FHL Championship: Saturday, May 16th, 12:30

Come Saturday, it will be 161 days since the 2008-09 FHL Season started. The end of the five month, ten day journey will be over. The 23 weeks of hard fought action comes down to one final series. Jets vs. Pirates: The Franklin Hockey League Championship.

Jets (1) vs. Pirates (4)

Captains Zak Campbell (Jets) Andrew McDonald (Pirates) 2008-09 Season Jets: 13-4 (45-27) GF: 104 GA: 61 Pirates: 7-10 (34-37) GF: 87 GA: 85 Top 5 Scorers • Brian Barca (Jets): 35 Goals, 31 Assists, 66 Points • Tony Bonacorso (Pirates): 28 Goals, 21 Assists, 49 Points • Andrew McDonald (Pirates): 21 Goals, 18 Assists, 39 Points • Drew Hruska (Pirates): 18 Goals, 19 Assists, 37 Points • Zak Campbell (Jets): 15 Goals, 17 Assists, 32 Points Head-to-Head Week 1: Pirates 3, Jets 2 Week 7: Jets 3, Pirates 2 Week 12: Jets 3, Pirates Strengths Talent: Brian Barca, Zak Campbell, Zack Wahal, Mark Fetsko, Tom Fetsko. These players are all so talented and bring the Jets to a number one seed, with a 13-4 record. There's a reason why they scored a league leading 104 goals and gave up 64 goals, also leading the league. Chemistry/Experience: There is chemistry for everyone on the team. Everyone knows where the other is on the ice, and it shows. Also, the Jets won the Championship last year. Players Zak Campbell, Brian Barca, and Mark Fetsko have all been there before. Offensive Depth: With five players scoring over twenty points in the regular season [Bonacorso (49), McDonald (39), Hruska (37), Cleary (21), Hreha (21)], the Pirates have a great variety of depth, including skilled scorers. For the Pirates, scoring can come from anywhere. Chemistry: The Pirates come into this week winning six of their last seven, since acquiring the likes of Brian Hreha, Shane Lucas, and Drew Hruska. This includes their playoff wins against the Hawks and Crosby's. They seem to be enjoying playing with each other, as they’ve outscored opponents 47-31 in those seven weeks. Weaknesses Pressure to Repeat: The Jets won the FHL Championship last year. Zak Campbell, Brian Barca, and Mark Fetsko led them last year to the win. After cruising past Boyle they may be a little easy on the Pirates squad. Everyone expects the Jets to repeat, but can they do it? Boyle's Damage: The Jets defeated Bishop Boyle in four games last week. Although the Jets outplayed them, Boyle left a lot of damage on their players. The physicallity of the Boyle players such as Hess, Gilson, Grise, and the Siniawski's caused damage to the Jets stars. The Jets players have had a week to recover, but they still may be in pain. Road to the Playoffs: The Pirates have had an easy road to the Championship so far. They made it look easy against the Hawks in four in the first round. They swept the Crosby's in the second round. They are now facing their toughest competition in the Jets. This won't be an easy match-up for them. They will have to use their strengths to their advantage to win this series. Championship Experience: Experience may be a concern for the Bucs, as not one of their players has ever been to a FHL Championship. This is the first year for Tony Bonacorso, Shane Lucas, Ryan Cleary, and Roy McDonald III. Andrew McDonald, Drew Hruska, Joe Rogers, Brian Hreha, and Neil Murray were all eliminated from the playoffs last season. This is the first Championship for every player on that Pirates team. Can they overcome the adversity and win it all?