Regular Season Concludes- ITS PLAYOFF TIME!!!

For all intent and purposes, the playoffs were clinched and match-ups in place a week ago.  The last week stayed true to form though and brought on more unexpected results.  Not the most conventional or expected routes, but we arrived at the most likely orders of finish still the same.  The playoffs are sure to be just as exciting!

Highlights 

DIVISION I

·        So, in the end, Mercer Island finished 2^nd, Bellevue 3^rd and Maple Valley 4^th.  As we told you last week, this was most likely as almost half the scenarios led to this finish.  However, only two of those scenarios involved Mercer Island losing both games and that is exactly what happened!  You might say Mercer backed into 2^nd place.  The Islanders might want to send Lakeside a little thank you note.  Even though Lakeside beat Mercer, setting up the possibility for the Islanders to fall to 4^th, the Lions then beat Maple Valley to put Mercer back in 2^nd.  If the Vandals could have got by Lakeside a three-way tie would have occurred dropping Mercer to 4^th.  

·        Despite both being eliminated last week, Lakeside and Port Angeles each factored huge in the final standings as both went 2-0 for the week.  The Lions and the Roughriders might feel it was a bit of a down year missing the playoffs, but note this- the level of competition in Division I this year was outstanding!  Both clubs finished the year at a respectable 7-7.  Six teams in Division I finished .500 or better!

  And know this:

-Lakeside had wins over 2^nd place Mercer Island and 4^th place Maple Valley

-Port Angeles had wins over 3^rd place Bellevue and 4^th place Maple valley

-Port Angles gave Bainbridge its closest game of the year, a 4-point defeat

·        Bellevue missed a chance at finishing 2^nd by dropping a game to Port Angeles.  However, they finished the regular season with a win over Nathan Hale, a 9-5 record and 7 more victories than a year ago!  Coach Steve Corley certainly deserves a nod for coach of the year.

·        Maple Valley’s success is apparent.  In only their 4^th year of existence and only their 2^nd in Division I, the Vandals reached the Division I playoffs.  Unfortunately, they have also backed in a bit losing their last two games.  The last loss to Lakeside really hurt as it kept the Vandals in 4^th.  Now they must travel back to Bainbridge having just lost 14-2 less a week ago. 

·        DI PLAYOFF PREVIEW: 

#4 Maple Valley @ #1 Bainbridge              

Bainbridge carries an undefeated season and a load of expectations.  Spartans have to be the heavy

favorite as no team has come closer than 4 goals all season.  The Vandals trio of Johnsons will need to come

alive and the defense must find a way to contain the Spartan machine.

            #3 Bellevue @ #2 Mercer Island

This might be the most exciting of all the playoff match-ups.  Both teams finished the regular season 9-5 and

tied for 2^nd, but the Islanders get home field thanks to a +2 goal differential head-to-head.  Bellevue won’t

mind, they beat the Islanders 8-7 on Mercer’s home turf a month ago.  One note, senior attackman, Daniel

Frankel, was absent for the Islanders in that defeat.  Could it be the difference?  Should be a great one!

DIVISION II

·        Again, not exactly the way we would have predicted it, but Bainbridge, Panthers, Eastside, Franklin was the most likely order of finish and so it is.  So, the match-ups you saw Friday night are the same ones you’ll see Wednesday.  Only this time there is a date in the finals on the line!

·        Eastside was able to sneak in a surprise victory over Bainbridge.  Not only did the Ravens ruin the Spartans perfect season, but the win should give Eastside confidence should they see Bainbridge again.

·        Bad news…Franklin has lost 3 straight.  Good news…They still made the playoffs. 

·        DII PLAYOFF PREVIEW:

#4 Franklin @ #1 Bainbridge B

                        Franklin is on its heels.  Bainbridge has already beaten Franklin twice this year.  Good news for Franklin, it is

tough to beat a team three times and Eastside proved the Spartans can be beaten.  A big factor is the status of two of the Quakers top players, Hal Glade and Haywood Evans.  Both have missed numerous games this year.  Franklin is certainly a better team with Evans in the line-up as at times he has proved unstoppable.  Glade is one of the top netminders in the league.  Either way, the Quakers have their work cut out for them.  

            #3 Eastside @ #2 Panthers

Again, tough to beat a team three times, but Panthers made finals last year and want another shot.  You also have to give the edge to Panthers in tight ball games.  They are certainly the better defensive club and have proved they can keep teams at bay even if the offense isn’t clicking. 

DIVISION III

·        Strange week for Garfield.  Coming off a victory over Snohomish and an outside shot at the playoffs, the Bulldogs dropped a tough one to Bainbrudge C 3-2.  The loss eliminated any playoff hopes.  Not to harp on it, they turned around and beat top seed Issaquah.

·        Port Angeles played Curtis to its tightest ball game yet and hopes to get another shot in a week.  Curtis stayed undefeated with the 13-7 win and enters the playoffs a heavy favorite to run away with the Division III title.

·        Wanting to keep uniformity amongst the divisions, Issaquah became the one backing into the Division III playoffs

with losses to Snohomish 6-4 and then Garfield 7-4.

·         D3 PLAYOFF PREVIEW:

#2 West (Port Angeles) @ #1 East (Issaquah)

                        Teams played to a 3-2 Issaquah victory a few weeks ago.  Both teams have good defenses and great

netminders.  Could make for another defensive struggle. 

            #2 East (Snohomish) @ #1 (Curtis)

Snohomish certainly has the defensive players with potential to stop Gibbon and Anderson.  They are big, physical and fast.  But can they play as a unit to shut down the Viking offense.  Even if they do, do the Titans have enough offensive weapons?

Top Performers

·        Jon Bodansky, Lakeside, Senior-Defense

The big lefty defenseman culminated a great year for himself with two more great performances that helped the Lions finish the season on a high note.  In a 7-6 victory over Mercer Island, Jon picked up 6 groundballs and notched an assist all while helping keep the Division I fifth leading scorer, Daniel Frankel scoreless.  Then against Maple Valley, he picked up 8 more groundballs and helped hold the overall leading scorer, Brian Johnson to one assist.  For the year, Bodansky has collected 79 groundballs, ranking him 4^th in Division 1.  He has also managed 1 goal and 4 assists from his defensive position.

·        Tyler Carr, Panthers, Senior-Midfield

Tyler came into the year as one of the top defenseman in the league.  However, he unselfishly made the switch to midfield and has become one of the best at his new position.  On the year, Carr has scored 25 goals, 11 assists.  Those stats rank him 5^th overall in scoring for Division II.  He has also managed to gather 96 groundballs, 2^nd in Division II.  This week, Tyler went 2g, 1a against Franklin in helping the Panthers clinch 2^nd place.  He followed it up with a 4g, 1a performance against Eastside. 

·        Chris Moore, Garfield, Defense

Moore played a great game against Issaquah.  Defensively, he helped shut down one of the better Division III offenses.  Even better, he cleared the ball so effectively he was able to notch his first career goal.  For an encore, he scored another!

  Games to Watch

            Whatever game you choose, just get out and catch some action!!!  If you just can’t decide,

Bellevue @ Mercer Island and Port Angeles C @ Issaquah look to be the tightest ball games on paper.

Up to Date Stats:

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