Halifax Floor Hockey LeagueThere are a few surprises and some "to be expected" as well. So with out further ado...let's get it started!
The season was a bit of a surprise as we saw some teams that we thought were going to be boss end up near the bottom...and some old faithfuls end up at the top.
There was no doubt that the Sabres would have a great team after captain/gm Barry Coolen pulled a rabbit out of his hat on draft night to put together the top team during the regular season. With only two losses this season, they proved that they are the team to beat heading into the play offs.
Last night they ended the season with a great game vs the Bulldogs.
The Dogs are where everyone thought they would be and that is right in the middle of the pack. They played hard and made sure that the rest of the league knew they where ready to make some waves in the play offs. Finishing in sixth spot but giving the Sabres a run for their money, they only lost by one.
Sabres won this game 6-5.
The Fire are no surprise this year either. Captain Adam Schallenberg and his trusty steed Braden Urquhart have proven time and time again that they are two of the top players in the league. They have clinched second place in the league and on this night faced off against the mighty Titans. the Titans are a force as well and were missing their star keeper Jason Boudreau. But back stopped by step in Martin Kane they managed to win their final game of the season verses the Fire. They upset the undermanned Fire to head into the playoffs on a winning note.
Titans win this one 6-4
The Slayers have finished the season in 3rd place.They made a season changing trade that has strengthened their D and on Monday night they were able to overwhelm the Hackers. The Hackers are reeling after finding themselves at the bottom of the league in last place. This is something hat never would have been expected as on paper they have one of the strongest teams. No one should take them for granted though because they could still blow the boat out of the water when the time comes.
The Slayers won this game 4-2
Our last game of the night saw the Lynx, who came from behind and have finished 4th, square off against the 7th place Chill. The trade made between the Slayers and the Lynx have really sent the Lynx into a feeding frenzy as they have increased their goal output exponentially. The addition of Roger Keating has made this team one of if not the most dangerous scoring team heading into the post season. They clearly dominated the Chill by outscoring them 12-7 in this game. Worth while to note that Ken Hiedman won the scoring race tonight by grabbing 5 goals. Trevor Swain is also experiencing his best season to date and has turned in some great games heading into the playoffs as well.
So that is the wrap on Monday night. Now lets look at the seeding and league leaders.
The season standings are now in and the seedings for the playoffs look like this.
1) Sabres
2) Fire
3) Slayers
4) Lynx
5) Titans
6) Bulldogs
7) Chill
8) Hackers
The out comes of the first round match ups are not easy for any one to predict but here they are.
Sabres vs Hackers - looking at the season standings, the Sabres have this one in the bag. Looking on paper...they have their hands full. I am not calling this one!
Fire vs Chill - Sorry Chill...but I can't see you shocking the world
Slayers vs Bulldogs - Another game I would not want to call. The Dogs beat the Slayers in their match up. I would say they will be coming in to this one pretty confident.
Lynx vs Titans - This is a doozy. The last time these guys faced off things went down hill fast. We are not anticipating any of this coming into the play offs. Both teams have a strong office with the Lynx having an advantage on the speed side of things. I would give goaltending edge to the Titans. This should be on of the better games for the night!
Congrats to Ken Heidman of the Lynx who won the scoring race this season. Job well done and verses some pretty tough competition.
Congrats to Chris MacKinnon who has finished on top of the league as top goaltender. Chris also leads the league in the three star selection as well. Great job Chris.
So there you have it. We will be waiting for the captains to give their preferred time slots and arena selections and then we will post the play off schedule.
This is Billy Concarney saying so long and remember...crap...I forgot
Be well folks