Playoff Preview: Team Ariat vs. Team Can-Am
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Championship Weekend of the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, begins Friday night at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
Fans in attendance, as well as those watching on CBS Sports Network and RidePass, will see two marquee matchups on Friday night with Team Las Vegas (4-2) vs. Team Boot Barn (3-2-1) and Team Ariat (4-1-1) vs. Team Can-Am (3-3).
The competition format for the playoff games is a little bit different from the regular season with three riders per team attempting two bulls per game, and a fourth rider getting on one bull. The winning team will be the team with the highest aggregate score on seven rides.
The losers of the two wild card games will then compete in a consolation game Friday night with all four riders per team attempting to ride one bull.
Today, PBR.com takes a look at the Team Ariat vs. Team Can-Am matchup.
Team Ariat vs. Team Can-Am (Friday, 9:45 p.m. ET)
Record: 4-1-1 | 3-3
Division Finish: 2 | 3
Rides: 11 | 11
Attempts: 36 | 36
Riding Percentage: 30.6% | 30.6%
Aggregate Score: 947 | 956.75
Average Score Per Game: 157.83|159.46
Average Ride Score: 86.09 | 86.98
Team Ariat Riders: Cooper Davis, Ky Hamilton, Tyler Bingham, Maverick Potter. GM: J.W. Hart.
Team Can-Am Riders: Ezekiel Mitchell, Mauricio Moreira, Rafael Henrique dos Santos, Lane Lasley. GM: Chase Outlaw.
REG. SEASON SCOREBOARD
Team Ariat
Team Ariat: 86.5, Team Lucas Oil: 83.5 (W)
Team Ariat: 160.75, Team Caterpillar: 79.25 (W)
Team Ariat: 266, Team Pendleton Whisky: 173.5 (W)
Team Ariat: 258.50, Team South Point: 0 (W)
Team Ariat: 86.75, Team Boot Barn: 86.75 (T)
Team Ariat: 88.5, Team Pendleton Whisky: 258.75 (L)
Team Can-Am
Team Can-Am: 87, Team Cooper Tires: 336.25 (L)
Team Can-Am: 347.25, Team Wrangler: 0 (W)
Team Can-Am: 86.5, Team YETI: 173 (L)
Team Can-Am: 173.25, Team Union Home Mortgage: 0 (W)
Team Can-Am: 89.25, Team Las Vegas: 172.25 (L)
Team Can-Am: 173.5, Team Union Home Mortgage: 172.75 (W)
QUICK ANALYSIS
Ariat and Can-Am put forth nearly identical regular seasons in opposite divisions. This game could very well be a coin flip, but will either have enough of the firepower to challenge Team Cooper Tires (6-0) in the second round?
Both teams went 11-for-36 in divisional play, with Ariat posting the better record, but Can-Am had the higher aggregate total. When each team made the 8-second mark, they were nearly identical with a rider score just over 86 points.
Team Can-Am is certainly going to miss having Fabiano Vieira, as the 37-year-old is unable to compete because of injuries sustained at the Touring Pro Division event during the 90th annual Texas Cowboy Reunion Rodeo in Stamford, Texas. General Manager Chase Outlaw has named Ezekiel Mitchell his new captain, and added Lane Lasley to the squad.
Outlaw said he has confidence that Lasley can step in and contribute despite his limited PBR experience (43-for-109 at all levels of competition).
“I know what he can do, and he is probably one of the best bull riders I have ever seen,” Outlaw said. “He just went through a rough patch there with some injuries. I grew up riding bulls with Lane since I was a little kid and I know what he is capable of. I just know the talent and mindset that he has and how he can ride. He is riding good right now. He needs an opportunity right now, and he is the best opportunity for our team so this is going to do two things at once. It is going to put him back where he needs to do, and put Team Can Am where we need to be and that is the winners circle.”
Cooper Davis and Ky Hamilton have led Team Ariat as the dynamic duo has accumulated 10 of the team’s 11 rides. On the opposite end of the spectrum, all riders on Can-Am have two or more qualified rides.
Both teams have also received standout performance from young guns. 21-year-old Mauricio Moreira is 5-for-12 for Can-Am, while Hamilton, 20, is 5-for-11 for Team Ariat.
The question for Team Ariat will be if Tyler Bingham or Maverick Potter can elevate their game alongside Davis and Hamilton. For Can-Am, Moreira will need a running mate out of Ezekiel Mitchell, Rafael Henrique dos Santos or Lasley.
BEST GAME
Ariat: Team Ariat’s top showing came in its 266-173.5 victory over Team Pendleton Whisky on June 21. Not only was the game its highest aggregate total, but it was also Ariat’s biggest come-from-behind win.
Team Pendleton Whisky had jumped out to an early 173.5-point lead before rising star Ky Hamilton cut the deficit to 89.25 points with his 84.25-point ride on Holy Water.
Team Ariat then ended the first half and began the second with fireworks to jump into the lead. 2016 World Champion Davis first converted on Marquis Metal Works Bill The Butcher for 91 points, which is the highest-scored ride in METC history.
Hamilton then immediately followed by starting the second half with first his 90-point ride in PBR action on American soil by riding 2018 PRCA Bull of the Year Spotted Demon for 90.75 points.
It was a crippling blow to Pendleton Whisky, which was unable to rebound with such a momentum swing in Ariat’s favor.
Can-Am: Team Can-Am put forth the second-highest aggregate total among all teams with its 347.25-0 rout of Team Wrangler on June 6. Can-Am went 4-for-6 in the game.
Mitchell (2-for-2) led the way by beginning the game with 87.75 points on Smokin’ Gun. Vieira would next convert for 88 points on Major Threat as Can-Am went into halftime with a two-bull lead.
MEET THE CAPTAINS
Ariat: Cooper Davis has been nothing but a standout force for Team Ariat, and has led an unproven team to a playoff spot with clutch rides and leadership outside of the arena.
For as much of a help as Davis’s five qualified rides were, so too was his mentorship to Hamilton, which is reminiscent of the leadership he displayed at the 2017 Edmonton Global Cup for Team USA.
Can-Am: Ezekiel Mitchell steps into the Captain spot for Vieira and arrives in Sioux Falls with some confidence. The 23-year-old took a week off following Division A play after being stepped on. He has since competed at three local rodeos, winning all three, and is feeling good heading into Sioux Falls. Mitchell went 2-for-9 in division play.
UNSUNG HEROS
Ariat: Ky Hamilton arrived at the Pendleton Whisky Let ‘Er Buck Saloon at South Point Arena with plenty of hype, and the Australian native lived up to it. Hamilton bounced back from three consecutive buckoffs to begin the tournament with five straight rides, picking up three of Ariat’s four event wins. He also rode 2018 PRCA Bull of the Year Spotted Demon for 90.25 points. Hamilton went 2-for-8 with two second-place showings on the PRCA trail following Division B competition.
Can-Am: Mauricio Moreira had a breakout moment in Can-Am’s must-win game over Team Union Home Mortgage to earn the final playoff spot in Division A. Moreira went 2-for-2 in the win, and was the only rider from Can-Am to record a score in the high-stakes game. Down to his team’s final out, Moreira rode Skitso for 85.5 points to deliver his team the walk-off victory and clinch a spot for Championship Weekend.
X-Factor
Ariat: Tyler Bingham, 27, is the elder statesman on Team Ariat, and is mired in a 1-for-12 slump when you combine his METC numbers (1-for-8) with his Cowboy Christmas run (0-for-4). Team Ariat needs a third weapon to join Davis and Hamilton, and Bingham can be that guy if he turns things around in Sioux Falls.
Can-Am: Rafael Henrique dos Santos rode Macho Man for 87.5 points at the TPD event in Stamford, Texas, for a second-place finish. Santos went 2-for-5 in limited action in divisional play, but he now will be asked to be a full-time rider in the postseason instead of being a role player.
NOTEWORTHY STAT:
Ariat & Can-Am both are 3-0 when riding two or more bulls in a game. Ariat went 1-1-1 when recording one ride, while Can-Am was 0-3.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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