Reno Ice Adult League Fall 2022 Season Preview

A-League is returning after not playing during the Summer 2022 season. A lot of the A-League players spent the summer season in B-League. The Tahoe Storm was promoted into A-League for the RIAL Spring 2022 season after winning the B-League title in the RIAL Fall 2021 season. The Storm will not be playing in A-League this season. They played in B-League over the summer and it looks like they will be staying in B-League. There is a new team in A-League. They are just simply called the Free Agents. I’m pretty sure they are a team formed by the RIAL made up of players who were trying to get into A-League but couldn’t get on any of the other teams. A-League has the top talent in the Reno Ice Adult League. They haven’t played since May of this year. It will be interesting to see how that effects team chemistry. I think any issues teams will be having due to the four month break will be solved by game three.

Trouble early on in the season could lead to teams having trouble climbing up the standings or making the playoffs later on in the season. With only a ten game season there is not a lot of time for teams to fix their issues. In A-League that get amplified. In the lower leagues teams can have up to three games to figure out whats not working and get on the right track. In A-League teams do not have the luxury of multiple games to get on the right track. Once an A-League team loses back to back games, their back is against the wall. If an A-League team drops three in a row that could ruin their season.

A-League starts on Sunday, November 11th with three games.

BWD Tooth Fairies – I expect them to be a middle-of-the-pack team. They have struggled to have a .500 win percentage in the last two seasons. I think they will be one or two wins away from that again this season. I think they will be fighting for a playoff spot.

Reno Gamblers – They have been one of the top teams in the A-League since the first season. They won the regular season title for the last two seasons. They have a solid chance at winning the regular season title again. I think they will make the playoffs fairly easily.

RT Janitorial – They should be in the fight for second place. In the RIAL Fall 2021 season, they came in second place. In the RIAL Spring 2022 season, they came in third place. I don’t think they will be fighting for a playoff spot. I do think they will finish the season in second or third place.

Mustangs – They will probably be in the run for first place. They almost won first place in the RIAL Spring 2022 season. I think they are hungry for first place. I think they will easily get into the playoffs.

 Whiskey Dekes – They are another middle-of-the-pack team who will probably end up fighting for a playoff spot. In the RIAL Fall 2021 season, they came in last place. In the RIAL Spring 2022 season, they did a little bit better but did not get a .500 win percentage.

Free Agents – They are a new team. Without them even playing one game it is hard to tell how well they will do this season. They probably have some standout players that were overlooked by the other A-League teams. Right now the questions I have for them are who will step up into leadership roles on the team and how will their team chemistry be? As a team made up of free agents there isn’t a clear captain or leader for the team. They could end up with too many people trying to be the leader of the team. They could also end up with no one trying to be the leader. They could end up with guys who are good on ice leaders but not good off ice leaders. They could end up with guys who are good off ice leaders but not on the ice. All of that will effect their team chemistry which will effect their performance. Without clear leadership or a plan I don’t think that they will have immediate success in A-League. I think their success will come over time as they learn to work together.

C-League had six teams for the RIAL Summer 2022 season. All of the teams were former B-League and C-League teams. C-League is now expanding to nine teams for the RIAL Fall 2022 season. Black Ox, the Lagers, Q&D Construction, and Slappy Gilmores have been added to C-League for this season. Black Ox moved down after playing in B-League last season. The Lagers are a new team. Q&D Construction return after not playing last season. That could have been by choice or by their not being enough room last season. Slappy Gilmores moved up after playing last season in D-League. These new teams will bring a lot of new talent to C-League. It will now be even tougher for teams to win first place or make the playoffs in C-League. The addition of these new teams doesn’t really benefit any of the existing C-League teams. I think the addition of these new teams will make for a more exciting C-League.

C-League will start on November 7th, 2022. They will play four games to start the season.

Black Ox – I think Black Ox will be fighting for first place. They came in last place in B-League last season. Prior to that, they were pretty competitive in B-League. I think despite their result last season, they will be in the hunt for the top of the C-League. Despite coming in Last Place in B-League last season, I think their skill level is good enough to win C-League.

Blue Moon – I think they will be a mid-table team. Last season they came in second place. I don’t think they will be able to keep it up with the new landscape of the C-League. I think they will make the playoffs. I do not think that they will be in a position where they will be fighting for first place.

Desert Dogs – I think they are another mid-table team. I think they will land in fourth, fifth, or sixth place. I think they will be fighting to have a .500 win percentage. I do think they will make the playoffs again but they might have to fight for it.

Lagers – They are a new team. As with any new team, it is tough to know how they will do this season.

Murder Hornets – I think the Murder Hornets will be towards the top of the C-League. Last season they only lost one game. With the new landscape of the C-League, I think they may lose two or three games. Doing that may push them out of first place. I don’t see them finishing the season below third place. I think they will easily make the playoffs.

Q&D Construction – They will probably be at the bottom of the C-League. They probably won’t make the playoffs. They will probably be fighting to not come in last place. Q&D Construction should be in D-League or E-League. I don’t think they should be in C-League. I don’t think they can play competitively in C-League. In the RIAL Fall 2021 season they came dead last in B-League and dropped to C-League. In the RIAL Spring 2022 season they had the same record as the Reno Fire Hosers. I think Q&D Construction and Reno Fire Hosers are on the same level and neither of them should be in C-League.

Reno Fire Hosers – I think they will find themselves trying to fight their way out of the bottom of the C-League again. I am surprised that after last season they did not get dropped to D-League. I don’t think they will make the playoffs.

Slappy Gilmores – I think they will be in a top three spot. They went undefeated last season in D-League. Prior to that, they were pretty competitive in B-League. Their last season in B-League wasn’t their best. I don’t think they should have been dropped to D-League. There is a chance that they might even be competitive against B-League teams at this point. I don’t think they will have any trouble making the playoffs.

United Skates – They are another team I think will find themselves at the bottom of the league. They didn’t make the playoffs last season. I think they are going to struggle to get out of the bottom of the league again. I don’t think they will make the playoffs.

E-League expanded from six teams in the RIAL Summer 2022 season to seven teams for the RIAL Fall 2022 season. That seventh spot will see the return of the Milkshakes. The Milkshakes have not played since the RIAL Spring 2022 season. They finished that season in last place in C-League going 0-11-0.

E-League will start its season tonight with a matchup between Long Drink and Trash Pandas.

Bangarang – I think they will be a middle-of-the-pack team. They went 5-4-1 last season. I think they will only improve on what they have. I think they will make the playoffs.

Battle Born – I think Battle Born will be fighting for first place again. The lowest I see them going is second place. I think they will easily get in the playoffs.

Long Drink – I think they will be a middle-of-the-pack team. They are going to have to fight for a playoff spot. After being only one win away from a playoff spot last season, I think they are hungry to get a playoff spot this season.

Milkshakes – I think they will find themselves at the bottom of the E-League. Unless they made some big improvements during their hiatus, they will struggle to find wins and play competitively even in the E-League. That being said they can only go up from here.

NPU/TKO Motorsports – I think they will be in the mix to win the regular season title. They fought to get that last spot in the playoffs. Then they showed everyone that they probably could have gotten first place in the regular season by beating both the number one and number two seeds to win the championship. They are no longer underdogs. I think they will make the playoffs again. If they play how they did in the playoffs there is a good chance they could win first place.

Satans Gatekeepers – I think they will be fighting to get out of the bottom of the E-League. Last season they only got one win. That could improve this season to two or three wins. I don’t think that will be enough though to get them out of the bottom of the league. I don’t think they will make the playoffs.

Trash Pandas – I think they will be at the top of the league. They will be in the mix for first place. I think it will be more of a challenge to get first place this season for them. I think they will make the playoffs.

1. Reno Gamblers
2. Mustangs
3. RT Janitorial
4. BWD Tooth Fairies
5. Free Agents
6. Whisky Dekes

1. Black Ox
2. Murder Hornets
3. Slappy Gilmores
4. Blue Moon
5. Desert Dogs
6. Lagers
7. United Skates
8. Reno Fire Hosers
9. Q&D Construction

1. NPU/TKO Motorsports
2. Battle Born
3. Trash Pandas
4. Bangarang
5. Long Drink
6. Satans Gatekeepers
7. Milkshakes