^ Perfect 'Henke Layout' Form
May 24, 2019
by Matt Rezin
With 15 weeks in our season this year, we're at the halfway point in week 8 of the season. Playoff teams are starting to stake their claims and bubble teams are getting wild upsets to build up hope that they'll make the postseason. It's been a fun season in the AUDL thus far with greater access to live games and those games have been highly competitive and in many cases much closer contests than I'd anticipated.
Catch all the action live or on-demand on AUDL.tv and the AUDL Game of the Week on Stadium!
Saturday, May 25
Ottawa Outlaws at New York Empire - 4:00 PM/ET
- Karl Loiseau (OTT) — An Outlaws veteran with 4 pro seasons under his belt, Loiseau is an able hybrid player who is heating up at the right time of the season. After a tough game to open the season Karl's plus/minus has had a clear positive trajectory (-2>1>4>3>7). It will be hard to maintain that improvement now as he had an excellent plus/minus of 7 in the double overtime win against the Breeze last weekend with 5 assists, 2 goals and a block without a turnover.
- Ben Katz (NY) — While this year's crop of new talent has garnered the Empire a lot of attention, an arrival from last season has been making just as big of an impact. Katz was a huge part of why the Empire made it to championship weekend last summer, and he's second only to Ben Jagt in plus/minus through five games this season.
Minnesota Wind Chill at Pittsburgh Thunderbirds - 6:00 PM/ET
- Michael Jordan (MIN) — Playing in his fifth AUDL season, Michael Jordan has become an important part of the Wind Chill's downfield offense. His big game (+7) against the Mechanix in week 5 came on the second day of a road trip and short layoff between games. As Minnesota makes the long trip to Pittsburgh they'll look for another strong road performance from Jordan.
- Max Sheppard (PIT) — Through five games Sheppard has been the standout player in the box score for the Thunderbirds and leads his team with a plus/minus of 23. He leads his team in both goals and assists with 16 for both statistics and is somehow 2nd in blocks as well.
Montreal Royal at Philadelphia Phoenix - 6:00 PM/ET
- Quentin Roger (MTL) — In his first season in the league, Roger is leading the Montreal Royal in assists with 8 in their relatively young season (3 games). After starting exclusively on the o-line against the Empire in their first game of the season, Roger has split time between lines to lend his throwing skills to the defense.
- Sean Mott (PHI) — In the franchise's first ever win against the Toronto Rush in week 7, Mott played the most points and had the most assists for his team. That's been true of Mott overall this season and in most of his games with the Phoenix.
Madison Radicals at Toronto Rush - 6:00 PM/ET
- Kevin Brown (MAD) — Kevin Brown has taken over his brother's role as a lead handler in the Radicals offense. Heavier usage in the handler set has gone well for Kevin and his 95.3% completion rate is the best of his career and he's already got more goals than he notched on 47 more points played last season.
- Phil Turner (TOR) — After performing well in 4 games in 2018 for the Rush, Turner is back on the defensive line full time this season. He's caused trouble for east division foes all year and leads the Rush with 11 blocks.
Indianapolis AlleyCats at Chicago Wildfire - 7:00 PM/ET
- Travis Carpenter (IND) — Carpenter's career numbers speak for themselves (click through ^ that link, take a peek). He's been in heavy usage for the AlleyCats since the league started and this year is no different. When the Cats need a play they look Carpenter's way. He's leading his team in points played by 17 and using that time to put up a team leading 22 assists.
- Jack Shanahan (CHI) — In his first AUDL season, Shanahan is having a major impact on the Wildfire. Playing 75% of his points for the offensive line, he's second on the team in goals (12) and fifth in assists (8).
Tampa Bay Cannons at Atlanta Hustle - 7:00 PM/ET
- Dustin Travaglini (TB) — One of the longest tenured Cannons, Travaglini has been with the team since 2015. As with Kevin Brown for the Radicals above Travaglini has been called into a bigger role in the handler set for the Cannons this season and he's flourished with a 97.1% completion rate. With handlers Andrew Roney and Adam Carr listed in the reserves for Tampa Bay this weekend, Travaglini may need to step up and build up his assist stats against Atlanta.
- Kelvin Williams (ATL) — Williams has been the anchor of the Hustle defense in 2019, leading the team in blocks with 6. If the Hustle send out a defensive line Kelvin is likely on it as he's played in 90 defensive points this season, 16 more than his next closest teammate. When the Hustle earn a turnover Williams has done well this season to get his hands on the disc and get it in the end zone, notching 5 assists and 10 goals.
Austin Sol at Dallas Roughnecks - 8:00 PM/ET
- Kyle Henke (ATX) — Second on the team in assists (17) and first in goals (19), Henke has been the star of the team's offense through the first half of the season. He's taken on a bit more of a handler role (which he's used to from his college team) than last season but his completion rate has only improved as his experience grows. He currently leads the team in points played as well so he's grabbing all of the experience his coach can get him.
- Brandon Malecek (DAL) — Playing in his fourth season with the Roughnecks, Malecek is a familiar face in the Dallas handler set. He leads the team with 141 completions this season and has 10 assists usually working with Coffin and Wilder on the o-line to open up opposing defenses.
Sunday, May 26
Montreal Royal at DC Breeze - 1:00 PM/ET
- Miguel Goderre (MTL) — After playing almost entirely as an offensive handler for the Royal in 2018, Goderre is splitting time between lines this year and leads the team in completions after three games. The Royal have had a tough start and they'll need Goderre's throwing prowess as they travel to Washington D.C for a tough road contest.
- Jarrod Banks (DC) — Through four career games for the Breeze Banks has 9 assists, 10 goals, and 2 blocks. Another rookie making a big impact in the AUDL this year, if we had a Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in two weeks I think the Breeze might have sent Banks.
Madison Radicals at Detroit Mechanix - 1:00 PM/ET
- Sterling Knoche (MAD) — A standout on the Radicals defensive line in his third pro season, Knoche has been executing his consistent impressive defense this season. He's averaging 2 blocks per game which is consistent with his career, other than his 2018 playoff performance when he had 10 blocks over 3 games and some crucial clutch blocks for the Radicals champsionship victory. When the Radicals earn a block or force a throwaway Knoche is usually streaking toward the end zone.
- David Innis (DET) — With many of their stars out this week the Mechanix will look to their handlers Innis and Cubbit who will need to play as consistent and error free as they can against the tough Radicals zone. Innis should be up to the task as he's handled the disc far more than any other Detroit player this season and he's done it with 95.8% completions. His 251 completions through 4 games just barely trail league leader Pawel Janas (64.75) in completions per game this year.
