Hi all!
We're but little over a week from the TWHL3 playoffs and for eight teams it'll mean the end of the season. For the rest of us is this the time of the year that things get really interesting. The trading deadline has passed and the teams are starting to prepare for the playoffs.
Even though the standings can change before the playoffs, I'll take a look at how my predictions from the preseason was. Lets start out with the ALI division.
ALI
Prediction
1 Toronto
2 Vancouver
3 L A
4 Chicago
-----------
5 Montreal
6 New York
I never doubted that the ALI title would go to either Toronto or Vancouver. It now looks like Toronto will take it just like they have done in TWHL1 and TWHL2. Would Vancouver have had a chance if Kron hadn't got injured ? Maybe, it's something we'll never know.
ALI Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS PCT LAST 10 STREAK
TORONTO 74 42 27 5 326 259 89 .601 8-2-0 3G winning
VANCOUVER 73 38 30 5 268 247 81 .555 3-6-1 5G losing
NEW YORK 71 31 34 6 239 241 68 .479 5-3-2 1G winning
L A 71 29 36 6 244 266 64 .451 4-4-2 3G undefeated
MONTREAL 69 25 35 9 228 265 59 .428 1-6-3 6G winless
CHICAGO 73 20 43 10 225 287 50 .342 4-5-1 3G losing
In my prediction I has Chicago in fourth place, boy was that wrong. Perhaps they would have made it hadn't their GM gone on a honey moon and left the team on its own. Where's the commitment ? ;) New York in third ? now that something I hadn't predicted. The team did well when it was run by the league office. Can the new management continue in the same way ?
PELE
Prediction
1 Cape Town
2 Mexico
3 Rio
4 Santiago
-----------
5 Cairo
6 Havana
I thought that Cape Town lead by fin Saku Koivu would domintate the Pele division, well what can I say, it didn't happen. It just proves that one can't rely on those blue and white. My predictions in the Pele wasn't very good, atleast I managed to name the top three teams. What an accomplishment!!
PELE Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS PCT LAST 10 STREAK
RIO 70 39 26 5 282 226 83 .593 6-4-0 4G winning
MEXICO 73 38 31 4 268 273 80 .548 6-3-1 5G winning
CAPE TOWN 69 31 32 6 259 274 68 .493 4-5-1 1G winning
CAIRO 71 26 33 12 261 267 64 .451 3-5-2 6G winless
SANTIAGO 70 25 41 4 241 310 54 .386 3-7-0 1G winning
HAVANA 69 24 41 4 229 304 52 .377 4-6-0 1G winning
Who could have beleived that Rio would domintate the division. They have had some competition from Mexico but I think its safe to say that the Carnavales will win the division title. For Havana and Santiago the season ends within the next couple of weeks.
BORG
Prediction
1 Stockholm
2 Rome
3 London
4 Prague
-----------
5 Berlin
6 Moscow
The Ratz have won the Borg division title two years in a row. This year they've been challanged by the Gladiators. Well, they are still being challanged. Its far from decided who will win the Borg this year. After Stockholm and Rome there is a big black nothing before Prague, Berlin and London comes along. I still believe that London will make it to the playoffs this year.
BORG Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS PCT LAST 10 STREAK
STOCKHOLM 70 40 24 6 279 234 86 .614 4-5-1 1G winning
ROME 71 39 26 6 295 263 84 .592 4-4-2 3G winning
PRAGUE 72 26 39 7 239 266 59 .410 2-6-2 7G winless
BERLIN 72 27 43 2 254 310 56 .389 5-5-0 3G losing
LONDON 71 23 40 8 255 312 54 .380 4-2-4 6G undefeated
MOSCOW 74 18 54 2 248 386 38 .257 4-6-0 2G losing
What can be said about Moscow then ? Well, they are slowly rebuilding the team and are looking to pick up a couple of quality players in the FA draft. Will that be enough for them to bounce back ? I think it'll take more than one season befor ethey can start competing for a playoff spot again.
LEE
Prediction
1 Tokyo
2 Taipei
3 Singapore
4 Melbourne
-----------
5 Hong Kong
6 Calcutta
The Singapore Dipsomaniacs won the title in TWHL2 yet I and almost everyone else didn't have them at the top of the Lee division. I had them in third place but by the looks of things they might end up outside the playoffs. I thought that Tokyo would run away from the beginning but instead it was hated Taipei that was by far the best team during the first half of the season. They had a couple of players come up from the farm just in the right moment.
LEE Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS PCT LAST 10 STREAK
TAIPEI 72 49 15 8 339 227 106 .736 6-2-2 6G undefeated
TOKYO 70 48 13 9 384 232 105 .750 8-0-2 16G undefeated
HONG KONG 68 37 25 6 267 221 80 .588 4-6-0 2G winning
SINGAPORE 71 35 26 10 268 249 80 .563 2-7-1 7G winless
MELBOURNE 73 35 31 7 258 258 77 .527 6-2-2 1G losing
CALCUTTA 71 33 33 5 265 244 71 .500 6-4-0 1G winning
I had Hong Kong in fifth place, I didn't expect Eric Lindros to carry the team like he has. They are now in third and can perhaps challange Tokyo and Taipei in the playoffs. Melbourne are currently out of the playoffs but they may very well get past Singapore. If they do it's one hell of a sensation. The Sits hace done some very good trades during the second half of the season and will be a very good team next season.
Calcutta will miss the playoffs for the third straight year. Will they ever make it ?
Stay tuned for an analyze of individual achievements..