Matchday Recap: S02D32
Twelve games, five upsets, three shootouts—Matchday 32 made everyone wait for it. Ondřej Marek won it for Prague with one second showing on the clock at The Stone Opera. The McMurdo Monoliths, 2.64 underdogs at the bottom of the world, beat a heavily favored Guadalajara side in the skills competition. And Tokyo answered an early deficit with seven unanswered goals in one of the more thorough beatings of the season. Quel programme. Allons-y.
STO 3 — MTL 4
Odds had this one dead even at The Still Strait—1.96 for Stockholm, 1.86 for Montréal—and the game matched the number all the way through overtime and a shootout. Axel Lindqvist opened it on the power play at 11:18, Filip Nyström assisting, after Sarah-Maude Fortin and Jean-François Tremblay had both taken early trips to The Sixth. Stockholm led 1-0 after one.
The second period flipped twice. Oscar Söderström made it 2-0 on the power play at 6:43, Freja Sandström assisting, before Marc-Antoine Dufresne answered right back at 10:02 on Montréal's own man advantage, Tremblay feeding him. Then Élodie Gagnon tied it at 14:20, Alexandre Paquette assisting, and eighteen seconds later Dmitri Volkov gave Montréal its first lead of the night, Chloé Moreau with the feed. 2-3 after forty minutes.
Klara Åström and Lucas Pelletier fought at 5:09 in the third before Nyström tied it right back at 14:59, Lindqvist assisting—3-3, and that's how it stood through a scoreless overtime. In the shootout, Dufresne, already a goal-scorer in regulation, stepped up at 4:31 and beat the goaltender to decide it. Dufresne finished with two goals; Nyström and Lindqvist each posted a goal and an assist apiece in a game that refused to end quietly.
SAO 3 — MDE 2
São Paulo were 2.54 underdogs at The Green Canopy against a Medellín side priced at 1.52, and the Serpents needed every available minute to complete the upset. Sebastián Cardona opened the scoring for Medellín at 6:17, Sofía Estrada assisting, and after Daniela Mejía and Felipe Carvalho fought late in the period, Medellín took a 0-1 lead into the intermission.
Mariana Zapata doubled the Medellín lead just 1:05 into the second, Mateo Arango assisting—then, ten seconds later, Isabela Costa answered on the power play, Camila Ferreira setting it up. 1-2. The Puck paused play for a Sixth crossing shortly after, and Medellín held that edge through the rest of the period.
Camila Ferreira tied it in the third at 5:59, Costa returning the assist, and from there neither side could break through in regulation or in a scoreless overtime. Rafael Oliveira ended it in the shootout at 4:31. A dramatic finish for a São Paulo side that trailed for most of the night and still found a way to grab both points as significant underdogs. Costa and Ferreira each finished with a goal and an assist; Oliveira's shootout winner is the one The Green Canopy will remember.
NRB 0 — USH 1
The tightest score of the matchday, and the whole game turned on one shift. Facundo Álvarez beat the Nairobi goaltender just 1:11 into the first, Matías Fernández assisting, and that was the only goal The Ochre Reserve would see all night. Nairobi were the marginal 1.85 favorites; Ushuaia's 1.97 price made the result a modest upset.
The rest was hits and whistles. Ignacio Herrera and Faith Wanjiru dropped the gloves at 3:45 of the second on matching majors, right before The Puck called a Sixth crossing at 7:43. Zawadi Mutua led all skaters with three hits, mostly directed at anyone wearing an Ushuaia sweater, and Faith Wanjiru added two of her own for Nairobi. Neither team could turn the physicality into offense.
The third period was Ushuaia holding the line—Ignacio Herrera and Facundo Álvarez each picked up late penalties defending the lead—and it worked. A clean, disciplined shutout on the road for a Ushuaia side that got what it needed from its top line and nothing else. Nairobi controlled the hit count and lost the only stat that counted. Un match de patience, and Ushuaia had more of it.
BUS 2 — HAV 1
Sixty scoreless minutes of regulation at The Frozen Dock before Busan finally settled it in overtime—home favorites at 1.76, and they needed the extra period to prove it. The first two periods were all hits and penalties: Osmany Leyva and Hye-jin Choi traded minor penalties early, and Dong-wook Yoon and Yoandri Hernández fought at 13:03 of the second on coincidental majors, with The Sixth making its scheduled stop at 8:03.
The third period finally broke. Yarelys González opened the scoring for Havana at 0:43, Adonis Reyes assisting, and it looked like the road side might steal it. So-hee Hwang answered for Busan at 9:36, Sang-hoon Bae assisting, to tie it 1-1—right after Eun-bi Han and Adonis Reyes had fought at 11:13, and Eun-bi Han fought again with Lázaro Valdés thirty seconds into the extra frame.
Hyun-woo Kwon ended it at 13:27 of overtime, Soo-yeon Park assisting, sending The Frozen Dock home happy. So-hee Hwang's four hits and a goal made her the busiest player on the ice; Kwon's overtime winner is the one that goes in the record book. A hard, even game that a favorite finally pulled away with in the extra period.
MCM 2 — GDL 1
The upset of the matchday. Guadalajara were 1.49 favorites at The Remote Range; McMurdo were out at 2.64, and the home side won it in a shootout. A scoreless, hit-heavy first period gave way to a Guadalajara breakthrough in the second: Daniela Salazar scored on the power play at 6:32, Rodrigo Vargas assisting, right after Vargas himself had fought Sven Lindberg. 0-1 through forty, with The Sixth stopping by at 4:55.
Chris Elliot tied it for McMurdo in the third at 1:35, Ji-hoon Baek assisting, and from there both sides traded penalties and chances without breaking through again. 1-1 after regulation, scoreless through overtime, and it went to the shootout.
Yumi Takeda decided it at 4:31, burying the winner to complete one of the bigger surprises of the season. Rodrigo Vargas finished with an assist, three hits, and a fight—about as complete a night as a losing effort can produce—while Baek's helper on Elliot's tying goal set up the whole rest of the game. McMurdo, at the bottom of the standings and the bottom of the world, doesn't get many nights like this one. Une soirée à retenir at The Remote Range.
PER 2 — DKR 1
Perth were the marginal home favorites at The Red Furnace, and they built the lead early enough to hold it. The first period was pure physicality and nothing else—Rokhaya Faye and Jack Mitchell fought at 7:06, then Khady Bâ and Callum Reeves at 10:41—with no goals through twenty minutes.
Oscar Whitfield broke through in the second at 0:33, Zara Patel assisting, right around another fight, Awa Diop and Cooper Hale going at 11:05, before The Sixth's stop at 8:42. 1-0 Perth after two, a lead built on special-teams discipline and not much else.
Jack Mitchell doubled it in the third at 4:51, Eliza Cartwright assisting, and Dakar finally answered with 1:42 to go through Aminata Sow, Mamadou Guèye assisting. Too little, too late. Jack Mitchell's goal, hit, and fight made him the busiest man on the ice; Zara Patel and Eliza Cartwright each set up a goal from the same line. A hard-checking, low-event game that went to the side that scored first, and second.
CAI 1 — MUM 3
Mumbai were the better price at The Pyramid Basin, 1.61 against Cairo's 2.33, and they controlled the game from the opening whistle onward. Aditya Rao converted a power play at 11:33, Pooja Verma assisting, for the only goal of a first period that also featured Ahmed Zaki and Divya Mehta dropping the gloves. Omar Hassan's penalty made the Mumbai goal possible.
The second period was quiet by comparison—one Sixth visit at 9:21, a pair of matching-major penalties, no goals—and Mumbai carried the 0-1 lead into the third still fully in control.
Cairo briefly found hope. Divya Mehta scored at 10:40, Rohan Deshmukh assisting, to make it 0-2 for Mumbai's Deshmukh, but Nour El-Sayed answered right back for Cairo at 13:59, Layla Mostafa assisting, cutting it to 1-2. Rahul Nair shut the door at 14:23, Deshmukh picking up his second assist of the night, for the 1-3 final. Deshmukh's two helpers quietly drove the Mumbai attack all evening; Nour El-Sayed's three hits to go with her goal made her the most complete player on the ice at The Pyramid Basin in a losing effort.
JBG 4 — WEL 2
Four fights at Die Goue Myn in a game that lived up to its physical reputation. Nikau Edwards opened the scoring for Wellington at 2:35, Mereana Brooke assisting, and the fists followed immediately—Olivia Rangi and Mandla Zulu at 4:53—before Naledi Khumalo and Awhina Clarke dropped the gloves late in the period on matching majors. 0-1 Wellington after one.
Johannesburg took the second period over completely. Naledi Khumalo tied it on the power play at 9:42, Thandiwe Radebe assisting, then struck again at 11:44, Lindiwe Sithole assisting, for her brace—sandwiched around a fight between Anahera Reid and Bongani Mthembu. 2-1 Johannesburg after forty, with The Sixth making its stop at 3:24.
The third belonged to the home side too. Mandla Zulu scored at 0:48, Kagiso Molefe assisting, and Lerato Dlamini added a power-play goal at 10:26, Bongani Mthembu assisting, before Thandiwe Radebe and Rāwiri Patel fought moments earlier at 8:46. Mereana Brooke pulled one back for Wellington at 10:35, Awhina Clarke assisting, but Johannesburg's four-goal night held up, 4-2. Naledi Khumalo's two goals and a fight made her the story of the night at Die Goue Myn.
GND 0 — RIM 3
A shutout upset at The Waypoint. Gander were the marginal 1.83 favorites; Rimini, at 1.99, left with a clean sweep. Lorenzo Fabbri opened the scoring at 5:32, Valentina Colombo assisting, right after Nico De Luca and Trina Pickett had fought early in the period. 0-1 Rimini after one, in a period that also saw Chiara Ricci and Gus Maloney throw down late.
Marco Rossetti doubled the lead 54 seconds into the second, Luca Ferretti assisting, after Brian Mercer and Luca Ferretti had fought minutes earlier. 0-2 through forty, with The Sixth's stop at 9:51 the only interruption to an otherwise complete Rimini performance.
Giulia Bianchi capped it with a power-play goal at 14:52 in the third, Colombo picking up her second assist of the night, for the 0-3 final. Gander never found the net across sixty minutes despite matching Rimini in physicality. Valentina Colombo's two helpers quietly ran the Rimini attack, and three different scorers made it a total team effort in a shutout most had not expected walking into The Waypoint.
PRA 4 — HEL 3
The most dramatic ninety seconds of the matchday, and it happened at the very end. Helsinki were the better price at The Stone Opera, 1.67 against Prague's 2.21, and this one needed a goal with one second left on the clock to settle. Six fights across sixty minutes, starting immediately—Kateřina Dvořáková and Anniina Tuominen at 0:55, David Růžička and Saku Järvinen at 2:03. Erik Johansson scored on the power play at 10:25, Jenni Laine assisting, and Prague trailed 0-1 after one.
Ondřej Marek tied it for Prague at 9:50 in the second, Adam Fiala assisting, after two more fights—Pavel Krejčí and Aleksi Korhonen, then Elina Heikkinen and Tomáš Novák. 1-1 through forty, with The Sixth stopping by at 5:25.
The third period was relentless. Johansson struck again at 7:07, Mikko Hämäläinen assisting, before Růžička tied it right back at 9:48, Dvořáková returning the favor. Tomáš Novák, fresh off his second fight of the night, put Prague ahead at 13:30, Martin Procházka assisting—only for Anniina Tuominen to tie it again at 14:53, Hämäläinen assisting. Then, with one second showing, Ondřej Marek scored his second of the night at 14:59, Fiala assisting, to win it 4-3. Marek and Johansson each finished with two goals in a game that traded the lead five times. C'est incroyable—The Stone Opera has not seen a finish like that in a long time.
TOK 7 — WPG 1
Tokyo were favorites at The Neon Crossing, and after an early scare, they made it look easy. Jake Fehr opened the scoring for Winnipeg at 9:36 in the first, Dylan Fife assisting, sandwiched between fights involving Curtis Favel and Haruto Nakamura, then Hina Takahashi and Tara Ridsdale. Winnipeg led 0-1 after twenty minutes against the run of play.
Tokyo erupted in the second. Haruto Nakamura tied it at 2:15, Mei Fujita assisting, and Mio Kobayashi put the Titans ahead forty-four seconds later, Ren Inoue assisting. Sakura Shimizu made it 3-1 at 8:15, Yūma Hayashi assisting, right around The Sixth's stop at 6:08. Three goals in six minutes flipped a one-goal deficit into a two-goal cushion.
The third period buried Winnipeg completely. Ren Inoue scored forty-one seconds in, Shimizu returning the assist, and Kaito Itō added a power-play goal at 3:21, Sōta Watanabe assisting, before Riku Mori scored on the man advantage at 9:47, Mei Fujita picking up her second assist of the night, and Sōta Watanabe capped it at 12:04, Hina Takahashi assisting. Seven unanswered goals after Winnipeg's opener. Mei Fujita finished with two assists and two hits, the quiet engine behind Tokyo's romp, in one of the most lopsided results of the matchday.
ANC 2 — VLA 3
Vladivostok were the better price at The Watch Station, 1.75 against Anchorage's 2.09, and the Vodkas needed a full sixty minutes to prove it. Kirill Morozov opened the scoring at 2:49, Anastasia Ivanova assisting, but Kira Naluktaq answered fifty seconds later, Carlos Medina assisting, and then struck again on the power play at 10:22, Molly Kavairlook assisting, to put Anchorage ahead 2-1 after one.
The second period was quiet—hits, one penalty, and a Sixth crossing at 8:51—and the score held at 2-1 through forty minutes, Anchorage clinging to a lead the odds said they shouldn't have.
Vladivostok took it back in the third. Vera Orlova tied it at 7:06, Morozov returning the assist, and Kira Naluktaq and Maxim Petrov fought minutes later at 8:02 as the game tightened. Then Tatiana Novikova, with an extra attacker pressing, buried the eventual winner at 10:08, Yelena Pavlova assisting, for the 2-3 final. Naluktaq's brace in a losing effort was the best individual showing on the Anchorage side; Vladivostok's third-period push, built on Morozov's playmaking, completed the comeback the odds always said was coming.
Five upsets, three shootouts, and a finish in Prague that Le Council will be filing paperwork about for weeks—Ondřej Marek beating the buzzer with one second on the clock after Anniina Tuominen had tied it six seconds earlier. McMurdo's shootout heist over Guadalajara, Tokyo's seven unanswered goals, Vladivostok's third-period rally in Anchorage—Matchday 32 refused to be predictable from the opening puck drop to the last. C'est ça, le Hockay. À la prochaine.
—JM Laflèche, Voice of Hockay
Le Council acknowledges that Matchday 32 occurred. The goal that decided Prague's win over Helsinki was scored with one second remaining in regulation; the clock at The Stone Opera has been inspected and found accurate. The record has been updated accordingly.