As best I can recall, the Gorillas & Salty Dogs have been in the same league off & on since Season 6. Kansas City joined Canada AA #3 from Canada A #5 at the same time St. John's was promoted from Canada A #6. However, the Gorillas were in the Western Conference while the Salty Dogs were in the Eastern Conference. Kansas City was the first of the two to make it to Canada Pro, in Season 9, but finished just 1-15 and were relegated back to AAA the following season. St. John's took an extra season to get to the Pro's, earning their promotion in Season 10. In conjunction with their promotion to Canada Pro, the Salty Dogs also switched conferences from the East to the West. Both teams had garnered mutual admiration for one another on the basis of being in the same league for a number of seasons, but they'd never played...not even a scrimmage...until they were put into the same Conference in Season 11.
The first head-to-head match-up between these two teams was scheduled for the final week of Season 11. Kansas City had already clinched a playoff spot, but the game carried a ton of significance for the Salty Dogs. A win and St. John's would finish 9-7, virtually guaranteed a playoff spot. A loss dropped would leave the Salty Dogs at 8-8 and thrust into a tiebreaker for the final position. The Gorillas prevailed that day by a final score of 37-24 • http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=713971 • and St. John's lost the tiebreaker and missed the playoffs.
In Season 12 these two teams were again scheduled to meet in the final week of the regular season. Only this time the tables had turned. The Salty Dogs were sitting at 11-4 and guaranteed a playoff spot, but Kansas City was 7-8 and in desperate need of a victory to have any hope of making the playoffs. St. John's came away victorious this time by an eerily similar final score of 37-23 • http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=815993 • and the Gorillas finished 7-9 missing the playoffs.
Round III took place in Week 10 of Season 13. The Salty Dogs were undefeated through their first 9 games while the Gorillas limped into the game with a sub-.500 record with just four wins against five losses. Kansas City prevailed that day, earing a 30-27 win • http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=916598 • against St. John's. Following that win, the Gorillas finished the season's final seven games with a 6-1 earning the #7 seed with a 10-6 record. The Salty Dogs would lose twice more after that game finishing with a 13-3 record, a #2 seed, and setting up a first-round playoff game against Kansas City.
I posted then that it was my hope to, "continue the pattern where they win one, we win one, they win one, we win one..." as we entered the playoffs. The first three match-ups had been decided by 14, 13, and 3 points respectively and the fourth meeting between these two teams carried more significance than any of the previous three. St. John's was susceptible to the big play, but capitalized on three Kansas City turnovers to win this game • http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=993454 • by a 5-point margin, 29-24.
Through their first four games combined, the Salty Dogs (117) hold a slim edge in points scored over the Gorillas (114). Kansas City & St. John's both have two wins each in the series, with Friday's game quite possibly the finale in their series.
The first head-to-head match-up between these two teams was scheduled for the final week of Season 11. Kansas City had already clinched a playoff spot, but the game carried a ton of significance for the Salty Dogs. A win and St. John's would finish 9-7, virtually guaranteed a playoff spot. A loss dropped would leave the Salty Dogs at 8-8 and thrust into a tiebreaker for the final position. The Gorillas prevailed that day by a final score of 37-24 • http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=713971 • and St. John's lost the tiebreaker and missed the playoffs.
In Season 12 these two teams were again scheduled to meet in the final week of the regular season. Only this time the tables had turned. The Salty Dogs were sitting at 11-4 and guaranteed a playoff spot, but Kansas City was 7-8 and in desperate need of a victory to have any hope of making the playoffs. St. John's came away victorious this time by an eerily similar final score of 37-23 • http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=815993 • and the Gorillas finished 7-9 missing the playoffs.
Round III took place in Week 10 of Season 13. The Salty Dogs were undefeated through their first 9 games while the Gorillas limped into the game with a sub-.500 record with just four wins against five losses. Kansas City prevailed that day, earing a 30-27 win • http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=916598 • against St. John's. Following that win, the Gorillas finished the season's final seven games with a 6-1 earning the #7 seed with a 10-6 record. The Salty Dogs would lose twice more after that game finishing with a 13-3 record, a #2 seed, and setting up a first-round playoff game against Kansas City.
I posted then that it was my hope to, "continue the pattern where they win one, we win one, they win one, we win one..." as we entered the playoffs. The first three match-ups had been decided by 14, 13, and 3 points respectively and the fourth meeting between these two teams carried more significance than any of the previous three. St. John's was susceptible to the big play, but capitalized on three Kansas City turnovers to win this game • http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=993454 • by a 5-point margin, 29-24.
Through their first four games combined, the Salty Dogs (117) hold a slim edge in points scored over the Gorillas (114). Kansas City & St. John's both have two wins each in the series, with Friday's game quite possibly the finale in their series.
