With the summer that has gone by in a gust of wind and that is still trying to have its remaining rays sparkle on us, the start of the playoffs are upon us and of sorts the start of the real season, the one where each shift counts. For the management of the LFA, it is also an extremely busy period as it must prepare our first inter-divisional championship game in our history simultaneously with a fundraiser for Sun Youths food bank. The latter Must also organize the 2017-2018 season which is fast approaching with all the usual pitfalls as well as new challenges. Thibault Varin, the captain of the Loggers, draws a clear and accurate portrait of the up-coming series that will begin on Sunday in our Montreal division and I invite a member of the South Shore division to do the same because for my part I am overwhelmed by the workload of all the league files. Good luck to all in the 2017 LFA summer playoffs !

Later
JFD

HERE WE ARE ! PLAYOFF TIME !!

While we just completed the regular season with games that were once again fiercely played, we can officially draw a picture of the series in the Montreal division, series which will begin this Sunday at Collège Notre-Dame

5th place game - Hackers (5) vs Vipers (6) @ 5h30pm

Eliminated after a drastic free fall in the last month, the Hackers finished the season on a high note, as they crushed the Shamrocks 12 to 2. They will face the honorable Vipers team, which despite a group of talented players were not able to pill-up victories this summer. The two teams will compete in a match that will determine which of the two will finish in front of the other. It is a safe bet that the Vipers will want to show the Hackers what they’re made of, as the finished the year on a positive note by defeating the Rhinos by the count of 5 to 2. Interesting match-up to start the evening!

Semifinal # 1 - Rhinos (2) vs Loggers (3) @ 7h00pm

In our first semi-final, Patrick Blais's Rhinos will face the men in black, the Loggers. Although the two teams have relatively similar records (5-4-1VF for the Rhinos, 4-5-1VF for the Loggers), the Rhinos stand-out when comparing their goal allowed total, as their defense only allowed 35 goals to the opponent during the regular season games, courtesy of the impressive Jonathan Gagnon in the goals, in addition to scoring 43 in the opposing net. Some will say that the Loggers have more fire power up-front (46 goals scored), but it is on defense that they will have to tighten their game, as they gave 51 goals against. It's a safe bet that Guy Richiot will want to show his Loggers that his vacations have done him good, as Guy missed the last two weeks of his team's activities. On offense, the Rhinos rely on two dynamos in Joël Marceau, which makes the light turn red (you’ve simply never seen it, but there is one.. I promise..) more often than not with his 13 goals in 8 games, and in Pierre-Luc Aspirot, who has 13 points in 9 games. On D, Captain Patrick Blais leads the league for D-men with a total of 10 assists. On the other side, it will be Simon Lavery-Lebeau’s duty to fire-up the offense, he whom has 9 goals and 5 assists in just 6 games this season. Stephen Rendle also stood out among his own, as the Loggers' rookie scored 8 goals in 8 games in regular season games.

Semi-Final # 2 - Torpedoes (1) vs. Shamrocks (4) @ 8h30pm

In the second semi-final, the task will be difficult for the Shamrocks, 4th overall, as they face the regular season champions, Danny Beauregard's Torpedoes. Having lost only once in the regular schedule, the Torpedoes play an excellent team game, just as dangerous as hermetic, as reflected by their +14 differential in goals scored and goals against (48BP - 34BC). The Shamrocks are the team scoring the least number of goals of all the qualified teams, with 37, and is ranked second among the teams with the highest number of goals allowed (43), even though goalkeeper Marc-André Martel has the best goal-against-average of the league. However, they are not to be ignored, as they surprised better teams in recent months. Felix Dufour-Labrecque will once again lead the attack, strong of his 11 goals and 18 points in 9 games, while the Torpedoes will be led by the powerful Raymond Riffon, who has 9 points, including 5 goals, in 4 games since the trade which made him move from the Vipers to the Torpedoes. Beware of Torpedoes Marc Berthiaume, who can distribute the puck fairly well, while on the green side, Jean-Michel Tanisma rarely hesitate to support the attack when needed, as he leads the defenders of his team with 4 goals and 4 assists in 9 games.

GAME ON GENTLEMEN !