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— Oscar Wilde.
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St. Louis Cardinals
Team Preview 2020
The St. Louis Cardinals look to win the NL Central division again in 2020. They came out on top in 2019 with winning the regular season division over the Milwaukee Brewers by two games. The Cardinals went on to lose the NLCS to a good Washington Nationals team. The Cards hope to get back there this year and get different results. But St. Louis may have to wait a bit longer. The regular season for MLB was postponed due to the global pandemic and the spread of the Coronavirus. The season will start at a later date yet to be determined. This pandemic also put a hold on the last couple weeks of spring training. Just when teams were getting the rosters narrowed down, MLB commissioner announced that no more spring training games would be played and the start of the season would be postponed. But I am going to give you a look at what the Cardinals had up to that point and where it looked like they would be for the start of the 2020 regular season.
Catcher
Yadier Molina would get the for sure start behind the plate for the Cardinals. It is the last season in the 34-year-old’s contract but he hopes to play beyond 2020. He has been a staple behind the plate for the Redbirds and is one of the best defensive catchers to ever play the game. Backing him up, the Cardinals will have Matt Wieters. He adds a good bat to the bench for St. Louis. A third catcher, Andrew Kizner, who is a highly regarded prospect in their system, would look to add support if there is an injury, but will most likely start in Triple-A where he can be an everyday starter.
First Base
Superstar Paul Goldschmidt will no doubt be the Cardinals Starting first basemen. He is playing his second year in St. Louis and the Cardinals are going to look for him to have a good year. The Cardinals will most likely not carry a backup and look at guys from other positions to step in if needed.
Second Base
Kolten Wong is going to be St. Louis’s starting second basemen. Wong is coming off of one of his best years in his career after winning a gold glove at second base. He adds great defense and a nice left-handed bat to the lineup. Behind Kolten, the Cardinals will most likely use Tommy Edman or newly acquired Brad Miller in a backup role. Both players will be a utility player for the Cardinals playing many different positions and wherever they are needed.
Short Stop
Starting at short stop for St. Louis will be Paul DeJong. Coming off a 30 home run season and an All-Star appearance in 2019, DeJong will look to have another good year. The Cardinals are going to rely on him for a big bat in the lineup after Marcell Ozuna signed with the Braves in the offseason.
Third Base
Matt Carpenter will hope to have a bounce back year for St. Louis after struggling in 2019. The Cardinals know Carpenter can do more than he showed in 2019. Carpenter will start most of his games at third, will possibly trading on and off with Tommy Edman. The Redbirds will utilize whichever guy is hot at the time. They hope Carpenter can have a good year and be an everyday starter.
Outfield
Two of the three starting outfielders for the Cardinals will most likely be Harrison Bader and Dexter Fowler. Bader will start in center for St. Louis. He adds stellar defense and amazing speed to the lineup. They look for Bader to contribute a little more at the plate this year. In right field, Dexter Fowler will most likely get the most starts. While some fans may disagree, the Cardinals are hoping for him to have a better year. Fowler struggled at the plate in 2019, but can hopefully get back to the potential the Cardinals are hoping for when they signed him. Right field and the bench outfielders are still up in the air. Dylan Carlson is the Cardinals number one prospect in their system and he may be looked upon to fill in the third outfield spot. St. Louis also aqquired Austin Dean who has bounced around between Triple-A and the major leagues. Tyler O’Neil, Lane Thomas, and Justin Williams will also be in the outfield mix.
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Starting Pitchers
Jack Flaherty will be the Cardinals ace in 2020. He was set to start on Opening Day. Behind Flaherty, is Dakota Hudson, Adam Wainwright and Miles Mikolas. Mikolas sat out the second half of spring training with right forearm soreness, but with the season being pushed back, he should be ready to go by the start. This past off-season, the Cardinals signed a Korean pitcher, Kwang-Hyun Kim, who will compete for the fifth spot in the rotation. Also battling for the fifth spot is Carlos Martinez and Daniel Ponce de Leon who both added starts in 2019.
Relief Pitchers
In the bulllpen for St. Louis will be Andrew Miller, Giovanny Gallegos, Ryan Helsley, John Brebbia, Tyler Webb, Jordan Hicks, and John Gant. The Cardinals hope to have Jordan Hicks back to his hard throwing ways after missing the second half of the season in 2019 with Tommy John Surgery. He will add an anchor in the back half of the bullpen. It is also hopeful that St. Louis can get Alex Reyes in the bullpen sometime in 2020. Reyes is coming off multiple injuries that have kept him from reaching his potential. The young Reyes was regarded as a top prospect in the organization. After rehabbing in 2019, the Redbirds hope he can add some firepower to the bullpen in 2020.
March Madness
March Madness 2020
March Madness is one of the most well known sporting events in the country. It takes place every year in March. March Madness is the end of the year tournament for NCAA Division 1 college basketball. The top team from around the country compete to crown one winner. The college basketball postseason is like no other. The tournament is comprised of the best 64 NCAA Division 1 basketball teams competing in a 16 round, single elimination style bracket. There are four divisons which the teams get split into. In each division, the teams are seeded from 1 to 16. The number one seed will face the number 16 seed, the number 2 seed will play the number 15 seed, and so on in the first round of action. If you win, you advance. A big part of the fun that gets many fans involved is filling out their own brackets. Every year, millions of fans across the country fill out their own bracket before the tournament starts to predict how they think the tournament will play out. One strategy is to pick all the higher seeds to advance to the next round, but that is not always the case. Fans compete against each other and celebrities to see who can guess the winners the closest to right.
The first two rounds of this well-known event were scheduled to take place March 19 through March 22, 2020. However, the world would see unpredictable measures that would lead to the first cancelled March Madness ever. The coronavirus, classified as a global pandemic that is rapidly spreading throughout the world, would lead to the cancellation of the end of the year tournament. The first cancellations were seen in the post season tournaments for each basketball conference. Following those cancellations, the NCAA later announced they would be cancelling the whole March Madness tournament. There would be no end of the season tournament to crown a NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball champion. The first two rounds of the tournament were scheduled to take place in Albany, New York; Spokane, Washington; St. Louis, Missouri; Tampa, Florida; Greensboro, North Carolina; Omaha, Nebraska; Sacramento, California; and Cleveland, Ohio. All these cities would be struck with the news that their cities would no longer be hosting the tournament. This is a huge loss of money for these venues.
After the first two rounds, the next rounds consist of the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and Championship game. The rounds get their names from how many teams are still left in the tournament. These rounds of the basketball tournament bring in huge amounts of money and fans to watch and tune in to. This cancellation struck most of the population to be upset. One of the most well-known, most followed, sporting events was now cancelled.
Big Ten Basketball
Big Ten Basketball Tournament 2020
The Big Ten basketball tournament was set to take place March 11 through March 15 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Fourteen teams to compete in a single elimination style bracket to crown one Big Ten Tournament winner and get an automatic bid to NCAA Division 1 tournament later in March. The top four seeded teams would receive double byes in the tournament. These teams were Wisconsin at number 1, Michigan State number 2, Maryland at number three, and Illinois rounding out the top four. Illinois was having a huge bounce back year going 13-7 in the regular season after greatly struggling last season.
Two opening round games would be played on Wednesday, March 11. Minnesota ranked at number 12 in the tournament would take on number 13 Northwestern and number 11 seed Indiana was set to take on 14 seeded Nebraska. These two games would kick things off for the end of season tournament. Higher seeded Minnesota would take down Northwestern by a score of 74-57. Northwestern led at the half 31-29, but was not able to keep that lead through the second half. They got outlasted by Minnesota. Pete Nance was the leading scorer for Northwestern chipping in 15 points and 3 rebounds in the game. For Minnesota, it was center Daniel Oturu who led the way with 24 points and 8 rebounds. Minnesota would advance on to the next round to face five seeded Iowa. Next up was Indiana facing Nebraska. Indiana would get the win 89-64 in the post-season matchup. Nebraska’s Kevin Cross led his team in scoring with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Indiana had a total of five players scoring in double figures with Armaan Franklin leading with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Indiana advanced to play Penn State in the next round of action.
Following Wednesday night games, that was all the action we would see for the Big Ten basketball tournament in 2020. The tournament was cancelled and no more games were to be played due to the fast spreading Coronavirus. The Coronavirus was classified as a global pandemic a few weeks before the tournament tipped off. To help prevent the spread of the virus, all conference basketball tournaments were starting to be cancelled. Shortly after the cancellation of the conference tournaments, the NCAA announced that the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament, known as March Madness, would be cancelled. The 2020 college basketball season was now over and no team would be crowned a winner.
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis Blues versus New York Rangers
The St. Louis Blues traveled to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers on Tuesday, March 3. The Blues were looking for their eighth straight win, while the Rangers were looking to improve their position in the Wild Card race for the playoffs. The game was televised on Fox Sports Midwest in the St. Louis area and other local markets.
The 0-0 tie was broke about half way through the first period. Mika Zibanejad broke into the scoring when he scored a power play goal 12 minutes and 26 seconds into the first period of action. The Rangers would get their power play around 11 and a half minutes into the period when Robert Bortuzzo was caught for tripping. Bortuzzo had been a healthy scratch in recent games for the Blues but was in the lineup tonight instead of Carl Gunnarsson. It was Zibanejad 33 goal on the year. With a little less than a minute left to play in the first, Jacob de la Rose would be booked for interference and St. Louis would be back on the penalty kill. The end of the first period came with the Rangers leading 1-0 with both teams tallying 7 shots on goal.
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Shortly after the Blues had killed off the penalty following over from the end of the first period, the Blues would get a power play of their own. Ryan Strome of the Rangers was called for slashing. St. Louis defensemen Colton Parayko would find the back of the net on the power play for his ninth goal of the year. This would knot things up at 1 apiece. St. Louis would have to kill off another penalty later in the second period as Justin Faulk would go to the box for slashing. The Blues would kill this penalty off and the score would stay the same through the rest of the second period. The game was tied 1-1 going into the third period, but the Blues held the upper hand with 9 shots on goal during the second period, compared to the Rangers 7.
There was now 20 minutes left to play in the game. Halfway through the third period, Brayden Schenn scored for St. Louis, giving them the lead 2-1 with ten minutes left in the game. Schenn got his 25th goal on the year, assisted by Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko. The Rangers would come up short in their fight back for the rest of the third period. The Blues added an empty net goal by Jaden Schwartz to bring the score to 3-1. The game would finish 3-1 with St. Louis taking 22 shots on goal and New York with 26.
The first star of the game was Jaden Schwartz, totaling one goal and one assist for the Blues, followed by Jordan Binnington, stopping 25 of 26 shots faced in the net for St. Louis, and lastly Colton Parayko playing on defense for the blues and adding one goal and one assist. The St. Louis Blues won their eighth straight game as they hold first place in the Central Division.
Evansville Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts Lose a Tough One to Ice Bears
Friday, February 21st the Evansville Thunderbolts took on the Knoxville Ice Bears in downtown Evansville. The Ford Center would play host for the Southern Professional Hockey League showdown. Evansville came into the game with a record of 11-38 for a total of 30 points on the season. Their opponent would come into the match-up at 29-22 and 63 points for the year. In the standings Evansville was ranked last while the Ice Bears clinched their playoff berth and sat at fourth. The games attendance was 1,776 people on Friday night.
The Evansville Thunderbolts, under the direction of head coach Jeff Bes, would look to Brain Billett in goal tonight to help them secure the win. The game started out slow in the first period. Neither team could break the tie through the first twenty minutes of play. The first period also saw no penalties as both teams played a clean game. Knoxville lead in shots through one period of play with 9, while Evansville followed with 4 shots.
The second period would see a little more action. Each team was faced with three power plays, but still the score stayed at 0-0. Both teams were successful in killing off their three penalties through the second period. Shots on goal for the second period were almost the same as the Ice Bears had 9 and Thunderbolts 5. We looked to the third period for either team to break the tie and go ahead in this game. Goalies were solid through two periods of play. The third and deciding period was up next.
Evansville started out hot scoring just a little over three minutes into the third period. The first goal of the game was scored by Braden Hellems, his sixth of the year, to put the Thunderbolts up 1-0. Later that period, Evansville would strike again. Demico Hannoun would find the back of the net to go up 2-0 by 2 unanswered goals in the third period by the Thunderbolts. Two minutes later, Knoxville would get on the board with an unassisted goal by Gehrett Sargis to make the score 2-1. There was a little under 5 minutes to play now with Evansville up 2-1. Just over a minute later, the Ice Bears would add the tying goal. Josh Pietrantonio would score to tie the game at 2 a piece with a little under 3 minutes to play. Neither team would score again in regulation, sending us to overtime tied at 2.
Both teams earned a point now as we headed to overtime. They would look to get that second point on the night with an overtime winner. The Ice Bears would do just that. Knoxville scored just over a minute into the overtime period. Gehrett Sargis scored the game winning goal for his second goal of the night just into overtime. This propelled Knoxville over Evansville with the 3-2 overtime win. Total shots would end up 30-23 in favor of the Knoxville Ice Bears.
NBA All-Star Game 2020
All-Star Game
The NBA All-Star Game 2020 took place on Sunday, February 16. The game was played in Chicago, Illinois in the United Center, home to the Chicago Bulls. The best from around the league would square off in a newly formatted All-Star game.
Since being introduced in 2018, two captains chosen for the All-Star game would draft their teams from a pool of All-Stars. This took the place of players representing their respected conferences in a traditional style All-Star game. The two captains chosen for the 2020 All-Star game were Lebron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. These two would draft theirs teams leading up to the All-Star game. Concluding the draft, Team Lebron was the favorite, but we would find out if that would stand true in the game.
This year’s game would have a new format to it, honoring the passing of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant. The first three quarters of the game would be timed, much like a normal basketball quarter, with the teams competing for a total of 12 minutes. Each quarter would start with a score of 0 to 0 and the scores from the previous quarters would not carry over into the next. However, the fourth quarter would take place a little differently. This quarter was known as the Kobe quarter. The Kobe quarter would be an untimed quarter. Each team would start with the score of their previous quarter’s totals added together. Then to decide a winner, they would decide a target score to reach. This number was found by adding 24 points to the winning teams score at the beginning of the quarter. This would become the target score and then the first team to reach that score would be the winner.
The first quarter was much like any other NBA All-Star game, with little defense and a lot of scoring. Team Lebron would take quarter number one over Team Giannis with a score of 53-41 in 12 minutes of action. However, quarter number two would declare a new winner. Team Giannis would win the second quarter by a score of 51-30. So far, the game was evenly matched with each team winning a quarter in the first half of action. Both teams were putting on a show with impressive plays to get the crowd cheering. The third quarter of action would end in a tie, 41-41. No one was declared a winner in the 12 minutes of play for the third quarter. Going into the final quarter, the game seemed to be very evenly played.
It was time for the Kobe quarter, the fourth and final quarter of action for the 2020 NBA All-Star game. Through the first three quarters, Team Lebron combined for a total of 124 points, while Team Giannis would combine for a total of 133 points. Team Giannis would go into the Kobe quarter with the advantage. The target score to win the game in this untimed quarter would be 157. This was determined by adding 24 points to Team Giannis three quarter total because they were in the lead. The last quarter of the game would play out much differently than the rest. There was much more defense being played and many less points being scored. It seemed that they players were actually trying and now taking it more seriously. In the end, they wanted their team to win. The game was intense, and the crowd was on the edge of their seats. The game reached a score of Team Lebron 156 to Team Giannis 155. The next bucket would win. After a couple minutes of intense play and lock down defense, Anthony Davis, Lakers all-star, would draw a foul on offense. He would go to the free throw line with a chance to send his team home winners. Davis would just need to make one of the two free throws. Anthony Davis missed the first. It all came down to his last shot to bring home the title for Team Lebron. Davis drains the last free throw and Team Lebron was victorious by a score of 157-155.
Team Giannis was held to only 22 points in the untimed quarter. Many players spoke on the last quarter and expressed how much they liked the new format of play. They said it gave the game a more competitive edge and encouraged the teams to take it seriously and play hard. Kawhi Leonard of Team Lebron would be named the All-Star MVP. Also new this year, the All-Star MVP trophy would take on a new name, the Kobe Bryant MVP trophy. Leonard scored a game high 30 points while cashing in 8 of 14 shots from behind the arc.
University of Southern Indiana Basketball
Screaming Eagles Get Revenge on the Bearcats
Monday, January 20th, 2020 a GLVC rematch would take place. The Screaming Eagles of University of Southern Indiana would take on the Bearcats of Mckendree University. The two opponents had previously met in an early conference match-up in December. Mckendree defeated USI in December at the Bearcats home. Now it was time for a rematch in the new Screaming Eagles Arena. USI is home to a new home floor for the 2019-2020 season as the brand new and impressive Screaming Eagles Arena is complete.
Things looked good for the Screaming Eagles early as they jumped off to a 15-7 lead after tip off. Later in the first half, Mckendree would find their way back into the game. They eventually tied things up at 20 midway through the first half of play. Wanting to continue like the beginning of the game, USI looked to take back the lead, and they did just that. A couple different Screaming Eagles added buckets as they grabbed a 10-point lead with a few minutes to go to half. One noticeable bucket was by junior Clayton Hughes when he hit a three from way downtown. The teams would trade a few more points before half, and USI would go into half up by 10, 42-32.
The first half for the Screaming Eagles was led by forward Emmanuel Little. He added 13 of his own with 7 for 8 from the free through line. Hughes joined him in double figures for the first half added 10. The two juniors would look to help the Screaming Eagles get the victory in the second half.
After an early three-point play by Joe Laravie, the Bearcats would follow with their own 8-0 run to get within 5 of USI. With just under 11 minutes to go in the game, Mckendree would get within two points bringing it to 53-51. With three and a half minutes to go in the game, the Bearcats would take the lead, but it did not last long. Just under three minutes to play, Little regained the lead for the Screaming Eagles and they would not look back. USI would come away with the victory, 72-69, over Mckendree.
Emmanuel Little led the Screaming Eagles in scoring with 21, while also grabbing a team high 8 rebounds. Following Little also in double figures were Clayton Hughes and Joe Laravie chipping in 13. Mateo Rivera rounded out the double digit scoring with adding 11 points.
The Screaming Eagles took revenge against the Bearcats taking them down on their home court by a score of 72-69. USI was happy with the win as Mckendree had defeated them earlier this season. This set up USI in the right direction as they would take on another GLVC opponent in Truman State three days later.
Superbowl Sunday
Superbowl 2020
One of the most watched sporting events across the United States took place this past weekend. That is the Superbowl. The game to name a champion of the National Football League. The 54th Superbowl took place on February 2, 2020 in Miami, FL. In Miami, the champions of the NFC, San Francisco 49ers, took on the champions of the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers were looking for their sixth franchise Superbowl win, while the Chiefs returned to the big game for the first time in 50 years.
Pregame Ceremonies
The pregame ceremonies that lead up to the game are a big part of the Superbowl. Pregame shows previewing the match up start as early as 9 hours before kickoff. Analyst from around sports weigh in on their opinion of the game. One big event held this year was a tribute to the basketball great, Kobe Bryant, before kickoff. Kobe passed away in a helicopter crash just weeks before the Superbowl. Both teams lined up on their own 24-yard line before the game for a moment of silence for the legend. 24 was the number wore by Bryant for most of his NBA career. Following the moment of silence, the National Anthem and America the Beautiful were sang. American the Beautiful was performed by Yolanda Adams, and the National Anthem was sung by Demi Lovato. Gathered on the field also before kickoff, was the members of the NFL All-100 team. These were players seen as the best of the best for the first 100 years of the NFL. Some not with us anymore, some old, and some young apart of this legendary team.
Kickoff
After a much-anticipated wait, it was time for the game to get underway. The Kansas City Chiefs were to get the ball first and in the hands of their young star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. After a pretty slow first quarter, Mahomes would record a rushing touchdown and the Chiefs would take a 7-3 lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter was very similar to the first. Not much action and scoring. San Francisco’s quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo would complete a 15-yard pass that would go in for a score. Kansas City would add a field goal of their own. The halftime score would sit at 10-10.
A surprisingly uneventful first half would give way for a highlighted halftime performance. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira headlined the Superbowl 54 halftime show. The two women put on a wonderful show. Shakira would sing and dance first on center stage in front of millions of viewers, followed by 50-year-old Jennifer Lopez. The women were joined on stage by a couple of other singers for a few songs. Jennifer Lopez also made her young daughter apart of the performance with her daughter singing her own song. The halftime show would eventually come to a close and it was time for more football.
The third quarter belonged solely to the 49ers. They first started with a promising drive that ended in a field goal to put them up 13-10. Following their score, Kansas City would look to answer. Patrick Mahomes would be picked off for the first time in his young postseason career. The 49ers took advantage of the turnover and added a touchdown to widen their lead to 20-10 headed in the final quarter.
As seen in the previous two playoff games, the Chiefs were not incapable of a comeback. Some even believed the Chiefs had San Francisco right where they wanted them. This proved to be right. The Chiefs marched down the field and Patrick Mahomes would find tight end Travis Kelce for a touchdown to close the gap to 20-17. Helping out, Kansas City’s defense came up with a big stop of the 49er’s offense giving the ball back in their superstar quarterback’s hands. Mahomes completed 5 of 5 throws on this drive, with one going for a touchdown. The score is now 24-20 with only 2 minutes and 44 seconds remaining in Superbowl 54. The game was now in the hands of 49ers offense and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. He was proven not capable of coming back on the Chiefs defense. They would stop the drive and then tack on a late touchdown to seal the game 31-20. The Kansas City Chiefs were Superbowl Champions. Patrick Mahomes would be crowned Superbowl MVP.
Champions
The Kansas City Chiefs just became Superbowl Champions. 24-year-old, Patrick Mahomes was named Superbowl Most Valuable Player. Mahomes finished the game 26-42 for 286 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. He also added 29 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Andy Reid was the great coach of the Chiefs. He held the most wins in the NFL without a Superbowl win. This would stand no more. The future hall of fame coach deserved this win as much as anyone. The Lombardi Trophy would be coming home to the city of Kansas City. Two of the major sports champions will now reside in the state of Missouri, with the Stanley Cup Champions St. Louis Blues, and the now Superbowl Champions Kansas City Chiefs.
NHL All-Star Weekend
NHL All-Star Weekend 2020
Between Friday, January 24 and Sunday, January 26, the NHL All-Star weekend took place in St. Louis, Missouri. The weekend was packed with great activities and games. The all-star game would take place in St. Louis, just six months after the St. Louis Blues won their first ever Stanley Cup.
All-Star Skills Competition
The first activity that would kick off the great events in St. Louis was the All-Star skills competition. This was held on Friday, January 24. The skills competition was comprised of 6 different events: NHL fastest skater, NHL Save streak, NHL accuracy shooting, NHL hardest shot, NHL shooting stars, and lastly Elite women’s 3 on 3. All- stars from around the league would compete in these 6 competitions to determine a winner. For each event, there were previously chosen participants. The first event to kick off the evening was the NHL fastest skater. Matthew Barzel from the New York Islanders took home first place in this competition defeating three-time defending champ Connor McDavid. The next competition was the NHL save streak. Eight goalies competed in a shoot out to see who could save the most shoot out attempts in a row. St. Louis’s own, Jordan Binnington, placed first with saving 10 in a row. Following the save streak, the NHL accuracy shooting started. Players shot pucks at 5 different targets while seeing who could hit them all the fastest. Jaccob Slavin, representing the Carolina Panthers, earned first place with a time of 9.505 seconds. The fourth competition was the NHL hardest shot. Defensemen Shea Weber had the hardest shot attempt coming in at 106.5 mph. The next event that took place was the NHL Shooting Stars. Here, players would shoot pucks from a platform in the stands, to try and earn points by hitting targets on the ice. Patrick Kane, from the St. Louis Blues rival, Chicago Blackhawks, took home the gold after winning in a tiebreaker. The sixth and final event for the skills competition was the Elite Women’s 3 on 3 game. In this game, all-stars from the American team and all-stars from the Canadian team faced off in a game of 3 on 3 hockey. This was the first time this competition was a part of the NHL All-Star competition. The growth of women’s hockey continues to grow. Friday night was just a fun preview of what was to come on Saturday.
Winners of the 2020 All-Star skills competition
All-Star Game
The NHL all-star game has recently adopted a new style of play. The game consists of four teams, one representing each division, and they play two periods of 3 on 3 hockey. The 3 on 3 style is played to create more chances for the teams and create a faster paced, exciting game. The Atlantic, Pacific, Central, and Metropolitan Divisions are the three teams that make up the all-star game. Each team will face off in a semifinal game, with the winner advancing to the championship. First, the Atlantic matched up against the Metropolitan for a semifinal. The Atlantic went on to defeat the Metropolitan division by a score of 9-5. The second semifinal would take place shortly after, with the Pacific and Central divisions squaring off. The Pacific defeated the Central 10-5 to advance to the championship. Here, they would face the Atlantic Division. Pacific defeated the Atlantic 5-4 to win the 2020 NHL All-Star game. They would get to claim their $1 million dollar prize.
All weekend in downtown St. Louis there were many events for fans to attend. Lasting the whole all- star weekend, Fan Fest took place at the newly renovated Union Station in downtown. Sunday, the NHL mascots faced off in a Mascot Showdown for the fans to watch. Throughout the weekend, there was also many singers and bands who performed in front of the crowd of people in St. Louis. It was an exciting, and event-filled weekend in downtown St. Louis, home of the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions.
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