Are The Playoffs Already Set In Germany?

Although there is still a month left in the regular season in Germany, the four playoff berths in both the North and South divisions seem almost locked up.  As it stands today, the top four teams in each division right now should make the playoffs.

That doesn’t mean the final position of those teams won’t change though.

Top four in North in a dogfight

In the North, the Berlin Rebels  are in first at 8-1-1 with the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions trailing in second also at 8-1-1 but with a loss to the Rebels earlier in the season. The Dresden Monarchs at 7-2-1 find themselves in third with the surging Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in solid fourth at 6-3-1. Of the bottom four teams only the number five Hildesheim Invaders have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Should they win their final four games and Kiel lose theirs then the Invaders would advance. That is unlikely.

The Hurricanes just manhandled the Invaders and face them again. Kiel should win their final four to finish with a 10-3-1 record. The Berlin Adler, Hamburg Huskies and Dusseldorf Panther are already eliminated.

Within the group though, anything can happen. The division leading Rebels face both Dresden whom they tied earlier and Braunschweig who they defeated in a close game a month ago. Their other two games include the Adler and the Panther which they should win. So they could finish anywhere from first to fourth. In fact the same goes for the other three teams. All four spots are up for grabs. The final month of the season will be fun to watch.

Battles In South for first and second and third and fourth

The South is similar. The Schwabisch Hall Unicorns with an 11-0 record top the standings followed by the Frankfurt Universe at 9-1. These two should win their remaining games but face each other in the last regular season game of the year. That will decide first and second. The Munich Cowboys, Marburg Mercenaries and Rhein-Neckar Bandits have been eliminated from the playoffs.

Third and fourth is between the Saarland Hurricanes (7-4-0) and the Allgäu Comets with a game in hand at 6-4-0. The Hurricanes have surprised many with a 7-4 record. Their victories over both the Stuttgart Scorpions and  the Comets were minor upsets and have given them momentum.

Last year’s semifinalists, the Allgäu Comets, have struggled in key games but should finish in fourth. Although the Scorpions are right behind in fifth, the Comets have two games in hand over Stuttgart. Allgäu has four games left while Stuttgart has only two. Both Stuttgart’s games are winnable so they will probably finish at 7-7. But Allgäu should win two if not three of the final four games to end up either 8-6 or 9-5.

Final weekend decisive

In fact, the final weekend of the season in Germany features three key matchups that could well determine final playoff positioning. Braunschweig hosts the Berlin Rebels on September 3 while the Frankfurt Universe welcomes the Unicorns on the same day. The final game of the regular season on Sunday September 4 between the Allgäu Comets and Saarland Hurricanes could well determine third and fourth in the South.

Plenty of action remaining in Germany this year.