Western Pacific Playoff Preview

Western Pacific

San Antonio Rampage (1) vs. Bakersfield Condors (4)

Season Series: 4-0 San Antonio

San Antonio has been one of the top 3 teams all season long from start to finish and managed to secure the #1 seed in the Western Conference. Building on a conference final appearance last season they’re looking to return with a better outcome. Bakersfield limps into the playoffs after going on a big losing streak at the end of the season and is desperate for that fresh start the playoffs can bring. San Antonio has dominated the season series winning all four games and without using their top line. If Bakersfield can’t find an answer for that expect it to be a quick series.

San Antonio

Key Players: Doer, Codester, Lunchboxhero

Forwards: Mother of God this team is stacked with offense. With 7/9 forwards being around or over 70 points, it’ll make for a tough time on the Condors defense. The duo of Doer and Codester is a mean one that brings experience to the table and will be a handful. Timebot doesn’t get talked about a lot around the league but he’s in the top tier for AHL centers and deserves to be after this season posting 80 points. I’m a little surprised I haven’t seen bottleman in the shoutbox as much as normal this season, but he put up a solid season while bouncing between a few teams and will be a big piece in trying to wrap this series up quickly. Broski, oshlag and grammy have all put up some solid numbers this season making for a really deep roster that should make a deep run.

Defense: Highlighted by the leading point scorer for dmen in lunchboxhero this D core will provide solid support to their offense. Tronthedon and Jwilly will play some key roles on the backend for the Rampage while looking to shut down the top 2 lines of the Condors. There isn’t a weak spot on the backend for these guys having one of the best defensive rosters from 1-6. If they play their game, Bakersfield is going to be grinding hard to get their goals.

Goalies: Jmysterious has carried the load this season playing in 55 games and posting 40 wins. He will be expected to do more of the same during the playoffs playing whenever they can get him out there. Balai is a capable backup and has played very well this season losing only 3 games this season. Both goalies boast a sub 2 GAA. Look for these two to play a key role in a deep run.

Bakersfield

Key Players: Deeds, Lafamiglia, AllinFitness

Forwards: This forward core is interesting to me as there are two old duos from seasons past that had a lot of success that look to just not have it anymore and split up. Deeds and App were awesome together on my old S5 Marlies team and Bobby and Lafamiglia played a lot together on their old Hershey teams, but both these duos look to be separated. Lafamiglia was a huge part in Manitoba winning the cup back in S5 and came up big during the playoffs and will need to do more of that this season. My son Deeds still has that big 0-2 cloud over his head from a few seasons back but has had another great season when given players that can score around him. Shadey has had a terrific season alongside Deeds and will need to keep up his scoring pace to help the Condors match the Rampage’s offense. Bobby has put up some low numbers from what we normally see out of him and hopefully can find the right mix of guys to put with him to get a win or two in this series out of his line. App is another old linemate of mine and now I suppose is a good time to make sure he knows I made him <3. These two are going to need to step up their play if they have any hopes of advancing.

Defense: Kepler leads this D core and will have to play a key role in shutting down the top 2 lines of the Rampage which is no small task. Kepler tends to show up come playoff time so it’s time for him to bring that big game experience to the table. Skeymour has had some success as a dman in the AHL in seasons past and will need to use that to his advantage. Rogue and Shadow are solid dmen and will look to provide support as a secondary pairing.

Goalies: The allstar goalie himself AllinFitness is going to be busy during this series. He’s had a solid season and building off that will need to continue that into the playoffs. Hopefully he’s fueled up and ready to go because he’s going to need to make some big saves to give his team a chance to win. Kudlacik is a capable backup and will have to try and steal one of his games for the Condors to have a shot. Diving deeper into these two with the advance stats again, both have a 1.6 GAA in Wins but around a 4 GAA in their losses. If they’re on their games, they can be tough to beat. But if they’re not they’re going to need some better support either in front of them or in the goals category.

Series

Forwards: San Antonio

Defense: San Antonio

Goalies: San Antonio

This series will come down to a few things. Which Condors team are we going to get? Are we going to see the same team we’ve seen this season with a lot of guys underperforming that we all know can play better than they have, or are we going to get the old versions of some of these players and make it a competitive series? If the Condors get the low output out of Bobby, App, and Prowsey like they have for most of the season they’ll be packing their bags early. If those three can step up and play the way they have in seasons past they can make this series interesting. The line of Shadey Deeds Lafamiglia is going to have to win both their games in order to give the Condors a shot as the Rampage are just too deep. A game 7 between these two teams would be hype with some of the names that could be in that lineup but that’s a big IF.

Prediction:

San Antonio in 5


San Jose Barracuda (2) vs. Stockton Heat (3)

Season Series: 3-1 Cuda

These two teams are polar opposites of each other. San Jose has improved a ton since the beginning of the season through trades and them just building chemistry. Stockton has deteriorated almost every week since losing JJ early in the season to a call up. Stockton has FF’d a few games coming down the stretch so hopefully they have that problem figured out coming into playoffs, nobody wants to see a team get into the playoffs then not be able to field a team and FF their way to a loss when another team could have made it and at least showed up to their games. Hopefully those bad apples are gone, and we can see a good competitive series out of these two.

San Jose

Key Players: Rollaback, BennyGuap, Sakic

Forwards: This team has three solid forward lines rolling out for playoffs. Rollaback and JDfrey make for a solid duo that will give Stockton’s defense something to worry about. They’re deep down the middle with Jay Jay and Pez as their other two centers giving them the ability to have a chance to win no matter what line is on the ice. Buckybear has quietly put together a solid season finishing just under 40 goals and will play a key part in their offense. Sicktrick and Corbz will provide some solid depth to their team to help them make a run.

Defense: Two former teammates of mine in BennyGuap and Troy will lead their top 2 pairs in helping to shut down Stockton’s offense. The two of them are some of the better puck handling dmen in the AHL and their breakout will be key to the Cuda starting their offense. Ether and coontach will provide solid support on the backend after having productive seasons. Moose has some thumbs and was once a forward in this league, look for him to help start the offense from the backend as well.

Goalies: Sakic has been fantastic since coming down to the AHL mid-season. Winning 30 games and posting an 84.5% save percentage and a 1.73 GAA over 40 games. Look for him to carry the load in the crease and be on the ice whenever the Cuda can get him out there. Kickapoo has had a solid season as a backup with an 80.3% save percentage and a 2.45 GAA. If they can get at least one win out of him per series they’ll be sitting pretty.

Stockton

Key Players: ODucks, ShoeMoney, BBoeser

Forwards: ODucks is going to have to shoulder the heavy load for this team in order for them to have a shot in this series. He’s been their best forward and will need to continue that against a deep San Jose team. They’ve gotten down seasons out of guys like Pure and lovonov and will need more out of them come playoffs. Tommyallidoiswin is going to have to live up to that name and get his team a couple wins to give them a shot to advance. This team isn’t going to fill the net this series with their highest point scorer being Ducks at 60 so the forwards are going to have to commit to that grindy game and help their Defense shut it down and win the low scoring games.

Defense: It’s a shame Angry_Dangler got banned he could have been a help in this series but you have to get rid of the bad apples come playoffs to help yourself field a team. Shoemoney is going to be running the top pair on this team which says a lot about their lack of depth. He’s a solid player but more or less a second pair dman. Mahon_Solo will most likely partner up with shoe to try to limit the top 2 lines production. Svvisco is going to have to get some offense going from the backend like he likes to try to do at times to help this team get going. They’re going to be asking a lot from their two call up dmen that they needed to fill their roster with but anything can happen in this game so we shall see. Losing Hadji to an NHL callup hurts as well as he provides a solid defensive game to the team that they will miss.

Goalies: Boeser is going to be in for it in this series and hopefully won’t have nightmares of rubber flying at him from all angles after it’s over. He’s had a very solid season putting up an 84.4% save percentage and a 1.97 GAA. He’s going to have to steal some games for his team if they want to have a chance to advance. Dragonslayer is a solid backup as well and his numbers are low from being on a weak WBS team for most of the season but look for him to step up his play to give his team a chance to win the games he gets.

Series:

Forwards: San Jose

Defense: San Jose

Goalies: San Jose

The depth is a real issue for Stockton and a major strength for San Jose. This is ultimately what will be the biggest factor in this series. If Stockton can get wins out of Ducks and have Boeser steal a game or 2 away from the Cuda this should make for an interesting series. Although that is a real tall task when it’s hard to pick which line they could do that from. They’re going to need some big games out of their guys who haven’t done it a whole lot this season but like I said, anything can happen in this game. If San Jose plays their game Stockton is going to be in for a quick series and a humane end to their season.

Prediction:

San Jose in 5

 

Good write up. Will be tough, but a game 7 would be epic. Rampage in 6 .