Sports Movie Madness: Hockey Championship

The puck has been dropped, everyone, so it must be time for Player Affinity's Sports Movie Madness! Last week concluded round two of voting for you to determine the best sports movies ever. Votes were cast and tears were shed, and we've got your results, as well as the Screen 16 matchup that will determine the Hockey Region Championship..

But first for those who have been living somewhere without ice, let's recap the tournament. In the Sports Movie Madness tournament, there are seven sports and one mega-category of miscellaneous sports, so eight regions total. This is the Hockey Region Championship. Your task is simple: to pick which movie you deem worthy of being the best hockey film, the one that will compete against the other sports to determine the best sports film ever. Simply enter a comment by Sunday, April 3 at 5:00 pm with the movie you think should win the Championship and your vote counts! The boxing winner here will square off again the sure-to-be mighty champion of the Football (Soccer) Region.

THE RESULTS
1 The Mighty Ducks def. 4 Slap Shot
3 Mystery, Alaska def. 2 Miracle

A contest as close as The Maple Leaf’s making the playoffs this year, both our winners won by a slim margin with on such matchups coming out not as expected. Voter turnout was lacking last time folks, so make sure you make your opinion count and cast those votes! Moving right along, The Mighty Ducks again proved that underdogs can pull off a win (though I suppose that’s the subject matter and not the film itself, as it is our number one seed) by defeating the classic comedy Slap Shot.  The drama Mystery, Alaska pulled the jersey over favourite Miracle to excel into the final round. If you’re looking back and say, but wait that doesn’t add up, it’s because my votes aren’t displayed there. This matchup should yield an obvious outcome if past voting is any indication; this will be the ultimate challenge of youth versus grizzled determination. Now, whoever wins will face the task of fending off the Football Region champion for the ultimate title.

***HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP***

1 The Mighty Ducks vs. 2 Mystery, Alaska

Nostalgia once again rains supreme, propelling The Mighty Ducks closer towards glory. It really just comes down to popularity and warm feeling you get when reminiscing about watching this film in the basement with your buddies; back when the protagonists seemed older than you. “Ducks” has easily claimed every win so far so we shall now see if memories really are worth holding on to.

This straight-shooting hockey drama has eased past its challengers with a number of close contests, so it will need to see a huge boost to claim the title. The popularity of this film may simply come down to that of fantasy; who wouldn’t want their favourite sports team to pay their town a visit and start a pickup game. Though it works will in Mystery, Alaska I have a feeling that reality won’t come to pass in reality.