The IHL returned with a bang as the Premier and Championship were headed by two goal-hungry performances, albeit under unusual circumstances with matches on the PvP server due to Civ's newest influx of players -- 'scrollfriends'.
Shiro Tigers launched themselves to the top of the Premier pile with a 31-goal day, while Oakham Villa would score 35 on their way to the top of the Championship.
In the Championship, the Imperial Feds would start their season with a win and the Commons Culprits would score a buzzer beater, as the Commonwealth Crowns and Aequoris Attackers sat out the Gameweek 1 action.
Highlighted Contest: Oakham Villa strike big 'away' at Zirakdum Mighty Dwarves
Zirakdum Mighty DwarvesFull time
Buoyed by recent success in the Lyrean Invitational, Oakham Villa backed up their promotion aspirations by producing a record-setting performance against Zirakdum Mighty Dwarves in our highlighted contest.
Both sides were making their IHL debut, although Oakham's extra preparation was perhaps telling. The side had played a plethora of pre-season outings, and even took victory in the Lyrean Invitational -- besting the Lyrean Lions and Commons Culprits on their way.
Zirakdum -- who also competed in the Invitational -- started Game 1 with NotDuffy, Primflounder175, and RedBoneJangles on the ice, but it was Oakham who would jangle their senses with a rapid start from iPlexity, snw, and teato.
The squad rattled in the goals as they looked set for a hefty scoreline from the outset, while it would not be long until it looked like the IHL's record winning margin could be under threat.
A pair of four goals from snw and teato, and six from iPlexity would power Oakham towards the record at half time, before four each from snw, teato, and second-half substitute Goneguy5 would secure a 26-0 victory for Oakham.
"We know we can score goals, but keeping a clean sheet shows the defensive side is improving too," said Oakham head coach snw.
"It is something we want to build on because stronger sides will punish mistakes much more heavily."
And punish mistakes Zirakdum did. Fielding the same lineup while Goneguy5 and UnicornPvke paired iPlexity in the Oakham three, the Mighty Dwarves took an early 3-0 lead courtesy of NotDuffy and a Primflounder175 double.
Oakham turned to bring snw off the bench, replacing UnicornPvke, and the captain stepped up with a rapid-fire hat-trick to level the second game. iPlexity and Goneguy5 would grab one each before half time, with Oakham entering the break 5-3 ahead.
The trio would collect a further one apiece for an 8-3 margin, while Primflounder175 and snw would slot the puck home as the game reached its final score of 9-4.
As the game settled, Oakham took the opportunity to bring Polysemic on for his debut -- though the Heikki national battled with 27,000 ping,"oepsie woepsie! Internet is stukkie wukkie," he would lament.
Premier Round-up: Shiro Tigers top the charts with stunning opener
Civ's Premier IHL teams returned to action on a weekend that saw the Shiro Tigers make a firm statement to the rest of the pack.
The squad romped to a pair of dominant victories, besting the Gothia Goths 16-2, 15-2 over their two games.
Shiro TigersFull time
The Exyria Exorcists and Bloom Belugas would join the Tigers at the top with two victories in the opening weekend, both scoring 22 times as the winning Premier teams ended the weekend having already established a healthy goal differential.
Exyria -- beaten in the Season 1 Civ Bowl -- made light work of the Lyrean Lions over their two matches, only allowing five goals against them.
A similar story was present for the Belugas, with Xcios' side holding the Salerno Salerknights to three in their opening game. Though, their second tie would be more open as JoldIDK and ToastIsNear grabbed eight for the Salerknights, while Xcios grabbed seven of Bloom's 11.
Championship Round-up: Oakham Villa and Imperial Feds victorious
Away from Oakham Villa's superb outing, the Imperial Feds would start their season strong with a pair of hard-fought victories over the debuting CN Melvera-Victoria.
The first bout went 6-3 in the way of the 'away' I.F, while the game would open up slightly in the second as both teams pushed to a 7-4 result.
CN Melvera-VictoriaFull time
The Cortesian Comets and Commons Culprits would also find drama in the battle of alliteration, as Lyrean Invitational top scorer SapphireFloof would net a buzzer beater to bring the Culprits to 3-3, and overtime, in the first match.
There was uncertainty over the standing of the goal. But, after a 10-minute review, it was given and MyaOfTruth would swiftly strike to break Culprits hearts with a winner for the Comets.
Bedford's outfit would respond with character, though, as a 13-3 battering of the Comets saw SapphireFloof score eight -- with the player announcing themselves as one-to-watch through 37 goals across their Lyrean Invitational campaign and Championship opener.
Opening weekend action will prove especially valuable for the Championship outfits, who will be competing in Round 1 of the International Cup shortly.
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