Half Shell Cartel completes the sweep with a 3-0 series victory over That Was Ugly, though the final scorelines don't fully capture how much of a dogfight this was in the trenches. The Cartel took the first 2 games by identical 5-1 scores before closing the door in a tense 4-3 Game 3 battle. While the series appears one-sided on paper, That Was Ugly actually controlled the possession narrative, leading in Time on Attack in 2 of the 3 games and outshooting the Cartel in the series opener.
The series stars were undoubtedly the Cartel’s high-octane trio of Hoss9286, Sejje, and Duchesne_x_10. Hoss9286 was a walking highlight reel, racking up 9 points (4G, 5A) and factoring into every single goal during the Game 2 clincher. Sejje was equally lethal, finishing the series with 5 goals—including a clutch hat trick and a shorthanded marker in the Game 3 finale. For That Was Ugly, Jeeves2009 was a physical force, leading his squad with 4 goals and 25 hits, while Po1andsFinest set the tone with a series-high 26 hits, but their individual efforts couldn't overcome the Cartel’s team depth.
Clinical efficiency was the ultimate decider in this matchup. That Was Ugly finished the series with 1794 seconds of Time on Attack compared to the Cartel’s 1399, but they simply couldn't convert that zone time into high-danger goals. The Cartel operated with surgical precision, converting on roughly 29% of their total shots across the 3 games. Between the pipes, CN65 provided the necessary stability, posting 46 saves and maintaining a composure that allowed the Cartel to weather long stretches of defensive-zone pressure before striking back on the counter-attack.
