ABL championship coming into focus

Goldpanners:

The Panners are sitting in first place, a position they've been in for a long time. But they haven't been too comfortable with the Miners and Oilers nipping at their heels. They're currently a game ahead of the second-place Oilers with one advantage: five games left, compared to the Oilers' three, which gives them two games in hand. The disadvantage is that they end the season on the road with a four-game series against the third-place Miners (2.5 GB) who could potentially seize on their home-field advantage, leapfrog the Oilers and sink the Goldpanners' hopes of an ABL crown. At this point, though, the Goldpanners definitely have the title within their grasp. They won't have to be perfect. As long as they don't completely collapse down the stretch, they will probably come away with the league title.

Oilers: 

At first glance, the Oilers look like they're in a good position to jump into first place, only one game back with three games to go. But it will be an uphill climb for them. Their three remaining games are on the road against the Miners, one of the teams which they've jockeyed for first place with all season long. What's worse, they will have to sit and watch the Goldpanners and Miners finish the last three-games of their series to find out how the league standings will shake out. If I'm doing my math correctly here, things will have to line up almost perfectly for the Oilers to pull it off. They'll have to win most, if not all, of their remaining games, including a sweep of the Miners. They'll also need some hope from the Bucs and Pilots to take some games away from the Panners, and then hope the Miners can turn around and take two out of three from Fairbanks. A lot of things are going to have to go right for the Oilers, many of them out of their control. But they have the potential to capitalize on the ones that are, and it would be a great Cinderella story if everything else falls into place for them.

Miners:

The Miners are sitting in third right now, 2.5 games back. They aren't out of the picture yet, though, and they could potentially be sitting in a better spot than the Oilers because of their schedule remaining. Tomorrow begins a five-game home stand for the Mat-Su club against the two teams who are in front of them. Since the Oilers only have three games remaining, the last two of which are in Palmer, the Miners could put the last nails in the Oilers' coffin and be sitting in a good position to strike at the first-place Panners. Finishing up with a three-game home series against Fairbanks is a huge advantage. Everyone knows that home field advantage in this league is nothing to sneeze at and the Miners are not going to roll over and let the Panners beat them up on their home turf.

Everyone else:

There are no other teams in contention for the title, but some of them can make an impact on the championship picture. The Fire are mostly inconsequential as they're ending their season with a home series against the fourth-place Bucs. Both Anchorage teams, the Bucs and Glacier Pilots, could play the spoilers, though. The Bucs have a doubleheader engagement with the Goldpanners tonight, and the Pilots will take on both the Panner and Oilers. Depending on how these games shake out, it could be big for either team -- or, alternatively, be HUGE for the Miners. The Bucs and Pilots are playing with nothing to lose and one last chance to make a mark on this season. It could happen.