The MLU's first ever cross-divisional game was supposed to be the most talked about game of the weekend. Someone did not decide to tell the Boston Whitecaps, who beat the previously unbeaten Philadelphia Spinners. Combine that with the New York Rumble traveling across the country and beating the San Francisco Dogfish, it left us with a massive shakeup in this week's Power Rankings.
#1 Portland Stags: 6-0
Last Week: #1 Change: +0
Last week the Portland Stags claimed the first spot in the MLU postseason (thank you William Curb). This week they had a bye and saw the only other undefeated team in the league fall. Next week they travel to the east coast for the MLU's second cross-divisional game to play the Whitecaps who are still celebrating over their huge win over the Spinners. A pretty good sequence of events for the Stags.
#2 Boston Whitecaps: 4-1
Last Week: #3 Change: +1
Some may have called the Whitecaps knocking off the Spinners an upset. Coming into this game Boston was 17-2 at home (the best mark in the league). It does not matter who they were playing, with their history, the two-time league champions should always be considered favorites in Bean-town. Philadelphia jumped out to a five goal lead in the opening half but the Whitecaps methodically climbed their way back. In the second half, their offense only got broken once. Star of the game, without a doubt, goes to Sean Doherty who scored half of the teams breaks, four. This would include the callahan in the opening quarter and the game winner in overtime.
#3 Philadelphia Spinners: 5-1
Last Week: #2 Change: -1
Fortunately for the Spinners, they may not have to win in Boston at all this season in order to make it to the MLU Championship. Despite the loss they still control their own destiny the remainder of the season by playing the Whitecaps at home in Week 9. Right now there is nothing to worry about in Philadelphia. If the Spinners win out they are the #1 seed in the east, but same can be said for Boston. Upcoming for the Spinners is a bye week where they will need to diagnose what happened after they were up by five at half and then watching it fall apart. Also they will need to find out what happened in the overtime period that resulted in no goals.
#4 Seattle Rainmakers: 3-2
Last Week: #4 Change: +0
The Dogfish losing definitely helps out the Seattle Rainmakers. San Francisco and Seattle have not yet played and we are halfway through the season. These teams have only beaten the Vancouver Nighthawks and the Rainmakers did it three times. This week we will find out who is in the driver's seat for the final playoff spot in the west.
#5 New York Rumble: 2-5
Last Week: #7 Change: +2
The first cross-divisional game in league history and the Rumble go west to keep the Eastern Conference 4-0 in east vs. west matchups. For years many have marked the travel as a huge factor in the championship game but New York just proved that wrong. Arguably this is the largest victory in the team's history. . Not only was it a win, but a dominating victory for the team, where they controlled the offensive play, defensive play, special teams, everything. At one point this team was up by nine points, the most since 2013. It should have been a more lopsided win had the Rumble not celebrating an early victory. This win was an incredible team-bonding trip, and could provide some huge momentum for an end of season push.
#6 Washington D.C. Current: 1-4
Last Week: #6 Change: +0
The team is coming off a double bye, heading into a game where they must begin to turn their season around. The Washington D.C. Current are strongly convinced that their season is far from over. With three games remaining against the Spinners, they have the chance to battle back and hope some other results far their way. If there was a team that could start climbing in the rankings, look no further.
#7 San Francisco Dogfish: 1-3
Last Week: #5 Change: -2
At one point in their game against the Rumble, San Francisco was down 17-8 with New York scoring four out of the last five points. Turning it around, the team would end the game on an 11-5 scoring run. Take which Dogfish team you want (the 8-17 team or the 11-5 team) but it is easy to point out that there are both really good things working for this team and bad things not working. Believe it or not this loss does not kill the Dogfish's chances at making the playoffs. However, there is a big doubleheader weekend this week for the team and with a limping Gabe Saunkeah, the team will need to find help elsewhere.
#8 Vancouver Nighthawks: 0-6
Last Week: #8 Change: +0
Honestly things may work out perfectly for the Nighthawks this week. For the entire first half of the season, Vancouver slowly improved week after week and finally got a bye to put everything together. With Dogfish team desperately looking to get back into the win column and their minds focused on the Rainmakers the following day, the Nighthawks may steal one.
Final Thoughts
There were only two games this past weekend but it was probably the most exciting weekend for the league besides opening day. Upcoming in Week 7, it may be topped. The Stags start things by going to Boston for the second cross-divisional game in league history. Elsewhere in the east the Rumble and Current face off in their final game of their regular season series as they both are battling to get back in the playoff race. The Dogfish will also have their first doubleheader where the Nighthawks have a chance at an upset, while we will see Seattle and San Fran go at it for the first time all season.