Both teams enter their final game of group play with a record of 1-2. The winner of this game would snag the 4th seed in the playoffs. In a back and forth affair, Redwoods utilize the long ball to win their second of the season.
After winning the Faceoff Athlete of the year in 2019, Baptiste has posted a faceoff percentage below 50 percent through Atlas’ first three games. However, Baptiste found his groove early in this one, winning 9 of the 10 faceoffs in the first half. Even with the dominance from Baptiste, Atlas only took a 5-4 lead into halftime.
After Baptiste scored on the opening faceoff, Sergio Perkovic answered with his first of two 2-point goals off of great ball movement from the Redwoods offense. Redwoods have shown success throughout the series putting their shooters in the crease where the defense slides to the ball carriers. Here, Brent Adams dodges down the alley, draws the attention of the defense which leaves Perkovic plenty of time to step into a signature 2-pointer from the Motor City Hitman.
The ball movement would continue to lead to goals as Brent Adams scores his first of the Series. Perkovic returns the favor to Adams as he dodges down the righty alley and throws it to Joe Walters. Walters makes the one-more pass to a wide open Adams who has the time for two crow hops before he shoots a laser above Jack Concannon’s head.
While the Redwoods offense found their groove, the Redwoods defense struggled to clear. Five failed clears in the first half led to two goals and an Atlas lead heading into halftime.
The teams traded 2-pointers in the third quarter as Walters and Romar Dennis found the back of the net from deep. Baptiste continues to dominate, winning four of the five faceoffs in the third quarter. However, the extra possessions don’t turn into goals as turnovers and an inability to create high quality looks in settled offense lead to zero goals in settled offense.
The newly coined Splash Brothers dominated the fourth quarter as both Myles Jones and Perkovic found space on the powerplay to unleash 2-pointers to take the lead. The first 2-pointer by Perkovic tied the game at nine while the second, from Jones, proved to be the game winner as Redwoods secured an 11-10 victory.
PLL Betting Breakdown
The Redwoods entered as 1.5-point favorites and despite scoring nearly a handful of two-point goals, only managed to win by one, allowing Atlas to cover the spread. As for the O/U of 21.5, the score hit a total of 21 points with 5:30 minutes left in the game, but would never go over. Those who were waiting for the over to hit were left out of luck and out of cash.
Next Up
With the win, Redwoods secure the 4th seed in the playoffs while Atlas fall to the 6th seed. Redwoods will face Waterdogs in their playoff matchup, while Atlas will wait to see the results of the Whipsnakes and Archers game on Sunday. If they Whipsnakes win, Atlas will face Archers. If Archers win, Atlas will take on Chrome.
