{"id":19727,"date":"2018-10-05T11:39:44","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T15:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.btsh.org\/bruise\/?p=19727"},"modified":"2018-10-05T15:30:23","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T19:30:23","slug":"2018-quarter-finals-preview-part-2-with-schlitz-previews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/2018-quarter-finals-preview-part-2-with-schlitz-previews\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Quarter Finals Preview – Part 2 with Schlitz Previews!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rehabs (7) at Fuzz (2)<\/strong>
\nby Arya Stark<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s the game that was promised.\u00a0 From the moment Hicks’ defection was announced this offseason up through the infamous\u00a0letter<\/a>, July 1 was the date circled on everyone’s calendar.\u00a0 Unfortunately that day would bring disappointment to more than just\u00a0disgruntled Islander fans<\/a>\u00a0as games were postponed due to heat fears despite the fact that this is mainly a summer hockey league.\u00a0 We had to wait until the last game of the regular season to get this matchup by which point it had lost some of its luster (also not helping – Rich telling everyone within earshot that Fuzz was missing players).\u00a0 Safe to say the stakes are significantly higher now as a trip to the final four will be on the line in what pundits are billing “the game of the week” and “an exciting rematch” and “that game I definitely don’t want to ref.”\u00a0 One of these teams is going to be horrifically disappointed come Sunday night, while the other will have their ticket punched to championship weekend.\u00a0 Which is which?<\/p>\n

Forwards<\/u><\/b>
\nThere’s a murderer’s row of talent on each side as Jeff, Miles, Ryann, Gil and Sig will do battle with Joey Bats, Cherie, Monique, Andy and, of course, Hicks himself.\u00a0 Losing Mike T for this game is a major blow to Fuzz as he led the league in goals yet again despite playing a bunch of games early in the year on defense.\u00a0 Fuzz will rely on quick shots and traffic in front, while the Rehabs will look to try their new offensive strategy of actually passing the ball around to generate high percentage looks for Hicks and Cherie.\u00a0 There’s clearly a bevy of talent on both sides, but Fuzz was the highest scoring team this season by a significant 16 goal margin, and playing shorthanded just opens up more minutes for Jeff and Miles.
\nEDGE: Fuzz<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

You can’t sleep on Monique and expect to win.<\/p><\/div>\n

Defense<\/span><\/u><\/b>
\nFuzz will be without the services of Walsh and Paul in this one, leading them to use a rotation of Ryan\/Vlad\/one legged Glanzer on defense with Alyssa.\u00a0 Sena will keep everything civil in the Rehabs defensive zone as she is apt to do, and if Jen is able to suit up she’s one of the most underrated players in the league.\u00a0 But the big story on their side is which guy is shifting back to defense, with the current frontrunner according to Betfair being Alex May.\u00a0 He certainly has the speed and hockey IQ to make the move; whether it hurts their offense remains to be seen.
\nEDGE: Rehabs<\/p>\n

Goaltending<\/u><\/b>
\nVery quietly, Coach has had his best season in a long time.\u00a0 His 2.26 goals against average was better than many of the league’s top goalies including Jamie, Barch and 2 out of 3 Tims.\u00a0 In fact, while most people know that Fuzz is the highest scoring team in the league, many don’t know that they’re also 6th in goals against.\u00a0 It’s a great mark for a team more know for their offense than any attempt to play sound defense, but the Rehabs allowed eight less goals than them in the regular season, and Ramirez is especially savage come playoff time.\u00a0 Last year he had two shutouts in his first two playoff games, one of which came against this same Fuzz squad in the quarterfinals.\u00a0 He’ll be hard pressed to repeat that feat on Sunday.
\nEDGE: Rehabs<\/p>\n

Intangibles<\/b><\/u>
\nOnce you get to the round of eight, every team that remains is great and no one is going gentle into that good night.\u00a0 While the Rehabs may want this game so they can push for their fourth straight championship game, Fuzz has been salivating over this exact matchup basically since the day they were eliminated last year.\u00a0 There’s no doubt that Rich and co will have a gameplan drawn up to gloss over their personnel losses and neutralize the Rehabs top guns, and Jeff will be a man on a mission.\u00a0 But I have to give this one to the Rehabs for two reasons: a) because Hicks will be just as motivated as anyone on Fuzz, and b) for one of BTSH’s premier rivalries, the tale of the tape is remarkably one-sided on this as Fuzz hasn’t beaten the Rehabs since August of 2016, a year where the Rehabs won the ship and Fuzz was again eliminated in the elite eight.\u00a0 If ever there was a mental hurdle for a team to clear, this was it.
\nEDGE: Rehabs<\/p>\n

Prediction:<\/em> This game has everything you’d want in a playoff contest: history, players changing sides, bad blood, elite talent, fence shoves – most of BTSH doesn’t like these teams because they’re good at hockey, but I don’t know anyone who isn’t intrigued by this matchup.\u00a0 Rehabs have had Fuzz’s number in recent years, but that alone doesn’t guarantee anything.\u00a0 The Canucks couldn’t get over the hump and beat the Blackhawks,\u00a0until they finally did<\/a>.\u00a0 Peyton Manning couldn’t beat Brady in the playoffs,\u00a0until he finally did<\/a>.\u00a0 Runs of dominance by one team over another eventually run out, and Fuzz isn’t going to be denied by the Rehabs forever…but it does appear they will be denied for at least one more year.\u00a0 In what could be the highest rated quarterfinal game of all time, the Rehabs will find a way to push through to the final four.\u00a0 Richie\u00a0still needs a hero<\/a>, and post-game fireball shots are on Hicks.<\/p>\n

#5 Fresh Kills (12-4-1-1) at #4 Filthier (14-4-0-0), Tompkins West, 1500<\/strong>
\nby Hornswoggle<\/em><\/p>\n

When two divisionally-rivaled elite teams duke it out to stay in the postseason, expect some bad blood despite the friendships existing between all the players. This is strictly business, and the PBR Cup may actually be mes que un vaso<\/em> to some people. For easygoing players like Gabe or Sunny, a playoff loss would generally elicit an, \u201c\u00c0 la prochaine fois\u201d sentiment, but because Filthier swept the season series, you can be sure everyone will display their hunger the entire 50 (and maybe more) minutes. Deadass, this ain\u2019t some Logan Paul\/KSI hypebeast throwdown; these are two very talented sides that will likely play tactically and technically to force each other\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

Kills\u2019 kujickas (keys) to victory<\/em><\/p>\n

Close sources have reported that the Houdini of Fresh Kills, Ariel, is hyped for the matchup. The feeling of relishing a match with magnitudes like this may have started since W16 of last year, when James sealed the deal in a shootout. Such perhaps put Soko\u2019s squad in a funk, losing 1-2 and 2-3 (SO) in 2018. But they\u2019ve always regained the swagger, sometimes convincingly taking games on the bounce. With three different players on 10+ goals (Tom, Gabe, Ariel), production isn\u2019t a problem. Secondary scoring isn\u2019t, either, with two players on 7 goals, and two more on 4. I guess what I\u2019m trying to say here is that if they keep plugging away, they\u2019ll sail a couple\u2014or more\u2014against Tim if they\u2019re persistent. Against a Filthier side, I would hazard a guess to say that zonal coverage may be more effective since it\u2019s likely James and Sunny won\u2019t be on a line together; position is everything. That means that Sheena\u2014and whoever is Foster\u2019s replacement\u2014must clamp down at the outset.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Going ass over end into the goalie is not very Gentleman-like.<\/p><\/div>\n

Filthier\u2019s kujickas (keys) to victory<\/em><\/p>\n

The writing is never on the wall when passing in the ether towards the postseason. 2-for-2 in a divisional rivalry is great, but the mentality is out the window because the juxtaposition of America and playoffs would make anyone\u2019s dopamine count rise. For a cool, collected team like Filthier, I\u2019m sure the feelings they conceal aren\u2019t unlike anyone\u2019s: nervous, excited, terrified, and energized. But if there\u2019s one piece of advice I should give to this team, it\u2019s trust in Tim: nine (9) wins were by two goals or less, so when Danielle and the rest of the team didn\u2019t feel they weren\u2019t up to snuff on scoring, they left it to their real closer to steal points. I would ask the folks on the sidelines to not only watch James and Sunny typically put balls into the net, but also to watch Ann, Greg, and Jaime contribute as well. Those three have high work rates and can frustrate anyone. Tactically, I would suggest congesting the neutral zone. Ariel might play the wing but clogging centrally means lobbed (illegal) forced passes; since Gabe starts from his own half, getting to Tim should be difficult if lanes are congested.<\/p>\n

Prediction: <\/em>This might be the day Fresh Kills has Filthier\u2019s number, after nearly a year of concerns. As usual, both teams will depend on their top scorers and netminders, but I\u2019m privy on saying that Eugene will play and succeed in one of the best games of his BTSH tenure. FK proceeds 3-2.<\/p>\n

Schlitz Cup Tournament Previews<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gut Rot at Mega Touch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alok and Mega Touch are hoping to bounce back this week with Shelly and Devlin rumored to be in the lineup.\u00a0 They\u2019ll need them too against a Gut Rot team that is also out to prove that they belong in the Schlitz Cup tournament.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The key for Gut Rot in this game is to get Hannah back in the lineup to balance out Perko\u2019s brain farts along the blue line.\u00a0 Her calming presence and reassuring demeanor is the spark that ignites false hope for the Rotters.<\/p>\n

Prediction<\/em>: Gut Rot comes out fast and furious, but patience wins the game for Mega Touch, 3-1.<\/p>\n

Dark Rainbows at Tompkins Square Riots<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dominant Dave GDR was just that last Sunday \u2013 dominant.\u00a0 As his defense crumbled in front of him he remained poised in net and blanked the potent Gut Rot offense.\u00a0 If the Riots want to survive this contest against the Dark Rainbows they\u2019ll need a repeat performance.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Dark Rainbows have earned the right to be called Dark instead of Fart.\u00a0 Yetter may have grabbed the headlines, but the real key acquisition this season is Dan C.\u00a0 He\u2019s scored in almost every game for Dark and against the Riots and Dave they\u2019ll need him to continue his streak.<\/p>\n

Prediction<\/em>: you can\u2019t win a game without scoring and the Riots will be the ones who get blanked as Dark rolls 2-0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rehabs (7) at Fuzz (2) by Arya Stark It’s the game that was promised.\u00a0 From the moment Hicks’ defection was announced this offseason up through the infamous\u00a0letter, July 1 was the date circled on everyone’s calendar.\u00a0 Unfortunately that day would bring disappointment to more than just\u00a0disgruntled Islander fans\u00a0as games were postponed due to heat fears […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6355,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-league-info"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6355"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19727"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19737,"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19727\/revisions\/19737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.miyagimedia.com\/bruise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}