HBIC Round One Winners

With everyone in the pool, I thought I should update who were the stars in the opening round of the HBIC Playoff Pool. I was very impressed with some of the scores that players are putting up, and there have been some surprises. I know one entrant - not mentioning any names here - called two series correctly in terms of seven games, but each of the games was opposite of the team that actually won! So with everyone in the pool and the games underway, let's take a look at who had the best performances in each series of the opening round.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS VS. NEW YORK RANGERS: There were two entrants who picked up an impressive 14 points in this series. Rick K. and David L. both called each game correctly in terms of the winning team (five points), had the right number of games and winning team (Washington in five for five points), and then tacked on two game-winning goal scorers for an added four points. Both Rick and David correctly called Dubinsky's game-winner in Game Three for New York, and added Alexander Ovechkin's series-winner in Game Five. Were these two copying off one another? I kid, I kid. Well done, gentlemen, in this series!

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS VS. BUFFALO SABRES: Charles N. was the clear winner in this series as the 1-2-2-2 sequence in this series seemed to throw a lot of entrants off in their prognostications. Charles correctly predicted the winning team in Games One, Two, Five, Six, and Seven for five points. He also predicted that Philly would emerge victorious in seven games for another five points. All totaled, Charles came away the winner in this series as he picked up ten points! Congratulations on your successful predictions, Charles!

BOSTON BRUINS VS. MONTREAL CANADIENS: David L. continued his fantastic predictions in the Eastern Conference as he earned an additional 14 points in this series. David correctly called the winning team in Games One, Three, Five, Six, and Seven for five points. He also called Boston in seven games for another quick five points. But David called Montreal's game-winning goal scorer in Games One and Six as he predicted Brian Gionta scoring the winners. That's another four points, and that's 14 points total. Congratulations on winning this series, David!

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Aaron D. came out the winner in this series as he earned 12 points! Aaron correctly predicted the winning team in Games One, Two, Four, Six, and Seven for five points. He also called the Tampa Bay seven-game series win for another five points. And to add a few more points, Aaron correctly identified Vincent Lecavalier as the game-winning goal scorer in Game Two. All totaled, Aaron earned himself 12 points in this series! Congratulations, Aaron, in winning this series!

VANCOUVER CANUCKS VS. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: This series really threw a few people for a loop as the majority of entries saw five games as the norm. However, James H. thought differently and he was rewarded with a 12-point performance! James called the winning team in Games Two, Three, Five, Six, and Seven for five points. He picked up another five points for calling Vancouver's seven-game series win. And he added another two points by calling Daniel Sedin's game-winner in Game Two. Congratulations on winning this series, James!

SAN JOSE SHARKS VS. LOS ANGELES KINGS: This is another series that really threw people off due to the way it played out. Kerry M. showed that he knew what was happening, though, as he picked up 11 points in this match-up! Kerry correctly predicted the winning team in all six games played for six points. And because his crystal ball showed San Jose winning in six games, Kerry earned another five points. After all was said and done, 11 points were added. Congratulations to Kerry on predicting this series entirely correct!

DETROIT RED WINGS VS. PHOENIX COYOTES: Only two people correctly predicted a sweep in this series, and both entrants picked up nine points for their efforts. Ryan J. and Greg A. called all four games correctly for four points, and had Detroit sweeping through to the next round for five points. Congratulations to both Ryan and Greg for correctly seeing Detroit into the second round in the shortest amount of time!

ANAHEIM DUCKS VS. NASHVILLE PREDATORS: One entrant won this series with an 11-point performance, and that entrant was Daniel W. Daniel correctly predicted the winning team in Games Three, Four, Five, and Six for four points. He also knew that Nashville would win in six games for another five points. And Daniel picked up two more points for calling Corey Perry's game-winner in Game Four. After all those values were entered into the calculator, Daniel had himself 11 points! Congratulations to Daniel on this great series!

I'm pumped for the second round as this round was very exciting both on the ice and in the HBIC Playoff Pool! The prize list will be posted next week once I get the final few prizes secured and in my possession. There will be possibly 10 individual prizes, including one grand prize. I'll know more once I get everything organized, but things will be finalized with the prizes shortly.

Thanks for playing to the men and women involved, and here's hoping your second round goes as good or better than the first round! Good luck!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!