Category: Weekly Matchup

Hi Metro League.  Sorry this is so late, but I watched Inception last night so I’ve been questioning reality all day today.  Here we go with luck week number 13.

• Boomer – Anderson:  While both teams are on the rise, Anderson is riding high from last weeks authoritative victory over first place Sonnabend.  Boomer has been struggling with consistency this season so I’m going with Anderson.
• Arndt – Lockwood:  Both rinks are in the middle of the league scrap-a-thon, but Anrdt looks to have a bit of an edge when you look at the cross table.  It isn’t going to be a cake walk though.  I’m going to predict an official measurement to decide the winner.
• Lawrence – McGovern:  Maybe I’m dreaming, but the McGovern rink is on fire (or maybe I’m on the team so it just feels that way).  Seriously though, Lawrence is probably going to be our toughest match so far this year, but positive thinking tells me that we’re going to be buying the beer tonight.
• Stanek-Beranek:   Finally, the two rinks with similar names face off this week.  Don’t let the records fool you, Stanek has run up against a lot of good teams so far while Beranek has had a slightly easier schedule.  Stanek will win the coin flip but Beranek will take the match.
• Lichty – McLellan: McLellan’s newfound confidence will boost them to an early lead scoring three in the first end, but the focus of Lichty will rebound for the win as this rink looks to establish themselves as contenders as we turn the corner.
• Erickson-Dubois:  Dubois at 5:5 is sitting squarely in the middle of the league and based on their record, have shown that they can hold their own against anyone else in the same boat.  Erickson has struggled this season but I had a dream last night (or was it) that they would be the upset of the week.
• Kruse – Rohde:  I like both of these teams for different reasons, Kruse for their consistency through the lineup, and Rohde for the skips ability to finish strong.  The records are speaking to me on this one, Kruse will take it if they bring their original lineup.
• Dveris – Jansen:  These are two rinks that have fought hard but come up short more times than not.  Both need a win this week, but Dveris wants it more.  Look for regulation to end in a tie and for Jansen to take the win.

Again, sorry for the delay, I know a lot of you call in sick to work when you don’t get your regular fix of TheHogLine.  I’m trying to get the rest of the schedule into the database and I have no good excuse for not doing it.

On a news worthy note, there are rumblings of a Metro League chili cook off being planned.  Look for details by the end of this week.

Cross your fingers for week 13.  Good curling.

As with the Thanksgiving games, attendance is the wild card this week.  Do yourself a favor and take Thursday off so you can spend a little more time upstairs after the game.  Merry Christmas dear readers.

Hello Metro League,

This is your guest commentator Sean Sonnabend taking the wheel while The Hogline’s fearless leader works the pedals. Week 10 means the first half will be technically over after Wednesday’s matches. However there are still 3 matches yet to be played; Jansen vs Stanek, Dubois vs Lichty, and McLellan vs Wangensteen.

So here is what this week looks like.

• Arndt vs Jansen [6]: With Arndt coming off of a big week 9 win over McGovern this will be a good match to watch and I think all eyes will be on sheet 6 as the other sheets start to clear off. Jansen has been changing their lineup week to week so I’m saying that Arndt’s consistent roster and confidence will give them an upset win over Jansen this week.
• Lawrence vs Dubois [7]: Dubois has been another rink suffering from an inconsistent roster. Dubois has had a difficult schedule in the first half but so has Lawrence. I’m going with Lawrence this week, as long as John and Jim can have as good of a night as they did last week when they humiliated Sonnabend, I think they are the new “Team to Beat”.
• Wangensteen vs Kruse [5]: Kruse has been truckin’ in recent weeks but Wangensteen is a better rink than their current position indicates. In another upset pick I’m going with Wangensteen over Kruse on the spotlight sheet.
• Stanek vs Erickson [2]: Apparently I like upset picks because I think Erickson will pull one out against Stanek this week. Erickson has shown that they can put together one hell of a game as shown by them almost defeating Sonnabend in week 4.
• Lichty vs Dveris [1]: These rinks are only 1 game apart and both have had tough first half schedules, each with a “W” over a Top 5 rink. Lichty has been learning the ropes in his first season at the Skip position and I think he’s getting better week by week. I’m going with Lichty over Dveris in a bit of a back and forth match.
• Beranek vs Anderson [4]: Anderson has been stinkin’ it up lately (sorry guys) and Beranek has been getting things back on track. This is going to be a close match-up of two teams trying to get in to the 6 Win club. Neither rink will go down easily and I see this coming down to the final shot in the 8th to settle it. Heads for Beranek and Tails for Anderson… [flipping coin]… Tails! Congratulations Anderson!
• Sonnabend vs Lockwood [3]: After last week’s big upset Sonnabend is looking a little vulnerable and has been knocked off their pedestal as the only undefeated rink. Lockwood has silently risen to the number 2 spot in the league and a win this week would make them this first half champs. Did Sonnabend have an off day in week 9? Did they all show up drunk? Not drunk enough? Will the stench of defeat follow them the rest of the season or will they shake it off and play like the number 1 ranked rink they are supposed to be? Due to my involvement with the Sonnabend rink I will have to excuse myself from making a prediction about this match. Keep an eye on sheet 3, I’m guessing it will be interesting.
• McGovern vs Rohde [8]: Rohde. I like these guys and I think they can beat anybody and they should not be taken for granted. Both rinks are 4 and 4 but Rohde has been making tracks towards the top in recent weeks. Sorry Ole… prove me wrong.

Well, that’s it for this week’s match-ups. This should be an interesting week as everyone has something to prove this week.

One final note. The streets are in bad shape around the club after last weekend’s storm and there are even fewer spots in the parking lot now. Plan some extra time into your evening to account for this and drive safe.

See you on the ice!