The Premier Lacrosse League travels to Seattle for some late-night lacrosse and kicks off with two rematches from Week 4. The top-ranked Archers take on the Whipsnakes and are followed by Atlas looking to keep their playoff hopes alive against the Cannons. Our PLL best bets have gone 56-31 for +25.01 units this season. Let’s have another winning week!
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Archers LC (-1.5) vs. Whipsnakes LC
| Whipsnakes Odds | +120 |
| Archers Odds | -155 |
| Total | 24.5 |
| Time | Friday · 9 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN2 |
Odds via BetRivers.
The Whipsnakes and Archers face each other for the second time this season and it could be a preview of the 2023 PLL Championship. No disrespect to the Cannons and Waterdogs, but I think the Whipsnakes are the second-best team in the league behind the Archers. The Archers enter this meeting as a 1.5-point favorite and the total ranges from 23.5 to 24.5 depending on the sportsbook.
When these team’s last met, the Whipsnakes were badly banged up and missing three starters in Matt Rambo, Brad Smith and Michael Ehrhardt. Despite these major absences, the Whipsnakes gave a great effort and even led the Archers in the third quarter before losing 15-12. The Whipsnakes are now fully healthy on offense and defense and rookie goaltender Brendan Krebs has played extremely well in relief of starting goaltender Kyle Bernlohr.
Meanwhile, the Archers will be without Matt Moore, who re-aggravated a calf injury last week. Since taking down the Waterdogs in a 37-goal shootout, the Archers have been rolling, but not necessarily against the stiffest of competition. They needed a late comeback and overtime to defeat the 7th-place Atlas and were challenged early before ultimately putting away the league’s last placed team in Chrome. They’ll need to play a full four quarters to escape with a win against the Whipsnakes this weekend.
This is a great spot to sell-high on the Archers and bet the Whipsnakes to both cover and win outright. Rambo is a difference-maker in this offense and should alleviate the pressure that Zed Williams saw in the last meeting. Having both those physical dodgers should allow Will Manny to find the openings in this defense and open up midfielders Mike Chanenchuk, Tucker Dordevic and Brad Smith—all who can shoot from range.
The Whips also greatly missed Ehrhardt, whose presence both bolsters their defensive unit and also provides them with another transition threat. I expect the Whipsnakes to challenge the Archers and hand them their second loss of the season. Bet a unit on Whipsnakes +1.5 (-121 on BetRivers) and a half unit on Whipsnakes ML (+120 on BetRivers).
I am also betting Zed Williams over 1.5 goals at -166 on FanDuel. This may seem like a steep price, but Williams has scored two or more in five of seven games this season and 11 of his last 15. With Rambo back in the lineup, Williams should be able to draw more favorable matchups and score at least a pair of goals.
I’m also back at it with betting Tucker Dordevic’s points prop. Dordevic has been quiet by his standards in the past three games, but had plenty of success against the Archers in their last meeting. The shot volume has just not been what it was during the first half of the season, but the Whips will need to get Dordevic involved to spread the field against this stout defense. Bet Dordevic to surpass 2.5 points (+118 on FanDuel.)
Finally, while I’m fading the Archers in many ways, I do expect Grant Ament to fill in just fine for Matt Moore down at attack. Ament has been in and out of the lineup with a hamstring injury but finally appears fully healthy. He’s scored a goal in three of the five games that he’s appeared in three quarters or more this season and has scored a goal in every game against the Whipsnakes during his career. Bet Ament to go over 0.5 goal (+108 on FanDuel.)
Picks: Whipsnakes +1.5 (1 unit), Whipsnakes ML (0.5 unit), Zed Williams Over 1.5 Goals, Tucker Dordevic Over 2.5 Points
Atlas LC vs. Cannons LC (-1.5)
| Atlas Odds | +130 |
| Cannons Odds | -166 |
| Total | 25.5 |
| Time | Friday · 11:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
The Cannons take on Atlas in the second game of the night with Cannons entering as 1.5-point favorites and the total at 25.5 on all sportsbooks. This is the highest total of the weekend, but it may not be high enough.
Six of the Cannons’ eight games have surpassed 25.5 goals so far this season. While only half of Atlas’ games have seen 26 goals or more, I think the 19-man roster that Atlas is bringing to Seattle gives them the best opportunity to score against this Cannons defense.
Atlas added former Tewaaraton winner (college lacrosse version of the Heisman) Dylan Molloy to an already loaded offense and activated Mark Cockerton, who has found plenty of success playing off star attackman Jeff Teat. These two pieces should help an Atlas club that has underperformed this season despite trending in the right direction the past couple weeks.
However, Atlas’ biggest weakness has been its defense, which is allowing a league-high 14.3 points per game and has struggled to defend in transition. When these teams last met, Cannons scored 19 on Atlas—tied for the most that they have allowed—and I expect the offense to have success again on Friday night. Anticipate a shootout in Seattle and bet this total to go over 25.5 (-113 on BetRivers).
I am also looking to bet Teat to go over 3.5 points (-135 on DraftKings). As I mentioned earlier, Cockerton’s presence should greatly improve an offense that is struggling to capitalize on the opportunities that Teat creates.
Adding an off-ball threat like Cockerton and a physical goal-scorer like Molloy on the opposite side should provide Teat with plenty of assist opportunities. Cockerton in particular has shot 60% (6-for-10) on feeds from Jeff Teat in his career. Expect Teat to have even more success with this offensive lineup.
Finally, I’m looking to bet Chris Aslanian’s shots-on-goal prop of 3.5. Lefty attackman Matt Kavanagh left last week’s game with a concussion so Cannons moved the former Hobart attackman to Kavanagh’s spot for the rest of the game. Lefty attackman Adam Charalambides will start in Kavanagh’s place this week, but will be making his first appearance this season.
I still expect Aslanian to get plenty of opportunities on the left side whether it’s as an attackman or midfielder. He’s recorded four or more shots-on-goal in five of eight games this season, making +125 on DraftKings a great price to bet Aslanian to go over 3.5 shots-on-goal.
Picks: Over 25.5, Jeff Teat Over 3.5 Points, Chris Aslanian Over 3.5 SOG
