Matchday Recap: S02D28
Five upsets on Matchday 28, and the headline belongs to The Watch Station, where Anchorage and Dakar needed overtime and a shootout to settle a nine-goal classic that Awa Diop decided twice over. Wellington stole extra points off a scoreless sixty minutes in Perth, Rimini buried Montréal in a third period that turned into a three-fight brawl, and Gander won a goal-starved defensive struggle by the smallest possible margin. Allons-y.
GND 1 — USH 0
Gander were 2.2 underdogs at The Waypoint against an Ushuaia side priced at 1.68, and the only goal of the night proved enough. Vera Tobin snapped home the winner at 13:38 of the first period, Bridget Walsh feeding her, and from there the Geese turned the game into a defensive clinic that Ushuaia never solved.
The physicality arrived early and never let up. Facundo Álvarez and Wade Bursey both delivered heavy checks inside the opening two minutes, and Gander had already put several hits on the board before Tobin scored. The second period brought three penalties in the opening six minutes and a visit from The Sixth at 6:44 that paused play entirely, but the score held at 1-0. Martina Vega, who finished with four hits, dropped the gloves with Dermot Power at 13:32 in a fight that ended with both players collecting five-minute majors.
The third period offered no relief for Ushuaia. Julieta Ríos and Bridget Walsh fought at 4:16, more penalties followed, and Gander simply defended their one-goal lead through to the final horn. Sixteen hits, nine penalties, two fights, and four trips to The Sixth in a game that produced exactly one goal—Tobin's, in the thirteenth minute, backed by Walsh's helper. At 2.2 odds, Gander's discipline down the stretch made all the difference. Quel match de patience.
JBG 5 — TOK 3
Die Goue Myn hosted an eight-goal affair on Matchday 28, and Johannesburg erased Tokyo's road-favorite status at 2.18 odds. The Jaguars matched the Titans goal for goal through two periods before pulling away for good in the third.
Thabo Mokoena opened it on the power play at 4:42, Thandiwe Radebe assisting, before Mio Kobayashi answered for Tokyo at 6:28, Ren Inoue feeding him—1-1 after twenty minutes of heavy forechecking, with Mei Fujita and Lerato Dlamini trading open-ice hits throughout. The second period brought Mandla Zulu's goal at 5:04, Nomsa Mahlangu assisting, before The Sixth paused the game at 8:45. Haruto Nakamura tied it back up for Tokyo at 12:12, Riku Mori assisting, and the sides went to the third locked at two apiece.
Then Johannesburg took over. Zanele Ndaba scored at 1:42 and Naledi Khumalo followed at 4:17—both off Thandiwe Radebe assists, her third helper of the night—before Lindiwe Sithole made it 5-2 at 12:14. Shūta Tanaka pulled one back for Tokyo thirty-seven seconds later, but it was too late. Radebe finished with three assists, Riku Mori with two, and Johannesburg's third-period surge—three goals in eleven minutes—turned a coin-flip game into a statement win at 2.18 odds. Die Goue Myn erupted.
STO 3 — GDL 4
The Still Strait needed extra time to settle this one, and Andrés Rojas provided the finish—his goal at 14:24 of overtime, Sofía Navarro assisting, sending Guadalajara home with the extra point in a game that never had a lead larger than one.
Emilio Delgado opened the scoring for the Gatos at 6:03, Carlos Morales assisting, before Maja Forsberg answered for Stockholm at 8:15 off Freja Sandström's feed. Two fights broke out in the first period alone—Santiago Torres and Klara Åström at 2:04, then Freja Sandström and Alejandra Ríos at 6:50—setting a combative tone that carried into the second, where Elin Sjöberg and Mateo Guzmán dropped the gloves before The Sixth paused play at 6:55.
The third period turned into a track meet. Forsberg struck again at 0:50 for her second of the night, Carlos Morales tied it back up at 8:19, Klara Åström restored Stockholm's lead at 10:06, and Emilio Delgado matched her with his second at 11:21—four goals in just over ten minutes, the score reading 3-3 after regulation. Freja Sandström finished with two assists, three hits, and a fight; Jimena Castillo quietly collected two helpers of her own for Guadalajara. In overtime, Rojas made it count. At 1.82 odds Guadalajara were the deserved favorites, and this one lived up to every bit of the billing. Quel suspense.
NRB 3 — WPG 0
Nairobi shut the door on Winnipeg at The Ochre Reserve, Faith Wanjiru scoring twice in a 3-0 win that was tighter on the odds board—1.86 to 1.95—than it ever felt on the ice.
Brody Flett and Peter Kimani dropped the gloves just two and a half minutes into the first period, and Nairobi capitalized on the ensuing energy—Wanjiru opening the scoring at 6:51, Brian Kipchoge assisting. The second period belonged to the Narwhals as well: Nyambura Kamau doubled the lead at 1:27, Kipchoge picking up his second assist of the night, before The Sixth paused play at 5:26 following a run of penalties on both sides.
The third period was Nairobi's most physical, and its most eventful. Kevin Otieno and Anna Flett fought at 7:35, both collecting majors, before Anna Flett was whistled again minutes later. Wanjiru completed her brace at 12:11, Kamau returning the assist, to make it 3-0, and from there Nairobi simply protected the shutout through a flurry of late penalties—Wanjiru, Kamau, and James Odhiambo all visiting The Sixth in the final two minutes. Nineteen hits, eleven penalties, and two fights made for a chippy affair, but Wanjiru's two goals and Kipchoge's two assists were the difference. Winnipeg never found the net at The Ochre Reserve. Un blanchissage bien mérité.
ANC 4 — DKR 5
If you saw one game from Matchday 28, make it this one. The Watch Station hosted a nine-goal, extra-time classic between Anchorage and Dakar that needed a shootout to settle, and Awa Diop was the one who settled it—scoring twice in regulation and then delivering the shootout winner at 8:31 of the skills competition.
Kira Naluktaq opened the scoring for Anchorage at 4:19, Carlos Medina assisting, before Diop tied it for Dakar at 8:50, Ibrahima Sarr feeding her. Cody Tulik and Diop fought late in the first, setting the tone for a physical night. The second period saw Modou Diouf convert for Dakar at 1:28, Abdoulaye Touré assisting, before Paige Riordan answered for Anchorage at 14:46, Isaiah Tobin picking up the helper—2-2 after The Sixth interrupted play at 7:00.
The third period was where this game earned its reputation. Khady Bâ opened it on the power play at 0:08, Touré assisting again, before Diouf's second power play goal at 5:24 made it 2-4. Anchorage responded immediately—Bryce Denison's power play goal at 7:10 and Cody Tulik's finish at 14:05 tying it 4-4, after Moussa Ndiaye and Isaiah Tobin had already fought at 5:16. Overtime settled nothing. Then Diop, again, in the shootout. Modou Diouf's two goals and Touré's two assists carried Dakar; Denison's goal and two hits led Anchorage in defeat. At 1.79 odds, Dakar were favored, and needed every second of the extra sixty-plus minutes to prove it. C'est ça, le hockay.
MCM 1 — MDE 4
Medellín were 1.41 favorites at The Remote Range against a McMurdo side priced at 2.95, and the Mapaches delivered exactly the result the odds promised—a comfortable 4-1 road win built on two goals from Mateo Arango.
The first period was scoreless but hardly quiet, with Valentina Ospina and Sebastián Cardona both visiting The Sixth for early penalties. Medellín broke through in the second: Cardona himself scored at 3:55, Sofía Estrada assisting, before Arango made it 2-0 at 6:30, Nicolás Betancur feeding him. Lars Henriksen answered for McMurdo at 8:32, Diego Fuentes assisting, but that was as close as the home side would get. The Sixth paused the game at 6:50, right in the middle of the scoring flurry.
Arango struck again just forty-five seconds into the third, Santiago Restrepo assisting, before Restrepo completed the rout himself on the power play at 6:25, Valentina Ospina picking up the helper. McMurdo pressed physically in the closing minutes—Tobias Frey and Natasha Borova both delivering big hits—but the scoreline was long decided. Arango's two goals, Restrepo's goal-and-assist, and a Mapaches power play that clicked when it mattered made this the most predictable result of the matchday. The Remote Range lived up to its name: a quiet, cold night for the home crowd.
BUS 3 — HEL 0
Busan delivered the shutout their odds demanded, grinding out a 3-0 win over Helsinki at The Frozen Dock in a game that took a full period to find its scoring touch but never lost its physical edge.
The first twenty minutes produced hits and little else—Seung-ho Jung, Juhani Rantanen, and Niko Mäkelä all delivering open-ice checks without a whistle for a goal. So-hee Hwang broke through in the second at 8:04, Soo-yeon Park assisting, shortly after The Sixth paused the game at 6:06. Sang-hoon Bae and Noora Koskinen fought at 12:44, both picking up majors, but Busan carried the 1-0 lead into the third undisturbed.
The Blizzards pulled away from there. Ji-eun Shin scored at 9:13, Hwang returning the assist for her second point of the night, before Hye-jin Choi added the third at 13:22, Yuna Kang assisting. Helsinki never found an answer, managing pressure but no finish against a Busan side that controlled the third period from start to end. Hwang's goal and assist led the Blizzards, with Choi's late finish putting the game out of reach entirely. At 1.81 odds, Busan were the deserved favorites, and The Frozen Dock stayed exactly as its name suggests for the visiting Howlers—cold, and scoreless.
CAI 1 — HAV 2
Havana were heavy 1.47 favorites at The Pyramid Basin, and while Cairo made them work for it with three fights and a late push, the Hammers left with the two points in a 2-1 win.
The tone was set inside the first minute—Youssef Mansour and Adonis Reyes fought at 0:38, followed two minutes later by Khaled Naguib and Yordanis Sánchez trading punches of their own. Amid the chaos, Yarelys González converted a power play for Havana at 8:30, Lázaro Valdés assisting, and the Hammers carried a 0-1 lead into the second. That lead doubled after The Sixth paused play at 9:11—Yordanis Sánchez beating the goalie at 12:38, Yanelis Peña assisting, for a 0-2 cushion heading into the third.
Cairo made it interesting late. Youssef Mansour, fresh off his first-period fight, buried the Crocodiles' lone goal at 13:12, Nour El-Sayed assisting, but it came after Khaled Naguib and Adonis Reyes had renewed hostilities at 10:13 for a third fight of the night. The comeback bid ran out of time. Mansour finished with a goal, a hit, and a fight; Yordanis Sánchez matched him with a goal and a fight of his own for Havana. Three fights, eight penalties, and a chalk result at The Pyramid Basin—the odds got this one right.
SAO 2 — PRA 1
A tight one on the odds board—1.98 to 1.84—became a tight one on the ice, and São Paulo came out on the right side of it, beating Prague 2-1 at The Green Canopy to hand the Phantoms a narrow road upset.
Ondřej Marek opened the scoring on the power play at 3:48, Barbora Králová assisting, and Prague carried that lead through a first period that ended with Králová and Gustavo Ribeiro fighting in its final minute. São Paulo answered in the second: Larissa Souza tied it at 4:40, Amanda Barbosa assisting, shortly before Rafael Oliveira and Tereza Horáková dropped the gloves and The Sixth paused the game at 11:51.
The third period belonged to the home side. Bruno Nascimento scored the eventual winner at 13:10, Souza picking up her second point of the night with the assist, and São Paulo held on from there. Souza finished with a goal and an assist to lead the Serpents; Králová countered with an assist, two hits, and a fight for Prague in the losing effort. At just under even odds, this wasn't a shock result in the way some of Matchday 28's other upsets were—but it was still enough to move the needle at 1.84, and The Green Canopy will take it. Serré jusqu'à la fin.
VLA 4 — MUM 3
Vladivostok held on at The Last Terminal, outlasting Mumbai 4-3 in a game that swung with nearly every goal and finished with Maxim Petrov's second of the night standing as the winner.
Mumbai struck first through Aditya Rao at 3:59, Kavya Iyer assisting, before Vladivostok answered twice late in the first—Petrov at 14:37, Ruslan Kozlov assisting, and Darya Kuznetsova thirty seconds behind him, Artyom Volkov feeding her, to make it 2-1 after twenty minutes. The second period was chaos in miniature: Arjun Patil tied it for Mumbai at 5:53, Priya Sharma assisting, before The Sixth paused the game at 6:59. Denis Baranov restored Vladivostok's lead at 8:29, Nikita Sorokin assisting, only for Rohan Deshmukh to tie it right back up at 14:22, Pooja Verma assisting—3-3 after forty minutes of end-to-end hockay.
Petrov settled it in the third, scoring his second of the night at 10:43, Olga Smirnova assisting, and Vladivostok's defense—Igor Zaytsev and Vera Orlova delivering key hits down the stretch—protected the one-goal margin the rest of the way. Petrov's two goals led all scorers; Arjun Patil answered with a goal and a hit for Mumbai in defeat. At 1.71 odds, Vladivostok were favored, and needed every bit of their third-period composure to confirm it.
PER 0 — WEL 1
The Red Furnace stayed cold for sixty minutes and change, and it was Wellington—2.03 underdogs against a Perth side favored at 1.8—who finally lit it, Hemi Sullivan scoring the lone goal of the game at 13:25 of overtime, Aroha Ngata assisting.
Three periods of regulation produced no shortage of physicality and not a single goal. Zara Patel and Nikau Edwards fought at 8:33 in the first, both collecting five-minute majors, and the hits kept coming from there—Liam O'Brien finished with three on the night, Zara Patel with two more on top of her fight. The Sixth paused play at 11:24 of the second period, right in the middle of a stretch that saw penalties to Charlotte Hemi and Nate Hargrove, but neither power play produced a goal. The third period offered chances at both ends—Olivia Rangi and Anahera Reid both delivering big hits—but the scoreboard stayed blank through sixty minutes.
Overtime didn't take long. Sullivan buried Ngata's feed at 13:25 to send Wellington home with the extra point and hand Perth a defeat few saw coming at 1.8 odds. Seventeen hits, seven penalties, and a single fight defined a defensive struggle that needed extra time to produce anything at all—and when it did, it went the visitors' way.
RIM 3 — MTL 1
Montréal came into The Coastal Pavilion as clear 1.63 favorites, and Rimini made them pay for it, riding two goals from Elena Moretti to a 3-1 upset that turned physical in a hurry once the outcome was in hand.
Moretti opened the scoring at 11:53 of the first period, Alessandro Conti assisting, after Élodie Gagnon and Giulia Bianchi had already both taken penalty trips to The Sixth. The second period was quieter on the scoreboard—The Sixth paused play at 6:06—but the hits piled up, with Valentina Colombo and Dmitri Volkov trading heavy checks throughout. Rimini carried the 1-0 lead into the third still very much alive.
Then it opened up. Moretti struck again at 1:15, Chiara Ricci assisting, before Nico De Luca made it 3-0 at 3:21, Luca Ferretti picking up the helper. Alexandre Paquette got Montréal on the board at 4:25, Sarah-Maude Fortin assisting, but the response arrived too late to matter—and the game descended into fights from there. Nico De Luca and Dmitri Volkov dropped the gloves at 8:17, Jean-François Tremblay and Davide Marchetti followed at 10:07, and Alessandro Conti and Amélie Bouchard closed it out at 10:25—three fights inside three minutes. Moretti's two goals led all scorers, with De Luca and Conti each adding a goal or assist alongside their fights. At 2.3 odds, Rimini's Coastal Pavilion crowd got a result to remember.
Five upsets on Matchday 28, and the through-line was patience rewarded—Gander's one-goal defensive clinic, Rimini's third-period eruption, Wellington's overtime patience at The Red Furnace, São Paulo's narrow escape, Johannesburg's third-period surge. But if one game defines this matchday, it's Anchorage and Dakar going the distance—overtime, a shootout, nine goals, and Awa Diop delivering the winner after already scoring twice. Quel plateau de hockay ce soir. À la prochaine.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Matchday 28 occurred. The Watch Station required a full shootout to separate Anchorage and Dakar, with Awa Diop credited for the deciding attempt at 8:31. The record has been updated accordingly.