The Gaudet assist 
Following Matt Gaudet’s trash-talking antics in Chrome’s first game, he’s become a built-in storyline for each game this season. In game one, he fired up the Chaos and distracted them from the game. In game two, the Redwoods’ focus on playing Gaudet physically led to a string of penalties and three goals off those penalties. 

Redwoods defenseman Garrett Epple was suspended for an excessive cross-check on Gaudet during Chrome’s most recent game. Is that enough to stop players from retaliating to Gaudet's trash talk? We’ll find out on Thursday night. 

Major matchup:
Though they’ll actually be on opposite sides of the field all night, this game is primed for a goalie matchup. Chrome’s John Galloway is currently third in the league in save percentage (59%), while the Archer’s Ghitelman leads the league (74%). 

Ghitelman and Drew Adams have split halves for the Archers through two games as was expected for much of group play. The pair, along with the Archers defense, has combined for the lowest opponent scoring average. 

Galloway has provided a spark of his own. His 14 saves against Redwoods allowed Chrome to jump out to a large lead. Though a pair of two-point shots beat Galloway as Redwoods nearly came back, the Team USA goalkeeper has looked much more like his old self than the owner of the league’s worst save percentage in 2019. 

Gambling:
The Archers (-141) are favored by 1.5 over Chrome (+115). The over-under is set 22.5. Chrome’s most recent victory was the only Championship Series game to total more than 22 points.

Ramifications

The importance of this game is simple. It’s a battle of the undefeateds. The winner of this game will take sole possession of first place in the standings and will control its own destiny for the top seed. The first seed after group play will receive a first round bye in the elimination round.