Stud Puffins (-120)
Backdoor Bandits (-120)
Over 5.5 (-110)
Under 5.5 (-130)
Notes: Two teams in the middle of the pack open up week 7 in a pivotal game for playoff seeding. The Bandits are currently in 5th, tied for 4th in points with the Cheetahs but losing due to the regulation wins tiebreaker, while the Puffins are one point back and in 6th. 4th place gets you a bye through the play-in games and with only two weeks of regular season left after this week, a regulation loss by either team likely eliminates them from top four contention. The great Jack experiment on Friday night had mixed results as he made a number of great saves but blue gave up a one goal lead in the final minute en route to an OT loss. His one day contract now expired, Zisser will be back in net but the Bandits will be without Eric, David, Evan, Ryan, Hilary and Jamal while the Puffins are missing Sena and Sammi, with Cat Tremble listed as a GTD. Lee will no doubt be itching for revenge in the first matchup between these franchises since blue upset orange in the 1st round of last year’s playoffs, albeit with different rosters and with Eitan having the wrong gametime and making everyone believe he may have been kidnapped. His contract was not renewed and he’s now on the Puffins; no word on if Lee will bench him in retaliation in this one. It’s a matchup that’s almost too close to call, but the under looks juicy with two great goalies and the Puffins having had issues scoring goals this season (they are currently 2nd to last in scoring).
Green Street Hooligans (-175)
Purple People Eaters (+135)
Over 5.5 (-120)
Under 5.5 (-120)
Notes: Probie, Danilo and Barch are all out for the Hooligans. In their place will be Jake and Zisser trying to inject some of that LBS big dick energy to the green team. Chaplin in particular is said to be particularly excited to be playing with his childhood teammate, Jake “The Rocket” Reznick. They’ll have their hands full against a red-hot Purple squad who, after some serious early season struggles punctuated by a weekly goal spread against them in these betting lines, have rebounded to win two straight games including last week’s stunner against the previously top seeded Cup Size. Of course, Cup Size was missing a bunch of players including Gabe but opted not to use their last 1st round sub of the season in this game. Was there some cockiness in play? Likely so as black was favored by a line of -400, the largest in league history which allowed McQuade to continue on the comeback trail with another win at +250. In any case, purple’s speed game has been on point these past two weeks and even without Jake “Sophomore Slump” Braun they could easily pull the upset here. I can’t believe I’m writing this but take purple at +135 and enjoy the free ramen.
Goonies (+110)
Hungry Hippos (-150)
Over 5.5 (-130)
Under 5.5 (-110)
Notes: In a rematch of last week’s 5-3 victory for the Hippos (and the Spring championship’s victory for the Goonies), Cherie will once again do battle with Rehabs teammates Hicks and Ramy. The Hippos may be using a girl sub as Dana is on the long term IR with a foot injury while Nicole is a GTD. Meanwhile the Goonies are playing without Yetter, Maurice and Brett with a sub TBD. It’s been an up-and-down season for the Goonies; since a week three victory that vaulted them into the top 4 they’ve lost three straight in regulation which has put them at the bottom of the league standings. However, they’re just one regulation win out of 4th place and have plenty of time to put together a late season run, as we saw them do last year. Cherie loves being the underdog and I wouldn’t put it past her to bury 2-3 goals in this one but the Hippos are in 1st place and have been rolling. Bet on yellow to keep pissing their opponents off with big time goal cellys.
My Cup Size Is Stanley (EVEN)
The Charging Cheetahs (-140)
Over 5.5 (-110)
Under 5.5 (-130)
Notes: The primetime game is also the marquee matchup of the week as 2nd place Cup Size rolls into Montreal to take on the 4th place Cheetahs. The Cheetahs have been up-and-down all year, with a convincing slump-busting loss to purple sandwiched between convincing wins over the Goonies and Puffins. Adam “Goldie” Goldstein had two snipes last week and is heating up at the perfect time to give the Cheetahs some much-needed secondary scoring. Nasty Nate, top 5 in points in his rookie season, is out tonight but will be replaced by Jake Chaplin. Cup Size will be without Adam, Brad, Amitai, Zach Weiner, Jenn and Christina, with ChooChoo a game-time decision. One of Sara’s Williams ringers will be subbing for the ladies with male subs TBD. Will Cup Size lose their grip on a top two seed the way Jenn appears to have lost the league’s scoreboard unit? It’s a tough game to call but with black missing so many players, the Cheetahs have to have the edge in this one. Even with the solid subs I plan on giving Cup Size, bet on the Cheetahs to keep on rolling and possibly pick up the #3 seed by the end of the night.