Media Buck's Week 6 Power Rankings

**Special Shoutout to @l Ristolainen l for helping me this week, by doing the Eastern Conference writeups, especially with the site crashing so much on Sunday.

Week 6 Power Rankings​

Eastern Atlantic Division
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1 - Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (29-20-5): 7-1-1 - Last Week’s Ranking: 5

The Baby Pens after having an average week 5 come up huge with a 7-1-1 week. Going up against the tough Western Central is a tough week for any team and Wilkes Barre proves they belong in a playoff spot despite being a close race within the next couple weeks you may see Wilkes Barre sitting #2 in their division depending on how Hershey does, who I will get to next. Hilly returning as manager for WBS struggled in the early weeks of the season but making some trades and fixing up his lines seems to be just the trick. Next week being a divisional week WBS could make a splash or end up flopping only time will tell.

2 - Hershey Bears (31-18-5): 7-2-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 1

The Hershey Bears rarely have a bad week and week 6 was no exception finishing 7-2 and helped them keep a comfortable lead on Wilkes Barre and keeping Hartford close enough to make it a tight race going into the last 3 weeks. This team much like the Baby Pens took it to the tough Western Central taking down Rockford and Cleveland both in the same night, showing they are worthy of a top spot in the Eastern Atlantic. Mike Shea will have his work cut out for him as this division is very tight and isn’t getting any worse.

3 - Lehigh Valley Phantoms (26-22-6): 5-4-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 4

Week 6 for the Phantoms was up and down early in the week. They took down Cleveland by a score of 2 to 1 but could not surpass the tough Rockford Ice Hogs. Though they are currently not in a playoff spot, expect the Phantoms to make a push leading up into week 9. Overall I don’t see Lehigh passing Wilkes Barre but look out for Providence to possibly drop out of the playoff spot in the next few weeks. Nightmare seems to have made some good moves at deadline to help out the depth of his team picking up solid players in Blaster and Ragu.

4 - Hartford Wolf Pack (32-16-6): 4-3-2 - Last Week’s Ranking: 7
5 - Springfield Thunderbirds (20-26-8): 3-5-1 - Last Week’s Ranking: 6
6 - Providence Bruins (29-19-6): 2-5-2 - Last Week’s Ranking: 2
7 - Bridgeport Sound Tigers (13-37-4): 0-9-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 3

Eastern North Division​

1 - Albany Devils (36-14-4): 6-2-1 - Last Week’s Ranking: 2

Albany had a solid week only dropping games to Tucson and Ontario then losing in OT to the gulls. There is credit to be given to Albany but they did play the weaker Western Pacific division nonetheless they won their games and that's all it comes down to. This upcoming week they will have a much tougher test playing tough teams in Rochester and Hershey being out of division. Expect Albany to keep pushing they might not catch Rochester but I expect them to come out in their current 2nd place by the end of week 9.

2 - Rochester Americans (37-12-5): 6-3-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 1

Rochester currently sits with a comfortable lead on Albany landing themselves in 1st place in the Eastern North. This was somewhat expected out of Rochester as they were playing a weaker division but this team has some powerhouses especially in the goaltender department. Watch out for this Rochester team when matching up against them in the next few weeks to come they are not a team to be taken lightly.

3 - Utica Comets (29-21-4): 5-2-2 - Last Week’s Ranking: 5

Utica sits at 4th place in their division they should be all set going into the last few weeks of the season. This division seems to be finishing up as of late as Syracuse and St Johns seem to be falling off and it's hard to say if Toronto will be able to catch up or not. Overall throughout the season Utica hasn't had too many bad weeks the Eastern North is a tough division to climb as the spots are starting to spread apart.

4 - St. John’s Ice Caps (21-29-4): 4-5-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 7
5 - Binghamton Senators (31-18-5): 3-6-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 4
6 - Syracuse Crunch (15-34-5): 3-6-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 6
7 - Toronto Marlies (24-25-5): 2-7-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 3

Western Central Division​

1 - Charlotte Checkers (31-19-4): 7-1-1 - Last Week’s Ranking: 3

The Charlotte Checkers came flying out of the gates this week! They had a fantastic week, going 7-1-1, pushing them 13 points ahead of Manitoba for that important 4th seed in the Central Division. This team led by Horty is putting the wins in the column at the right time of the season. If they continue playing this way for the rest of the season, they’ll definitely secure that 4th seed in the Central. Coming off impressive and huge wins against Hartford, Hershey and Providence this past week proves they can play against the top teams, which includes their division. This will definitely be tested as they match up against their division this week and start off with the powerhouses that are Rockford and Grand Rapids. If Horty can pull the reins and keep his team rocking, they could eventually challenge for 3rd in the division!

2 - Grand Rapids Griffins (34-16-4): 7-1-1 - Last Week’s Ranking: 2

Grand Rapids having a strong week 6 is no surprise. They’ve been a proven powerhouse team for 95% of this season. Honestly, if they had started a little stronger at the beginning, they’d probably be battling Rockford for 1st and not trying to catch Cleveland for 2nd. We all know by now that Grand Rapids has a TON of scoring power. This week, they scored 43 goals in the 8 games they did play (9th game being a forfeit win). That is a whopping 5.375 goals for per game! Both their losses came to good teams (San Diego and WBS) and both games were 1 goal games. Schizo, Legacy and the crew sure know what they’re doing and it shows. Again, they play their division this week, and start off with Milwaukee followed by a testing Charlotte, Cleveland and Rockford. Look for Grand Rapids to make an impact and point out to their competition that THEY are the team to beat in the West, despite their spot in the standings.

3 - Rockford IceHogs (44-9-1): 6-2-1 - Last Week’s Ranking: 4

At this point in the season, I’m getting used to writing about Rockford and my boy @Im4thLineWorthy. However, this week, despite going 6-2-1, they are 3rd in the Central rankings. Don’t be fooled though, they played a very good Eastern Atlantic division in Week 6 and lost to Hartford, Hershey and WBS, which happen to be 3 of the top 4 teams in that division. 4thLine made some hefty moves this weekend at trade deadline to help bolster his team and make sure they can get to the Cup Finals this season after a sudden 2nd round exit last season. Rockford, like Grand Rapids, have to play the 3 teams directly behind in the standings in their first 4 games this week, as well as a very good San Diego team from the Pacific at the end of the week. Don’t be surprised if you see Rockford get either 8+ wins or 3-4 wins this week. They’re a phenomenal team, and when they’re on, they’re on. But if they’re off, they’re off too.

4 - Iowa Wild (22-25-7): 6-3-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 6
5 - Milwaukee Admirals (24-29-1): 6-3-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 7
6 - Cleveland Monsters (40-10-4): 5-4-0 - Last week’s Ranking: 1
7 - Manitoba Moose (24-25-5): 4-3-2 - Last Week’s Ranking: 8
8 - Chicago Wolves (25-28-1): 2-7-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 5

Western Pacific Division​

1 - Tucson Roadrunners (33-19-2): 7-2-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 1

Where there’s something that isn’t new...Tucson is still first in the Pacific Division. Playing against the Eastern North division, I don’t believe they felt there was much competition there at all. Their two losses came to the hands of Rochester and Manitoba this week, both games being shutout by the opposition. Otherwise, they Breezy’ed through the rest of the teams they played this week. Solid defence and goaltending has been the key for Tucson this season as @PHJ314 and @Ranger x 28 have been phenomenal all season. This week being a divisional week, look for Tucson to continue asserting their dominance on their weaker division. If they continue to play the way they are, they’ll lock up first in the division with relative ease.

2 - San Diego Gulls (31-19-4): 7-2-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 4

I’m honestly starting to believe that Tucson and San Diego are alike in mind and in play. If Tucson shits the bed, San Diego follows and if Tucson has a great week, San Diego matches it. The Gulls sit 2 points back of Tucson for 1st, and are also 10 points ahead of 3rd place Stockton. This week, they also went 7-2, losing to Iowa (that’s fucking shocking) and St. John’s (just as fucking shocking). If they were to lose to any North Division teams, I would’ve expected Albany and Rochester, but they shut both those powerhouses down, only allowing 2 goals combined in those games. Fuck, San Diego even took down Grand Rapids, and allowed 2 goals in that game as well. San Diego has been the quiet killer this season in the Pacific, and I’m sure GM Kav would have it no other way. I won’t be surprised if them and Tucson are the two teams facing off for the Pacific Division championship come playoffs.

3 - Texas Stars (23-27-4): 5-4-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 6

With 5th place in the Pacific Division, the Texas Stars are just a couple points behind San Antonio for 4th in the division. There is 8 points between Bakersfield in 7th and Stockton in 3rd, so lots of room for maneuvering in this division. Texas had a 5-4-0 week, but they need to step it up even more if they want to make the playoffs. There is definitely no lack of scoring in Texas, scoring 46 goals this week, and 12 of them in one game! (RIP STJ) Texas needs to start winning the games they should; seriously, they lost to fucking Syracuse. With that streak, they might even lose to fucking San Jose. Again, they play their own division this week, and definitely don’t like the look of their last 2 games of the week. Cleveland and Chicago will be the true test at the end of the week, to see if this team truly has what it takes to take it the rest of the way.

4 - Ontario Reign (23-28-3): 4-4-1 - Last Week’s Ranking: 5
5 - Bakersfield Condors (21-27-6): 4-4-1 - Last Week’s Ranking: 7
6 - Stockton Heat (25-23-6): 3-4-2 - Last Week’s Ranking: 2
7 - San Antonio Rampage (23-25-6): 3-4-2 - Last Week’s Ranking: 3
8 - San Jose Barracuda (14-36-4): 2-7-0 - Last Week’s Ranking: 8