Playoff Recap: S02P01

Season Two's Quarter-Finals are here, and Le Ice does not believe in a gentle opening night. Four series, four buildings, and by the time the last horn sounded we had a shootout, an overtime winner, a one-goal decision in Winnipeg, and a Tokyo team that answered an early scare with four unanswered goals. Two road teams walk away with the early edge. On commence fort.

S02P01-WPG-MDE

The Cold LodgeWinnipeg Wendigos · 15,321 capacity · Hunger got exactly the kind of game a playoff opener should be—tight, chippy, and goalless for long stretches. Jake FehrD · WPG · ●●●○○ · Hollow, Doubled, Burning and Sofía EstradaD · MDE · ●●●○○ · Clumsy, Clumsy, Magnetic, Awake, Wandering, Sharp, Burning traded fists early, and it stayed scoreless until Santiago RestrepoLW · MDE · ●●●●○ · Ancient, Echo, Brittle beat the Winnipeg goaltender with 12 seconds left in the first, assisted by Camilo HenaoD · MDE · ●●●●○ · Magnetic, Echo, Awake, Ancient, Wandering, Tidal. A tense second period passed without another goal, both benches trading hits and penalty minutes more than scoring chances.

Anna FlettD · WPG · ●●●○○ · Hollow, Foggy, Echo got the home crowd on its feet 15 seconds into the third, tying it at one, but Medellín had the last word. Sofía EstradaD · MDE · ●●●○○ · Clumsy, Clumsy, Magnetic, Awake, Wandering, Sharp, Burning restored the lead at 6:21, and Nicolás BetancurD · MDE · ●●●○○ · Tidal, Foggy, Echo, Translated, Hollow made it 1-3 with a finish off a Luciana VélezRW · MDE · ●●●○○ · Brittle, Wandering, Foggy feed. Nicole FlettLW · WPG · ●●●○○ · Brittle, Sharp, Burning answered late for Winnipeg, assisted by her sister, but it wasn't enough. Estrada finishes with a goal and a fight, RestrepoLW · MDE · ●●●●○ · Ancient, Echo, Brittle with a goal and a hit. Two-three final, and the Mapaches steal the road win in a building that gave them nothing easy.

Series: Medellín leads 1–0.

S02P01-JBG-SAO

Die Goue MynJohannesburg Jaguars · 24,637 capacity · Altitude needed the extra frame to settle this one, and then some. Kagiso MolefeD · JBG · ●●●○○ · Tidal, Clumsy, Brittle, Quiet, Echo, Luminous, Hollow, Ancient opened the scoring early, assisted by Lindiwe SitholeD · JBG · ●●○○○ · Clumsy, Awake, Brittle, Magnetic, and Johannesburg carried a 1-0 lead into the third through a second period that was mostly penalty minutes. Zanele NdabaRW · JBG · ●●●○○ · Quiet doubled it just past the three-minute mark of the third, but São Paulo answered twice inside five minutes—Larissa SouzaC · SAO · ●●●○○ · Luminous, Magnetic, Brittle off a Gustavo RibeiroD · SAO · ●●●○○ · Hollow, Awake, Burning, Ancient feed, then Felipe CarvalhoD · SAO · ●●●○○ · Burning, Translated, Doubled, Ancient, fresh off a first-period fight with Nomsa MahlanguC · JBG · ●●○○○ · Wandering, Burning, Tidal, Translated, Burning, Echo, Foggy, tying it 2-2 with under two minutes to play.

Neither side blinked in a scoreless overtime, so it went to the shootout, and Bongani MthembuC · JBG · ●●●○○ · Brittle, Echo, Foggy, Sharp, Tidal buried the winner to steal the extra point for Johannesburg. Three-two final. Zanele NdabaRW · JBG · ●●●○○ · Quiet, Kagiso MolefeD · JBG · ●●●○○ · Tidal, Clumsy, Brittle, Quiet, Echo, Luminous, Hollow, Ancient, and Felipe CarvalhoD · SAO · ●●●○○ · Burning, Translated, Doubled, Ancient all finish with a goal apiece, but it's Mthembu's name that decides the night. The Jaguars open their Quarter-Final with the hard way.

Series: Johannesburg leads 1–0.

S02P01-PER-GDL

A scoreless first period at The Red FurnacePerth Pyres · 16,849 capacity · Melt gave no hint of what was coming. Nate HargroveD · PER · ●●●○○ · Burning, Wandering broke it open for Perth midway through the second, but Guadalajara answered twice before the period ended—Diego HernándezLW · GDL · ●●●●○ · Awake, Foggy, Magnetic, Ancient and Emilio DelgadoRW · GDL · ●●○○○ · Burning, Foggy, Heavy, Sharp, Quiet both finding the net—to take a 1-2 lead into the third. Oscar WhitfieldD · PER · ●●●○○ · Quiet, Heavy, Brittle and Rodrigo VargasD · GDL · ●●●○○ · Ancient, Doubled, Magnetic dropped the gloves at 5:29 of the third, and out of the ensuing power play Eliza CartwrightC · PER · ●●●●● · Awake, Wandering, Magnetic, Translated, Echo tied it for Perth at 10:29. Two-two, and the building believed again.

The belief didn't survive the extra period. Andrés RojasD · GDL · ●●●●○ · Brittle, Translated beat the Perth goaltender at 10:36 of overtime, assisted by Mateo GuzmánC · GDL · ●●●○○ · Translated, Foggy, Doubled, Wandering, and Guadalajara stole one on the road that Perth controlled for long stretches. Jack MitchellLW · PER · ●●●●○ · Doubled, Translated, Sharp, Hollow, Ancient finishes with two assists for the Pyres, Rojas with a goal, an assist, and a hit for the winners. Un vol en règle—the Gatos take the extra point away from The Red FurnacePerth Pyres · 16,849 capacity · Melt and open their series with the road advantage.

Series: Guadalajara leads 1–0.

S02P01-TOK-USH

The Neon CrossingTokyo Titans · 37,816 capacity · Overclock opened with a scare. Matías FernándezLW · USH · ●●●●○ · Foggy, Luminous, Sharp, Ancient, Heavy scored for Ushuaia just over three minutes in, and the visitors carried the shock lead deep into the first before Tokyo's response arrived all at once. Mei FujitaD · TOK · ●●○○○ · Heavy, Ancient, Magnetic, Brittle tied it on the power play, Hina TakahashiC · TOK · ●●○○○ · Quiet put the Titans in front, and Fujita struck again 49 seconds later to make it 3-1 after one—Riku MoriD · TOK · ●●●○○ · Wandering, Doubled, Awake, Tidal collecting assists on two of the three, part of a three-helper night.

Yuki SatoC · TOK · ●●●●● · Wandering, Translated, Ancient made it 4-1 early in the second on the power play, and Shūta TanakaLW · TOK · ●●●●○ · Clumsy, Tidal added a fifth off another Riku MoriD · TOK · ●●●○○ · Wandering, Doubled, Awake, Tidal feed before Nicolás SosaLW · USH · ●●○○○ · Luminous, Brittle, Heavy got one back for Ushuaia late in the period, assisted by Julieta RíosD · USH · ●●○○○ · Ancient, Doubled, Echo. A third period thick with hits—including a late Facundo ÁlvarezRW · USH · ●●●●○ · Wandering, Foggy, Heavy–Mio KobayashiRW · TOK · ●●●○○ · Clumsy, Quiet, Translated fight from earlier carrying the tone through—produced no further goals. Five-two final. Riku Mori finishes with three assists and two hits, Mei FujitaD · TOK · ●●○○○ · Heavy, Ancient, Magnetic, Brittle with two goals. The Titans open their Quarter-Final at home exactly the way the Neon CrossingTokyo Titans · 37,816 capacity · Overclock likes it—loud, and their way.

Series: Tokyo leads 1–0.

Two road teams stole the extra point, two home teams held serve—one in a shootout thriller, one by answering an early scare with four unanswered goals—and two of the four games needed extra time to settle. That is a proper start to a playoff. Ça commence bien.

Game 2 comes fast. The IceThe living force that created Hockay. It appeared. It is spreading. does not wait for anyone to catch their breath.

À la prochaine.

—JM Laflèche, Voice of HockayA sport no one asked for but everyone needed.

Le CouncilThe governing body of Hockay and Unexplained Ice Phenomena. acknowledges that Playoff Matchday 1 of the Season Two Quarter-Finals occurred as scheduled. Two series stand at 1-0 in favour of the road team, a detail Le Council notes without further comment. Bongani MthembuC · JBG · ●●●○○ · Brittle, Echo, Foggy, Sharp, Tidal required a full overtime and a shootout to settle a game Johannesburg led for most of the night; Le Council considers this needlessly dramatic. The record has been updated. Game 2 will occur as scheduled.