Match #1 – COOK vs. NELSON
The top two captains from last season battle it out to establish themselves right off the bat. Both teams had similar draft strategies, both snagging captain tier bowlers for their third positions in Derek Sabourin (240) and Cindy Cousins (227). On paper Team Cook holds a small advantage on Team Nelson coming primarily in the middle two positions with Zach Friesen (225) and Derek combining in average for 465, one of the strongest 2-3 pairs in the league coming into this season.
Key Matchup
Coming back to bowling after taking years off can always raise a few questions, and a big factor in this match will be the two players returning from 3+ years off, Zach and Lisa Fetch (210). If one can knock off the rust faster than the other it could be a turning point for either team.
Tyson’s Pick: Team Cook
Trevor’s Pick: Team Cook
Match #2 – YOUZWA vs. D. GELARDI
This could be a very high scoring match as these two teams come in with the highest averaging 2-3-4 combo of all teams. Team D. Gelardi has Dwayne Gelardi (249), Jesse Leyte (245) and Calvin Cline (227) coming in at 721, while their oppenents Colton Youzwa (250), Marc Steves (255), and Jesse Gagnon (232) combine for 737. An interesting wildcard will be Chriss Jeffers (202) on Team Gelardi, as a former captain he has the potential to easily go up 20 or even 30 pins from what he did last year if he can find that same game from previous seasons.
Key Matchup
This match, even more than the previous one, has a large range of outcomes with four bowlers making their return. It will really come down to who can play the cleanest game, pick up their spares and clean up their wood the best.
Tyson’s Pick: Team Youzwa
Trevor’s Pick: Team D. Gelardi
Match #3 – S. GELARDI vs. HOWARTH
This will be a match of youthful energy versus hardened experience. Team S. Gelardi holds the advantage at every position though most are within 6 pins meaning no one will have any easy matchup. Michael Young (230) will come in as the second highest second of the night, meaning it will be an uphill battle for Craig Enns (224) right from the get go. With both Michael and Sam Gelardi (245) practicing during the summer it might give them an early season advantage over teams who are coming in cold.
Key Matchup
A real key area of this match will be the matchup at third, where Ray Bartel (235) will look to knock his rust off versus Corey Chaikowski (232) who looks to bounce back after he was taken out from injury early last season. Both obviously have challenges to overcome, we will just have to watch who makes the bigger comeback debut.
Tyson’s Pick: Team S. Gelardi
Trevor’s Pick: Team S. Gelardi
Match #4 – KING vs. RODYCH
This match is one of the few that does not feature any bowlers coming back from missing more than a season, as the only new league member on either team is Chris Dewar (216) who was a regular spare all of last season. Both captains picked prior captains with their first picks meaning both teams have a lot of potential for big games from their bottom half, all depending if players such as Jennifer Devenney (221) and Anthony Novak (231) can break their slumps from last season.
Key Matchup
With both Anthony and Amanda Devenney (228) only playing a partial season last year this will be a real test to see how true those draft averages are and whether they drop or are even improved on. Especially for Amanda who much like Corey is battling injuries from last season, so it is still to be determined if those will have any factor on her bowling this season.
Tyson’s Pick: Team King
Trevor’s Pick: Team King
Match #5 – LOURENCO vs. HENDRICKSON
This match looks to be one of the most even of the night, with only 2 pins in average separating them. Team Lourenco was the lone team that drafted completely new players with Captain Belle Lourenco (234) being the only returning player from last season. This makes Team Lourenco a fairly big wildcard, while Team Hendrickson we have a much better idea of what to expect and for the most part, they are a fairly consistent team with a high game to game ceiling.
Key Matchup
I think Chad Hurd (226) will be a big determining factor in who takes this match. Chad has probably one of the largest week to week swings of anyone on his team. Chad shooting around 1000 would be a huge benefit to his team, while Chad closer to 800 will force his team to pick up his slack.
Tyson’s Pick: Team Hendrickson
Trevor’s Pick: Team Hendrickson
Match #6 – LAMONICA vs. NAUGLER
Team LaMonica is once again setup to be a powerhouse team coming in as the second highest average on paper at 934. Team Naugler comes in middle of the pack at 901. The only real difference between these teams is at the anchor position, Kevin Naugler (231) will face off with a former league high average Matt Turanski (260) accounting for 29 out of the 33-pin advantage Team Lamonica holds. Both teams are bringing in one new player and given the caliber of their averages it leaves a lot of room to go up or down.
Key Matchup
The key matchup for this match will be the 3-4 for each team. Kevin Naugler (231) and Jordan Nickerson (230) come in as underdogs to Andrew LaMonica (234) and Matt Turanski (260) however, Matt and Jordan have had quite a bit of time away from the game so it will be a big variable as to how quickly they get back to their prior averages. This mean the 33-pin gap could be quite less depending how the night goes.
Tyson’s Pick: Team LaMonica
Trevor’s Pick: Team LaMonica
Match #7 – FLEMING vs. CAMPBELL
After a rather interesting draft strategy by Team Fleming this week may be a rough start for them as they go up against one of the strongest 2-3-4 trios of Kyle Costello (244), Jessica Meurrens (232) and Alyssa Campbell (230). With a 67-pin difference in averages I would say if Team Fleming can take at least 10 points they should take it as a personal victory.
Key Matchup
The only matchup within 10 pins comes at leadoff, where Mark Prystupa (193) faces Tabatha Gelardi (200). This is by far the best chance for Team Fleming to make up points but still not a matchup in their favour.
Tyson’s Pick: Team Campbell
Trevor’s Pick: Team Campbell
Match #8 – STEVENSON vs. ARMSTRONG
Once again two teams that were drafted with very similar mindsets, pick a high average with good personal chemistry. The two new anchors are essentially the only difference between these two teams. Team Armstrong’s anchor Randy Morrissette (257) comes in as one of the highest averages in the league and his opponents Michael Linsenmeier (244) comes in not too far behind. Both these guys come in with Dakota averages and a big variable will be how do those translate to the vastly different lane conditions of St. James.
Key Matchup
With how close this matchup is, it is actually the leadoffs that I think will provide the most momentum for either team. Tim Hooper (206) is a solid consistent leadoff typically with a high floor but potentially a lower ceiling. On the other hand, Erik Stewart (206) has been known to swing between very good games and very bad rather quickly giving him both a high ceiling but also a low floor.
Tyson’s Pick: Team Armstrong
Trevor’s Pick: Team Armstrong
