Going into the final week of the regular season, many teams are looking to address holes in their rosters that are still creeping up as a result of the Olympic games. The Barrel Riders of Buffalo, who have seen several key players go out with injuries, have publicly stated that they will be resting players this week in preparation for the playoffs. Whether this is a feint to throw off the Boston Benders for this week’s match up or the actual strategy is unclear at this time.
Match of the Week - Monarchs vs Benders
After lightening his burden in managing the IHHL last week, Commissioner Heilmann and the Milwaukees Monarchs hosted the Boston Benders. The Monarchs, fresh off of their win against Team Moran, were looking to do the seemingly impossible, stopping the Benders. The Benders have not lost a game since the start of the year and appear to be peaking at just the right time to make a strong run into the playoffs. Savvy moves by Ms. Waters this season have positioned the Benders as the dominate team in the race for the Ice Bucket. All of this spelled doom for the Monarchs as they closed out the week over 100 points behind the Benders. With that loss, the Monarch’s hopes to catch the Barrel Riders and take over lead of the Conway Conference went down the drain. Final Score: Monarchs (17-4) 273.8 to Benders (12-9) 382.7.
In the battle of the coasts, the Seattle Wolves jumped out to an early lead over the Washington Winter Warriors. Mr. Cannon, owner of the Warriors, who have been dominant all season, attributed the slow start to the resting of his players in anticipation of the playoffs. The Wolves management issued a terse no comment when asked about the Warriors decision to bench players. Final Score: Wolves (6-15) 210 to Warriors (18-3) 288.
The Richmond Prexies hosted the Saskatoon Sasquatches last week; Prexies’ owner, Dom Prudente continues to make excellent progress recovering from the coma he has been in all season. For the first games of the week, the Prexies hung tough with the surging Sasquatches and kept the match to within two points. As the week wore on though, the Prexies fell into their old habits of taking bad penalties and sloppy play in the defensive zone. With owner Dom Prudente on the road to recovery, we expect big things out the Prexies next season. Final Score: Prexies (0-21) 151.6 to Sasquatches (12-9) 256.2.
Team Moran made the trip to Buffalo last week to face off against the Barrel Riders. The Barrel Riders took advantage of Team Moran’s owner, Mark Moran, being focused on production of the “Flimsy Forward” to rest key players early on in the week. Mr. Moran did call into the team on Sunday for a pre-game pep talk that resulted in a win for that game, but it was too little too late. Final Score: Barrel Riders (15-6) 311.1 to Team Moran (5-16) 222.4.
The Denver Demon Donkeys hosted the Cleveland Blackjacks for their last home game of the regular season. The Donkeys, locked in a battle for second place with the Benders, pulled out all the stops last week, jumping out to a 43 point lead over the Blackjacks on Monday. After that crushing start to the week, the Blackjacks were unable to get their heads back into the game. Final Score: Donkeys (17-4) 340.1 to Blackjacks (3-18) 162.2.
Gif of the Week
This week’s gif is dedicated to the Boston Benders’ owner, Ms. Samantha Waters. As can be seen, the Milwaukee Monarchs were on the receiving end of the Benders’ aggressive play last week.
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