Cordurea Vikings Shine in Season 52: A Remarkable Campaign

 

The Cordurea Vikings have wrapped up an impressive Season 52 in PowerPlay Manager, securing a 4th place finish in the regular season before delivering a strong playoff performance. With dominant individual statistics and a well-balanced team effort, the Vikings have cemented their status as one of the top contenders in the league.

Regular Season Success

Throughout the regular season, the Vikings showcased their offensive and defensive prowess, finishing in 4th place. Their players dominated the individual statistics charts, highlighting the team's depth and quality. Star forward Raimund Wünnemann had a stellar campaign, leading the league in both goals (119) and total points (260), making him the most dangerous offensive player on the ice.

On the defensive end, Roman Ondračka and Vitaliy Snetkov proved to be a formidable duo, leading the top-scoring defensemen table with a combined 158 points. The team's goaltending was also second to none, with Servác Lech standing tall in the net and finishing the season as the best goalkeeper with an incredible 98.70% save percentage. Overall, the Vikings' goaltenders performed exceptionally, with all of them maintaining save percentages over 90%.

Playoff Battle: A Hard-Fought Semifinals & Bronze Medal Victory

In the playoffs, the Vikings reached the semifinals, where they faced HC Galati in a highly anticipated matchup. Despite a valiant effort, they fell short, ending their championship hopes.

However, the team showed resilience in the 3rd place game against Oinacu Ice Gladiators, securing a 2-0 aggregate victory and claiming the bronze medal. This was a testament to their determination and team spirit, finishing the season on a high note.

Dominance in Player Statistics

Beyond team success, individual performances were a defining highlight of the season. The Vikings' roster was packed with elite talent:

• Raimund Wünnemann led the league in both goals (119) and points (260).

  
  
   
  
  
  

• Servác Lech was the best goaltender in the league with a 98.70% save percentage.

  
  
  

• Roman Ondračka & Vitaliy Snetkov dominated the top-scoring defensemen rankings with 158 points combined.

  
  
  

• Overall, 11 players on the team scored over 100 points, while the top three players surpassed 200 points across all competitions (league, playoffs, and national cup).

Financial Overview & Arena Expansion

On the economic side, the Vikings managed to generate an impressive €182 million in revenue this season. However, their total expenses exceeded €215 million, primarily due to significant investments in infrastructure. A substantial €126 million was allocated to the construction of the arena, emphasizing the club's commitment to long-term growth.

Speaking of the arena, this season saw a capacity of 4,100 spectators. In just two months, the stadium will expand to accommodate 6,100 fans, marking another milestone in the team's development. Expansion remains a key focus, but at some point, the Vikings will need to shift their attention toward enhancing facilities to further strengthen the club’s foundation.

A Season to Remember

Despite missing out on the championship, Season 52 was a remarkable success for the Cordurea Vikings. Their ability to dominate the statistics board and finish the season with a bronze medal proves that they are a force to be reckoned with. With such a talented roster, the Vikings are undoubtedly setting their sights on even greater achievements in the coming seasons.

The future is bright for the Cordurea Vikings, and fans have every reason to be excited about what’s next for this exceptional team!

PPM Hockey - Understanding Tactics: The "Circle of Counter-Tactics"

 

With just 14 days left in Season 52, one issue still confuses many managers—tactics. You’d think that after more than 52 league seasons, multiple NC and tournament games, and countless friendlies, tactical knowledge would be crystal clear.

Well, it is! The information is out there—within the community, among experienced players, and especially on the PPM forums. Many managers have already discovered the "Circle of Counter-Tactics" simply by asking.

The Myth of Tactical Secrecy

Some may believe there’s a hidden formula for choosing the right tactics, locked away like some ancient secret. But the truth is, there’s no mystery at all. After four seasons, countless blogs, and forum discussions, the information is readily available for those who seek it.

Breaking Down the Counter-Tactics

Most managers already know some basic tactical matchups:

• Offensive is defeated by Defense—simple logic. A strong defensive game shuts down an attacking team.
• Normal is countered by Breaking Up—since Normal relies on momentum, Breaking Up disrupts it.

That leaves four tactics—Defensive, Counterattack, Active Forecheck, and Breaking Up—to analyze further. Let’s break them down:

The Full Circle of Counter-Tactics

1. Offensive → Defeated by Defense

   • If your opponent plays an aggressive offensive game, the best response is a strong defensive approach to neutralize their attacks. This one is basic logic.  If you want to shut down a highly offensive team, you play an equally good defensive game.

2. Normal → Defeated by Breaking Up

   • The Normal tactic thrives on flexibility and momentum. Breaking Up disrupts this by stopping the flow of the game, making it the ideal counter. The normal tactic is thought of as the most balanced approach, neither offensive nor defensive.  This style relies on an open game where a team can change tactics on the fly, play defense where needed and use momentum to its advantage.  The key to shutting down a normal tactic is to stop the momentum, hense the Breaking Up tactic being the best option.

3. Breaking Up → Defeated by Counterattack

   • Since Breaking Up aims to disrupt play, a team using Counterattack can take advantage of these breaks, forcing turnovers and capitalizing on quick transitions. As previously mentioned, the Breaking Up tactic uses starts and stops to break the momentum of a team.  What you would want then, is a tactic that can use these attempted breaks in play to start an attack. Counterattack is that tactic.  When the opposition tries to slow down the game by forcing an offside or freezing the puck, your team uses Counterattack to force penalties and turnovers, therefore giving you the puck to start an attack.

4. Counterattack → Defeated by Active Forecheck

   • Counterattack strategies rely on waiting for the opponent to make mistakes. Active Forecheck flips the script by applying pressure, forcing errors before they can happen. This is possibly the tactic that people get most confused about.  Well, this one and the next one.  A team that uses counterattacks is never easy to beat because any error you make is often going to result in them getting the puck.  You need to counter this with the opposite style of move.  While they are waiting patiently for you to cause an error and give them the attack, you need to pressure them into doing the same.  A good quality, solid forecheck is often enough to shut down any team looking for you to make an error.  Take the game to them, and you should win.

5. Active Forecheck → Defeated by Offensive

   • A high-pressure forechecking team can be outpaced by a fast, skilled offensive strategy that breaks through their aggressive defensive plays. We now know that a patient counterattack game is defeated by a puck pressured forecheck.  But how do you beat a team that is putting the pressure on you?  Playing a patient defensive game is going to play into their hands.  Playing a hard forecheck game is counterproductive as that's what they are doing to you.  Instead, you need a tactic that is fast paced enough to keep up with them, but skilled enough to get around their defensively minded forechecking forwards.  A solid offensive game is what you need.

6. Defensive → Defeated by Normal

   • A heavily defensive team is difficult to break down, but a well-balanced Normal tactic allows for controlled, patient play, exposing gaps in their structure. Lastly we have the tactic that has won many teams championships over the years.  The defensive tactic is a killer and that pesky neutral zone trap that helped the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars win games is a horrid beast to get around.  At least, it is if you don't play a solid all round game.  If a team is playing defense most the game, you are going to want to play along with them, looking for gaps and finding their weaknesses.  The Normal tactic, while the most balanced in the game (allegedly), is the best to use here.

The Complete Tactical Cycle

This creates a tactical loop:
Normal → Defensive → Offensive → Forechecking → Counterattack → Breaking Up → Normal

Final Thoughts

There is data proving these tactical relationships with 99.99% accuracy. While some websites document this information, I won’t be sharing links—do your own research!

Next time you prepare for a match, analyze your opponent, choose your tactics wisely, and don’t be afraid to take some risks. Success comes to those who adapt!

 

 

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End of season 51 in PPM Hockey + New updates in "Saving the Vikings" project

 

After a championship in which we rebuilt and reshaped the team, we finally managed to finish in 4th place during the regular season, which propelled us into the playoffs.

 

There, we managed to reach the semifinals, delivering a surprising defeat in Game 2 against Sportklub. Unfortunately, in the decisive match, the difference in strength between our teams became evident, and we had to leave the ice defeated.

 

A major achievement for our team (and a significant financial bonus, as well) was in the player statistics, where we ranked first in almost all categories (we were leading in the goaltender category too, but unfortunately, a match against Sportklub ruined all the percentages).

 

In the end, we can say that the reconstruction process is going according to plan. The arena is starting to take shape, and in a few days, the first section of 1,000 seats will be open to spectators. Soon, the other two sections will follow in the next season. At that point, we will feel an initial financial boost. Speaking of finances, every week we are earning a surplus of €5,000,000, which, for now, we will invest in increasing the arena's capacity.

Goodbye Dario + New project on saving the Vikings

         Afther a long meeting with the owners we develop a new plan to save the Vikings. Whit a lot of regret we must sell the old players, some of them club legends. The high salaries + low sponsor income & low arena income = bankruptcy and goodbye team. We design a few steps program:

- sell old players(except first line ;)

- bring players from academy even they are trash(low salary = saving money)

- buy some young players to replace the old ones(any quality bescause we don't have now the facilities to develop high skill ones)

- make some money ---> invest the money in the arena to produce big income

- make more income ---> invest the money in the facilities to produce and develope good players

     First player who leaves Cordurea Vikings is Dario Lustica, a croatian center who played over 600 games for Vikings.

     The transfer fee was not great, only 10.000 $, but we make an economy of 30.000/day, his salary.

First improvements

    After a long period in which we lost money, our club registers its first week on positive balance:

    More on this, with only 70.000 euro, we grab some youth talent.

First, a slovakian left defender, Konštantín Biellich for only 10.000:

 Second, a german right winger,  Malwin Gerner

 And another slovakian, left wing Marek Čuhák

 We will have a lot of work to develope this future prospects, but we are confident in our program.

Saving the Vikings!

     A few days ago a pop up message came up:

    Well, the situation isn't so nice, an old team, with a lot of players above 30, only few young players, below average facilities, a small arena(2000 seats), so we have small income from spectators, and above all, a disastrous economic situation.

    What shoul we do for now? 

    - Take a big loan(24 mil), to solve some temporary economic problems. We only buy time whit that.

    - A little expansion of the arena(+350 seats)

    - 2 bids: a winger & a defense men(hope to win the bid)

    - Schedule some friendlies in large hockey rinks(+ 10.000 seats) for extra income

  

My First Season on PowerPlayManager: The Deva Red Wings Take the Ice

Hey everyone,

A new year begins, and so does a new chapter in my life as an online hockey manager. I’ve just wrapped up my very first season in the beta version of PowerPlayManager, a rising star among sports management games, and what a ride it's been!

Just wrapped up my very first season on a brand-new online hockey manager called PowerPlayManager.com, and wow — what a wild and fun ride it's been. Thought I’d share some of my thoughts, experiences, and season highlights while it’s all still fresh.

💡 So, what’s PowerPlayManager?

It’s a cool new hockey management game that’s still in beta, but already super promising. The whole project started back in 2007 by a group of passionate slovak guys who used to play another manager game called HockeyArena. They decided to build their own hockey world — with more depth, more control, and more community.

You take on the role of team manager and coach — building your lineup, setting tactics, training players, managing finances, scouting, and more. It’s a full-package deal for anyone who loves hockey and strategy games.

🐾 Enter: The Deva Red Wings

I joined with my newly created team, the Deva Red Wings, and we landed in International League 7.61. Not gonna lie, I had zero expectations — just wanted to learn the ropes, have some fun, and see how it all works.

But somehow... we ended up winning the regular season! 😲 Yep, first year in, and we topped the standings. It was a crazy ride filled with lineup tweaks, stat crunching, and a little bit of beginner's luck.

😢 The Heartbreak: Playoff Final Loss

We made it all the way to the playoff final, where we went head-to-head with Robson All-Stars. It was intense, but unfortunately, they got the better of us in the end. Gutted? A little. Proud? Absolutely.

🧱 Brick Wall Between the Pipes

A huge shoutout to my goalies — Alexandru Panait and Kristian Lipiansky — who were absolute beasts this season. Statistically, they were the best goaltenders in the league, and it showed in every match. These two kept us in games we had no business winning.

🎯 Our Secret Weapon: Michal Gasparik

And then there’s Michal Gasparik. What a player. He led the entire league with 71 points — talk about a breakout season! He’s been the backbone of our offense and clutch in the big moments. Definitely one to build around moving forward.

🔍 What’s Next?

Now that I’ve gotten a taste of the game, I’m even more hyped for what’s next. There’s still so much to explore — tactics, youth development, building infrastructure, maybe even joining some community forums and making friends along the way. It’s not just about winning (though that helps 😄), it’s about growing with the game and enjoying the journey.

Beyond wins and stats, though, this season has been about discovery. Learning the game mechanics, optimizing lineups, managing finances, scouting youth players — every day brought something new. Just as rewarding has been getting to know the community. There’s a growing sense of camaraderie among managers from around the world, united by our love for the game and the potential of this ambitious project.

If you’re into hockey and haven’t checked out PowerPlayManager yet, now’s the perfect time. It’s still early, still growing, and the devs are clearly passionate. I can’t wait to see where it goes next — and how far the Deva Red Wings can fly.

Catch you at the rink, reborn – Manager of the Deva Red Wings