Mojo Jojo (+1.5 Goals) (+150)
The Smurfs (-1.5 Goals) (-225)
Over 7.5 (-130)
Under 7.5 (-110)
Notes: Two teams drafted by me face off in the first game of the evening. In a way it’s both teams’ first game of the season because while blue did technically play on Friday, it was six players playing 4v4 against an almost equally shorthanded orange team. Still, the result was a 5-1 victory and The Smurfs will look to build on that momentum against Mojo Jojo, another elite team named after cartoon characters who is looking to open their season strong, albeit against two of the top teams in the league. What’s tough for green is they have their full lineup in minus Danilo who is one of their top players. It’s good to have legs on a doubleheader night but too much and players can struggle to get into the proper rhythm. How first year bench boss Ariel handles deployments will be key in this one; he’ll have Satok wearing the A and helping him out, but I think this is a difficult matchup for them personnel-wise. Anything can happen but in Brita’s return to the arena where she won her first D5 championship last season, bet on The Smurfs to take it down.
BONUS LINES
More Points In Game
Neil + Satok + Ariel (+140)
Sam + Chad (-200)
More Points In Game
Steve Rys (-120)
Mikey (-120)
More Points In Game
Brita (+200)
Annie (-300)
Oh, Deer! (+2.0 Goals) (+150)
The Smurfs (-2.0 Goals) (-225)
Over 8.0 (-120)
Under 8.0 (-120)
Notes: Oh Deer is going to score a lot of goals this season but they struggled a bit against yellow who is likely one of the top defensive teams in the league. Well, it’s not going to get much better for blue which has an even stronger d-core and Phelps in net, hopefully relatively sober seeing as it’s a 6:50 start (no sure thing). The loss of 5th rounder Jordan Dickson isn’t ideal and even though Hilary will be replaced by Sonj, I think these losses are going to take their toll on camo. Left unsaid, at least until right now when I’m about to say it, are questions surrounding 3rd round goalie selection Simon Desjardins. Team Deer Hunting originally drafted Jeff Green, then in the face of about 7 straight hours of harrassment by Simon finally agreed to a 1 for 1 swap of the goalies. It did not start off great as he got beat for four (not to mention 15 in two games as a sub) and is now being ranked as the 6th best goalie. Will he bounce back and taunt everyone who overreacted to last week’s cheek clapping or is he going to blame his dog for whatever happens tonight. Only time will tell, but I have Smurfs putting up at least 4 on him. C’est la vie.
The Hart Foundation (-135)
Mojo Jojo (-105)
Over 8.0 (-120)
Under 8.0 (-120)
Notes: These are two of the top teams in my opinion and this would probably be an even line if I knew Danilo was playing. Unfortunately he is the only question mark for green while pink looks to be largely good and their own biggest question mark is in net won’t even be there tonight. Instead, they’ll have last season’s Vezina winner, Jacob Green, between the pipes and Jake as always leading the D. Miles & Stern vs Neil & Satok pits legitimately two of the top forward combos in the league against each other while Ryann was scoring at a near record pace in her few games subbing on pink last season. I have this one as too close to call but am highly intrigued by the over and possibly a player prop on Steph who was criminally underrated in this seasons’ draft. My pick for game of the night.
BONUS LINES
More Points In Game
Miles + Stern (-145)
Neil + Satok (EVEN)
More Points In Game
Ryann (-160)
Brita (+115)
More Points In Game
Vanessa + Rachel (+150)
Steph (-225)
Oh, Deer! (-1.0 Goals) (-200)
Julie’s Football Club (+1.0 Goals) (+140)
Over 7.0 (-120)
Under 7.0 (-120)
Notes: As mentioned earlier, camo will be missing a few key players. But none are quite as important as Tash who was orange’s first rounder. They should have most of their other players in but offseason questions about their firepower are not going to be helped by missing one of their best weapons. Missing Kev is also not going to help as Hicks and Tom should find plenty of room to rip point blank shots on Zisser and then taunt him with offers of Keebler Cookies. You really just had to be there. I do think there is also a decent chance this turns into a goalie battle and finishes something weird like 2-0, but 7 is as low as I can go in terms of a game total as +1 is the lowest I can go in games orange won’t have Tash. Deer to cover and win by 2+.
BONUS LINES
More Points In Game
Hicks (-120)
Jared + Merone (-120)
More Points In Game
Sonj + Andreas (+115)
Cherie (-160)
Red Cheeks (+2.0 Goals) (-120)
Mel’s Power Trip (-2.0 Goals) (-120)
Over 7.5 (-105)
Under 7.5 (-135)
Notes:Â This is probably the toughest matchup to handicap. Yellow looked great on Friday dispatching camo and black leopard but it’s also fair to wonder if their scoring will be an issue as I’m not sure if it’s reasonable to expect to allow an average of 1.5 goals per game. Then again they do have AJ in tonight and all their top players except for Russo who scored two last week. Meanwhile red won’t have Carter but otherwise has most of their guys in. I just question this team’s build as while they were clearly looking to recreate their Sandy Cheeks team (evident from both their personnel and their team name), their best guy ends up being Tarnow who tells me every offseason how washed up he is in an always unsuccessful effort to be removed from round 2 slotting. That said the supporting cast is strong, deep and fast with Milkman, Campbell, Nate and Henry not only being good players but having a ton of experience playing together in various permutations across various teams/tournaments/scrimmages. This is such a tricky one. I think the public is going to be all over yellow after last week’s two huge wins, but I think the team speed of red is going to cause massive issues for yellow personnel-wise. Game 3 is my game of the week but this the one I’m most curious about. I am setting the line at 2 goals and personally just betting the under.
BONUS LINES
More Points In Game
Tarnow + Milkman (+135)
Pelletier + Liang (-180)
More Points In Game
Dana + Sophie + Cat (+165)
Brooke + Mel (-250)
More Points In Game
Luka French (-165)
Yehuda Jewish (+115)