Week 5 - 2026

January 22, 2026

SWOLL Week 5: The "Bad Beat" Week 💔

If you followed the Vegas advice this week, I hope you didn't bet the house! Week 5 was defined by tight battles, moral victories, and spreads that just missed. The blowouts disappeared, replaced by competitive, gritty lacrosse.

Game 1: Wolves vs. Polars

Final Score: Wolves 11, Polars 7

The Polars entered this game as massive underdogs (+4.5) and on a terrible losing streak, but they finally showed some fight. They stunned the league leaders early, jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the first period thanks to goals from Carsen Besse and Carter Teneycke.

However, the Wolves are too deep to be held down for long. In the second and third periods, the dynamic duo of Chase Forsythe (4 Goals, 1 Assist) and Richard Haan (3 Goals, 2 Assists) took over, slowly chipping away at the lead and eventually pulling ahead. While the Wolves secured the win to keep their streak alive, the Polars earned some respect back by keeping it competitive until the end.

💰 Betting Recap:

The Pick: Wolves -4.5
The Result: Wolves Win 11-7.
Verdict: LOSS. The Wolves won by 4, missing the cover by a single half-goal! The Polars covered the spread.
Over/Under: 17.5 Goals. OVER. With 18 goals, the Over hit by the skin of its teeth.

Game 2: Muskies vs. Bucks

Final Score: Muskies 10, Bucks 9

This was the heavyweight bout we were promised. The Muskies (-2.5) and Bucks went blow-for-blow in a game that featured 6 ties and lead changes.

It was a duel of the snipers: Shane Halliwell continued his MVP campaign with 5 goals, while the Bucks' Sean Campbell responded with 4 goals of his own. The teams were deadlocked 3-3 after the first and traded goals throughout a wild second period.

The Bucks' Damien Dewbury (3 Goals) had a massive game to keep it close, and a buzzer-beater goal by Brendan Campbell at the end of the second kept spirits high. But in the third, the Muskies' Dylan Gillespie (4 Goals) scored twice to give the fish just enough breathing room. The Bucks added a late one to make it 10-9, but the Muskies held on for the 1-goal victory.

💰 Betting Recap:

The Pick: Muskies -2.5
The Result: Muskies Win 10-9.
Verdict: LOSS. Another bad beat for the favorites! The Bucks covered the spread in a hard-fought loss.
Over/Under: 20.5 Goals. UNDER. We predicted a track meet (Over), and while it was high-scoring, the 19 total goals fell just short of the massive 20.5 line.

Standings Implications: The Wolves and Muskies keep rolling, but the gap is closing. See you all next week for Week 6!