Blizzard to square off against Pioneers in first round
July 31, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Green Bay Blizzard News Release
The Green Bay Blizzard won their final game of the regular season Saturday night, 78-44 over the South Georgia Wildcats, and they will hit the road again for their first-ever playoff game.
The Blizzard was hoping to play a first-round playoff game at home, but the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers also won their final game of the regular season (53-52 over the Macon Knights), and will host the Blizzard on Saturday, August 6th.
The Blizzard and Pioneers split their two regular season meetings - each team won on the road - and both teams finished with identical 9-7 records, but the Pioneers hold the tiebreaker by virtue of point differential. When the two teams played in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Blizzard won 48-40, an 8-point victory. When they met in Green Bay, the Pioneers won 24-38, a 14-point victory. The Pioneers scored 6 more points than the Blizzard in the series, and as a result the playoff game will be held in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
As this is the first-ever postseason game for the Blizzard, this will be the first-ever postseason meeting between the two teams. Prior to this season, they had only met one other time, on April 16, 2004 when the Pioneers came into Green Bay and left with a 75-39 victory over the Blizzard.
The Pioneers, however, are no strangers to the playoffs. In 2004 they were the Northeast Division Champions, and finished the season with an af2-best 13-3 record (matched by the Tulsa Talons). They made it all the way to the American Conference Championship game before falling to the Florida Firecats, who would go on to win the 2004 ArenaCup over the now-defunct Peoria Pirates.
There is still the possibility that the Blizzard could host a playoff game, but a number of scenarios would have to play out: if Green Bay wins on the road against both WBS and Manchester, and Macon wins at home against Louisville and on the road against Florida, then Macon would come to Green Bay for the Conference Championship game.
Of course, that is all purely hypothetical. What is certain is this: the Blizzard just completed the best season in franchise history, is in the playoffs for the first time ever, and is playing against a team that they have already beaten once this year. The regular season is over, the playoffs start next week, and everyone is 0-0. The Blizzard is in position to take it to the next level.
For more information, contact the Blizzard office at (920) 405-1264.
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