Halifax Floor Hockey League
The Hackers' biggest rival, the Lite-Sabres won their 10th and final regular season game Tuesday night, triumphing over the Sunnydale Slayers 11-3, giving the Sabres a record of 8-1-1. The Hackers, who have one game remaining, currently sit at 7-1-1. This means that if the Hackers lose or tie their final game against the ADC Lynx, the Lite-Sabres would finish as the number one seed. If the Hackers defeat the Lynx by more than one goal, the Hackers would finish first overall.
Controversy may ensue if the Hackers were to defeat the Lynx by a single goal. That scenario would leave both the Hackers and Lite-Sabres with identical records, as well identical plus/minus ratings of +34. The official rule regarding tiebreakers states: "In the event of a tie in the standings, order will be determined by the record between those two teams and then by team plus/minus. If still tied after this - coin toss."
Hacker captain John Dulong argues that implicit within this statement, is that there is a tiebreaker that examines the plus/minus during games between the two teams. The Hackers have a +1 advantage in that category. Sabres captain Chris McMaster contends that the statement "plus/minus" refers to overall plus minus, and that the determining tiebreaker in such an unlikely case should be a coin toss.
But if it does come to a coin toss, who would toss the coin?
Obviously it would be unfair to allow either Dulong or McMaster throw the deciding coin, but would Commissioner Mike Griffiths be a better choice? Probably not, considering that the seeding of the top two teams may affect which team Griffith's Chill would face in the semi-finals if the Chill would defeat their quarterfinal opponent. Some have suggested bringing in an unbiased Hall of Famer for the ceremony. Former defensive great Peter Anderson is rumored to be available, but his close ties to the Lite-Sabres would probably disqualify him. Also, Anderson is rumored to be taking a massive amount of painkillers to combat the injuries suffered during his playing career. The AdcFhl's chief medical expert said that anyone on that many drugs wouldn't be able to feel their hand, nevermind flip a coin.
And what about the type of coin used?
McMaster has suggested that he would prefer the traditional quarter, whereas Dulong is leaning towards a Toonie. "The quarter is too small," complained Dulong, "there's too much opportunity for slight-of-hand and foul play." Dulong went on to suggest that since the Toonie is the largest coin, the result would be more visible and less open to misinterpretation.