Whipsnakes vs. Waterdogs
I’m finally forced to write about the Whipsnakes, something I’ve been avoiding. This Sunday, September 11th the Whips take on the Waterdogs, the team with the most players wearing Warrior helmets (7) and the only team to beat the number 1 seed this season. What is there to say about the Whips that hasn’t already been said? They only lost one game this season, they had the top defense this season, one of the top 2 faceoff men, and by many accounts the top goalie this year. To start the season the Whipsnakes won three of their first four games by 1 goal, which included a 12-11 OT win over the Waterdogs. The Waterdogs got their revenge during week 5 in Minneapolis. The Whips record of 9-1 is deceptive, they were better than the other PLL teams, but not by a large margin, Stagnitta’s team wasn’t blowing away their opponents. Seven of the Whips nine wins were by one possession, they weren’t smashing their opponents, except for the Atlas who have still never beaten them. 4 seasons no win for the Atlas over the Whips. The wins in pressure moments are what make great teams great, you play your best when your best is needed, and the Whips did that all season.
This will be the first time two teams face each for a third time this season. The opening round went to the Whips as they won 12-11 in OT. A game that did not feature Zed Williams for the Whips or Dillon Ward for the Waterdogs as they were winning an NLL Championship together. In that game Joe Nardella went 22-26 at the faceoff stripe and Kyle Bernlohr was 57% in cage. Jay Carlson also put up six huge points, while shooting an absurd 83% for the Whips. Matt DeLuca didn’t play poorly in cage saving at 54% with 14 saves. The edge at the stripe was just a bit too much to overcome or the Dogs. The next matchup between the teams came just three weeks later and it was a win for the Waterdogs. Ward had a big day in cage with 12 saves and 67% save average. The Whips won the faceoff battle at 63%, but it wasn’t enough to get their second victory over the Waterdogs.
Now in their third game of the season, the DAWGS must be feeling pretty confident against the Whips, they just put up 19 goals against a pretty good Atlas team. The DAWGS also have the knowledge that they are the only team to the Whips this season and they did it losing the faceoff battle. In the quarterfinals, Jake Withers was 52% at the stripe against Trevor Baptiste no less. I imagine that if coach Copelan can get a similar performance from his Canadian faceoff athlete then he must feel good about beating the Whips and reaching the championship. As you all know I’m not a betting man, but if I were it would be hard to bet against the two-time champion Whipsnakes. This may be a shocker but, I am picking against the two-time champs. The DAWGS win a close game, maybe even an OT thriller and they move on to the championship for the first time. That means for the first time in PLL history the championship game will not feature the Whipsnakes.
Archers vs. Chaos
Semifinal game 2 has all the makings of an absolute banger! For the second time this season we will see a third matchup of teams. The Archers and the Chaos have some interesting history. In 2021, The Chaos defeated the Archers in the playoffs on their run to winning the championship and that win didn’t come drama free. A late game bearhug by Jack Rowlett on Grant Ament that did not draw a flag. That play aside the Chaos still upset the Archers in 2021, and they produced the same outcome the year before in the 2020 PLL Bubble. The Chaos won no games in the group play stage in 2020, but they beat the Archers in the semifinals that year. That game featured Josh Byrne's FILTHY between the league one hand, offhand goal. Do yourself a favor and go look up that goal. So, two years in a row the Chaos have ended the Archers season, and now Coach Bates and the Archers are looking for revenge.
This season the Archers beat the Chaos in both of their matchups, the first was a 17-12 victory and the second was an 11-8 victory. Game 1 between these teams took place during week 2 in Charlotte and none of the players from the NLL Bandits and Mammoth were on the field. No Byrne, Adler, Smith, Fraser, Cloutier, and MacKay for the Chaos while the Archers were without Connor Fields and Warren Jeffrey who played no games all season for the Archers due to injury. Plus, no Justin Inacio, who was missing this game due to visa issues and no Grant Ament because he hadn’t recovered from his lower body injury. The missing pieces on offense for the Chaos were really the story of the game and it was a relatively comfortable win for the Archers.
If their first meeting was a comfortable win for the Archers, then the second was a bit tougher. An 11-8 win for the Archers was much need after they had just come off two loses and had made a change in goal for the second of those games. This game was highlighted by a couple of outstanding plays from SSDM Patrick Resch. The first play was a huge hit against Grant Ament that led to a caused turnover, that play was all over the PLL social media accounts. The second play by Resch was even better than the first! A rusty-gate yard-sale check against Matt Moore that was absolutely disgusting! Seriously, it was a play every SSDM dreams off, plus it happened right in from of the Archers bench, which featured his father and Archers defensive coordinator Tony Resch. This game the Chaos had 17 turnovers, no 2-point goals, and fewer shots on goal; those three stats were the difference makers in the match. For what it’s worth Blaze played well 19 saves with a 66 save percentage and Max Adler played well going 52% from the faceoff stripe. This was another poor game from Adam Ghitelman in cage with 6 saves with a 43 save percentage. Those stats will be something to keep an eye on, if the Chaos get the ball as much as they did in the Chrome game last Saturday the Archers could be in trouble.
Andy Towers and the Chaos must be feelin’ pretty good, well we know they are feelin’ better than pretty good; they told us that after their win last weekend. 2.8% ladies and gents that's the number of the summer. The Archers will be looking to exorcise some black and red demons this weekend in D.C., but they will have a tough battle ahead of them and the Chaos will not go gently into that good night. I’m predicting a comfortable Chaos win this Sunday. I see no reason why the ‘Aos Boys can’t repeat the performance they showed us against the Chrome. You heard it here first, the PLL Chaos will be back in the championship game for a third season in a row. Two more games for us PLL supporters, and they both have the potential to be fantastic. Enjoy your day in the Nation's Capital and at home ladies and gents!
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