July 20, 2023
By Sam Weiger

Oakland Spiders at LA Aviators | Game of the Week
Friday, July 21 - 10:30 PM/ET - Watch link

The Aviators’ playoff hopes are slim, but they need to win this game by at least two goals to avoid elimination. Last week’s game between these two teams was a roller coaster ride with a thrilling overtime finish.

The Aviators need to finish much stronger this week if they want to win by two goals. Their collapse last week, when they were up by six goals with a minute left in the third quarter, was caused by a combination of turnovers and predictable short dishes. How can they fix these problems?

Turnovers are inevitable when playing against Oakland’s uptempo style. but LA can reduce their predictable short dishes by taking more deep shots. The Aviators may not be known for their hucks, but they do have some reliable deep throwers. Sean McDougall and Everest Shapiro have a combined huck percentage of almost 70 percent this year. 

LA’s defense will need to maintain their energy throughout the game. The D-line looked hungry in the first half, but they seemed to tire as the game progressed. Credit should be given to Oakland’s rapid-fire O-line and D-line offense, both of which are exhausting to defend. Gavin May has been a force on both ends of the field, and he’ll be the only player in this game with at least one assist, one goal, and one block in each of his last four games.

The return of Mac Hecht, who leads the Spiders in total yards, assists, completions, and hockey assists, could make things even more difficult for the Aviators. Expect Hecht, a hockey assist machine, to get at least three hockey assists if he plays 20 or more minutes in this game.

In addition to Hecht’s hockey assists, this game is sure to have some drama. The Aviators and Spiders are set to face off in the AUDL’s last battle for playoff contention in 2023.

One Big Number:
19 - The Aviators have not scored more than 19 goals in any of their games against teams with winning records this season.
3.63 - Hecht has the most hockey assists per game (3.63) of any AUDL player who has played at least two games this season.

Carolina Flyers at Atlanta Hustle 
Saturday, July 22 - 7:30 PM/ET - Watch link

Although Atlanta has already clinched the South Division regular season title, both teams have notable reasons to win this game.

The Hustle can avoid having to play the undefeated Empire until the championship game by winning against Carolina this week. 

If the Flyers lose this game, the Hustle will be feeling very confident heading into the divisional championship. They would finish the season with a 3-1 record against Carolina and an undefeated record at home. If the Flyers defeat Austin in the first round of the playoffs, they will then have to win in Atlanta to return to Championship Weekend. 

Atlanta’s offense is especially dangerous at home, but they have been impressive all year. The Flyers defense will need to focus on containing Brett Hulsmeyer, who had his second monster performance of the season against Carolina last week. Hayden Austin-Knab, who had a five-goal game against the Flyers in Week 4, returns for his first game in almost two months and should be on Carolina’s watch list.

Atlanta’s defense has also surpassed expectations at Silverbacks Park. Justin Burnett, who averages the most blocks per game of any top blocker in the league, had his best game of the season on home turf. He tallied two blocks in each of his three games against the Flyers this season, and the Hustle forced them to commit a season high 22 turnovers last week.

Sol Yanuck was responsible for a big chunk of those turnovers. He had his worst game of the season last week and has now had two subpar games against the Hustle this year. Carolina might want to consider giving Elijah Long or Matthew McKnight more opportunities to throw if Yanuck continues to struggle. McKnight had the best game of his career last week, completing all 30 of his passes and racking up six scores.

Carolina would love to get revenge on the Hustle by winning this game by a comfortable margin. However, with some key players out and Atlanta’s dominance at home, a comfortable win is unlikely.

One Big Number:
91.23 - Yanuck’s 2023 completion percentage of 91.23 percent is the lowest of his five-year career.
23.4 - The Hustle are averaging 23.4 goals per game at home this season.

Oakland Spiders at San Diego Growlers 
Saturday, July 22 - 10:15 PM/ET - Watch link

If Oakland loses to the Aviators by more than one goal on Friday night, they will need to defeat San Diego to clinch their first playoff berth since 2017. 

The Spiders and Growlers met in their season finale last year, with the Growlers at 8-3 and the Spiders at 4-7. Now, almost exactly a year later, the two teams meet again. However, Oakland is 7-3 and San Diego is 2-9 going into this season finale. Can a team with such a bad record really pull off the upset of the year?

It doesn’t seem likely. The Growlers have lost eight consecutive games and appear to have given up on the season. Since the fourth quarter of their blowout loss to Salt Lake, almost every San Diego player has seemed a step slower. However, two players are still dialed in.

Travis Dunn and Stefan Samu have kept their intensity high all season long. In San Diego’s two embarrassing losses last week, Dunn and Samu combined for 26 total scores. It will be up to them and the home crowd at Mission Bay to inspire the Growlers to finish the year strong. 

Even if the Spiders defeat LA on Friday night, they still have a strong incentive to win this game. If they defeat San Diego, they will get home advantage against the Summit in the first round of the playoffs. However, if they lose this game, they will have to play in Colorado. Home advantage could be a major factor in the outcome of this first round matchup.

The Spiders have too much on the line to lose against a lowly Growlers team who only has a couple of players still interested in competing this year. Bet on the Spiders to win their final game of the season.

One Big Number:
5 - Oakland has averaged a five-goal margin of victory against teams with losing records this season.
2 - The Growlers’ two losses last week came against Portland and Seattle, who had just two combined wins going into Week 12.