The FPHL’s Appalachia rivalry goes to the playoffs. Blue Ridge is coming off of a wild card victory over Baton Rouge 5-2 in come from behind fashion.

#4 Seed Blue Ridge Bobcats (29-21-4-2)

Key Players:

Danny Martin (39 GP, 12G, 35A)

Nick McHugh (45GP, 14G, 24A)

Daniel Klinecky (56GP, 10G, 26A)

G: Greg Hussey (700MP, 2.58 GAA, 7-4-1, .938SV PCT)

The Scoop: The Bobcats got a really impressive win, thanks in part to Mike Mercurio’s game and Daniel Klinecky’s game winner on the power play.

Connor Green got the start, due to Greg Hussey’s injury. It’s unclear if he’ll be back for this round, but Green did a nice job of holding down the fort. It will be a tough job going against this Carolina offense though.

Hunter Godmere went down during the game on Tuesday night, and by all looks of it is out for the rest of the playoffs potentially. If he is completely out, that is a major major loss for the Bobcats. It’ll be up to guys like Reller, Vlasov, McHugh and others to pick up the slack.

#1 Carolina Thunderbirds (41-11-3-1)

Key Players:

Gus Ford (48GP, 31G, 52A)

Roman Kraemer (48GP, 27G, 41A)

Zach White (33GP, 25G, 26A)

Jiri Pestuka (44GP, 20G, 23A)

G: Mario Cavaliere (1892MP, 2.28GAA, 21-8-2, .921 SVPCT)

The Scoop: This team has probably had the best defense. They allow about two goals a game, and have a solid offense. The Czech line still does Czech Line things. The addition of Zach White has been huge.

This is a team that has been together for a long time. And have been to two straight finals, they have a very good shot of getting back there this year.

In goal, Mario Cavaliere will be back in goal. He has had such a really good season that not many people are talking about. He plays well with the style that Steve Harrison gets.

Head-to-Head

Carolina won season series 8-6.

Predictions:

Christian: Carolina in 3. I thought Blue Ridge could’ve had a shot if Godmere was healthy. Still should be a fantastic series.

Mat: Carolina in 3. It’s in Carolina’s favor but only because of injury. If the Bobcats can keep themselves out of the box and play to their strengths, they can take this series. But Carolina can take over a game on puck possession alone, once they trap you in your own end the only way it stops is if they score or your goalie by some miracle makes save after save.