November-December 2022 MHL season
| November-December 2022 MHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Micronational Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice Hockey |
| Number of games | 7 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Regular season | |
| Farrokhzad Trophy | Draytopol Dragons |
| Playoffs | |
| Overseas Conferencce champions | Draytopol Dragons |
| Overseas Conferencce runners-up | Excelsior Red Star |
| Mainland Conference champions | Augustine Yetis |
| Mainland Conference runners-up | Salem Spartans |
| Olivier Cup | |
| Champions | Augustine Yetis |
| Runners-up | Draytopol Dragons |
The November-December 2022 MHL season was the inaugural season of the Micronational Hockey League (MHL). The league's regular season ended on 14 November and ended on 30 November. The playoffs concluded on 14 December and led to a 3-1 series victory to the underdog Augustine Yetis.
League business
Foundation
The MHL was founded as the brainchild of Raphaël Olivier and Ali Farrokhzad, two avid fans of the North American National Hockey League. They formulated a process of simulating hockey games without having actual players who meet in real life and play, using statistics instead. Olivier and Farrokhzad would take over as the Co-Presidents of the organisation.
The league would decide to focus teams mostly in Georgienstine, with 5 of the 8 charter clubs based out of Georgienstine. The three others would operate in Excelsior, Dairajistan, and Bryantia, all of which were nominally allied with Georgienstine.
Front office changes
During the regular season, only one of the teams would be sold from MHL ownership to private ownership, that being the Excelsior Red Star being sold to Nicolas Caiazzo.
Standings
Overseas Conference
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | f – Draytopol Dragons | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 12 |
| 2 | x – Excelsior Red Star | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 8 |
| 3 | e – Glendia Gladiators | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 6 |
| 4 | e – Eskandarabad Sultans | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 5 |
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 3) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 4) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
f – Clinched Farrokhzad Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot; e – Eliminated from playoffs
Mainland Conference
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y – Augustine Yetis | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 10 |
| 2 | x – Salem Spartans | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 9 |
| 3 | e – Marksburg Titans | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 8 |
| 4 | e – Castel Blizzards | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 3) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 4) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
y – Clinched division; x – Clinched playoff spot; e – Eliminated from playoffs
Playoffs
Bracket
In each round, teams compete in a best-of-five series following a 2–2–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-five series). The team with home ice advantage plays at home for games one and two (and game five, if necessary), and the other team is at home for game three (and game four, if necessary). The top two teams from each conference clinch a playoff berth, making for a four-team playoff.
In the first round, the first and second seeds from each conference play, and the finals were between the winner of both first-round series. In both rounds, home ice advantage was awarded to the team with the better regular season record.
The playoffs also feature a consolation game known as the Bronze Blades, named after the award gifted to the winner of said game. It is the only round in the Olivier Cup playoffs to be a single game, rather than a best-of-five series. The Bronze Blades is the equivalent of a bronze metal.
| First Round | |||||||||||||
| O1 | Draytopol | 3 | |||||||||||
| O2 | Excelsior | 0 | Olivier Cup Finals | ||||||||||
| O1 | Draytopol | 1 | |||||||||||
| First Round | M1 | Augustine | 3 | ||||||||||
| M1 | Augustine | 3 | |||||||||||
| M2 | Salem | 2 | Bronze Blades | ||||||||||
| O2 | Excelsior | 3[a][b] | |||||||||||
| M2 | Salem | 2 | |||||||||||
- Legend
- O1, O2 – The first and second place teams from the Overseas Conference, respectively.
- M1, M2 – The first and second place teams from the Mainland Conference, respectively.
MHL awards
The only MHL award awarded immediately after the regular season is the Farrokhzad Trophy, which is awarded to the team with the highest point total in the regular season. The Farrokhzad Trophy was awarded to the Draytopol Dragons, who won a total of 12 points from a 6-1-0 record. The Overseas and Mainland Trophies, awarded to the winners of the Conference Finals, were awarded at the same time as the Olivier Cup—that being after the Olivier Cup finals. On 27 January 2023, the Overseas and Mainland Division Championships were added as awards for the highest-scoring teams by points for each conference, and both Draytopol and Augustine were retroactively awarded the Overseas and Mainland Division Championships, respectively.
The Draytopol Dragons and Augustine Yetis dominated the season awards, both winning three awards and one award runner-up. Excelsior won one award and two runners-up, Salem won three runners-up, and the other four teams did not win a single award.
| Award | Recipient(s) | Runner(s)-up/Finalists |
|---|---|---|
| Olivier Cup | Augustine Yetis | Draytopol Dragons |
| Farrokhzad Trophy (Best regular-season record) |
Draytopol Dragons | Augustine Yetis |
| Overseas Trophy (Overseas Conference playoff champion) |
Draytopol Dragons | Excelsior Red Star |
| Mainland Trophy (Mainland Conference playoff champion) |
Augustine Yetis | Salem Spartans |
| Bronze Blades (Third place playoff champion) |
Excelsior Red Star | Salem Spartans |
| Overseas Division Champion (Best Overseas Conference regular-season record) |
Draytopol Dragons | Excelsior Red Star |
| Mainland Division Champion (Best Mainland Conference regular-season record) |
Augustine Yetis | Salem Spartans |