The Bayside Tigers (-110)
Stud Puffins (-130)
Over 5.5 (-105)
Under 5.5 (-135)
Notes: The Puffins will be without the services of Scott, Justin, Rachel and Captain Lee himself, while the Tigers will have everyone on the roster in except Kevin (out for the playoffs) and Charlotte who is probably out for this game but in if the Tigers advance. Tim Burke gets the start for orange and faces off against a Tigers squad that only scored nine goals in their first seven games before netting six in their doubleheader Friday. Although that is an encouraging sign, they still lost both those games by a goal. Tonight they’ll be making some lineup adjustments in an attempt to give Eitan some run support. The first meeting between these teams ended in a 4-1 Puffins victory, but much of that was due to an incredible goaltending performance by Tim K. The actual possession and shots in that game were pretty even and this should be a similarly close game. It’s a classic matchup of the high-flying offensive speed game of SBJ vs the defensive fort the Tigers will try to construct. Rare is the 5/8 game tougher to predict than the 6/7, but all I’ll say about this one is take the under.
My Cup Size Is Stanley (+115)
Cleveland Monsters (-155)
My Cup Size Is Stanley (+1.5 Goals) (-120)
Cleveland Monsters (-1.5 Goals) (-120)
Over 5.5 (-115)
Under 5.5 (-125)
Notes: The preseason favorite Monsters will look to rebound from a disappointing regular season as they face Jenn, Ariel and team Cup Size in the 6/7 matchup. Josh Rosen is out for the playoffs for the second straight season, replaced in the lineup by Cro. Cro did net a goal and an assist in his debut last week but might be hammered and/or skip this game for a bumble date so who the hell knows what will happen. Cup Size looked great in scoring five against the Tigers Friday but defense has been an issue this season and the Monsters will look to exploit that with Hogg/Tadpole/Russo firing shots from all over while Brad and Nate man the defense with LJ and JR. Key matchup is in net where Zisser will look to come through big against last seasons goalie of the year, Shaun deLacy. Both have had a tougher than expected summer and have much to prove as the playoffs roll around; what better way to silence the critics than with a resounding playoff victory? I love a lot of what black has on their roster, but I picked Cleveland before the season and I’m sticking with my guns. Monsters to win by multiple goals.
Puffins / Tigers (-105)
The Charging Cheetahs (-135)
Over 5.5 (-115)
Under 5.5 (-125)
Notes: The Cheetahs have had success against both these teams this season, beating the Tigers twice and smoking the Puffins in their lone meeting 7-2. They are undoubtedly the favorites, but in playoff hockey you never know. Hicks of Ronkonkoma brings up an interesting stat: since this league moved to the current playoff format, there have been four matchups (two in fall, two in spring) for the right to play in the final four. The play-in team has won all four as the 3 and 4 seeds have never made it to championship week. The Cheetahs were in the same place last season, losing an overtime heartbreaker to Ariel and the Hippos. They should have most of their squad in tow for this one but only finished a point ahead of orange and barely beat blue both times they played this season. A closer game that you would think, and one that probably only SBJ should bet on.
Monsters / Cup Size (-105)
RONKONKOMA CONDO’S (-135)
Over 5.5 (-130)
Under 5.5 (-110)
Notes: The final game of the evening sees a high-scoring, high-flying CONDO’S lineup featuring the top two scorers in the league, one of the top goalies in the league and the unquestioned top beer-in-the-face thrower in New York facing off against the winner of the 6/7 matchup from earlier in the night. Unlike the previous matchup where I thought the Cheetahs matched up similarly well against either potential opponent, this is really a tale of two cities for Ronkonkoma. They laid a beating on Cup Size just last week, but took their worst beating of the season to Cleveland. Was it just a bad night at the office (technically two since that game stretched over two weeks), or do they match up particularly poorly against purple? Hogg tied an all-time D5 record with four goals in that contest and he’ll be hungry to make his 2nd consecutive final four appearance, this time as a forward. Hicks picked up his first scoring title this season and has no doubt been binging on pre-workout and sitting on the toilet for most of the day. Creed and surprise Brian Leetch award winner Mike McCauley trying to shut down Hogg and Tadpole vs Brad and Nate trying to shut down Hicks, Cheeky and Olivier makes this the game of the night. As much as I hope to be a homeowner one day, I’m taking purple to pull the upset and advance. Speaking of which…
Odds To Advance To Final Four:
RONKONKOMA CONDO’S (-135)
The Charging Cheetahs (-135)
Cleveland Monsters (+175)
Stud Puffins (+205)
The Bayside Tigers (+220)
My Cup Size Is Stanley (+300)
Grand Salami (total goals on the evening):
Over 21.5 (-115)
Under 21.5 (-125)
Player To Score More Points In Their Matchup:
SBJ (-135)
Gabe (-105)
Fleming (-125)
AFrey (-115)
Marcella (-125)
Sena (-115)
Hogg (-125)
Tarnow (-115)
Tadpole Jack (-130)
Ariel (-110)