AUDL Preview & Inactive List: Week 9

This week in the Eastern Conference the Philadelphia Phoenix will be tested again, with another two games scheduled. The Phoenix lost both of their games last week, and could fall to 5-5 if they do the same this weekend. On Saturday they host the DC Breeze. Though the Breeze are only 3-6, their last two games against the Phoenix have been very competitive. The Phoenix needed a last minute comeback to beat the Breeze in DC, and were tied going into the fourth quarter the last time the two teams faced off in Philadelphia. The Breeze’s playoff hopes are on life support now, the game is a must win for them, so they’ll come out firing.

Husayn Carnegie will make life difficult for the Phoenix (Photo by Jolie J Lang-Ultiphotos.com)

On Sunday the Phoenix travel to New York to play the Empire for the first time this season. New York is definitely the favorite for that game, since it doesn’t have a game scheduled on Saturday.  The Hammerheads have a two game weekend as well, with both games on the road. Mired in a seven game losing streak, they’ll be hoping to enact some revenge on the Dragons in Rochester. The Hammerheads only win of the season came against the Dragons, a 29-13 drubbing in New Jersey. But this is a different Dragons team, and they have already beat New Jersey once since then. The next day the Hammerheads play the Rush in Toronto, with the Rush missing one of their star cutters, Isaiah Masek-Kelly. But it’s unlikely the Hammerheads will be able to hang with the Rush coming off a game the day before, since the last time the Hammerheads played in Toronto they lost 18-31.

In the Midwestern Conference the game to watch is the Wind Chill-Radicals match tonight in Minnesota. In their last two games at home, the Wind Chill have outscored their opponents 46-15, good for two wins. But they face the 6-2 Radicals team that has already beat them three times this season. One of those trends will end tonight. A couple players will be missing from both sides. Grant Lindsley isn’t playing tonight for Minnesota, and Madison will be missing Pat Shriwise and Thomas Coolidge, among others. Nate Thibedeau is on the active list for tonight, though according to the Radicals own website he won’t be playing.

The Wind Chill are hoping that this time Madison won't end the game by celebrating in Minnesota (Photo by Alex Fraser-Ultiphotos.com)

Shriwise and Thibedeau have been very instrumental in Madison’s success so far this season. Thibedeau is second on the team in goals with 22, to go along with 11 assists, while Shriwise has 15 goals, 14 assists, and 13 D’s.  The Wind Chill will be desperate for a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, this game is one of the biggest hurdles between them and the postseason.

The Mechanix are on a two game road trip this weekend, and they’ll be playing without their primary handler, Dave Hochhalter. Hochhalter leads the team in assists and goals, so Detroit has to play an entirely different game without him. They start off Saturday in Chicago, a team that’s missing a star handler of its own in Brodie Smith. Brodie’s knee injury will most likely keep him out the next couple weeks, but the Wildfire are 2-0 without him so far this season. The Wildfire will be missing a couple of their key cutters as well though, with both Geoff Serednesky (who also missed last week) and Cullen Geppert out for the game. If Detroit wants to steal a game on the road in Chicago, this is probably their best chance. The next day they travel to Indianapolis to play the AlleyCats, a game Detroit has to win to keep its playoff hopes alive. The AlleyCats signed former Bluegrass Revolution player Ben Parris on Tuesday. Parris had 38 goals and 47 assists last year in the AUDL. He’s inactive this week, but could play a big role down the stretch in trying to secure that final playoff spot for the AlleyCats. Indianapolis should be able to secure the victory playing at home.

One statistic to keep in mind for Sunday is that teams on the second day of a back to back playing against fresh opponents are 3-13 this season in the AUDL. The only teams to win under those circumstances are the Rush and Wildfire. So Detroit, Philadelphia, and New Jersey’s best chance at getting a win are their Saturday games, since all three are likely to lose on Sunday.

Remember, in the AUDL each team is allowed a roster of 28 players, but only 20 can be active for any one game. So each team can have a full roster of 20 active while leaving eight inactive. The inactive players are either players with injuries, other commitments, or players trying to play their way onto the active squad. This is much like how in the NBA 15 players are allowed on each roster, but only 12 can be active at a time.