Quarterfinals Recap
The most shocking week in Maryland All-Stars history! The #1, #2, and #4 seeds all fall. That includes our defending champion, Mark, who’s days are numbers with the Maryland All-Stars Cup. Never in history has a team won back-to-back titles and that trend will continue for at least another year.
Our Montgomery and Gordon Bombay Trophy winner, Under New Management, had a narrow lead over Snow Cones the entire week. Heading into Sunday, Eric led by a mere 5 points. Even with things incredibly tight, no one thought the lowly #8 seed stood any real chance. Then, one of the more shocking upsets in playoff history would occur! Thanks to a dominant 73-point Sunday, Snow Cones powered past the odds-on favorite to end Under New Management’s season. Despite his regular season dominance, Eric has fallen short yet again when it matters most. Snow Cones has now won 6 weeks in a row and is on fire as he sets his sights on winning Cup number 2. What a week for the Swiss machine!
Down goes the champ! After his late-season surge up the standings, Mark could not find the magic when it mattered the most. My Auston Matthew-less Blitzkrieg jumped out to a early lead on Tuesday night and simply never let go. This is the first time since the 2015/16 season that Team Weinstein has failed to make it out of the 1st round of the playoffs. A real stunner caused by yours truly!
She is legit, folks! The only higher seed that actually won is none other than Lexie’s Legit. Lexie’s impressive 362 points was the most by any team in round 1 and that was without star player, Leon Draisaitl. On the other side of the ice, it is all heartbreak for Mr. Dub. The first-ever 3-time champion’s Cup drought goes on for another year. We all thought he figured things out when he made a championship appearance last season, but this year proved yet again that the salary cap era has his number. This is the first time ever that none of the Weinstein’s will feature in round 2 of the playoffs and just the second time ever that neither of them will finish in the top-3.
Despite leading in the standings for 3/4 of the year, Chelsea’s Dagger was a sitting duck in round 1 of the playoffs. Ian’s boys, in just their second ever playoff appearance, had no juice left in the tank. In the final 2 months of the regular season, Chelsea’s Dagger went 3-5 and has now ended the year on a 3-game losing streak. While he has certainly cracked the code for how to break into the top-8, Ian still has a long way to go before seriously challenging for a title. Heartbreak for the Michigan man! One man’s pain is another man’s gain, however. Philly’s Elite is off to the second round and has what some are calling the deepest roster left in the playoffs. Jordan is the only team remaining who has never won a Maryland All-Stars Cup and this could very well finally be his time.
Semifinals Preview
One of them is an original-8 franchise searching for his very first Maryland All-Stars Cup and the other is looking to play spoiler two weeks in a row. Things are wide open in one of the most unpredictable semifinals matchups in a very long time!
The battle of teams with injured star players! Lexie’s Legit is without Leon and the Blitzkrieg is without Auston. Lexie is gunning for her 2nd Cup in 3 years and my Blitzkrieg is looking to join the Weinstein’s as the only teams to ever win it all 3 times.
Commish Notes
The team maximum of 20 adds remains in effect throughout the playoffs. You can make a total of 3 moves per week.
Thank you to each and every one of you for making the 16th regular season of Maryland All-Stars fantasy hockey one of our most competitive ever! I hope you had as much fun as I did.