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NEWSDate: Mar 11, 2010 FireAntz Want To Finish Regular Season Strong
By Thomas Pope, Fayetteville Observer There are three weekends left in the regular season, but the Fayetteville FireAntz are already treating the remainder as a preview of the playoffs. The Antz, 30-17-2 and four points out of first place in the Southern Professional Hockey League, begin a three-game road trip tonight at Huntsville, followed by games Friday and Saturday at Knoxville. Huntsville, like Fayetteville and league-leading Mississippi, has clinched a playoff berth, and Knoxville and Pensacola are close to wrapping up their postseason invitations. Columbus is currently sixth - the last place in the playoff field - but a comfortable nine points ahead of cellar-dwelling Louisiana. In the playoffs, the regular-season champion will face the No. 6 seed in a best-of-five series, and the winner will advance to the finals. The 2-vs.-5 and 3-vs.-4 duels will be best-of-three, with the surviving pair squaring in another best-of-three. The President's Cup championship is a best-of-five format - a change from last year's best-of-seven in which Knoxville edged Fayetteville in a series that went the distance. Because the FireAntz's remaining regular-season games are all against potential playoff opponents, coach Tommy Stewart wants his players to view each remaining weekend as a playoff preview, or mini-series. |
