POWER RANKINGS: PLAYOFF EDITION
August 7th, 2009
By: Chris Ozolins
Round 1
Byes:
#1 Smoke Show
#2 D5
#3 Redtails
#4 Cacti vs. #13 Warriors
I'll start this off by stating that the Warriors are (obviously) the clear-cut underdogs in this one. With a measly 0.88 gf/g stacked up against De Los Angeles' 1.46 gaa and the Cacti's 2.4 gf/g scoring engine, Robertson is going to have to shine in between the pipes and hope the added intensity of the playoffs can light a fire under the Warriors offense. Interesting fact: Cacti top scorers Orozco and Guglick havn't beaten Robertson all season. Cacti tallies in the regular season matchups have come from Badger (1) and Daley (4)... while the Warriors Chase has potted a pair, the only goals his squad has scored on DLA.
Bottom Line: The Cacti come out on top here, however, the Warriors potentially steal a game. Robertson will be the x-factor for the Warriors, as is the norm. A strong showing in the last week of the season vs. D5 leaves the possibility of an upset lingering in the air... but you've got to fill the net to win, and the Warriors just havn't done that this year.
#5 Beasts vs. #12 Meatheads
The question here isn't who wins; the Beasts will win this series, the question is "Do the Meatheads remember how to get to the courts?". Absent from the last 3 consecutive weeks of the season, I don't think "rusty" is even appropriate in classifying the condition of this ghost-squad. The Beasts appear to have come away from the McKeag deal looking real good, with a starting four who've collectively scored 61+ goals. The Beasts appear to be a genuine threat to go deep into the 2009 playoffs.
Bottom Line: The Beasts win this series in two games, less if the 'heads don't even show. The only asterisk I'll add is that the Meatheads are capable of playing shut-down defense with a lead. The problem with that is that they have to a) have the lead, then b) compete with the Beasts absolutely ridiculous offense.
#6 Surewoods vs. #11 Lockport
A pair of 3-0 victories over the Gambinos says the Surewoods take this round in 2. The Surewoods, although hot and cold for much of the first half of the season, have apparently caught their stride as of late and have been mowing down the teams they should be. The Gambinos, however, have also seen an improvement in performance towards the end of the season. They've gone 1-1 for the last 4 weeks of the season, one of those weeks including a victory over the Beasts.
Bottom Line: If the Surewoods offense shows up, as it has lately, I don't think there's any doubt this series is over in 2 games. The Gambinos will put up a commendable fight, and they might even take one, or both of the games to OT, but with Kenny's improved play between the pipes, I can't see much happening for them offensively.
#7 Sunnyvale vs. #10 Hellfish
Ok, now things get interesting. Week 12 of the season involved Sunnyvale burying the Hellfish 5-0 and although it was a pretty one-sided game, it wasn't at all the norm for the 'fish. The Hellfish have been a season-long anomoly, sporadically taking out a smorgasboard of teams above them in the rankings (Beasts, Surewoods, NHL '94, Sunnyvale). With a collective goals-for total lower than many of the individual top-scorers in the league, one is only left to conclude that they must be doing something right on defense... and indeed they are. Team defense is a key component of the Hellfish system, and they use a full 7-man roster to pull it off, with Casarin and Gaw completing the majority of offense for the boys. Sunnyvale, on the other hand, started very strong, and have gone through rough patches in their season, taking mercy losses, then coming back to take top teams to shootouts, or out altogether. The goalies are going to play the pivotal role in this series.
Bottom Line: This series will go 3 games. The winner will be... too close to call. Hall has seen flashes of brilliance in this, his rookie season, facing what I would confidently say were the most shots on net. Buelow can be shut-down as well, but has lost his composure in the past. I'll be there on the sidelines, eagerly watching game 3 of this series.
#8 NHL '94 vs. #9 Twine Bulgers
This matchup should hands-down be the closest of round 1. a) Because these two squads are so close in the standings and b) because not even NHL '94 are drunk by 2pm. There are two distinct versions of the Twine Bulgers: with and without Tkachuk. As I'm assuming their x-factor will be present, I'm afraid for '94 in this one. The chemistry between P.Bailey, Tkachuk and Smith is deadly when all cylinders are firing, and its looks like it'll be that way. As a saving grace on the '94 side, it looks like the McKeag-Klayh deal has actually paid off for them. While they lose McKeags offensive touch, they gain a chippy grinder who can also pot his fair share in Klayh, which seems to fit their system perfectly.
The Bottom Line: While this series will be close... rather, it could be close, I'm going with the Twine Bulgers in two. Their offense has just been too overwhelming as of late and unless Harris plays up to potential, this series could actually get ugly.
