Matchday Recap: S02D12
Bonsoir. Matchday 12 gave us six upsets and three games that needed extra time to settle—two of them in a shootout. On continue. Let's get into it.
MCM 1 — TOK 5
The Remote Range produced a result close to the odds board, McMurdo at 1.97 to Tokyo's 1.85, in a physical first two periods that gave way to a five-goal Tokyo third.
The first period was scoreless and combative—Amira Hassan and Haruto Nakamura fought, coincidental majors—twenty hits on the night between both sides.
Priya Anand opened the scoring for McMurdo in the second, 5:26, Ingrid Solheim assisting, for the period's only goal. 1-0 after forty.
The third belonged entirely to Tokyo. Yūma Hayashi tied it on the power play at 1:11, Mio Kobayashi assisting, and Sakura Shimizu put the Titans ahead at 7:14, Sōta Watanabe with the feed. Riku Mori extended it at 10:53, Watanabe picking up his second assist, and Ren Inoue converted another power play at 12:30, Kobayashi with her second assist. Yūma Hayashi completed his two-goal night at 13:54, Hina Takahashi assisting. Final: 1-5—Tokyo's road performance complete with four unanswered third-period goals.
BUS 1 — MTL 3
Upset. The Frozen Dock was supposed to favor Busan—1.61 to Montréal's 2.32—but the Maples scored three unanswered times in the third to flip a one-goal deficit. Five fighting majors kept the night chippy throughout.
The first period was scoreless and combative—Jae-won Kim and Dmitri Volkov fought, offsetting majors—the period's only event of note.
Eun-bi Han put Busan ahead in the second, 9:46, Min-jun Lee assisting, after Jean-René Bergeron and Dong-wook Yoon fought, offsetting majors. Jae-won Kim and Élodie Gagnon followed with coincidental majors, and Hye-jin Choi and Alexandre Paquette closed the period with one more fight, five and five. 1-0 after forty.
The third belonged to Montréal. Hyun-woo Kwon and Jean-René Bergeron opened it with a fight, coincidental majors, before Catherine Lavoie tied it at 6:16, Amélie Bouchard assisting. Lucas Pelletier put Montréal ahead at 7:50, Bergeron returning the assist, and Sarah-Maude Fortin sealed it at 11:14, Alexandre Paquette assisting. Final: 1-3—Montréal's road upset, completed in a five-fight finish.
GDL 3 — DKR 0
Upset. El Rincón Perdido was supposed to favor Dakar—1.5 to Guadalajara's 2.61—but the Gatos delivered a shutout built on special teams, Camila Flores scoring both her goals on the power play.
Camila Flores opened the scoring on the man advantage at 2:59, Daniela Salazar assisting, for the only goal of a penalty-filled first period.
Camila Flores doubled her own tally in the second, 5:00, Mateo Guzmán assisting, before Moussa Ndiaye and Alejandra Ríos fought, five and five. Valentina Ramírez converted another power play at 10:49, Salazar picking up her second assist, and Emilio Delgado and Rokhaya Faye closed the period with one more fight, coincidental majors. 3-0 after forty.
The third was quiet, mostly penalties—Santiago Torres and Carlos Morales both visiting The Sixth. Final: 3-0—Guadalajara's home upset, Camila Flores with two power-play goals.
STO 3 — WEL 1
Upset. The Still Strait produced the biggest favorite-versus-underdog gap of the matchday—Wellington at 1.28, Stockholm at 3.69—and the Sirens won it anyway.
Maja Forsberg opened the scoring eighteen seconds in, Freja Sandström assisting, before Kauri Thompson and Maja Forsberg fought, matching majors. Filip Nyström doubled Stockholm's lead at 11:25, Klara Åström assisting. 2-0 after twenty.
Mereana Brooke pulled Wellington within one in the second, 1:54, Nikau Edwards assisting, after Albin Nordlund and Awhina Clarke fought, offsetting majors. 2-1 after forty.
Astrid Engström sealed it in the third, 13:41, Viktor Hallberg assisting, after a period dominated by Stockholm's hits—Viktor Hallberg alone finishing with three. Final: 3-1—the heaviest underdogs of the matchday deliver the upset.
MUM 0 — USH 1
The Salt Pavilion produced a result close to the odds board—Ushuaia at 1.82, Mumbai at 1.99—in a scoreless, defensive game that needed overtime to produce the only goal of the night.
The first period was scoreless and combative—Pooja Verma and Luciana Romero fought, coincidental majors, the only event of note.
The second continued in the same vein. Martina Vega and Rahul Nair fought, offsetting majors, and neither side found the net. 0-0 after forty.
The third stayed scoreless through regulation, Julieta Ríos and Sanjay Pawar both visiting The Sixth, neither goaltender truly tested.
Matías Fernández won it twenty-nine seconds into overtime, Luciana Romero returning the assist. Final: 0-1—Ushuaia's favorites confirmed in the extra frame.
ANC 5 — WPG 2
The Watch Station produced a result close to the odds board, Anchorage at 1.88 to Winnipeg's 1.93, Bryce Denison's two-goal night leading the way.
Cody Tulik opened the scoring at 1:21, Carlos Medina assisting, and Medina scored himself at 4:56, Levi Simmonds with the feed. 2-0 after twenty.
Bryce Denison extended Anchorage's lead in the second, 1:56, Isaiah Tobin assisting, before Curtis Favel pulled Winnipeg within two, 5:06, Dylan Fife assisting. Heather Braund restored the three-goal cushion at 6:12, Tobin picking up his second assist, before Brody Flett and Cody Tulik fought, offsetting majors, and Curtis Favel and Sierra Peters closed the period with another fight, coincidental majors. 4-1 after forty.
The third saw Tyler Chicken pull Winnipeg within two again, 8:50, Kaya Bearclaw assisting, but Bryce Denison completed his two-goal night a minute later, 9:54, Kira Naluktaq with the feed. Final: 5-2, Anchorage comfortable throughout.
CAI 0 — PRA 4
Upset. The Pyramid Basin was supposed to favor Cairo—1.72 to Prague's 2.13—but the Phantoms delivered a shutout that built across all three periods.
Eliška Veselá opened the scoring at 11:02, Ondřej Marek assisting, before Youssef Mansour and Tomáš Novák fought, five and five, closing out a hit-heavy first period. 0-1 after twenty.
The second was Prague's. Pavel Krejčí doubled the lead at 2:02, Barbora Králová assisting, and Tomáš Novák made it 0-3 at 4:36, Markéta Polák with the feed, before Kateřina Dvořáková completed the rout on the power play at 6:17, David Růžička assisting. Nour El-Sayed and Lucie Šťastná fought late, five and five. 0-4 after forty.
The third was quiet, mostly penalties on both sides. Final: 0-4—Prague's road upset, a complete shutout against the favorites.
GND 3 — HEL 2
Quel match! The Waypoint needed a shootout to settle this one, close to the odds board, Gander at 1.69 to Helsinki's 2.19. Bridget Walsh converted the deciding attempt.
Elina Heikkinen opened the scoring at 9:32, Niko Mäkelä assisting, after Saara Virtanen and Liisa Nieminen both visited The Sixth. 0-1 after twenty.
Liisa Nieminen doubled Helsinki's lead early in the second, 3:55, Saku Järvinen assisting, but Liam Coish pulled Gander within one on the power play, 5:45, Calvin Roebothan assisting, before Niko Mäkelä and Brian Mercer fought, five and five. Dermot Power tied it late, 12:31, Hazel Strickland assisting. 2-2 after forty.
The third was scoreless but combative—Mary Quinlan and Anniina Tuominen fought, coincidental majors, and Bridget Walsh and Liisa Nieminen followed with another set, also coincidental. 2-2 into overtime.
Overtime stayed scoreless. In the shootout, Bridget Walsh ended it. Final: 3-2—Gander's favorites confirmed in the bonus frame.
VLA 2 — MDE 3
Upset. The Last Terminal was a near coin flip on the odds board—Vladivostok at 1.87, Medellín at 1.95—and Medellín's two-goal first-period response carried them through.
Vera Orlova opened the scoring twenty-nine seconds in, Denis Baranov assisting, but Medellín answered twice—Juan Esteban Ramírez at 9:43, Andrés Quintero assisting, and Valentina Ospina at 10:37, Santiago Restrepo with the feed—before Igor Zaytsev and Camilo Henao fought late, five and five. 1-2 after twenty.
Mariana Zapata extended Medellín's lead in the second, 5:21, Quintero picking up his second assist, before Yelena Pavlova pulled Vladivostok within one, 6:09, Tatiana Novikova assisting. Maxim Petrov and Andrés Quintero fought, coincidental majors. 2-3 after forty.
The third was scoreless—Sofía Estrada and Kirill Morozov opened it with a fight, matching majors—and the lead held. Final: 2-3—Medellín's road upset.
NRB 3 — SAO 4
Quel match! The Ochre Reserve needed a shootout to settle this one, close to the odds board, Nairobi at 1.78 to São Paulo's 2.05. Isabela Costa converted the deciding attempt.
The first period was scoreless and penalty-heavy, four trips to The Sixth between Akinyi Ochieng, Kevin Otieno, Mariana Lima, and Peter Kimani.
The second was São Paulo's. Gabriel Rodrigues opened the scoring at 3:20, Gustavo Ribeiro assisting, after Peter Kimani and Amanda Barbosa fought, five and five. Isabela Costa doubled it at 5:35, Lucas Almeida with the feed, and Rodrigues struck again at 7:07, Mariana Lima assisting. Kevin Otieno pulled Nairobi within two at 9:33, Peter Kimani returning the assist, and Nyambura Kamau pulled within one late, 14:01, Amara Osei assisting. 2-3 after forty.
James Odhiambo tied it for Nairobi in the third, 3:01, Otieno picking up his second assist, after Camila Ferreira and Nyambura Kamau fought, five and five. 3-3 into overtime.
Overtime was scoreless. In the shootout, Isabela Costa decided it. Final: 3-4—São Paulo's road upset, settled in the bonus frame.
RIM 3 — HAV 1
The Coastal Pavilion produced a result close to the modest home favoritism, 1.6 to 2.36, Rimini's late goals in each period building a comfortable lead.
Luca Ferretti opened the scoring with one second left in the first, Marco Rossetti assisting, after Nico De Luca and Mailén Domínguez fought, matching majors. 1-0 after twenty.
Valentina Colombo doubled the lead in the second, 12:52, Alessandro Conti assisting, after Davide Marchetti and Dayana Rodríguez fought, five and five. 2-0 after forty.
Yanelis Peña pulled Havana within one in the third, 7:52, Adonis Reyes assisting, after Francesca Serra and Yordanis Sánchez fought, coincidental majors. Matteo Galli answered for Rimini at 13:41, Davide Marchetti assisting. Final: 3-1, Rimini comfortable at home.
PER 3 — JBG 4
The Red Furnace produced a result close to the odds board, Perth at 1.98 to Johannesburg's 1.83, Sipho Nkosi's two-goal, one-assist night the difference.
Eliza Cartwright opened the scoring at 9:48, Nate Hargrove assisting, for the only goal of the first.
Johannesburg answered twice in the second. Sipho Nkosi converted a power play at 5:06, Thabo Mokoena assisting, and Lerato Dlamini put the Jaguars ahead at 6:35, Kagiso Molefe with the feed. 1-2 after forty.
The third went back and forth. Pieter Botha extended Johannesburg's lead at 3:21, Nkosi returning the assist, and Nkosi struck again at 4:36, Mokoena picking up his second assist. Gemma Fletcher pulled Perth within two on the power play at 6:04, Riley Dawson assisting, and Tahlia Nguyen made it 3-4 at 9:29, Fletcher with the feed. Final: 3-4—Johannesburg hold on despite a Perth third-period push.
Six upsets and three games that needed extra time, two of them decided in a shootout—and Stockholm pulled off the biggest favorite-versus-underdog reversal of the season against Wellington. Quelle soirée. See you for Matchday 13.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Matchday 12 occurred. Six results were inconsistent with pre-game expectations. Le Council notes that Stockholm's win over Wellington carried odds of 3.69 to 1.28, the widest gap reversed this season, and wishes to state, for the record, that it did not see this one coming either. The record has been updated accordingly.