
Captain Karns’ Flint Blue force fed a four goal third period ‘dessert’ to Captain Gaudio’s Blue to rally to a stunning 4-3 comeback win in Week Six, and Gaudio’s Gang were ready to serve cold revenge in a playoff elimination table for two blue, part deux. The twisted ‘new math’ that seems the basis for the course of this playoff season means that terms like ‘favorite’ and ‘underdog’ are about as applicable and descriptive as the word ‘fact’ in modern parlance, so the only safe bet here was that this rematch would be an absolute dogfight from start to finish. Dan Jurgens put the ‘favorites’ in front first at 6:34 in the first (Luke Wolmer & Erin Plone), and Ralph Feuer equalized at 4:29 (Jason Remple & Trevor Vick) with his first of the playoffs and just his second goal (indeed, second point) of the season. Trevor Vick put the ‘underdogs’ on top for the first time at 9:22 in the second (Tony Thinh & Captain Gaudio), but Emily Bennington made her playoff return to the Flint fold fruitful with her first to make it 2-2 at 5:47 (John Boddy & Wolmer). Jason Remple put Blue back on top at 1:22 in the second (Trevor Vick & Rob Gaudio), making Gaudio & Company the ‘favorites’ heading into the final ten. It’s probably an appropriate point to mention that the fear of the lights going out on this night of playoff play was high. With the first game starting at 6:30, the final game scheduled to get underway at 8:30 (at best), and the lights set to go off at 10:00pm sharp, the slate could ill afford more of the OT/SO drama that prevailed in the first two weeks. Mark Nagy proved he cares not about late nights and no lights, snapping home the 3-3 knot with 3:48 to play (Wolmer), and sending a FOURTH of the first nine playoff games to overtime. A frantic, frenetic OT period produced no winner, so…on to the third shootout in as many weeks. When even the shootouts go into OT, it really start to feel like the clock gods are mocking us. Captain Gaudio was first to shoot, and he promptly hit pay dirt. A Boddy miss and Remple miss were followed by a Jurgens conversion to bring the string level. Trevor Vick, Mark Nagy, Tim Vick, Luke Wolmer, Dorothy Kline, Erin Plone…all turned away by a clearly determined Nick Meglich and Don Tran. Gaudio made it 2/2 at the top of the second go around, but this time (of course) Boddy would match him. A second Remple miss left the door open for a (merciful) kill shot…and Dan Jurgens delivered! Jurgens secured first star honors with one of his team’s three regulation goals, and two of his team’s three in the shootout, sending Flint Blue on to another ultra tight, ultra tense 4-3 win over their color rivals. Nick Meglich (12/15 – 5/7) earned the win with his gritty play, but Don Tran (22/25 – 4/7) certainly did not deserve to lose…such is the nature of the shootout. Blue become the third team out with the loss, while Flint Blue move on to enter a Week Four Citrus Gauntlet™…facing Lime for a third time with the hopes of earning an immediate date with an on-tilt Orange.
Tick tock…the second game got underway at nearly 8:00…but surely this bottom seed middle match between Captain Joel Gattey’s Lime and Captain Shawna Hamon’s Brown would be decided in regulation, putting any fears of a lightless late game to rest. So what if the regular season meeting ended in a 1-1 tie, and so what if EVERY game in this post season has been a nail-biting thriller, SURELY this would just go down as a clean and easy win for one side or the other. Nope. Lime were on the front foot in the first, holding a 9-3 edge in shots, but Kalen Hunter made one of those three Brown shots count with a solo effort at 1:35. If you haven’t checked the POTW blurb yet…check it, then come back to read this next bit…Lime outshot Brown FIFTEEN TO ONE in the second period, and Sean ‘Da Kid’ Kelly just pretended that statistics and odds do not matter in the slightest, stopping everything he faced to keep his team on top 1-0 going into the third. Kelly was truly (and fittingly, on this day of all days) a ‘savior’ for Brown, but because Jebus ‘is risen’, and because he clearly hates me for my lack of faith, he ‘blessed’ this game with a game-tying goal early in the third. Jerry Gonzales finally found twine behind Kelly to make it 1-1 with 8:17 to play (Captain Gattey), and…you already know that this game just HAD to go to overtime, then just HAD to go to shootout. We’re now wending on towards 9:00, as Kalen Hunter stick-handled in with the first shootout effort…a miss. Joe Malki made good on Lime’s first attempt, and (merciful Jebus…perhaps I should have faith) that would be the only successful strike in this, the FOURTH shootout in ten playoff games. Jim LaGrossa, Jordan Pynn, Andy Strathman, Jerry Gonzales, Glenn Pinto, Chris Malki, Shawna Hamon…all thwarted, meaning TK Mason would not need to shoot, as Lime had already locked up a 2-1 shootout win, keeping their playoff drive alive, and eliminating a hard-luck Brown and an even harder-luck Kelly (29/30 – 4/5) as Pink and Orange rushed the court to get in a VERY quick warmup. Matt Henderson (12/13), while decidedly the less busy of the two tenders, did earn his paycheck in a flawless shootout, helping his team earn a third go at Flint Blue this Sunday.
Captain Bryan Ossa and Captain Jeremy Copp met briefly as yet another shootout unfolded and the clock wound towards the witching hour, wondering whether or not it was worth even trying to get in a game with the prospect of a blackout now threatening in earnest. It was agreed that we would try, with Week Four available as a handy (albeit awkward) safety net. The final period of an unfinished game could be tacked on to the front of a Week Four schedule, leaving the winner free to leave, and the loser left to watch and wait for their next opponent. So, a very short warmup (kudos to the officials for their efficiency) led directly into the final clash of the night. Pink had dropped a 7-6 slugfest to Orange way back in Week Two, but felt confident that things could go their way in a playoff rematch with a full bench, a renewed swagger, and a ticket to the Final on the line. The runaway regular season scoring champ was first to act, as Owen Perks opened the scoring with an unassisted effort at 5:40. The run of play remained rather even through the first ten minutes of play, and Mark DeGraffenreid made sure the scoreboard reflected that parity, wresting a 50/50 ball from Orange’s goal-scorer along the far boards, then wristing a long distance prayer between Zach Siemer’s pads with 0.7 seconds remaining to draw Pink even at the first break. Carl Vankoughnett gave Pink the lead at 7:17 in the second (Sadie Hellstrom & Josh Wirt), and the pace and passion of this match rose to new levels as Orange’s vaunted offense pushed to equalize. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, and DeGraffenreid’s second of the game was certainly proof of that. An innocent backhand flip into the zone found the same hole as his first scoring effort, sliding between Siemer’s pads and trickling past the goal line to give Pink a two goal lead (a VERY rare feet against the as-yet-undefeated Orange). Chuck Bender (10/11) was sharp, and Pink’s defense was stout and stingy, keeping Orange at bay the rest of the way to stun the entire SDFHL, and FINALLY topple the top seeds, 3-1. Zach Siemer (10/13) put forth a solid effort in Mason Holcomb’s stead, but the VERY late first period strike, and the fluky third period flip were his undoing, and spelled the end of Orange’s reign of terror. Actually, this courageous Pink coup may serve as a mere pause in Orange’s reign of terror, as Copp & Company are but one win away from a chance at sweet revenge, a double dose of redemption, and the Cup glory which has seemed their destiny from mid-January on. They await the winner of Flint Blue v Lime this Sunday, and Pink await the winner of that spicy menage in the final Sunday of play as the wacky, wild, Kool-Aid style Wing League 2025 playoffs rise to a (no doubt) teeth-clenching, toe-curling climax…