If the Boston Cannons win this game against the last place Ohio Machine, and the Rochester Rattlers lose to the first place Denver Outlaws, the Cannons clinch a spot in the 2012 MLL playoffs.
Easy, right?
Not if the Machine play like they did last week against Rochester, where their late surge almost gave them a victory and ensured the Cannons a playoff spot.
Boston and Rochester are tied in the standings, but with both teams splitting in their series, the next tie breaker is head to head goals, where the Cannons have the advantage.
So being in a tie, the Cannons still have a virtual one game lead. A win and Rattlers loss would give them a virtual two game lead with one game left to play, and the Cannons would be at home for the 2012 MLL playoffs in Boston.
Good news comes for Boston this week with Bill McGlone coming off of the Injured Reserve, so he will be back in action for the Cannons.
The Machine are tied for the second least amount of goals in the league and they face a Cannons team with a solid netminder in Jordan Burke, who has led Boston to the second best goals against average in the league.
The Cannons also score the third most in the league and face a Machine defensive unit who has given up more goals except for Hamilton and Charlotte.
The one thing Ohio has to watch for is a deadly two point goal shooter in Kyle Hartzell who has single handily put Ohio in second place for two point shooting in the league. The Cannons defense will need to focus on that to stop any offensive attacks the Machine can muster.
Gametime is 7pm at Harvard Stadium.
