2. Gladiators vs. 3. Blades Preview

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Can the underdog Blades keep up with the Gladiators?

 

Brampton Blades   / GP 72 / W 32 / L 34 / OTL 6 / P 70 / GF 295 / GA 301 / Diff -6 / PCT .486

Minot Gladiators   / GP 72 / W 46 / L 22 / OTL 4 / P 96 / GF 260 / GA 291 / Diff + 69 / PCT.667

 

Lineups

 

Yannik Zug - Aim 11 - Mikko Koskinen

A.C. Savage - Hunter Backenbauer - Dujuan Cook

Yannik Zug - Aim 11 - Mikko Koskinen

Travis Willcox - Hunter Backenbauer - Dujuan Cook

Spud Murphy - Jack Harkness

Ikier Manushez 

 

Shadhu Rathod Jr. - Rift Pajodcast - Brady Stropko

Marcus Hurley  - Guy Lukovski - Valentin Taneyev

Shadhu Rathod Jr. - Rift Pajodcast - Aaron Hartley

Valentin Taneyev - Guy Lukovski - Brady Stropko

Teuvo Ruutu - Lord Karnage
Atticus Finch - Jakob Ackerman 
Marcus Bjorkstrand - Teuvo Ruutu 
Lord Karnage - Atticus Finch 

David Blind

 

Key Matchups

 

 Hunter Backenbauer GP 72 / G 65 / A 69 / P 134 / +/- +2

 Brady Stopko GP 72 / G 116 / A 62 / P 178 / +/- +53

 

 Jack Harkness GP 72 / G 18 / A 61 / P 79 / +/- -21

 Marcus Hurley  GP 72 / G 44 / A 53 / P 97 / +/- +12

 

 AIM-11  GP 72 / G 47 / A 63  / P 110 / +/- -11

 Jakob Ackerman GP 72 / G 11 / A 47 / P 58 / +/- -1

 

 

In a season series dominated by the Minot Gladiators six games to one, the underdog Brampton Blades look to continue to ride their hot streak into the VHLM North American conference playoffs. Brampton,who finished the season strong, still might need a miracle to get by Minot. The Gladiators, lead by Bears prospect Brady Stropko, finished second in the North American conference with 96 points. Brampton, who finished sub .500, finished with 70 points. 

 

Offence:

Minot gets the nod in offensive talent. Lead by the likes of Brady Stopko, Guy Lukovski, and Shadhu Rathod Jr., Minot's goals for/goals against differential of 69 is well beyond Brampton's goal differential of -6. Brampton, who's top six may be able to match Minot's, fail to match the depth of offensive talent, especially on the blue line, present in Minot.

 

Defence:

The key in this series will be the defensive skill and depth of the Minot Gladiators. Minot has the depth to roll out four solid defensive pairings, where as Brampton will have to rely solely on the pairing of Jack Harkness and Spud Murphy. Minot defenceman Teuvo Ruutu and Jakob Ackerman will be relied upon to not only shut down Brampton's offensive talent, but also chip in offensively to further improve Minot's chances in the series.

 

Goaltending:

The lone edge in Brampton favour in this series is in net with with Ikier Manushez. Backstopping the Blades with a 28-21 record and goal against average of 4.00, Manushez stats don't jump off the paper, but he has played solid on a team with a very abysmal defence. He will has to continue his strong play in order to pull off the upset. Standing opposite of him is goaltender David Blind. Blind compiled a 30-10 record and 3.90 goal against average with Minot. The Gladiators strong play at defence may have padded Blind's statistics, who looked shaky at points during the season. The problem for Brampton is that Minot's defenceman is still their to protect Blind.

 

 

Prediction:   in 5 .

 

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