Squid Game

The Wing League 2026 season featured plenty of streaks, swings, and stunners, but after top-seeded Sand dispatched a Cup coup attempt from bottom-seeded Red in the Losers’ Bracket Final, it was a ‘cream of the crop’ 1 v 2 last stop for all the glory in the Final. Captain Kalen Hunter’s Black was waiting with crossed arms for their rivals, eager to prove that, as the only unbeaten team in the league, they were still ‘the team to beat’. Captain Nick Meglich & Company salvaged a regular season tie with Black on a late goal back in Week Four, but fell 3-1 in the first playoff meeting, delaying their arrival at the final fight, but perhaps injecting a little extra motivation in their ranks. As warmups wrapped, incredulous whispers buzzed through the benches…there was no sign of Alex ‘Thanos’ Giummo! ‘Alex is in Ireland’…the words were spoken, but registered initially only as some kind of ruse…surely the deadliest scoring threat in league history was not missing the Final. Surely he was going to stroll up right as the ball dropped…perhaps emerging from a smoky tunnel wearing a golden cape and a wry smirk. Unlike much of what you see and hear these days, this unbelievable fact was, unbelievably, fact. Captain Hunter’s Crew struggled to process this huge news…trying their best to remain focused on the task at hand and control the natural amplification of optimism that this twist brought. Shockingly, Captain Meglich had known about this untimely absence for some time, and had kept it a secret…even from his own mates! So, Sand struggled with their own mental and emotional adjustments as the teams lined up to play out this final fight for the Cup. A scoreless first was as much a positive for Sand as it was a negative for Black, with the latter expecting to build at least a small early lead, given the BIG absence weighing on their opponent. Mark DeGraffenreid finally broke the scoring seal at 6:49 in the second, tipping home a brilliant back door feed from John Kushneryk on the powerplay to put Black in front first (Captain Hunter with the second assist). Black outshot their rivals 17-9 through the first two periods, but one of those nine found twine for Sand with Trevor Vick capitalizing on a turnover in Black’s end at 1:41 to knot the score at ones (Tim Vick & Andy Strathman). The longer the third period remained scoreless, the more pressure mounted for Black…surely they would find a way to overcome without this game pushing to overtime…they would not. Captain Meglich and Sean Kelly were just too sharp, and neither team could find a way to finish things through three periods of play, so it was on to sudden death. This is where the real twist of the entire season took place…2:57 to play…Black pressing and passing around Sand’s zone…desperate to end this affair in one game and go home happy…shot on goal…Meglich save…rebound off to his right…on to the stick of Kerri Sevenbergen…flicked on net…GOAL! GAME, SET, MATCH, CUP! Sevenbergen…with perhaps the lowest betting odds of any player on Black to end it…ends it with her FIRST goal of the season…one HUGE goal to win it all! Josh Tran and Kalen Hunter collected assists on the Cup-winner, and Kerri was immediately mobbed by her overjoyed teammates (one teammate in particular…I forget who it was). A VERY thrilling end to a great season for Black, and a dagger of a finish to a great Cup run for Sand. Sean Kelly (11/12) capped another stellar season with another sparkler, while Captain Meglich (23/25) was nothing short of a (tragic) hero in keeping Sand locked in all season long (and particularly in this final showdown). Huge kudos to Captain Meglich for his exceptional efforts, to Sand as a whole for a great season, and (of course) to my teammates on Black for an absolutely amazing and unforgettable season, with maybe the most amazing and unforgettable finish ever…