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Premier Lacrosse League 2020 Playoffs: First Round Recap

Karl Heiser / Uncategorized / August 6, 2020

If you read my PLL playoff predictions that I put out a couple days ago, you’ll know that I only picked one of the first three games correctly. And I love that. Anything can and will happen in this league. The Premier Lacrosse League is so much fun, and you should stop sleeping on it right now. Here’s a recap from the first round of playoff action.

First Round Game Results

Game 1: #7 Chaos over #2 Chrome, 19-14

I never expected the Chaos to pull this off, having pretty much written them off after their 0-4 start. Some analysts had the Chaos as their preseason pick to win it all, and they showed why in this game. Josh Byrne finished with seven points on four goals while Jake Froccaro netted a pair of two-point goals. Dhane Smith added three goals of his own, and the Chaos ran away with the game despite winning less than 30% of the faceoffs. Jordan Wolf, Jesse King, and Justin Guterding all paced the Chrome with three goals apiece. Connor Farrell broke a PLL record with 24 faceoff wins in the contest.

Entering the game, the Chaos changed some things around offensively, opting to put Miles Thompson over their 2019 leading scorer Connor Fields up top. The change was immediately apparent, and the Chaos put the rest of the league on notice as they stormed into the semifinals.

Game 2: #4 Redwoods over #5 Waterdogs, 11-8

I was wrong about this game too, but I did hedge my bets by saying it was an evenly-matched contest. Brent Adams put up a hat trick for the Redwoods and Connor Kelly led the Waterdogs with two scores. Once the Redwoods went up 2-1, they never trailed, outlasting all opposing attacks. The Waterdogs scored a pair of two-point goals courtesy of Kelly and Ryland Rees, but it was too little too late. The Redwoods will go on to face the #1 overall seed and defending champion Whipsnakes. We’ll find out if their offense can keep up with the best in the PLL.

Game 3: #3 Archers over #6 Atlas, 11-9

In the only game I picked correctly, the Archers pulled out a close one against the Atlas. Archers rookie sensation Grant Ament was virtually shut down in this game, only recording 1 point off an assist, but it didn’t matter. Tom Schreiber and Will Manny each recorded a hat trick and the Archers showed off their balanced attack. For the Atlas, Rob Pannell and Chris Cloutier each scored hat tricks of their own. The Archers advance to play the Chaos in the semifinals.