With two weeks to play, much is still up in the air.
Can the Whipsnakes earn the bye?
Can the Cannons crack the playoffs?
Will the Archers beat a quality opponent? They play the Chaos this week so that question won't be answered until next weekend.
Speaking of the Chaos, what version of their offense shows up this weekend?
Can the Chrome continue to be a top four team?
Can the Waterdogs continue their winning streak or with Garnsey's magic propel the Woods?
Atlas vs. Whipsnakes
Thirty minutes ago, this was a Whipsnakes pick. The Atlas have been unbearably sloppy in their past two games, a win over the Archers and a loss to the Waterdogs. Their close defense crew struggled mightily against Michael Sowers and Keiran McArdle. Matt Rambo and Zed Williams do present a different kind of challenge stylistically but they've been good enough to earn MVP honors. Trevor Baptiste won't be the security blanket he's been because the Whipsnakes send Joe Nardella out for every faceoff. What happened thirty minutes ago? The Whipsnakes released a game day roster with Justin Guterding listed as reserve. Did he get hurt in practice? For as dominant as the Whips have been this season, they struggle to score goals and now one of their leading scorers won't suit up.
After a quick double check, Guterding didn't play last week in Denver either. So now, we are flip flopping back to the TerpSnakes.
Pick: Whipsnakes
Waterdogs vs. Redwoods
Kieran McArdle had two points in his first two games. He tallied twenty nine points in the next six games. His linemate Michael Sowers has averaged 3.7 points this season and appears to be the Michael Sowers from his Princeton days. (We still struggle to recognize his Duke tenure since that team couldn't figure out how to advance to Monday.) Unlike, the Waterdogs, the offensive stars for the Redwoods have never shown up on the same weekend. Despite a fifteen goal outburst in Denver, Myles Jones and Sergio Perkovic didn't register a point. The week prior, a loss, Perkovic and Matt Kavanagh combined for two goals on nine shots. Two games prior that, Perkovic and Kavanagh were pointless on ten shots. Maybe those two aren't the stars we were led to believe. Both need to contribute as secondary threats given ample opportunity to score. We'll ride the Waterdogs with better goaltending against a weaker team.
Pick: Waterdogs
Chaos vs. Archers
Another early Saturday start due to weather. Do the Chaos have an edge as they played in the morning game last week? The Archers baptized the junior varsity Scorpions back on June 10th but the varsity roster was held scoreless in the fourth quarter by the Chrome. Good news for the Chaos, the Archers defense is not the same caliber. Certainly, they don't have anyone like Michael Manley who will push back on the off ball/off field antics. As mentioned above, we don't consider the Archers to have a significant win on their resume yet and the Chaos are a blowout loss away from being out of the playoffs entirely. We'll take Blaze to slow down the Archers offense. Who starts in net for the Archers? What a strange time to make a goalie move.
Pick: Chaos
Cannons vs. Chrome
How interesting is this game if the Chaos lose and the Cannons are in striking distance in the second half? It will be very disappointing if we don't get to see one more Lyle game this season. Maybe there is some back channeling and he gets traded this off season. The Cannons have created the weakest roster in the league. The Chrome have one of the best attack groups after one draft, a fringe elite faceoff man, and arguably the best cover man in the league. JT Giles Harris versus Lyle will be a real treat. Or, they could try Manley on Lyle and let JT erase whoever else.
Pick: Chrome
Week 1 Picks
Winners: Atlas, Whipsnakes, Chrome
Loser: Waterdogs
Week 2 Picks
Winners: Atlas, Whipsnakes
Losers: Redwoods, Chaos
Week 3 Picks
Winners: Chrome, Archers, Redwoods
Losers: Atlas
Week 4 Picks
Winners: Whipsnakes, Chrome, Atlas
Losers: Chaos
Week 5 Picks
Winners: Archers, Atlas, Chaos
Losers: Whipsnakes
Week 6 Picks
Winners: Whipsnakes, Archers
Losers: Atlas, Chrome
Record: 16-8
Week 7 All Star Break
Week 8 Picks
Winners: Atlas, Whipsnakes, Waterdogs, Chaos
Week 9 Picks
Winners: Redwoods, Whipsnakes
Losers: Chaos, Atlas
Record: 22-10