Login

karlssens · 07-27-2021, 04:07 PM

Season 60 Round One Preview

With the playoffs set to begin this week I thought it'd be a good time to dive in and put together a little preview of each matchup. Under the current format 16 of a potential 20 teams qualify for the dance, so we're sure to have one or two extremely one sided matchups here in round one, but perhaps that'll just the raise the odds on a potential upset. Let's hop in.

Chicago Syndicate

(1) vs. San Francisco Pride pride

(8)

One of the giants has left the Great Lake division and is now terrorizing the western conference. Chicago proved it more than belonged in the west this season finishing the regular season with a 45-19-2 record and locking up the top seed. Their reward is a date with the 8th place San Francisco Pride who finished with less than half as many points and a 20-41-5 record. I would be absolutely shocked if San Francisco could pull off the upset in this one, but we've seen our fair share of upsets over the years so never say never. From Chicago we have the usual suspects doing the bulk of the damage in superstar players Martijn Westbroek, Gunnar Soderberg, Daniel Smeb and Corey Kennedy to name a few. The big name that has the most to prove has to be starting netminder Mat Smith. He's now in his second full season as the starting goaltender after the retirement of longtime legend Tibuk Soonika, the first goalie to bring a cup to the windy city. At the other end of the ice the younger, less experienced squad is buoyed by SHL All-star Henrik Lekberg Osterman, but several names have stepped up as of late to help including the likes of Sven Svenson, Nicolae Antonescu and Alex Petrenko. It's doubtful they'll be able to stop a juggernaut Chicago team, but the future does look bright for this up and coming group. Projection, Chicago in 4 5. Tongue

Texas Renegades

(2) vs. Minnesota Monarchs

(7)

The former western conference king and reigning Challenge cup champion Texas Renegades looked fabulous again in season 60 finishing the regular season with 90 points, just 2 shy of the previously mentioned Syndicate team. They find themselves up against a recent up and coming Minnesota team that has made some noise these few seasons after what felt like a decade of poor finishes. Backstopped by veteran netminder Markus Tegernako they managed to finish the regular season just shy of 0.500 with a 29-31-6 record. The three headed dragon of Phineas Gold, Cal Labovitch and Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind have a serious uphill battle ahead of them if they hope to outscore the high powered Renegade offense. Texas is largely running back the same roster as last year, which is good thing given that they won it all. Edward Williams supplanted Alexander Wachter as the highest regular season scorer in S60 and Cillian Kavanagh has fully solidified himself as a premier starter after several seasons of tandem goaltending in the lone star state. Much like Chicago this should be an easy matchup for Texas, which are heavily favored to be one of the prime contenders coming out of the western conference. Prediction, Texas in 5.

Calgary Dragons Dragons

(3) vs. Seattle Argonauts

(6)

As we step back from the top two teams in the western conference we enter our first potential upset. Not to say that San Francisco or Minnesota can't win, but it's just highly unlikely. These two teams however are quite close despite the difference in seeding. Calgary finished with a superior 38-21-7 record for 83 points and Seattle with a modest 31-26-9 record. The glaring difference is their goal differential wherein Calgary finished with a +62 compared to Seattle's meager +3. Familiar faces in Barry Batsbak, Esa Parmborg, Brennan Kennedy Jr. and Kata Vilde have a lot to prove in this one. Once a blueprint team for success, they've struggled as of late in the playoffs having not won a single round since the inception of the use of FHM. Is this the year the snap the skid? Seattle on the other hand is arguably the biggest wild card in the west in round one. They've managed to attract big name talent each offseason to add to their core and look primed to upset some of the bigger names. Prediction, Seattle in 7.

Los Angeles Panthers

(4) vs. Edmonton Blizzard

(5)

The fourth and final matchup in the west has two familiar foes facing off once again. Just last season these two teams met in round one with the Blizzard getting the better of the Panthers and eliminating them in 6 games. This time around the Panthers are the higher seed and enter as small favorites based on their regular season numbers. Finishing the season with a 39-24-3 record, 81 points and a +45 goal differential they surpass the Blizzard in all categories who finished 34-26-6 for 74 points and a +10 goal differential. The glaring difference in this one has to be goaltending. Los Angeles has a former McBride winner in Knox Booth who is still in his prime whereas the Blizzard have a young and untested netminder in Tyler Ward. He has a lot to prove in this one, but his performance in the regular season is promising. Prediction, Blizzard repeat their performance from last year and win in 6.

Buffalo Stampede

(1) vs. New England Wolfpack

(8)

Our first matchup in the east is a true David vs. Goliath matchup. I wish the best of luck to New England on this one, but Buffalo is on another level here in S60 finishing the regular season with an insane 51-10-5 record, the only team to surpass the 50 win plateau. New England meanwhile finished with a satisfactory 27-31-8 record. The spread between their goal differential is second only to the Chicago/San Francisco matchup with a difference of +175 (+140 for Buffalo compared to -35 for New England). Perhaps what's truly amazing is how smoothly the Stampede have retooled on the fly to stay very competitive, blending familiar faces like Monkey D. Luffy and Matt Kholin with new key pieces such as Steve Harrington, Jack Kanoff and Aron Hernadivic. New England meanwhile has struggled to make good on their potential. The pieces appear to be there with promising blend young talent and veterans, but it just hasn't jelled to the same level as some other teams. It's possible this post-season is the time it all comes together, but this writer is hesitant to believe it until he sees it. Prediction, Buffalo in 4.

Hamilton Steelhawks

(2) vs. Toronto North Stars Stars

(4)

Where have I seen this matchup before? Toronto had been knocking at the door of the Great Lakes division for some time now, but the big bad Steelhawks (and Buffalo and Chicago to a lesser extent) have yet to let them sit at the table. Now the northeast division they still find themselves stuck with two of them. If the Dragons were the blueprint of how to build a successful team in the STHS era the Steelhawks would be the blueprint in the FHM era. A trip to the final 4 in every season since we made the switch, they've won 3 Challenge Cups already and have no signs of slowing down here in S60. While not as successful as Hamilton in the last decade the North Stars are certainly no push over in this matchup. Just 10 points and 7 wins behind Hamilton they finished the regular season with a very respectable 42-18-6 record. In a different division they'd very likely be the higher seed, but alas they find themselves in the group of death yet again. Prediction, Hamilton in 6.

Baltimore Platoon Platoon

(3) vs. Philadelphia Forge Forge

(7)

I feel like it's been a long time since I've seen the Platoon finish this well in the regular season. It's a welcome change after nearly a decade of mixed results. With a 47-17-2 record they finished 3rd in the east, sandwiched between the toast of the North East division. Karl Krashwagen (lovely name by the way) has been sensational yet again and the addition of Jon Forty-One has been a huge addition leading the team with 75 points. Their strong finish earned them a date with the Philadelphia Forge. Their inaugural season, they proved to be the better of the two expansion teams finishing with a 30-33-3 record, 14 points more than the Montreal Militia. After reviewing the expansion draft I thought their fortunes would be reversed, but credit where credit is due, the Forge showed up big time in their first season. That being said it'll be real tough sledding against a superior Baltimore squad in this one. Prediction, Baltimore in 5.

Atlanta Inferno Inferno

(5) vs. Tampa Bay Barracuda

(6)

The 8th and final matchup of round one of the S60 playoffs we have two surprising teams. Tampa Bay has been hoarding assets for years now and these last few seasons they appear to be reaping the benefits of their tumultuous rebuild. Their 29 wins is the most in a long time, certainly the most since the change to the FHM engine, and if they can keep this group together there's promising reason to believe it's only the beginning. That being said I'm not sure they have what it takes to best Atlanta in this one. The Inferno have been good, but not great, since their inception in S56 finishing the regular season no better than 9th, but no worse than 12th in each season. All better finishes than the Barracuda mind you. An intriguing blend of youth of veterans they are certainly no pushover in this league having already won 3 playoff matchups in their short history, albeit no appearance in round 3 yet. Prediction, Atlanta in 5.

Sean · 07-29-2021, 09:37 AM

Some pretty good guesses here!

EDM All-Time Leader in Goals, Assists and Points

***Ohtaay*** · 07-29-2021, 10:46 AM

Nice write up man, love content like this!

Cheers

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us