The 2017 regular season is in the books and we’re all set for teams to begin their quest for the PBR Cup!  Here are the final standings of the 2017 season and playoff seeding with opening round playoff match-ups.

Well, hold on for a minute.  Before we get to that let’s review each Division.

SOKO Division
Winner: Fresh Kills posted a ridiculous 50 goal differential by only allowing 19(!) goals all season long.  Their historical season has earned them the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs.
Loser: Fuzz may be moving down a division next year, but right now they are one of the hottest teams in the league and an even hotter playoff sleeper pick.  (#dontsleeponfuzz)

CMB Division
Winner: Butchers stumbled out of the gate this season but eventually found their footing that lead to an impressive winning streak.  While they might not be looking forward to ascending next season, no team is looking forward to facing them this season.
Regulating: Denim Demons may have ended up as last year’s Hookers, but we’ve got a feeling that a change of scenery in 2018 will do them just as much good as this year’s Hookers.

KATZ Division
Winner: Corlears Hookers made a return to being a league powerhouse and added a division crown to an already crowded trophy case.  How’d they do it?  By restocking (cough, poaching, cough) on talent before the season.
Consigning: Mega Touch couldn’t be more delighted about returning their rightful place next year. And after suffering through 2017 we can understand why.

MICHALIGA Division
Winner: Poutine Machine isn’t exactly the prettiest team doing it, but they get the job done nonetheless.  After spending two years rebuilding their squad they exploded this season by earning 24 points with only two OTLs.
Searching: Dark Rainbows didn’t have the historical season they envisioned, but they fought valiantly in every contest.  Unfortunately, someone has to finish with lowest point total each year and this year it is them keeping the seat warm for Math.

2017 Playoff Seeding

1. Fresh Kills (35 pts – division winner)
2. Rehabs (28 pts)
3. Corlears Hookers (27 pts – division winner)
4. Filthier (27 pts)
5. Cobra Kai (26 pts)
6. Gremlins (26 pts)
7. Poutine Machine (24 pts – division winner)
8. LBS, Inc. (24 pts)
9. What The Puck (21 pts)
10. Butchers (21 pts – division winner)
11. Fuzz (20 pts)
12. Mathematics (19 pts)
13. Sky Fighters (18 pts)
14. Gouging Anklebiters (17 pts)
15. Gut Rot (17 pts)
16. Instant Karma (11 pts)
17. Denim Demons (10 pts)
18. Tompkins Square Riots (9 pts)
19. Mega Touch (8 pts)
20. Dark Rainbows (1 pt)

Playoff Opening Round Match-ups
20. Dark Rainbows at 13. Sky Fighters – 12:30 pm on EAST
19. Mega Touch at 14. Gouging Anklebiters – 12:30 pm on WEST
18. Tompkins Square Riots at 15. Gut Rot – 4:30 pm on EAST
17. Denim Demons at 16. Instant Karma – 4:30 pm on WEST

End of Season Overreactions and Playoff Predictions
We’ve had a wild up and down season and it wouldn’t be proper to end this post without doing a little playoff predicting.  So here.  We.  Go!

Opening Round
(Fight!)

20. Dark Rainbows at 13. Sky Fighters
Prediction: A surprising nail bitter that makes Olivier and his Fighters sweat a little more than usual, but eventually pull they away in the end, 6-2.

19. Mega Touch at 14. Gouging Anklebiters
Prediction: A rematch of last year’s playoffs that goes to another shootout with the Biters victorious again, 2-1.

18. Tompkins Square Riots at 15. Gut Rot
Prediction: UPSET!  Frost, Suz and GDR defeat their divisional nemesis and give us the first upset of the playoffs, 4-3.  In unrelated news, Rotters spotted at a bar.

17. Denim Demons at 16. Instant Karma
Prediction: Two teams that will be seeing quite a bit of each next season deliver a memorable performance with Karma eventually winning in OT, 4-3.

Sweet 16!
(Pour some sugar on this, baby.)

18. Tompkins Square Riots at 1. Fresh Kills
Prediction: Closer than most people think with Fresh Kills moving on, 9-0. 

16. Instant Karma at 2. Rehabs
Prediction: Who does No. 2 work for?!  Apparently Karma as the Rehabs knock them out of the playoffs for the second time in three years, 5-2.

14. Gouging Anklebieters at 3. Corlears Hookers
Prediction: No team has more OTLs over the past couple of seasons than the Biters and they’ll drop this contest in OT too, 4-3.

13. Sky Fighters at 4. Filthier
Prediction: Don’t sleep on the Fighters in the playoffs as they’ve made it to the Frozen Four two years in a row, but Filthy won the title one of those years and win this one, 6-4.

12. Mathematics at 5. Cobra Kai
Prediction: Math was our playoff darkhorse pick last year and we’re making the same mistake this year.  Evil dojo do work, 5-2.

11. Fuzz at 6. Gremlins
Prediction: Congrats on a great year Gremmies!  As a reward you get a hotter-than-your-momma Fuzz.  Former Demons on Fuzz get revenge for the 2015 early playoff exit by winning 5-3.

10. Butchers at 7. Poutine Machine
Prediction: Despite the success they had this season Poutine’s playoff woes continue as they fall in this one, 4-2.

9. What The Puck at 8. LBS, Inc.
Prediction: Pucks are probably a couple spots too high and the LBS a couple too low.  Doesn’t matter.  LBS handles the Orange Crush with ease, 6-1.

Quarterfinals
(Getting closer…)

11. Fuzz at 1. Fresh Kills
Prediction: The team that wins this game will make it to the Finals and we’re going with Fresh Kills, 4-2.

10. Butchers at 2. Rehabs
Prediction: The reigning champs might be the stronger team on defense, but Butchers have better all-around chemistry as they upset the ‘Habs, 3-1.

8. LBS, Inc. at 4. Filthier
Prediction: Rematch of last year’s quarterfinal with Filthy avenging their loss, 3-2.

5. Cobra Kai at 3. Corlears Hookers
Prediction: From a fan’s perspective we are just giddy with the possibility of these two meeting again.  If so, we like Cobra Kai having the last laugh, 3-2.

Semifinals
(The Frozen Four of BTSH.)

10. Butchers at 1. Fresh Kills
Prediction: If Creamy is in town the Butchers only lose by 3.  If he is out of town they lose by 1.  Despite his status Fresh Kills moves on, 5-2.

5. Cobra Kai at 4. Filthier
Prediction: Filthy controls possession for most of the game, but an early gaffe by JJ that leads to an LJ score ends up being costly.  Campbell makes his case for ROY by playing out of his mind and leads CK to a 1-0 victory.

Championship Game
(All about the Cup!)

5. Cobra Kai at 1. Fresh Kills
Prediction: Earlier in the season when these two met it produced an instant classic.  A clean, fast-paced game that had CK pushing FK to brink of a regulation loss.  At first glance we thought it was a wake-up call for Soko’s gang and a confidence builder for team Rachels, but upon further review we’ve concluded that it was for real.  And the Championship Game will produce an even better contest with our first Finals OT and Fresh Kills accomplishing what this season was all about to them: winning the BTSH PBR Cup.