Mustangs rise to top in final regular season CUFLA Power Rankings; Hofmann first star

It's not every day that a defender gets recognized even as a game star, let alone the first star of the entire week. That tells you just how good Bradley Hofmann was for the McGill Redmen in CUFLA Week 7, as he was chosen by Pat Gregoire as the top performer for the Inside Lacrosse 3 Stars.
 

"First Star: Bradley Hofmann, McGill University 

Co-Captain Bradley Hoffmann helped lead McGill to a 9-5 victory over Trent and shut out the high powered Excalibur in the second half. The defender from Richmond, BC was matched with Jeff Fernandes and didn’t allow Trent’s leading scorer tally a single point."

Hofmann has been a standout for the Redmen for years, but has really taken his game to another level in 2016. He's shown great instincts with his slides and in particular in jumping into passing lanes to disrupt offensive timing and execution. Hofmann set a new school record with 31 takeaways this fall. 

Hofmann also stops to the faceoff dot when McGill really needs a win and he's been successful 77% of the time, winning 17 of the 22 regular season draws he took. First star is a well-deserverd honour for one of the guys who usually don't get a lot of attention. Hofmann will be a player to watch as the Redmen look to defend their Baggataway Cup championship.

One of the major roadblocks standing between McGill and a repeat is the Western Mustangs. Western lost its season opener, back on September 10, 16-13 to the Brock Badgers. Since then, they 'Stangs have been unstoppable, reeling off 11 straight wins to win the West and head into the playoffs on a high. 

That streak has them poised atop Gregoire's IL Power Rankings following Week 7. 

"1. Western University (Last Week: 2) 

Ever since their one loss of the year against Brock, the Western Mustangs have been terrorizing the CUFLA West division. The Mustangs finished their regular season with a big 11-9 victory over the Guelph Gryphons to secure first overall in the West. They wrapped up the year with an impressive 206 goals for and just 89 against in 12 games played."

You can read Gregoire's full CUFLA roundup here.