Wockey Pool X Day Two - A GoodMan is Hard to Find...Anywhere Near the Top of the Standings

Day two of the Wockey Pool saw more ups and downs than a Russian bungee jumper including two overtime games, one nearly improbable comeback bid, and the soul-crushing defeat of the official team of Wockey, the St. Cloud State Huskies.  

 

Of course, the Huskies' loss not only hurt those whose hearts were behind the team.  A whopping 104 brackets, 29% of those entered into the pool, had the Huskies winning the NCAA title.  Entering day three, 11 brackets are tied for the lead, but seven of them picked St. Cloud to take the title. Among those are two owned by Erik Freeman -- one of which has BC winning and the other with North Dakota.  Also tied for the lead is Rae Mathiasen, who is a relative of 2015 Champion and Puckhead Grady and Finley Mathiasen, though Wockey headquarters is still trying to determine how (though I think I have an idea).

 

On the opposite end of things, we ended up with two brackets that only picked one game correctly, tying for the Wockey Puckhead.  However, in a move that practically defines Puckheadedness itself, Chris Goodman mixed up his tiebreakers, virtually guaranteeing himself the thorned crown that is the Wockey Puckhead.  

 

The first tiebreaker -- as anyone with a second grade reading level knows -- is total goals scored in the Frozen Four (which typically falls between 12 and 24).  The second tiebreaker is total goals scored in the tournament (which typically falls between 80-100).  For his Frozen Four tiebreaker, Chris chose 64.  For his total tournament goals tiebreaker, Chris went with 18, in effect predicting that there will be 46 more goals scored in the Frozen Four than in the entire 15 games of the tournament (which includes the Frozen Four), which is obviously impossible.  The only way that Chris avoids being the Puckhead is if 41 or more goals are scored in the three Frozen Four games, an average of 13+ goals scored per game.  So far in this tournament, no more than nine goals have been scored in a game, and the average number of goals scored per game is six.  

 

Now I realize that I’m going to great lengths just to describe a simple gaffe in filling out one’s bracket.  However, Chris has not one, not two, but THREE brackets in the bottom 11 of the standings.  In fact, in nine of the ten brackets Chris entered, he made the same tiebreaker mistake.  And the name he gave to the only bracket in which he actually placed the numbers in the correct spots? “Holy s--t this is easy”.  Yes.  Yes it is Chris, when you actually follow the instructions.

 

And so like CNN on Election Day, we’re calling this race early.  Ladies and gentleman, your 2016 Wockey Puckhead is...Chris Goodman!!

 

 

Unfortunately, I don’t have a real picture of Chris, though I imagine this must be pretty close to what he actually looks like, so we’re going with it for now.  

 

Well done Chris.  Not only have you made Puckhead history by losing on the worst of technicalities, you've also forced me to sear this image into people’s minds.  You have brought shame upon the now inappropriately named Goodman family.  And you have cemented your status among a class of people that are too stupid for us to have the capacity to feel the vaguest sense of sorrow for.  In other words, you are the perfect Puckhead

 

Of course, we can’t let the other Wockeyite with just three points slide.  Lauren Floistad, also somehow managed to pick just one game correctly.  Irony abounds, however in that last season, Lauren owned one of just two brackets to correctly guess that Providence would win the NCAA title and was in position to finish second overall, which would have netted her over $500.  But she herself had messed up her tiebreaker picks (somehow guessing only two goals would be scored between three Frozen Four games), a move which dropped her to sixth place and potentially cost her several hundred dollars.  Fortunately, Lauren has learned from her past lapse of judgment protecting her from the dreaded title of 2016’s Wockey Puckhead.

 

On Sunday, two more games remain of the first weekend of Wockey.  At 4:00 CT Ferris State faces off with Denver in the West Regional Final, and at 6:30 Quinnipiac and Massachusetts-Lowell will play for the East Regional crown.  By tomorrow night, we will know who is in position to win the coveted title of Wockey Champion, who is in position to place in the money, and perhaps we will have a real picture of Chris Goodman, though I personally hope we don’t because the one posted above is frankly amazing.

 

To those left in contention, good luck!  To those out of the running, I feel your pain.  To Chris Goodman, shame on you.  And to all of Wockey, don’t hold back -- I know this post was so good, you can’t NOT tweet it.

 

Your Heartbroken, Hope-Losin’, Husky Lamenting Commish,

Alex

 

P.S.  Well, at least this makes me feel a little better.