won it at 3:24, Wade Bursey assisting. Final: 2-3—Gander's road upset, settled in the extra frame.
WPG 4 — RIM 2
The Cold Lodge produced a result close to the odds board, Winnipeg at 1.88 to Rimini's 1.93, Dylan Fife's two-goal night carrying the Wendigos.
The first period was scoreless and combative—Tara Ridsdale and Matteo Galli fought, coincidental majors, the only event of note.
Leah Blacksmith opened the scoring at 3:42, Brody Flett assisting, after Jonas Brevik and Lorenzo Fabbri fought, five and five. Curtis Favel doubled Winnipeg's lead at 6:50, Marissa Spence assisting, before Lorenzo Fabbri pulled Rimini within one, 8:06, Davide Marchetti with the feed. 2-1 after forty.
The third belonged to Winnipeg. Dylan Fife made it 3-1 at 4:59, Nicole Flett assisting, and converted a power play at 8:40, Favel returning the assist for his second point of the night. Valentina Colombo got Rimini on the board late, 14:20, Alessandro Conti assisting. Final: 4-2, Winnipeg comfortable from the second period onward.
PRA 2 — STO 0
The Stone Opera produced a result close to the heavy home favoritism, 1.33 to 3.35, in a defensive game that stayed scoreless until the final three minutes.
The first period was quiet—Axel Lindqvist's early hits on Kateřina Dvořáková and Eliška Veselá the closest thing to a story line, Eliška Veselá answering with a trip to The Sixth.
The second continued in the same vein. Klara Åström and David Růžička fought at center ice, coincidental majors, and the physical play continued on both sides, but neither goaltender was seriously tested. 0-0 after forty.
Eliška Veselá broke it open late in the third, scoring at 12:54, Martin Procházka assisting, and adding her second with five seconds remaining, Procházka returning the favor again. Final: 2-0—Prague's heavy favoritism confirmed, Eliška Veselá the difference in the closing minutes.
NRB 1 — PER 2
Upset. The Ochre Reserve was a coin flip on the odds board—Nairobi at 1.88, Perth at 1.93—and a twenty-four-hit defensive battle needed a shootout to settle it.
The first period was scoreless and physical, James Odhiambo and Moses Okello setting an early tone with repeated hits.
Peter Kimani opened the scoring for Nairobi in the second, 7:06, Kevin Otieno assisting, the period's only goal.
Sienna Kapoor tied it for Perth in the third, 9:35, Gemma Fletcher assisting, after a string of penalties on both sides—Riley Dawson, Callum Reeves, and Peter Kimani all visiting The Sixth. 1-1 after sixty.
Overtime stayed scoreless, Zara Patel picking up a late penalty. In the shootout, Liam O'Brien picked the corner to win it. Final: 1-2—Perth's road upset, settled in the bonus frame.
Six upsets and four games that needed extra Hockay to settle—two of them decided in a shootout. Quelle soirée. See you for Matchday 10.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Matchday 09 occurred. Six results were inconsistent with pre-game expectations. Le Council notes that four contests required extra Hockay to produce a winner, a frequency Le Council finds within the bounds of statistical possibility. The record has been updated accordingly.