Playoff Recap: S02P05

The road team has now won both games of the Guadalajara-Tokyo series, and this time Guadalajara did the honours, turning a rout of their own into a statement of vengeance at The Neon CrossingTokyo Titans · 37,816 capacity · Overclock. Johannesburg, meanwhile, bounced back at home to outlast Medellín in a game that traded leads five times. Both Semi-Finals now go to a decider. Les deux séries se jouent jusqu'au bout.

S02P05-TOK-GDL

Tokyo had just handed out a 6-1 beating three days earlier. The Neon CrossingTokyo Titans · 37,816 capacity · Overclock found out what it feels like from the other side. Diego HernándezLW · GDL · ●●●●● · Awake, Foggy, Magnetic, Ancient opened the scoring 41 seconds in, and though Haruto NakamuraRW · TOK · ●●●●● · Wandering, Tidal, Brittle, Doubled, Foggy, Sharp, Luminous, Hollow, Magnetic tied it for Tokyo early in the second, Santiago TorresRW · GDL · ●●●●● · Doubled, Burning restored Guadalajara's lead before Yūma HayashiD · TOK · ●●●●● · Doubled, Brittle, Ancient, Clumsy, Magnetic, Heavy, Translated leveled it again at 2-2—all three goals marked as a Black Hole Net difference-maker—Guadalajara simply pulled away from there.

Jimena CastilloC · GDL · ●●○○○ · Magnetic, Brittle scored on the power play, Diego HernándezLW · GDL · ●●●●● · Awake, Foggy, Magnetic, Ancient added his second, and Emilio DelgadoRW · GDL · ●●●○○ · Burning, Foggy, Heavy, Sharp, Quiet closed the period with eight seconds left to make it 2-5 after two periods. The third brought no relief for Tokyo—Andrés RojasD · GDL · ●●●●● · Brittle, Translated scored early, and Santiago TorresRW · GDL · ●●●●● · Doubled, Burning finished his own two-goal night on the power play with under five minutes to play. Seven-two final. HernándezC · HAV · ●●●○○ · Awake, Clumsy, Burning, Heavy, Foggy, Magnetic ends the night with two goals and two assists, TorresG · HAV · ●○○○○ · Clumsy matches him with two goals of his own, and Guadalajara evens the series by handing Tokyo the exact margin of defeat they'd suffered in Game 1. Œil pour œil.

Series: tied 1–1. Game 3 to decide.

S02P05-JBG-MDE

Die Goue MynJohannesburg Jaguars · 24,637 capacity · Altitude hosted a game that never let either bench relax. Sebastián CardonaC · MDE · ●●●●○ · Luminous, Burning, Foggy, Sharp, Wandering put Medellín ahead early, Zanele NdabaRW · JBG · ●●●●○ · Quiet tied it for Johannesburg just past the ten-minute mark, Isabella GómezLW · MDE · ●●●○○ · Sharp, Wandering, Clumsy, Echo restored the Medellín lead less than two minutes later, and Thandiwe RadebeD · JBG · ●●●●● · Wandering, Quiet, Hollow, Ancient, Clumsy leveled it again before the period was out to make it 2-2 after one—four goals, and the tie restored twice, all inside a single period.

The see-saw continued into the second. Naledi KhumaloC · JBG · ●●●●● · Magnetic, Foggy, Luminous, Awake put Johannesburg back in front, Mateo ArangoRW · MDE · ●●●●● · Doubled, Hollow, Foggy, Wandering, Ancient, Quiet, Quiet, Luminous, Heavy tied it for Medellín, and RadebeD · JBG · ●●●●● · Wandering, Quiet, Hollow, Ancient, Clumsy scored her second of the night to make it 4-3 Jaguars heading to the third. Medellín tied it again through Valentina OspinaC · MDE · ●●●●● · Awake, Sharp, Burning, Quiet, Brittle, Echo, but Pieter BothaD · JBG · ●●●●● · Sharp, Doubled, Wandering, Doubled, Magnetic, Brittle's power play goal—set up during a Nicolás BetancurD · MDE · ●●●○○ · Brittle, Tidal, Foggy, Translated, Echo, Hollow, Sharp, Quiet, Magnetic, Foggy penalty—put Johannesburg back ahead for good, and Thabo MokoenaLW · JBG · ●●●●● · Hollow, Foggy, Heavy, Awake, Awake, Doubled, Clumsy sealed it with just sixteen seconds left. Six-four final. Radebe finishes with two goals and an assist, and Johannesburg levels this series at home after dropping Game 1 in Medellín.

Series: tied 1–1. Game 3 to decide.

Neither series survived Game 2. Both go home for a decider, and both home buildings have already shown they can score in bunches when the game opens up. Ça sent le grand soir.

The Semi-Finals come down to one game each. Someone is going to the Final tomorrow, and someone is going home.

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 Semi-Final Matchday 2 occurred as scheduled. Both series remain level at one game apiece and will proceed to a third and deciding contest, consistent with the format Le Council designed and continues to endorse without reservation. Nine combined goals were scored in the Guadalajara-Tokyo contest and ten in the Johannesburg-Medellín contest; Le Council finds both totals notably high and has chosen to remark on it. The record has been updated. Game 3 will occur as scheduled.