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Playoff Previews - "A" Division
(4) Phantoms @ (1) Entourage
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Phantoms: 7-5, 53 GF, 45 GA, +8 Dif.
Entourage:
8-3-1, 61 GF, 39 GA, +22 Dif. |
Phantoms
Top 5 Scorers |
Entourage
Top 5 Scorers |
Tyler McNeill 9-2-4-16
Barnie Lal 6-7-4-11
Ziad Badr 12-6-5-11
Meemo Dik 8-6-5-11
Caleb Chiu 9-6-5-11 |
Mike Hayer 9-16-6-22
Dennis Grewal 12-6-7-13
Gary Chohan 8-4-9-13
Gary Chahal 7-5-6-11
Justin Matai 7-5-5-10 |
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| One game of this series is already in the books
without these teams having faced each other. The Entourage crew were
almost completely out of town for game 1 resulting in an unfortunate
forfeit and an easy leg up for the Phantoms. Though they have a strong
team, the Phantoms definitely enter this series as the underdog, and
will gladly take the gift to ease the path to the final. The Entourage
went all but untouched through the bulk of the season with only a loss
and a tie (Both coming at the hands of the Hitmen), before the lineup
depletion started in the last couple of weeks, causing them to drop
their final two games. One of those was an entertaining 6-4 decision
for the Phantoms in a game with both benches missing some key personnel.
The other game between these clubs this year was a tight 2-1 Entourage
victory in late April. |
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The Entourage are an excellent offensive unit. They
have a host of extremely talented finishers led by the resurgent Mike
Hayer. He has always been able to put up big numbers but since moving
back up to forward in the last playoff run, he has been downright
amazing. His 16 goals tied Stan McClellan for the most in the league
this season and he managed it in three fewer games. Tony Chohan
struggled with injury much of the season but looks to be returning to
health and was able to take part in this years World Championships (as
were Entourage teammates Davinder Chohan and Gary Chahal). Dennis
Grewal, known as a great defensive pivot, had an effective season
finishing over a point a game for the first time. Justin Matai is one
of the league's great passers and has amazing body control when he has
the ball. Keep an eye on the defense for the Entourage as they have
one of the best collections of mobile, ball moving defenders in the
league. Curiously, the Entourage had serious troubles on the powerplay
this season with a horrendous 11.5% efficiency rating. In fact, the
Phantoms didn't fair much better at 12.9%, although they typically
aren't considered a team that excels on the PP.
The Phantoms have a pair of well-balanced scoring
lines. The "Twin Towers" of Tyler McNeill and Kyle Peters
have been a productive pair for a while, but the line really seemed to
take on new life when the diminutive but speedy Bernie Lal joined up
during the team's last Parks and Rec league season, giving them
another great finisher. Ziad Badr and Meemo Dik also provide a
great one-two punch on their line, though they are missing their usual
linemate Mustafa "Mojo" Badr who only played the one game
this season. Speed and tenacious forechecking are the cornerstone of
their game. There are some good offensive players on the Phantoms
defense including the hard-shooting Andrew Jamison (who had a somewhat
quiet season as compared to his usual production) and Paul Cardillo.
John Bruno is another offensive d-man that likes to rush the ball from
his own zone. Edge: Entourage |
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Both of these teams are known as being very sound
defensively. The Entourage, however, have it down to a fine art and
would have led the league in goals against by a wide margin were it
not for the late season roster issues. The team still employs the
"three pillars" on defense of Davinder Chohan, Rav Hayer,
and Gugan Gill. These are three of the most solid defenseman around in
their own end, yet they are also two-way players and can get it done
at the offensive end as well. Additionally, the Entourage have the
services of Gary Chohan this year, long considered one of the league's
premier defensive forwards, but now patrolling the blueline for the
team after a smooth transition. There are still a bunch of solid
defensive forwards with this team such as Jagpreet Ghuman, Dennis
Grewal, and Jovin Gill. All together the Entourage's defense will be a
tough nut to crack for the Phantoms.
The Phantoms are no
slouches themselves in this department and are the type of team that
would rather grind out a 2-1 win than a 6-5 shootout. Paul Cardillo
and Andrew Jamison are the main figures on the Phantoms back end that
know how to control the pace of the game. The ageless Joe Campagna
also plays for this team, and though he may not have the foot speed
anymore, his defensive instincts are still strong and he knows the
right time to make his classic sliding poke-check to knock the ball of
an opposition stick. The Phantoms play a team game at both ends but do
have a few notable defensive forwards in Tyler McNeill, Caleb Chiu and
Alex Cann. Edge: Entourage |
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This is another of the many fantastic goaltending
match-ups we have had in recent years as there are a spate of
excellent keepers in the N-dub these days. Vince Mudaliar has been
backstopping the Wolfpac for the last number of years, so it is no
surprise that he would get the call this year for the Pac's affiliate,
the Entourage. He had an amazing year posting an 8-3-1 record with a
3.23 average and .876 save percentage to trail only Tony Ferreira and
Justin Faykosh in those categories, yet it is worth mentioning the
numbers would have been significantly better had he not been hung out
to dry in the last game when the Barons scored 10 against an extremely
short benched Entourage team.
Dave Lewis has been the main man
for the Phantoms for several seasons now and continues to be the man that gives them a
chance to win every game he plays. His save percentage was among the
league leaders and a mere 2 points behind the man at the other end for
this series, Vince Mudaliar, despite a record that was only a game
above the .500 mark. Edge: Draw |
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| One would have said going into this series that the
Entourage would be the heavy favourites, but the way things have
played out so far the bonus win the Phantoms have been given more than
evens out this series. The Phantoms merely have to play .500 hockey
over the next two games to advance to the final, but that brings up an
interesting question. Will that mindset prove costly? The first round
of the NWBHL "B" division had both teams that won the first
game lose the second after they were content with an opening game
victory. One thing is for sure, if there is any team in the league
that is capable of winning two straight it would be the Entourage.
They will be back in full force and no doubt a little upset by the
position they are in. Then again, if there is any goaltender that can
steal a game, it might just be Dave Lewis. Edge:
Phantoms |
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