Matchday Recap: S02D31
Eight upsets on Matchday 31, sixty-one goals across twelve games, and one shootout that decided the whole night's most dramatic result. Dakar were 1.51 favorites at The Sandy Parlor and lost 3-0 without ever finding the net. Wellington needed overtime and a shootout to put away São Paulo. Medellín, meanwhile, played the cleanest sixty minutes of the schedule and shut Busan out cold. Quelle soirée. Allons-y.
MTL 3 — PRA 1
Montréal were the deserved favorites at The Oldest Rink—1.69 against Prague's 2.18—and the Maples backed the number, though the first period gave no hint of it. Jakub Černý and Martin Procházka set an early physical tone for Prague, and Procházka's fight with Alexandre Paquette sent both to the box before Kateřina Dvořáková's penalty did the same. Scoreless after twenty.
The second period broke everything open. Paquette opened it at 1:56, Simon Côté assisting, before Markéta Polák answered for Prague at 4:54 off Tereza Horáková's feed to tie it. Jean-René Bergeron restored the Montréal lead at 6:11, Côté picking up his second helper of the period, for a 2-1 score after forty minutes—not before Chloé Moreau and Kateřina Dvořáková dropped the gloves at center ice to open the third.
The third period was mostly fists—Eliška Veselá and Dmitri Volkov trading coincidental majors, Barbora Králová and Catherine Lavoie following suit—wrapped around Volkov's power play insurance goal at 6:44, Jean-François Tremblay assisting, for the 3-1 final. Côté's two assists quietly built the win from below the circles at The Oldest Rink.
HAV 2 — NRB 4
Havana were barely favored at The Rhythm Bureau—1.88 against Nairobi's 1.93—and Nairobi made the margin look generous, winning 4-2 behind Samuel Njoroge's two goals. Zawadi Mutua opened it for the Narwhals at 10:57, Moses Okello assisting, before Yoandri Hernández tied it for Havana at 12:32 off Lisandra Álvarez's feed. Level after a fight-filled twenty minutes—Yordanis Sánchez and Peter Kimani, then Lázaro Valdés and Wanjiku Mwangi, both bouts ending in coincidental majors.
The second period belonged to Nairobi. Njoroge put the Narwhals ahead at 6:13, Amara Osei assisting, and Sánchez tied it right back for Havana at 9:08, Claudia Pérez feeding him—2-2 through forty, a game still very much in doubt.
The third settled it entirely in Nairobi's favor. Nyambura Kamau converted a power play at 4:44, Akinyi Ochieng assisting, and Njoroge completed his brace at 8:34, Peter Kimani setting it up, for the 4-2 final. Between those goals came two more fights—Kevin Otieno and Reinier Cruz, then Yarelys González and Akinyi Ochieng—The Rhythm Bureau turning increasingly hostile as Havana chased a game that had slipped away.
USH 0 — PER 1
The South Passage hosted the strangest kind of upset on the night: a game where almost nothing happened except the fighting. Ushuaia and Perth were essentially a coin flip on the board—1.90 to 1.91—and Perth's 1-0 win arrived through a single second-period goal buried inside a barrage of penalties.
The first period offered only two hits and no real threat at either end. The second period is where the game found its identity. Santiago Figueroa and Riley Dawson fought at 3:31. Jack Mitchell and Florencia Ramos fought at 10:19. Callum Reeves and Ignacio Herrera fought at 12:19. In between it all, Mia Thornton found the back of the net at 8:38, Sienna Kapoor assisting, for the only goal anyone would need.
The third period kept the theme going without adding to the scoreboard—Facundo Álvarez and Jack Mitchell dropped the gloves at 3:15, one more set of coincidental majors, before Tomás Peralta took a late penalty. Four fights, nine penalties, one goal in sixty minutes. Perth held The South Passage and left with two points earned the hard way.
WEL 3 — SAO 4
The Howling Harbour delivered the matchday's signature drama. Wellington were favored—1.68 to São Paulo's 2.20—and led twice, but São Paulo forced overtime and won it in a shootout. C'est le hockay, mes amis.
Kauri Thompson opened the scoring on the power play at 7:31, Awhina Clarke assisting, after Felipe Carvalho and Liam Tomoana had already fought. Wellington led 1-0 after one. Olivia Rangi doubled it at 2:44 in the second, Tomoana assisting, but São Paulo answered with three straight: Isabela Costa at 5:57 off Mariana Lima's feed, Lucas Almeida at 9:49 assisted by Costa, and Larissa Souza at 10:09 with Lima picking up her second helper. 2-3 through forty.
The third belonged to Wellington again—Charlotte Hemi tied it on the power play at 3:07, Clarke assisting, for her second point of the night—but neither side could find a winner across a scoreless fourth period of overtime, Manaia Walker and Bruno Nascimento fighting along the way. In the shootout, Rafael Oliveira decided it at 12:31. São Paulo escape with two points; Wellington leave with one and a result they'll replay in their heads.
WPG 7 — JBG 3
Winnipeg were favored at The Cold Lodge—1.83 to Johannesburg's 1.99—and delivered a comfortable-looking scoreline that briefly wasn't. Brody Flett opened at 1:32, Kaya Bearclaw assisting, and Dylan Fife doubled it at 13:32 off Nicole Flett's feed for a 2-0 first period. Nicole Flett herself cashed a power play at 3:22 in the second, Jake Fehr assisting, and Fehr returned the favor at 14:08, Bearclaw picking up her second assist, for a seemingly comfortable 4-0.
Then Johannesburg nearly blew the roof off. Lindiwe Sithole scored at 0:35 of the third, Thabo Mokoena assisting, Sipho Nkosi converted a power play at 2:21, and Zanele Ndaba made it 4-3 at 2:32—three Jaguars goals in under two minutes. The Cold Lodge held its breath. Winnipeg answered immediately: Jake Fehr at 2:53, Leah Blacksmith at 3:49 off Curtis Favel's feed, and Tyler Chicken at 6:26, Bearclaw assisting for her third point of the night, restoring order at 7-3. Fehr finished with two goals and an assist; Bearclaw's three assists ran the show behind him.
MUM 2 — GND 3
Mumbai were favorites at The Salt Pavilion—1.78 to Gander's 2.05—but Wade Bursey and the Geese left with the two points regardless. Vikram Joshi put Mumbai ahead at 1:28 of the second period, Kiran Bhatt assisting, before Vera Tobin tied it on the power play at 2:01, Gus Maloney feeding her—Cyril Hynes and Aditya Rao having already fought to a standstill. Mary Quinlan put Gander ahead late in the period, Wade Bursey assisting, for a 1-2 score through forty.
The third period was tighter still. Quinlan completed her brace at 2:39, Trina Pickett assisting, for a 1-3 lead before Aditya Rao pulled Mumbai within one at 14:08, Rahul Nair assisting—too little, too late for the home side. Twenty-five hits were logged across the sixty minutes, the most physical night of the matchday by that measure, with Kiran Bhatt and Divya Mehta among those who traded the heaviest checks. Quinlan's two goals made the difference at The Salt Pavilion.
GDL 4 — CAI 2
Guadalajara were heavy favorites at El Rincón Perdido—1.42 against Cairo's 2.88—and Valentina Ramírez made sure the number held, scoring twice in a controlled win. Ramírez opened in the opening minute, Andrés Rojas assisting, and Camila Flores doubled it at 7:17, Sofía Navarro assisting, for a comfortable 2-0 after one period built on hitting from both sides.
The second period brought Cairo's response: Karim Fahmy beat the goalie at 3:44, Farida Abdel-Rahman assisting, after Ramírez and Mostafa Rashad had already dropped the gloves, and Rodrigo Vargas did the same with Khaled Naguib moments later. 2-1 through forty.
The third settled it. Ramírez completed her brace on the power play at 1:07, Santiago Torres assisting, before Omar Hassan answered for Cairo at 5:29, Khaled Naguib assisting, on a power play of their own. Daniela Salazar sealed it at 12:15, Jimena Castillo assisting, for the 4-2 final. Ramírez finished with two goals, two hits, and a fight—the clear story of the night at El Rincón Perdido.
MDE 2 — BUS 0
La Ladera saw the cleanest hockay of Matchday 31. Medellín were favored—1.85 to Busan's 1.97—and delivered a shutout built entirely in the first period. Santiago Restrepo opened at 1:33, Mariana Zapata assisting, and Valentina Ospina doubled it in the closing minute, Mateo Arango assisting, for a 2-0 lead that would stand for the rest of the night.
The second and third periods turned physical without turning dangerous—seventeen hits across the two frames, Andrés Quintero and Tae-hyun Lim fighting to a draw in the third, Valentina Ospina and Soo-yeon Park following with coincidental majors of their own. Isabella Gómez took a late penalty, but Busan never generated the sustained pressure a two-goal deficit demands.
No goals after the opening twenty minutes, and Medellín's goaltending did the rest. Ospina finished with a goal, two hits, and a fight to go with Restrepo's opener—a complete, low-event performance that nonetheless got the job done as advertised by the odds. Quiet nights can be upsets too, just not this one.
DKR 0 — MCM 3
Dakar were the biggest favorites of the night at The Sandy Parlor—1.51 against McMurdo's 2.58—and McMurdo made the odds look foolish, shutting the Djinns out 3-0 on the road. Awa Diop and Amira Hassan fought early, at 2:08, before Ji-hoon Baek opened the scoring at 4:37, unassisted. Diego Fuentes and Cheikh Fall fought at 7:09, and moments later Ingrid Solheim doubled the McMurdo lead at 7:30, Yumi Takeda assisting. Takeda then fought Modou Diouf herself at 10:11—three fights and two goals in one period, and Dakar already buried 0-2.
The second period cooled the scoring but not the temperature: Ousmane Diallo and Tobias Frey traded blows at 8:14, matching majors sending both to The Sixth, the score holding at 0-2 through forty.
The third only confirmed the result. Amira Hassan added insurance at 5:17, Tobias Frey assisting, before Kofi Mensah and Fatou Mbaye closed the game with one final fight at 11:25. Zero goals in sixty minutes for a heavily favored Dakar side at home—one of the coldest results of the matchday.
HEL 2 — TOK 1
Helsinki were underdogs in their own building at The Dark Sauna—2.02 against Tokyo's 1.80—and needed a patient, penalty-filled first period before finding their opening. Mikko Hämäläinen and Riku Mori fought at 7:59, Niko Mäkelä drew two separate penalties, and nobody broke through across twenty scoreless minutes.
The second period gave Helsinki the breakthrough their underdog price demanded. Saara Virtanen's penalty opened the window, and Anniina Tuominen made no mistake at 11:58, Mäkelä assisting despite his own penalty trouble earlier in the night. Helsinki carried a 1-0 lead into the third against the number.
The third delivered from both directions. Erik Johansson batted one out of the air just thirty-five seconds in, Aleksi Korhonen assisting, for 2-0. Korhonen and Sōta Watanabe fought at 6:01; Yuki Sato and Petteri Salonen fought at 11:58. Mei Fujita answered for Tokyo at 12:45, Aoi Yamamoto assisting, to make it 2-1, but Helsinki held. At 2.02 odds, the Howlers' path ran through discipline and a locked-down final twenty minutes.
RIM 5 — ANC 2
Rimini were underdogs at The Coastal Pavilion—2.02 against Anchorage's 1.80—and blew the game open early before holding on through a physical, penalty-heavy finish to win 5-2. Lorenzo Fabbri batted one out of the air at 8:27, Giulia Bianchi assisting, and Elena Moretti answered just ten seconds later, Francesca Serra assisting, for a 2-0 lead built inside a heartbeat.
The second period is where Anchorage found their footing. Kira Naluktaq and Fabbri fought at 0:54, and Cody Tulik pulled the Auroras within one at 4:54, Heather Braund assisting. Sierra Peters, Levi Simmonds, and Nico De Luca all drew penalties as the period turned scrappy, but Rimini's 2-1 lead survived to the second intermission.
The third settled it. Sofia Barbieri converted on the power play at 3:59, Matteo Galli assisting, before Isaiah Tobin answered for Anchorage at 7:17—the Black Hole Net making the difference—cutting it to 3-2. But Rimini pulled away late: Marco Rossetti scored at 12:17, Luca Ferretti assisting, and Fabbri completed his brace at 12:44, Chiara Ricci assisting, for the 5-2 final. Fabbri's two goals and two fights made him the story of the night at The Coastal Pavilion.
VLA 2 — STO 5
Vladivostok were the nominal favorites at The Last Terminal—1.83 against Stockholm's 1.99—but the Sirens made the first period entirely theirs. Klara Åström scored at 7:54, Astrid Engström assisting; Filip Nyström doubled it at 8:36 with the Black Hole Net making the difference, Maja Forsberg assisting; and Oscar Söderström added a third at 14:06, Åström picking up her second assist. 0-3 after twenty minutes, and The Last Terminal searching for answers.
Vladivostok found one in the second. Kirill Morozov got the Vodkas on the board at 2:33, Tatiana Novikova assisting, but Freja Sandström restored Stockholm's three-goal cushion just over a minute later, Viktor Hallberg assisting. Anastasia Ivanova pulled Vladivostok back within two late in the period, the Black Hole Net factoring again, Yelena Pavlova assisting, before Söderström answered right back eleven seconds later, Saga Ekström assisting, for a 2-5 score through forty.
The third stayed quiet on the scoreboard, though not the penalty sheet—Tatiana Novikova and Astrid Engström fought to matching majors at 5:09, and three more penalties followed. Söderström's two goals and Åström's goal-and-two-assists night drove the Stockholm win; Vladivostok's Morozov and Ivanova got the home crowd something to cheer for, just not enough of it.
Eight upsets on Matchday 31, and they came in every shape the sport allows—Dakar shut out at home as 1.51 favorites, Medellín locking down a clean sheet against Busan, Wellington and São Paulo needing extra time and a shootout to settle theirs, and Nairobi, Rimini, and Helsinki all winning as underdogs on the road or in their own barns. Sixty-one goals, thirty-three fights, and not a dull building among them. C'est Hockay—the ice does not care what the numbers said before puck drop. À la prochaine.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Matchday 31 occurred. Rafael Oliveira's shootout winner at The Howling Harbour has been logged as the deciding act of the evening. Dakar's scoreless afternoon at The Sandy Parlor has been noted for the archive. The record has been updated accordingly.