Judges Comments

We enjoyed the first place photo for its complexity, a quality not often appreciated in sports images. The facial expressions and position of the puck and stick kept us engaged. Second place worked its way up in our edit because it was the deciding moment in the biggest sporting event of the year. Otherwise it lacks context and the excitement we expect from peak action images. The lines and framing created by the defending players' arms in the third place image and the clean background made this photo stand out. A more thoughtful crop would have helped to accentuate those lines and eliminate distractions at the corners of the frame.