While the namesake MCU character may (or may not) be gone for good, the SDFHLU’s Thanos is back…with a vengeance. If you were new to the league last season, when Thanos was away plotting his revenge on opposing defenses and goalies, you will soon know well enough (if not all-too-well) that ‘Thanos’ is our pet name for Alex Giummo. The playful, but supremely apt tag is, of course, based on Giummo’s possession of roughly the equivalent destructive power to that of the comic book/big screen super villain. *SNAP*…you’re down 1-0…*SNAP*…two goals, *SNAP*…hat trick…you get the idea. To complete the throwing motion on this (off-season-theme) analogy, you need your full compliment of Avengers, all at full power and promise, to have any chance of surviving. Alas, Captain Ryan Karns’ Blue would be without Brendan Jew, Jason Olver, Jenna Chercoe, and Mark Nagy. Captain Carl Vankoughnett’s Neon would make do without the services of Scott Wieland, but with the aforementioned WMD suited and booted, the scene was set for a blowout bash to open the Fall 2026 season. It was ‘Thanos’ first to act, of course, with Giummo snapping home a short-handed strike to put Neon on the board at 7:44 (Captain Vankoughnett). Josh Wirt would equalize for Blue with an unassisted tally at 5:20, and while Neon held a 9-4 edge in shots and otherwise paced play, Karns & Kompany had to feel good going into the first break even at one-one. Neon’s shot gap widened to a chasm in the second (15-3), and goals in close succession from Vankoughnett at 6:14 (Giummo & Gordon Schmidt) and long-lost-returnee, Matt Drake, at 6:02 had Neon settling in snuggly behind the reins. Wirt’s second of the game at 3:33 (Andrew Wong) cut the lead back to one, but…who else…Giummo would restore the extra layer of padding with his second of the game at 1:48 (Captain Vankoughnett). Several players on Neon assured me that this juggernaut-facing-a-team-with-one-sub really let off the gas in the third period, but I would argue that an EIGHTEEN-FOUR shot disparity over that span sort of belies that assessment. Giummo completed his first (of a projected nine for the regular season) hat trick at 9:22 (Jim LaGrossa & Drake), then added a fourth for good measure at 4:44 (TK Mason & Drake). Drake then made it 7-2 at 4:04 (Giummo & Steph Palomo Schmidt) and LaGrossa added some much-not-needed insurance at 3:07 (Captain Vankoughnett & Steve Pugliese). So, while they showed up and survived a tight first period, Captain Karns’ Blue ultimately slid beneath the waves of Neon weapons and washed up on Loss Island, 8-2. Nick Meglich (9/11) very nearly could have notched a win in this one blindfolded, with the unbridled offensive support that ruined the evening for Matt Henderson (34/42) at the other end. I have said this…I have written this…no one is going to beat Neon this season…this is the ultimate parity pooper team from hell, and the rest of us are playing for second place.
The SDFHL is turning THIRTY next year, and the next generation is starting to arrive. While we have seen a good/growing number of father/son and mother/son duos out there in the past five or so years, we have never (to my recollection, anyway), seen a father/daughter or mother/daughter combo in Sunday league play. Veteran Joel Gattey and his daughter, Noel Gattey, became the first such duo, with the two making their debut for Captain Bryan Ossa’s Charcoal against Captain Mason Holcomb’s Pink. Spoiler alert…this, and every other game on the Week One slate would be much closer than the season opener. Eric Willard broke the scoring seal bright and early for Charcoal, converting at 9:28 (Captain Ossa & Mostafa Azab), and that lead lasted nearly six minutes before Kyle Snyder delivered a response for Pink at 3:33 (Justin Stege). That response was responded to in short order, with Gary Peters doing the honors of restoring Charcoal’s lead at 2:32 (Greg Wirth & Azab). Snyder had the answer again, an unassisted effort at 7:11 in the second to bring the teams level at 2-2, but Willard’s second of the game at 4:06 (Owen Perks & Captain Ossa) meant that Charcoal would head into the second break with a one-goal lead. Neither Captain Holcomb (16/19), nor Chris Tran (23/35) would concede in a back-and-fourth third, meaning that Willard’s second would stand as the GWG in a 3-2 Charcoal win. Neither Gattey made the score sheet, but I have no doubt the this game will serve as a major milestone/memory/career highlight for both Joel and Noel as the new blood starts to really flow through these old SDFHL veins.
Another SDFHL first is in play this season…teams with just nine position players on each roster. This configuration was a product of having ten goalies and exactly enough females for two per team for ten teams, but the logical concerns around short benches week-to-week, and the occasional VERY short bench were not overlooked in the planning. The hope was that the ‘VERY short bench’ cases would be rare, but (because, of course) lightning would strike for a second time in Week One, as Captain Shawna Hamon’s White found themselves with just seven bodies available, including a substitute for Captain Hamon herself. Captain Hamon, Chris Fiore, Eddie Zuniga, and Luke Wolmer…all out, and with a full bench on the other side, White would need and A+ effort from their skeleton crew (plus super sub, Deborah Finucane) to topple Captain Jeremy Copp’s Grey. To say that this was an odd, ugly, cluster F mess of a game would be an understatement. Grey held the expected edge in shots through the first period of play (9-4), but White would be first on the board…with a highly-controversial and utterly bizarre goal. A long dump-in from White ricocheted off the end boards and nestled into Chuck Bender’s gear at one of the posts. Seconds ticked by, and the whistle blew…apparently to indicate a goal, not a stoppage. Confusion reigned, but the call would stand, and White would open a lead at 2:47 (Ty Pereira from Alex Rockoff). When Deborah Finucane made it 2-0 White at 1:09 (Lena Amelang & Andrew Becker), the dasher along the Grey bench was jaw-laden, for sure…a stunning start to a game that felt like an auto-win for Copp & Company. Oh…that secondary assist was Andrew Becker’s first career SDFHL point…CONGRATULATIONS, Andrew! Rob Gaudio scored the lone goal in calmer, quieter second (3:16 from Mark Daquipa), but White would (against all odds, especially those set by Vegas) maintain a lead heading into the final period of play. More controversy and confusion swirled after a second Pereira goal was waived off on a (delayed) offside call early in the third, with all of those emotions magnified for either side when Gaudio’s second of the game just seconds later drew Grey level at 9:08 (Jordan Pynn). As if the anemic bench weren’t enough of a drag, John Kushneryk would remain on the deck after a series of saves, and would have to hobble to the White bench with just half a period to play. For whatever reason, the standard SDFHL ‘games are running late’ scenario was REALLY bad (nearly an hour behind schedule), so…with Gabe Davenport suited and ready…in he went to spell JK. Mark Daquipa wasted little time giving Grey their first lead of the game at 4:12 (Gaudio & Pat Gladstone), and Jordan Pynn added insurance and icing with his first of the season at 1:08 (Mark DeGraffenreid & Gaudio). When the dust, dissent, screaming, whining, shouting, and head scratching settled, this would go in the books as a 4-2 win for Grey, but it was certainly not a ‘good start’, nor a source of particular pride for either side.
Captain Wasif Hussain’s debut captain campaign kicked off in Week One with his team already having one win under their collective belt…the team name ‘competition’. ‘Brownfinger’ is as amusing as it is disgusting, and the newly-minted captain’s strong draft gave him reason to believe that his team would rise well above the ‘station’ of that moniker. Another new skipper sat in opposition of that belief, with young Captain Grant Goins serving as further evidence that SDFHL’s future has arrived. Goins’ Maroon would be without the injured Joe Malki, while Hussain’s Brown warmed up without Payam Sazegar and superstar, Sadie Hellstrom. Erin Plone knew she had some skilled shoes to fill as a stand-in for Hellstrom, and (spoiler alert), she made herself a shoe-in for POTW with her shoe-filling show in this one. Captain Hussain led his team by example, notching his first of the season at 6:57 (Brennen Abel & Benjamin Meza), and a 3:36 strike from Abel (Erin Plone) pushed Brown to a two goal lead through one period of play. The secondary assist meant that Meza would join White’s Andrew Becker in celebrating his first career SDFHL point on this opening night…CONGRATULATIONS, BENJAMIN! The second period saw another pair of Brown goals, with Plone padding the lead to three at 8:34 (Eli Schonbrun & Abel), then Abel’s second stretching the difference to four at 2:57 (Schonbrun & Jason Northrup). Abel would complete his hat trick on the powerplay at 4:31 in the third (Schonbrun & Plone), and another solid session between pipes for Will Heinl was blemished only by a late goal from Justin Ker (0:47, from Jon Zygelman). Gabe Davenport (16/21) was tagged with the loss, while Heinl (17/18), Abel, and a SUPER sub performance from Plone powered Brown to a convincing 5-1 win to open their season. Congratulations, and thank you to Erin, and thanks to all of you who ‘do more’ each week…subs, scorekeepers, referees…anyone who gives any time above and beyond ‘just showing up’ to help keep this league running strong!
The nightcap was another potential nightmare for folks without great color vision, as Captain Emily Bennington’s Green faced off against Captain Dorothy Kline’s Teal. The teams agreed to forgo pinnies (which were definitely needed in the White v Grey affair), and this 8:00pm first installment of the ‘Girl Boss Showdown Series’™ FINALLY got underway at roughly 8:45pm. Adam Schindler put Teal in front first at 7:01 in the first (Josh Tran), and Tran followed with one of his own with two minutes to play before the first break (Andy Strathman & Nick Vacchio). For the second straight game, one team would score two unanswered in the first, then two unanswered in the second, with middle period honors this time going to Vacchio at 4:39 (Tran & Captain Kline), and Schindler at 3:32 (Vacchio & Kline). The third period of this game veered well off the course of its predecessor, as Green accounted for the next two goals…more accurately, Green’s Kalen Hunter did so, potting his first of the season at 7:51 (Dan Jurgens & Vance Morra), and his second on the powerplay at 2:10 to cut the Teal lead to two and give Green a glimmer of hope heading into the wee minutes of regulation. That Green glimmer took on a gloomy gloss after Schindler’s empty-netter-hat trick-capper at 1:30 restored a three goal lead for Teal, but Green would push to the bitter end, and Steve Linke would tack a point of persistence and pride on the end of a 5-3 Green loss with his first of the season with just 0:28 to play (Marc LaPointe and Leah Gonzales). Chuck Bender (14/17) secured the season-opening win for Teal with a strong effort, while Will Heinl (8/12) absorbed the loss in Don Tran’s stead for Green.
