Anything can happen once the playoffs start, including everything going exactly ‘as expected’. The ‘expectations’ are, of course, thinnest in the middle of the bracket, and that is where Captain Darin Cerasuolo’s fourth-seeded Pink met Captain Will Heinl’s fifth-seeded Purple. Pink prevailed 5-3 in the regular season matchup between these teams back in Week Four, but Jon Salt was the hero in that game for Pink with a 2 and 2 hammer, and with Salt sidelined for the season (likely several seasons, honestly), it would be up to Jordan Pynn to fill those scoring shoes. It was Pynn’s point shot the found twine first at 2:30 in the first, but not before taking a nifty deflection off TK Mason’s stick (or body…or…something). Tony Thinh accounted for the ‘tic’ of the Thinh-Pynn-Mason tic-tac-toe, and Pynn would add an unassisted goal of his own with 1:08 to play before the first break. Captain Heinl held steady for Purple through a scoreless second, but the 17-7 shot count in Pink’s favor painted a fairly accurate picture of the run of play. Jason Olver’s first career SDFHL playoff goal pushed the Pink lead to three at 7:13 in the third (Mason & Captain Cerasuolo), and Eric Willard added another pad at 4:53 (Chris Tran & Pynn). The Purple push finally came, with Justin Hepler taking a bite out of Chuck Bender’s donut at 3:42 (Jon Zygelman & Janice Darlington), but Captain Cerasuolo was quick to restore order with his first of the playoffs at 2:47 (Olver). A Zygelman tally with 0:14 was of no real consequence, as Bender (13/15) & Company would complete a comfortable 5-2 win to kick off their Cup campaign. Captain Heinl (13/18) shouldered the loss, and Pynn did indeed fill Salt’s scoring shoes with a 1 and 2 first star outing. Mason (whose headshot is GIGANTIC in the box score for some reason) claimed second star honors with a 1 and 1 sparkler. Pink’s reward for a convincing first round win…a deadly date with Sand. Purple will hope to stay alive this Sunday in the lower bracket, this time as the higher seed against Captain Josh Wirt’s Red.

The regular season meeting between Captain Kalen Hunter’s Black and Captain Owen Perks’ Blue was…not close. As important as Black’s offense was in that Week Five 6-1 win, it was Sean Kelly who would earn first start with a 23/24 gem. With Sean Kelly Easter egg hunting elsewhere, Black would turn to super-sub-shot-stopper, Chris Tran, to carry the day. Tran is certainly no slouch, but Blue were likely pleased to see anyone but ‘Da Kid’ between Black’s pipes. Factoring in the fact that both Justin Stege and (leap baby birthday boy) Mark Daquipa were out of the lineup for Blue in the first meeting, and the fact ‘playoffs are a clean slate…anything can happen’, Vegas set the line considerably closer for the postseason rematch between the two Young Canuck™ skippers and their crews. It’s difficult to do much scoring when you muster just two shots, and that was the output from the two seeds through one period of play. Captain Perks, meanwhile, made one of his team’s nine shots count, pushing Blue in front 1-0 at 1:19 in the first (Wasif Hussain & Craig Russell). The shot totals evened at six a side in the second, but the Black scoring siege finally came. Papa Kevin Hunter slotted home a point shot at 8:39 (Mark DeGraffenreid & Josh Tran)…then proceeded to perform perhaps the most ridiculous ‘dad dance’ ever witnessed publicly…it was…it was something. Son/Captain Kalen Hunter snapped home an unassisted wrister from range to give Black their first lead at 5:53, and when Josh Tran completed a third straight successful Black attack at 2:24 (John Kushneryk), it was beginning to look like this game might indeed take the same arc as its regular season counterpart. Super (duper) sub, Shelby Shattuck, stopped the bleeding for Blue with 1:08 to play in the second (Dan Jurgens), arresting Black’s momentum, and setting up a tight final ten. Special shoutout to DeGraffenreid for screening his own goalie/deflecting Shattuck’s shot home. Neither Tran (19/21), nor Mason Holcomb (9/12) would allow another ball by in the third (friendly fire, or otherwise), meaning Black would survive a bit of a scare from their seventh-seeded opponent, moving on in the upper bracket with a 3-2 win. The seeds will snuggle much closer together for both teams this Sunday, with #2 Black taking on #3 Teal, and #7 Blue hoping to stave off elimination against #6 Gold.

SDFHL games featuring perfect attendance on both sides are extremely rare, and the Week Four meeting between Captain William Teglia’s #3 Teal and Captain Nick Vacchio’s #6 Gold was an absence-free precursor to the almost-absence-free encore. Teal edged Gold 4-3 in the regular season meeting, and Teglia & Company hoped that the result of a fair and full fight back in February would translate to a playoff win in April. Gold would be without the services of rookie Andrew MacFarlane, but with the big guns and stalwart shields all in place, Vacchio hoped his plucky seven seeders could pull off the first upset of the opening night playoff slate. Captain Teglia wasted (almost literally) no time putting his team on top, scoring just twenty-five seconds in (Kyle Snyder), and Snyder squeezed (almost literally) all of the time out of the tube at the other end of the period, converting with just eighteen ticks to go to push Teal to a 2-0 lead. Captain Teglia accounted for the lone goal in the second (1:59, from Rob LaVigne and Gordon Schmidt), but it is VERY safe to say that Teal was in full control at that point, now outshooting Gold 18-2 (!). The third period shots (15-6 in Teal’s favor) did not paint a much better picture for the underdogs, but John Kushneryk (29/33) certainly did everything in his power to give Gold a chance. Snyder’s second of the game at 4:55 was the only damage done (Mostafa Azab & Steph Palomo Schmidt), but Jon Cima (8/8) ensured that even the early first period Teglia tally would be all Teal would need to prevail, 4-0 over Gold. The win moves Teal on to a meeting with the only unbeaten team in the league, Black, while Gold will need to find their shooting (and scoring) form against Blue, or find themselves golfing for the coming three Sundays.

The nightcap was the last hope for an upset, and math (#1 Sand v #8 Red) and history (Sand over Red 6-3 in Week Three) were sore subjects (see what I did there) for Captain Josh Wirt & Company. Chris Malki was out of the lineup for that regular season loss, and while Chris was back in the lineup, son Joe was out. With his first baby on the way, Joe is actually checked out for the full run of playoffs, but with Riley Mann installed to fill his spot, Red had at least some confidence that an upset was possible…until Mann failed to show. It’s pretty clear at this point that any Sand opponent needs all of their best scorers, all of their best defenders, an ‘A’ game from all involved, a dash of luck, and a VERY concerted effort to ‘contain’ Alex Giummo to have a chance. So…with a strike in the ‘all of their best scorers’ column, Red knew that an already tall task was an absolute tower of terror. Shawna Hamon eased any fear of heights on Red’s bench, notching her first of the playoffs at 5:51 (Bryan Ossa & Captain Wirt), but (who else) Giummo would respond with an unassisted strike for Sand at 3:45. Captain Wirt wrested the lead back for Red at 6:15 in the second, but it was Giummo again to even the score at 5:17 (Trevor Vick), then Parsa Mostafavi to finally put the overdogs on top at 1:55 (Tim Vick & Matt DeBerry). Wirt would knot it again with his second of the game at 8:54 in the third (Eli Schonbrun & Oss), but the response pattern of Giummo (unassisted at 6:15) and Mostafavi (from Wendy Enright and Giummo at 1:59) saw Sand back in front by two with under two minutes to play. Steve Goncalo responded quickly for Red (1:46, from Schonbrun and Emily Bennington), but Captain Nick Meglich (16/20) and Sand would hold on, shattering Red’s glass slipper with a 5-4 win. Don Tran (18/23) ate the bitter loss for the upstart eight seeds, while Parsa Mostafavi earned POTW honors for his two goal breakout for the presumptive Cup favorites. The big IF hanging over this game…if Red had Riley Mann in the fold, this might have been not only the only upset of Week One, but one of the bigger upsets in league history. With Mann projected to miss this Sunday, as well, he has been replaced (yes, a replacement for the replacement) by Jason Remple. Red hope Remple can help them stay alive in a death match with Purple in Week Two. Sand will look to continue their Cup push with a win over Pink (a feat they only JUST managed by a score of 4-3 back in Week Two of the regular season).

Three of the five final games of the Wing League 2026 season had major playoff implications, with one or both teams involved needing a tie, a win, help from other teams, or some combination thereof. The only game to feature two teams on the same precarious playoff pontoon came with the Week Nine opener between Captain Will Heinl’s 2-4-2 Purple, and Captain Ryan Karns’ 2-4-2 Green. Both teams would be in with a win, and while Purple would also advance with a tie (holding the head to head tiebreaker over Green), the only truly safe result for Green would be the two point option. A loss left either team exposed to being overtaken by Blue, and also left Green exposed to being overtaken by White, should White stage perhaps the most incredible coup in league history and defeat Sand later in the slate. You can’t win if you can’t score, and Ty Pereira did just that…that…that for Purple in the first. That wasn’t an echo, but rather three goals in the first for Pereira…at 8:36 from Sadie Hellstrom & Bao Nguyen, at 8:06 from Justin Hepler and Nguyen, and at 1:19 from Hepler and Weston Nawrocki. Green would hold Pereira and the rest of the Purple press off the board in the second, but the shot totals through two (24-4 in Purple’s favor!) told the truly tilted tale. Hepler would add a fourth goal with 1:22 to play in the third, and Captain Heinl (10/10) watched his team’s 4-0 winning effort unfold in front of him, knowing that April play was officially unlocked. Pereira’s ‘natural’ hat trick earned him (much deserved) POTW honors, and doubled his season goal total to a very defined and sexy six pack. Matt Henderson (27/31) did everything in his power to will Green to greener playoff pastures, but as a wise man once wrote, ‘you can’t win if you can’t score’. The win vaulted Purple all the way up to fourth in the standings, with some chance of sliding lower in the seeding based on results from the rest of the games. The loss was nothing short of devastating for Green, but a (highly likely) White loss to Sand, and a (toss up) Blue loss to Red would STILL have them into the second season…

Both Captain Darin Cerasuolo’s 3-4-1 Pink and Captain William Teglia’s 4-2-2 Teal had already booked playoff passage coming into the final week of play, and while Teal was 100% locked into the three seed, a win for Pink would mean a jump to the four seed, a position that would hold unless Gold prevailed over Black later in the slate. So…MUCH lower stakes for both teams, but a bump up the seeding ladder for Pink, and a little momentum heading into April play for either side is not nothing. What was ‘nothing’ was the scoring in the first period in this one, with Teal holding a 9-4 edge in shots, but neither team finding twine through ten. Chris Tran finally broke the scoring seal for Pink with a solo snipe at 2:07 in the second, but Kyle Snyder would answer for Teal less than a minute later (1:10 from Christopher Fiore) to push the ledger back to level going into the third. Captain Teglia was next to act, with his tenth (!) of the season giving Teal their first lead of the game at 8:05 (Snyder & Steph Palomo Schmidt), but first year forward, Jason Olver, would find a response for Pink at 4:08 (Captain Cerasuolo & Tran). The final shot totals from this game…28-14 in Teal’s favor. Unfortunately, as a wise man is typing right this very moment…’it’s not the shots you take, but the shots you make that count’. Jordan Pynn…the man, the legend…joining Pink’s ranks to replace injured superstar, Jon Salt…made his shot at 2:42 count…and unassisted game-winner for Pink in his first game back from his own injury journey. Chuck Bender (26/28) locked down the 3-2 win for Pink, helping to improve his team’s record to 4-4-1 and move them into (at least temporary possession of) the fourth playoff seed. As noted, outside of a slight sag in momentum, the loss did no damage at all to Teal, who hold firm at the three seed. In fact, Jon Cima (11/14) & Company were the only team in the league who knew their playoff position was set in stone coming in. The only remaining unknown for Teal…which team slot into the sixth position and stand as their opponent in the opening round of playoff play.

Captain Brennen Abel’s White came into the final week of regular season play at 1-5-2, but the five points salvaged from those first eight games of the season left them JUST BARELY alive in the playoff pursuit. White’s pin-thin path to the post season hinged on three results…a Green loss to Purple (check), an upset win over Sand, and a Blue loss to Red in the nightcap. ‘Upset’ is something of a relative term…there are definitely shades of upset. White beating Sand would top out as perhaps the biggest upset in SDFHL history. Still…Green’s loss meant that White would squeeze in with a win, as Green was White’s only regular season conquest, and if both teams were to finish at 2-5-2, a Blue loss to Red would leave all three teams with six points, with Blue eliminated on total wins, and Green eliminated on head to head. So…not the most sensible parlay available from your shady offshore gambling outfit, but…not impossible. ‘Impossible’ is a word that comes to mind when anyone suggests that you might ‘stop Alex Giummo from torpedoing your hopes and dreams’, and as the fates would have it, White scratched and clawed their way to the final week of play, only to find Thanos waiting to snuff them out. Giummo put Sand in front on the powerplay at 8:25 in the first (Trevor Vick), and while Zach Siemer would respond quickly for White at 7:52 (Jason Nothrup & Jason Lee) the rest of the period belonged to Sand’s supporting cast. Yes, Sand DOES have a supporting cast…though not a single player on the roster outside of Alex & Trevor, Inc. had a single goal on the season until this game! Matt DeBerry’s first of the season at 5:31 pushed Sand back in front (from Giummo and Trevor Vick, naturally), Wendy Enight’s first made it 3-1 at 4:15 (Trevor Vick), and Tim ‘I Know Trevor…I’m Actually His Dad…I Knew Him Before He Was Cool’ Vick’s first broke the game open at 3:25 (from Trevor Vick and Giummo, naturally). DeBerry wasn’t done, posting his second of the game at 9:20 in the second (Giummo), and a pair of Giummo solo strikes at 6:55 and 4:51 left little doubt that this game was well and truly over at 7-1 heading into the second break. White would put up a fight, with Rob Gaudio converting at 9:45 (Captain Abel), then returning the favor with the only helper on Abel’s goal to make it 7-3 at 9:09. Of course, it was just more Giummo from there, with his fourth of the game at 9:00 (Trevor Vick & Erin Plone), and a Giummo helping hand on Matt DeBerry’s THIRD OF THE GAME at 5:25! Congratulations on your first career hat trick, Matt! Super sub, Jenna Chercoe, posted one last response for White with seven ticks left, but Captain Nick Meglich (19/23) and Sand rode their trusty steed (and some actual helping hooves) to a 9-4 win, eliminating White and securing the top playoff seed in the process. Gabe Davenport (14/23) suffered the slings and arrows all season, and while his team did not find a way to April play, we are all happy to see him come away with a smile on his face, and resolve to continue his journey to become a force in nets in seasons to come.

With Sand having prevailed, Captain Kalen Hunter and Black joined Teal in the knowledge that there would be no possible change in their playoff position, regardless of how they might fare against Captain Nick Vacchio’s Gold. A win would keep them undefeated and see them finish with the same point total as their rivals, but Sand would preserve the top spot based on the wins tiebreaker. A tie would (of course) also suffice in keeping their loss column clean, but even a loss could not dislodge them from the second seed. A win for Gold would move them into the four spot, supplanting Pink, who had only just arrive in that position, while a loss would keep them locked in the sixth position. So, the every other game pattern of genuine playoff implications continued, with this second ‘even game’ on the night proving to be quite ‘low stakes’ for both sides. A scoreless first saw Gold outshot 7-4, but certainly not outplayed, with both teams looking as though they were ramping up to the proper level of playoff intensity. Captain Hunter snapped home the first goal of the game from distance at 6:03 in the second, and Josh Tran followed with insurance for Black at 3:28 (Austin Szymanski & Kerri Sevenbergen). Mark DeGraffenreid accounted for the only goal for either side in the third, finishing a nifty backdoor feed from Tran at 6:52 to bring the final score to 3-0, Black over Gold. Sean Kelly (16/16) recorded his first shutout of the season, improving his league-leading totals to .947/1.17/1 SO, and reaffirming the prevailing thought that he may be the only man who can actually stop ‘Thanos’ this season. Mason Holcomb (17/20) filled in very admirably for John Kushneryk, who was not absent, but rather playing defense for the other team. Such is the twisted, incestuous world of SDFHL hockey. As noted, Black holds on to the second seed, and will turn to face Blue in the opening round this Sunday, while Gold hold at the six spot, hoping to avenge their 4-3 Week Four loss to Teal.

The final game of the Wing League 2026 season was dripping with playoff implications. Captain Josh Wirt’s Red were already a playoff lock, but a win would improve their season record to 4-4-1, and the head to head tiebreaker with Pink would give them the four seed. A loss for Red would relegate them to the eight seed, meaning a very daunting opening matchup with Sand, while a tie would move them into the sixth spot, based on the third tiebreak criteria, goal-differential…they would JUST move ahead of Gold, who fell to a -4 after their 3-0 loss to Black. Captain Owen Perks’ Blue…a MUCH more significant ‘drip’ of implication…a loss would leave them out of April play, while a tie or better would save them. A tie would leave Blue in the eight seed, meaning a rematch with Sand…the ONLY team Blue beat all season, and Sand’s only loss on the season, while a Blue win would push them to the seven spot. Bryan Ossa put Red in front first, slapping home a power play chance at 7:55 in the first (Eric Caligiuri & Captain Wirt), but Wasif Hussain responded for Blue at 5:44 (Hima Joshi), and Dan Jurgens put the underdogs on top for the first time at 2:57 (Captain Perks). With Craig Russell off after an awkward collision with Chris Malki found him staunching a (relentlessly) bloody nose in the penalty box, Captain Perks struck short-handed to pad Blue’s lead to 3-1 at 3:57 in the second (Jurgens). It was Shawna Hamon’s time to shine in the third, with her first goal of the game at 8:27 cutting the lead to one (Eli Schonbrun & Ossa), and her second of the game at 5:43 (Schonbrun & Caligiuri) pushing Red back to even ground, and pushing Blue back to the brink of elimination. The collective exhale from the Blue bench was reportedly heard as far away as Ramona, as Captain Perks wasted no time responding to Hamon’s heroics, snatching the lead back for his team at 5:24 (Jurgens & Hussain). Blue now knew that even another Red tally could not keep them from the playoffs…they would just need to hold on and not lose. Mason Holcomb (17/20) would ensure that Blue would not only ‘not lose’, but would win this most crucial of contests, 4-3 over Red. Don Tran (15/19) was saddled with the loss, dropping Red into the unenviable position of the first team on Sand’s playoff radar. The win for Blue sealed Green’s scrap heap fate, and locked Perks & Company in at the seven spot, set to take on the only undefeated team in the league (and the team that topped them 6-1 in Week Five), Black, as playoff action kicks off this weekend.

The one team you do not want to see on your upcoming Sunday schedule is undoubtedly Captain Nick Meglich’s Sand. More accurately, you do not want to see Alex Giummo warming up at the other end. For all intents and purposes, Alex IS the team, now (at the conclusion of the game for which you are about to read a recap) having matched or outscored all but TWO other ENTIRE TEAMS in the league with TWENTY-SIX goals on the season. Of course, one of the teams he has failed to outscore this season is his own team, with Trevor Vick the ONLY other Sand player with any goals at all (TV carries a respectable seven). Captain Ryan Karns’ Green came into Week Eight at 2-3-2, still very much in danger of missing the playoffs, and needing a miracle against the relentless Sand storm to punch their pass and save themselves from a potential must win finale against Purple. The much-easier-said-than-done game plan against Sand is to ‘contain Giummo’, and Green did well executing this ‘plan’ in the first period. Giummo was held without a goal, but not without an assist, providing the only helper on Trevor Vick’s seventh of the season. The ‘plan’ faltered a bit late in the second, as Giummo notched his first of the game at 3:05 (Trevor Vick), then his second at 0:31 (Erin Plone) to expand Sand’s edge to 3-0 going into the second break. The third period saw a scoring bonanza for both sides, with four different scorers getting on the board for Green, and one four-goal scorer answering for Sand (one guess). Giummo capped his hat trick at 9:19 (Trevor Vick & Wendy Enright), Vance Morra finally responded for Green at 8:23 (Carl Vankoughnett & Jackson Tomaszewski), Giummo unassisted at 8:17, Giummo from Trevor Vick and Jeremy Copp at 7:06, Jenna Chercoe to stop the bleeding for Green at 2:42 (Weston Oakly & Mark Scelfo), then Bredan Jew to thicken the plot at 2:20 (Elyse Shattuck), Giummo’s SIXTH unassisted at 1:26, and one last response for Green from Vankoughnett at 1:05 (Tomaszewski). That’s a lot of orange plastic at (and past) both Matt Henderson (23/30) and Captain Meglich (22/26), but the ‘plan’ did not go to plan for yet another victim of Giummo’s ability to score at will. The 7-4 win, combined with Black’s tie later in the slate, pushed Sand back to the top of the pile heading into the final week of play. As fate would have it, Meglich & Company will face the team at the frigid south pole of the standings this Sunday in White, meaning they are a 99% lock to lock in the top playoff seed. Green still sit on the cusp, and could fall off the table completely, or stay in the mix for April play depending on how they fare in their finale against Purple. Karns’ & Kompany can still get into the playoffs with a loss, but they would then need Blue to lose, and White to earn anything but a win in their (massively uphill) tilt with Sand.

The second game on the Week Eight schedule featured another team embroiled in that ‘Battle At The Bottom’, with Captain Owen Perks’ Blue needing to pull a point or more from Captain William Teglia’s Teal to give themselves a real chance to push into the playoffs on the final Sunday of play. At 4-2-1, Teal were already seated at the second season table, and while they were certainly favorites in this match, it’s safe to say that desperation is often the great equalizer. Kyle Snyder struck early, with his eleventh of the season at 8:23 in the first (Christopher Fiore) giving Teal the first lead, but Chris Koziol played the role of ‘desperation incarnate’ for Blue, posting his second career goal to draw Blue level at 8:41 in the second (Captain Perks & Dorothy Kline). Captain Teglia was next to act, wresting the lead back for Teal at 6:22 in the second (Mostafa Azab), amplifying Blue’s anxiety with just one period to play. Dan Jurgens took three trips to the sin bin for Blue in this one, but the gritty veteran atoned for any forfeiture of comeback momentum by knotting the score at 2-2 with 4:11 to play. It was Koziol with the goal-ziol again less than a minute later at 3:28 (Justin Stege) to lift Blue to their first lead…ironically a power play conversion with Azab serving Teal’s only minor penalty of the game. With the clock winding down, Blue looked primed to carry the day and all but (if not definitely) punch their playoff ticket, but Captain Teglia conjured some faux desperation of his own, and struck for a second time to pull Teal back to even footing with 1:29 to go. Neither Mason Holcomb (21/24), nor Jon Cima (13/16) would concede from there, leaving Blue with one point and a mixed bag of emotions in the 3-3 tie. Koziol’s breakout, POTW game could not have come at a better time for Blue, who are in a considerably less dire position with six points (1-3-4) than they would be with five. Perks & Company have the added perk (see what I did there) of playing in the final game of the night this Sunday. They already know that a win over Red will put them in, but if there is a loser in the 4:00 Green v Purple match, they know that a tie will also seal the second season deal.

Captain Kalen Hunter’s Black entered Week Eight at the top of the standings…the only remaining undefeated team hoping to keep that loss column clean and hold serve in the final weeks of play to preserve the one seed. Captain Will Heinl’s Purple…2-4-1 coming in, knowing that every point in the standings could be vital to their hopes of escaping the scrap heap, especially given that a win would now vault them above their Week Nine opponent, Green, and offer greatly increased odds of freeing themselves from the cut line tangle in their finale. As pure irony would have it (and, as snarky teammate, John Kushneryk, loves to point out), Black had actually fared slightly better in Captain Hunter’s absence (2-0-0) than his presence (3-0-2) coming in. Purple certainly hoped that this ‘trend’ would continue, opening the door for at least a tie to draw them even with Green and set them up to stick the dismount this Sunday. Tom Darlington (of all players) opened the scoring with his third (!) of the season at 5:06 (Weston Nawrocki & Bao Nguyen), putting Purple on the front foot first, but Captain Hunter would retaliate unassisted less than a minute later at 4:29, then snatch the lead for Black at 0:53 (Kevin Hunter). While he did not make the official ‘stars of the game’ podium, Austin Szymanski was a player possessed in this game. His tireless hustle was finally rewarded at 7:56 in the second (Kerri Sevenbergen)…his first career SDFHL goal! CONGRATULATIONS, AUSTIN! Purple continued to press, and really took control of the game at that point. The first period shot totals favored Purple by a count of 9-5, but the second period gap of 15-7 finally bore fruit, in spite of all manner of breakdance heroics from Sean Kelly. Ty Pereira cut the lead to one at 2:40 in the second (Gary Peters), and Justin Hepler brought Purple back to level at 1:33 (Tom Darlington). The shot counts were close to even in the third (10-9, Purple), but neither Captain Heinl (18/21), nor Kelly (31/34) would allow for a winner to be declared. The 3-3 tie meant an important point for Purple, a fall to second place for Black, and another shameful blemish on Captain Kalen’s personal W-L-T record. Heinl & Company now know that it is ‘win and in’ against Green in Week Nine. The teams share the same record (2-4-2), and Purple has the advantage of having beaten White earlier in the season. Even if Purple should lose to Green, they would still make the playoffs with a Blue loss to Red in the nightcap. A tie would get them in with anything BUT a Blue win, and the goal differential tie breaker would seed them ahead of Green in the seventh slot.

The aforementioned snarky double agent, John Kushneryk, had backstopped Captain Nick Vacchio’s Gold to a 2-3-2 record coming into Week Eight play, and he and his mates knew that a win over Captain Darin Cerasuolo’s Pink would not only seal a playoff seed, but also leapfrog them into the upper half of the bracket. Pink’s roster…rife with scorers and hockey savvy swagger…but not on this day. With Chris Tran, Antony Cerasuolo, Shelby Shattuck, and Captain Darin himself all out of the lineup, it would most likely be up to the dynamic duo of Eric Willard and Jon Salt to carry the offense for Pink. When Salt went down in a heap less than thirty seconds into the first period…later to find he had a torn ACL, the odds of Pink holding off a hungry Gold steepened significantly. Captain Vacchio broke the scoring seal at 0:38 in the first (Steve Linke), Luke Wolmer doubled the damage at 6:01 in the second (Captain Vacchio), and Wolmer iced the 3-0 Gold win with his second of the game at 0:25 in the third (Hima Joshi). Kushneryk (10/10) was steady, but honestly hardly tested throughout, while Chuck Bender (22/25) did all he could to keep his severely short-handed side in the game from start to finish. As noted, the win pushed Gold to 3-3-2, now sitting in fourth place and locked into the playoff picture going into their finale against Kushneryk’s ‘other team’, Black. The loss prevents Pink from ascending to a higher playoff perch, but they remain safely in at 3-4-1 as they prepare for their regular season closer against Teal. We wish Jon all the best in his recovery from this freak injury…t’was unpleasant to witness, for sure. The Board has ratified Jordan Pynn, himself coming back from injury rehab, to replace Salt this Sunday and through Pink’s playoff run.

Yet another ‘big game’ dripping with playoff implications served as the Week Eight nightcap, as Captain Josh Wirt’s 2-4-1 Red hoped to punch out Captain Brennen Abel’s 1-4-2 White, and punch their playoff ticket in the process. Red’s 0-4-0 start had painted them into a tight corner at the midway point in the season, but a 2-0-1 run had them back in the thick of the playoff hunt. For White, the entire season had been slog and struggle, with their lone bright spot, a convincing 4-1 Week Five triumph over Green, having kept them alive, but just barely with two games to play. A win over Red would push White into a three way tie with Green and Purple, push Red into the basement, and greatly increase their chances of survival heading into what by all accounting projects to be an auto-loss to Sand in Week Nine. If you didn’t know, Joe Malki and his wife are expecting their first child sometime next month. Joe decided to honor his offspring with an early delivery, posting his fifth of the season at 8:37 in the first (Bryan Ossa & Shawna Hamon) to give Red the early lead. Eric Caligiuri followed with his second of the season at 7:51 (Eli Schonbrun & Joe Malki), and Joe made it 3-0 Red with his second of the game at 2:53. Rob Gaudio would provide the first response for White at 1:34 (Zach Siemer), but Papa-Soon-To-Be-Grandpapa Chris Malki restored Red’s three goal edge with 0:38 to play before the first break. Red pushed further ahead in the second, with Hamon’s first (!) goal of the season at 9:41 (Captain Wirt & Schonbrun) stretching the lead to four, and Chris Malki’s second of the game putting things well and truly out of reach for White at 4:05 (Schonbrun & Ossa). White still had fight in them, with Captain Abel cutting the lead back to four at 2:54 in the second (Gaudio & Tyler Winstead), then back to three with his second of the game at 6:46 in the third (Siemer & LaGrossa), but Don Tran (15/18) would allow White no closer, and Emily Bennington’s first of the season at 3:55 (Captain Wirt & Joe Malki) made absolutely certain that Red would hold on to capture the 7-3 win over White to secure playoff passage. Gabe Davenport (13/20) continues to battle hard in nets for White, but at 1-5-2, he and his mates are now in a MUST win situation. Unfortunately (and that word does not do justice to the lack of fortune here), White will have to prevail over Sand…the juggernaut atop the standings…a team that features a single player with seven goals more than White’s entire roster. As noted, Red’s place in the playoffs is already secured, but they will look to improve to as high as fourth should they play spoiler for Blue in the nightcap. We wish the very best to Joe, Chris, and the entire Malki family as he takes paternity leave from here out, with Riley Mann called in to fill his spot in Red’s lineup with the playoffs just around the corner…

Week Seven boxes are up…recaps to come.

Sorry, folks…no recaps this week.