Playoff Bound: See Who the Rockers and the Rest of the FPHL Face Off Against

Up Next: Playoffs in the Fed 

By Zach Dotson

As we enter the final weekend of the Federal Prospects Hockey Leagues’ 15th Regular Season, there is still much to be determined when it comes to playoff positioning.

In the Continental Division, the top spot is still up for grabs. The Carolina Thunderbirds currently lead the division and hold a 1-point lead over the Athens Rock Lobsters – who have had a phenomenal inaugural season. The winner of that standings race will take the 1 seed and will wait on the Baton Rouge Zydeco and Blue Ridge Bobcats Wildcard Play In game. The Zydeco and the Bobcats have never faced off in a playoff series – in fact, this will be the first postseason appearance for both teams – but Baton Rouge won the season series, 5 games to 2.

The team who finishes 2nd in the Continental Division will prepare to take on the Columbus River Dragons in a best-of-3 series, Columbus having already locked up their playoff position at 3rd. If it’s Athens who faces the River Dragons, the teams of course have no playoff history: it’s the Rock Lobster’s first season. However, in the event Carolina falls to 2nd in the division and faces Columbus instead, we will see a rematch of last season’s semifinals, where the Thunderbirds punched their ticket to the Commissioners Cup Finals, taking the series 2 to 1 over the River Dragons.

The Binghamton Black Bears have locked up their spot atop the Empire Division, where they will be ready to battle the winner of the 4th-vs-5th Wildcard Play In game. The Motor City Rockers, of course, secured their spot in the Play In game in Danville last weekend, and will most likely travel to Watertown in a 1 game, winner-moves-on Wildcard. Binghamton will either face a rematch of last season’s semifinals, where they battled the Rockers, or a rematch of the first round two seasons ago, where they took on the Wolves of Watertown. Binghamton won both series in sweeps, 2-0.

The 2nd seed in the Empire Division belongs to the Danbury Hat Tricks, and – results pending – they will likely face off against the Port Huron Prowers in that best-of-3 series. The two teams have never faced each other in the playoffs, though Danbury won this year’s season series, 5 games to 2.

Motor City finds themselves in the postseason for the 3rd time in as many years, never missing the playoffs in the team’s history. It’s easy to be intimidated by the teams at the top of the league – but get hot in April, and anything can happen. This season, with a slightly revised playoff format in an expanded league, the goal remains the same: bring a Commissioner’s Cup to Fraser.