Claimed: Team World kicking ass* at the World Cup

[Gudnason 607]

Team World kicking ass* at the World Cup

 

Two days into the S54 World Cup, Team World is atop the standings with seven points in four games. Team Canada and Team United States, who both have a game in hand, are tied for second along with Team Mercenaries with six points, just one point back of Team World. Team Scandinavia has a haul of five points, while Team Western Europe brings up the rear with just one victory so far.

 

Game 1 - Mercenaries 2:0 Canada

The World Cup kicked off with a big upset as Astrid Moon, fresh off a Continental Cup victory, lead Team Mercenaries to a 2-0 upset over the star-studded Team Canada. Rookie Marc-Alexandre Leblanc lead the charge offensively as he factored in for both of his team's goals. Team Mercenaries has quite a solid core of defensemen in Team World rejects Alexander Thrower, Roman Sokolov, and Pavel Komarov, along with promising VHLMer Nicodemus Raven, and if they can continue to stay out of penalty trouble, their young forwards might be able to do just enough for Team Mercenaries to make it to the medal rounds.

 

Game 5 - Canada 1:0 United States

A goaltending battle that most expected to see in the Continental Cup Finals, Rhett DeGrath outdueled Apollo Skye here as Canada bounced back from the opening night loss with a 1-0 victory against their southern neighbours. Unassisted's powerplay goal early in the game was the only help that DeGrath needed, as he posted a 24-save shutout to make Skye's 35-save performance all for naught.

 

Game 6 - Scandinavia 3:2 World [SO]

After Team World dropped their opening fixture 4-2 against the United States, their bad luck continued here as they fell to Scandinavia 3-2 in the shootout. Although they missed the net on all three of their shootout attempts, Team World picked up their first point of the tournament though. Theo Axelsson had a goal and an assist on the evening to help Scandinavia twice come back and equalize from one-goal deficits, and his lone goal in the shootout proved be the difference despite veteran Felipe Rodriguez's second goal in as many games.

 

Game 7 - Mercenaries 4:0 Western Europe

Team Mercenaries brought Astrid Moon back to the crease after Jacob had his turn, allowing four goals against Western Europe in a loss that saw his counterpart Key Perought only allow one goal, and the Helsinki netminder posted his second shutout in as many starts to lead Team Mercenaries to victory. Daryl Dortch scored two goals, and Marc-Alexandre Leblanc and Shawn Gretzky each scored one goal, as the VHL's next-generation forwards lead the team to victory.

 

Game 8 - World 1:0 Scandinavia

After dropping their last meeting in the shootout, Team World bounced back immediately with a resolute 1-0 victory against Scandinavia as Jakab Holik only had to stop twelve shots for the shutout. Scandinavia simply couldn't muster up any offense this game as Team World only had to block two shots the entire game. Guntis Petenis' goal in the fourth minute of the game was the only shot that got by mist4ke, who kept his team in the game until the final whistle, only to be let down by his forwards.

 

Game 11 - World 6:4 Western Europe

Franchise Cornerstone and Pietro Maximoff finally broke out in a big way as both of Team World's superstar forwards picked up hat tricks enroute to a 6-4 dismantling of Western Europe. Edwi Threencarnac got the start for Team World, but was promptly pulled before half the game was finished after allowing three goals on 20 shots. Jakab Holik came in the game as relief and limited the damage before Team World scored three goals in 80 seconds in the third period to complete the comeback victory. Rookie defenseman Aleksei Federov and his partner Maksym Barnyashev combined for five assists on the evening, as these two are making a name for themselves despite playing behind elite defensemen such as Bobby Digital and Guntis Petenis.