WEEK 18 (thru Tuesday)

Tyler Myers whistles a shot past goaltender Louis Domingue, the Ice Hogs defenseman - with a goal and an assist - scoring 6.0 of his team’s Tuesday-best 12.0 points, the 1st place Hogs now 6.0 points better than the 2nd place Cherry Pickers with one nail-biting game remaining in the season.

The Battle for the FHL Cup
The Ice Hogs began play with an 1.8 point advantage over the Cherry Pickers. With two throwaway forwards and the 61st and 135th ranked defensemen protecting their lead, the Hogs weren’t expected to depart the day on top. Yet they did, the Hogs getting a combined 12.0 points from two often pointless players. In addition to the heroics of 3rd string defenseman Tyler Myers, 4th string defenseman Travis Hamonic scored again - and also added an assist - the not-to-be-denied Hogs now one game shy of securing what would be their 3rd FHL Cup championship.

Mikael Backlund (0.0 points)
Jayce Hawryluk (0.0 points)
Tyler Myers (1 goal, 1 assist, 6.0 points)
Travis Hamonic (1 goal, 1 assist, 6.0 points)

The Cherry Pickers had a good day. Goaltender Thatcher Demko backstopped a 38 save win while Brock Boeser continued his solid play, netting 3.0 points. Bo Horvat also found the scoresheet, contributing an assist. Despite their strong 7.8 point effort, the Pickers yielded 4.2 points to the Hogs. Trailing by 6.0 points, the Pickers are still in the game; GM Recoskie - hoping that the cream will eventually rise to the top - seeking clutch points from Boeser and/or Horvat and/or Andersson and/or Demko to lay claim to their first-ever crown.

Brock Boeser (1 goal, 1 assist, 3.0 points)
Bo Horvat (1 assist, 1.0 point)
Rasmus Andersson (0.0 points)
Thatcher Demko (38 save win, 3.8 points)

The Wild Ducks brought a lot of guns to the final three games of 2020-21, but apparently none of the guns were loaded; the Ducks once again struggling to locate the scoresheet. Nils Hoglander did net a goal - the only points the Ducks would harvest on Tuesday. With one game remaining in the season, the Ducks are a distant 14.3 points in back of 1st place; GM Collard in need of something very, very special if his team is to hoist the FHL Cup.

Nils Hoglander (1 goal, 2.0 points)
Travis Boyd (0.0 points)
Jimmy Vesey (0.0 points)
Derek Ryan (0.0 points)
Jack Rathbone (0.0 points)
Nate Schmidt (0.0 points)
Braden Holtby (0.0 points)

The Bout for the Money
Despite having no more cards to play, the Lumberjacks are still a money team; the first-year franchise now seated in 3rd place overall. In 4th place, the Wild Ducks trail the Jacks by 1.3 points. If the Ducks score 2.0 or more points on Wednesday, the Jacks won’t win a dime. If the Ducks score 1.0 point or less, the Jacks will win $150.00 (and the Ducks won’t win a dime).

Both the Ice Hogs and Cherry Pickers have won a share of the $1000.00 purse. How much money depends on Wednesday.

The Scrap for the Laughing Bag
For Baba Booey, there appears to be no avoiding the Laughing Bag. Actually, there are a couple of ways (other than the team changing its name and skipping town). The Booeys trail the Polar Bears by 7.7 points. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom would have to backstop a 39+ save shutout, or dole-out an assist and win the game with 24+ saves. That, and the Calgary-stacked Polar Bears would have to score 0.0 points on Wednesday. The odds of that happening are slim. The odds of Baba Booey ditching the Laughing Bag, also slim.

LINK: Standings