Round 2 is finished and there have been upsets! Most notably Hijst is moving on to Round 3 for the first time in 44 years.
Read on for the rest of the results. Matchups for Round 3 announced soon!
#1 upset
2 Benjaminburg v. Hijst 2: The Hijsters scored their crucial second away goal with only 2:17 left in the third period and endured a last flurry of shots from Benjaminburg’s Scythers before capturing their first Flowering Branch series win over a second-division team in 44 years. Netminder Jaan Nuuruj, who stopped 29 shots, said afterwards, “This is an incredible feeling. It’s like we have won the Cup itself.” Depending on their next opponent, the Butchermen could be in line for a 10,000 schilling payoff.
#2 upset
4 Tisbe v. Noj-Sporting-West 3: Noj-Sporting West move on! The Swift Arrows won the home leg of the series, but giving up 3 away goals made the aggregate score of the series 6-4 for the Winter Kings. Sporting’s new Bearish goaltender Gregory Gatekeeper, inserted into the first team by the departure of Karl Ruust, stopped 36 of 40 shots and was given huge congratulations after the game by coach and owner Christoff Klijn. "Gatekeeper is the gatekeeper," he shouted as brandy was passed around the changing room. Dujter Gelterkint, N-S-W’s phenom, scored a goal on a wraparound and said afterwards his hero was the NHL’s Andrei Svechnikov. Tisbe defender Klaes “Boom Boom” Boomsmass was purchased by Rjaward after the game for 5,000 schillings, a consolation prize for the Tisbe management.
#3 upset
4 Armaruj v Eahnstaff 4: The Ferryman completed the sweep of the Borschland River delta teams by sticking with a determined Armaruj Cannon team for 90 minutes and equalizing with 4:10 left in the third period to send them into the next round. 37-year old former standout for Matexipar Conraad Bartul had the deciding goal for the lads from the delta.
#4 upset
5 Lassefball v. Verbrodering-Hammerspujl 5: The Blacksmiths are through to Round 3! Lassefball managed to tie the Tarlunz reserves, but V-H had already won its home game and so wrapped up the series with a win and a tie. Blacksmith center Wils Tchappelmark scored a trinity and sent the Hedgehogs home shaking their heads.
#5 upset
0 Lisandra v. Bijfhaf 0: Bijfhaf City went into collective mourning--the Loflin way of celebrating--as the clock struck zero on Lisandra's chances in the 336 Flowering Branch Cup. Wailing, crying, banging of pots and pans with spoons, dirges that went "Our hockey team has passed on to the next life" were heard all over the city. In fact, Bijfhaf has passed on to Round 3 for the first time in 7 years, thanks to a defense led by captain Rankit Anso and a shutout crafted by the veteran Rokus Osthav'n, in his 19th year after starring for Sajbell, Rjaward, and Dohmatische, as well as a stint with St.-Nicholaas-Meechenstaff as a player-coach.
Incredible finish
4 UB - Tujrspaarck v. Wootenmaas 3 (SO 2-1): In a seesaw game that felt like it just had to go the way of the Foresters, the Scholars of the University of Borschland came out with an unlikely shootout win as Wootenmaas’s magic ran out at the last possible moment. Wootenmaas was incredibly leading the game 2-1 with 17 minutes left in the third, but Tujrspaark woke up and put in 3 goals in a row, putting them in line to win the series with an aggregate score of 7-6. But Wootenmaas’s inspirational captain Toor Teelemark threw in a desperation wrister with 9 seconds left on the clock to send the game into a shootout. He then scored the only goal for Wootenmaas in the shootout, but it was not to be.
Other games
5 Oststaff v. King-Frujdrick-Noikapeel 2: K-F-N's dream of Round 3 glory were extinguished by Te Staff recruit Paulus Beechsterbeeck, who scored two goals and assisted on another. Oststaff's height and weight advantage came into play as they had 15 hits and kept the Kings defending all game with 47 shots on goal.
8 UB - St. Elisabeth v. Gull-Overboom 5: Gull-Overboom’s run ends in the second round as their defense collapsed under the weight of a big crowd and rink. The Engineers took advantage of sloppy defensive play on Gull’s part, converting 5 takeaways in Gull’s own zone into goals. Gull tried to keep pace but needed at least a tie to advance.
3 Retter v. Itasca 0: The Coast Guard cadets got it done at home before 1,207 fans, moving into Round 3 of the Flowering Branch Cup for the first time in 11 years. As in the first game, Itasca had a tough time in Retter’s zone, managing only 15 shots on goal. Defenseman Laurens Pohlpert turned a number of heads for Retter. “He will be on Onatten one day soon,” a fan said afterwards.
4 Dafna v. Gottwrischer 0: Dafna righted the ship in hostile waters versus the Archdeacons, scoring in the first 24 seconds of the game and putting a stake into the heart of Gottwrischer’s dreams of advancing, as Dafna won on aggregate scoring 6-3.
3 Limpael v. Kanaal 3: The Kanaal team coasted to a tie on Limpael's ice and easily made it through to the all-important 3rd round. They will be a dangerous foe with a balanced offense that includes 23-year old Matexipar recruit Ditmar Temujn, one of the only players left of the group that was sold off as a penalty to contract irregularities.
14 Alma v. Eschmass 2: Eschmass figured it couldn't get worse than a 9-0 demolition on their own home ice, but it absolutely could as Alma looked like a top-flight team in scoring the most goals it has ever scored in a Flowering Branch Cup game. Alma’s coach Pujtr Groosmann might have made the overstatement of the year after the game: “Our next opponent had better respect us. We didn't take down a team of schoolboys. They were good, but we were better."
2 Rachenz v. St. Borsch 1: The Pelicans couldn't quite come up with the extra goal needed to send the series into a shootout, having lost 4-2 at St. Borsch on the first leg; aggregate score for Saints 6-4. Saints goaltender Julujus van Nojkeerk stood tall in denying 31 shots from Rachenz. Saints move on now to a possible match-up with a top-flight club.
4 Veefgoodergild v. Krosstop 7: Krosstop broke open a 4-4 tie in the third period with three unanswered goals, including an empty-netter as time expired. The Bluff boys move on to the third round with steam in their boilers.
5 St.-Nicholaas-Meechenstaff v. Linblad 1: An expected outcome for the Christmas Saints, who had easily handled Linblad 7-2 on Linblad's ice. Goaltender Beenz Osthav'n, 18-year old son of Rokus and S-N-M's reserve goalkeeper, stopped 16 Linblad shots and now is part of the only father-son goaltender duo that has ever made it into the third round.
6 Ellafuus v. Pohlmatische 2: Ellafuus easily moves on with an aggregate 12-3 score. They will most likely have a much more difficult draw in Round 3 and may regret that their first tune-up wasn’t more challenging.