EASHL - what happened?

I’ve been a hardcore fan of the NHL series since the early 2000’s, and EASHL has been my most played mode since NHL 14. This is the first year I have found myself totally lost and confused at the sheer amount of problems with the game. I’m baffled at how little has been fixed, yet somehow more gets broken. I’ll keep this post to the 2 major issues I have  for now.

2 player teams CPU: This has been an issue for a few years now, it’s unacceptable at this point. I don’t always have a 3rd friend to play with, so my teammate and I have to settle for a CPU as our third. The CPU is basically non existent. Every team we play just skates right past them in a straight line forward. If by some chance of luck the CPU is in the right position, it still won’t pokecheck, hit, or even attempt to make ANY type of play whatsoever. Having a CPU teammate is an automatic disadvantage the second the game starts. That keeps me from wanting to play a game in the first place. When it comes to offense, it’s the same thing. The CPU takes possibly the worst programmed shots I’ve seen in any NHL game yet, and is in a good position maybe 5% of the time. The CPU is pointless. 

Solutions -  There is 2 very easy fixes for these problems.

1. Allow exact matchmaking.  Why was this taken out of the game? Previous years we were allowed to match our teams with the exact number of players. Why can’t our 2 man team JUST play other 2 man teams if we want to? The removal of that feature has now forced us to back out against a 3man team when matchmaking untill we find a 2man. Or when my team finally has 3 players, other 2 man teams backout. That creates longer matchmaking for everybody. If I want to play another 2man team only or feel like playing against 3, I should have the option to choose that. 

2. This should be #1 but, FIX THE CPU. I mean c’mon. It’s not even reasonable. The EASHL Cpu’s make the Rookie difficulty look like Superstar. How can it possibly be this bad? Why aren’t the EASHL Cpu’s Superstar difficulty, or even somewhat close? The CPU should be apart of your team. A teammate. I don’t expect it to carry me to victory but I expect it to at least contribute SOMETHING. 
I use Superstar difficulty as an example because I actually find it really tough to play against, as it should be! It’s smart, adaptive, and challenges the opposing player in a fun way. I don’t understand how the CPU can be so dominant in every other mode except for the one mode where individual’s team contribution counts the most. If I load a game as 2man team, that’s all we are. A 2man, with a CPU that will do as much as the players on our bench will. 

Any feedback, questions, answers, or any discussion about this I’m open too, and is appreciated. I don’t expect this game to be perfect, but I expect it to be even somewhat reasonable, even more so considering the price tag. I at least expected the CPU to get more attention this year instead of adding snowy shin pads…