With a lot of returning teams in Season 12, there have been a lot of rivalries created! Here are some matchups that should be interesting in ‘Rivalry Week’!
Les Sénateurs de Toronto vs DOWNEAST PIRATES
The Big Boys are set for a S11 Finals rematch! Les Sénateurs beat the Pirates in a 3-0 Series sweep in the S11 PS4 Finals securing their first Championship in their first season as a team.
Les Sénateurs feature a trio of players that started playing in the ITHL with the Dirty Deer in S6 (LeafsNation22, AroUNd-tHE-fuR__ and EL-DEEZAL-G7) and have a handful of other ITHL veterans such as Pellrs, malbom30, TuckItTeal, Hot_Logger, CVRDINVL and Frenchy_Gaming99. They have brought back a large chunk of their S11 Championship roster and so far look like they will have a good shot at going back to back.
The Pirates were a completely brand new team to the league in S11 with every player on their roster being a rookie, they surprised a lot of people with the run they went on. A passionate group of players that seem to really enjoy playing in the league have quickly become one of the teams to watch on the Old Gen side of the league.
The Pirates put effort into their social media and occaisonally have commentary for their games on twitch.
Give them a follow!
Blue dragons vs problm child
This matchup will see familiar faces facing off against each other as Problm Child have some ex-Dragons on their roster (SLD_Crosby, PJH_98, trxly-ghxst and Bossanova15) .
The Blue Dragons are one of the true OGs in the ITHL as they were apart of Season 1 back on NHL 20 and haven’t missed a full season ever since. A staple of the league, the Dragons started with a group of IRL friends and have expanded since in order to continue to play in the league. Still looking for their first Championship, the Dragons have some good core pieces such as J77CTL9 on defence, Stricky in net and dskullar14 at C.
Problm Child enters the ITHL in S12 and has had a solid start through two weeks with a record of 5-2-1. GMs SLD_Crosby and trxly-ghxst have put together a solid roster after ghxst’s first run at GM wasn’t so successful (Pelech Posse, S10.5). They very well could be contenders for the cup as they have some very solid ITHL veterans on the team such as NuKe_Xotiic, M-X-R-P-H and RoboBeanaz.
boats vs sea sickness
Players on these teams have been battling against each other ever since S3. Their most previous meeting was in R1 of the S11 Sweat Division Playoffs which saw Sea Sickness beating the Boats 3-1 in the BO5 Series.
The Boats are a true OG squad being in the ITHL since the beginning. They have yet to miss the Playoffs in a season but usually struggle once they get to the post season. The furthest they have gotten is the Semi Finals in the S10 Core Divsion Playoffs. This season the Boats have combined two groups of IRL friends with the core Pilsner boys joining the team. We will have to see if they can get going after a slow start to the season.
Sea Sickness won their first Championship in S11 as they beat the Mutts in the Sweat Division Finals. A team that has seen a lot of changes throughout the seasons has become one of the core clubs in the ITHL. Sea Sickness usually takes in players that had their team not return to the league and they have created a positive culture of like minded chel lovers. A ‘casual’ club that tends to always be competitive shows that chemistry is very important to be successful. They look different after S11 as they saw a lot of their players move to the Sea Dawgs who are their ‘brother’ club.
SeaDawgs vs trap house
These are two of the best teams in the league and have a lot of ITHL experience on their rosters.
The Sea Dawgs feature a mash up of Northern Lights, Sea Sickness, Colon Cannonballs and Ice Yeti players. A lot of rings on this roster as only a couple of their players havent won a Cup; Northern Lights, Sea Sickness and the Colon Cannonballs have all won Championships and the Ice Yetis have made it all the way to the Finals. They are for sure one of the teams to watch going forward.
Trap House have been in the league since S3 and won the Cup back in S4. That S4 team is very similar to their S12 team as the core players on Trap have stuck together for a long time. With the competition getting stronger each season, Trap has consistently finished near the top of the standings and made it to the Semi Finals of the Elite Division Playofffs in S11. Similar to the Sea Dawgs, only a few of the S12 Trap players haven’t won a Cup with the majority winning with Trap House in S4 as well as a couple with Sea Sickness in S11 and one with the Hot Pockets in S6.
This matchup will have a lot of familiarity and could be a preview to a heated Playoff Series.
other matchups to look for!
vipers vs dynamic
Both Clubs have been in the league for a while now and consistently finish near the top of the standings.
Many Vipers players won the Core Cup in S10 with the Dirty Birds and some Dynamic players won the Core Cup with Clash HC in S7.
bar downski vs northern swamp rabbits
This matchup is a rematch from the S11 Core Playoffs as these teams met in R2. The Swamp Rabbits won that series but ended up losing in the Finals to the Lake Erie Renegades.
LAKE ERIE RENEGADES VS BLUE LINE SNUPERS
Two teams looking to continue to improve as Lake Erie won the S11 Core Cup, they are looking to build on their success and the Snipers look to secure their first Championship after consistently finishing in the top half of the standings. Some Blue Line Snipers have been in the ITHL since S1.
sunnyvale vs storm
S10 Sweat Cup Champions, Sunnyvale take on one of the best teams in the league, Storm. Both of these teams are looking for their first Elite Division Championship and both have very skilled players.
The Storm have yet to make it past the Semi Finals in the Playoffs but look to get over that hump with their core roster of 8-10 players.
simplified vs mutts
Apparently these teams are friends. Both teams are very good.
Be on the lookout for a game broadcast of one of these series later in the week!