Rookie Captain William Teglia and the “Schmidty’s Salty Blue Balls” are joining Nick Meglich’s “Live From 4S, It’s Sunday White” to live in that Van down by the river for the rest of the summer while 8 other lucky teams moved on in search of playoff glory. The Carliforneons edged out MacBlueber for that coveted top playoff seed but it came down to a tie breaker to get there and with an absolute logjam of teams at the top its anyone guess how the playoffs will unfold. One this is for sure though, Carl is very excited for Pope to return from his vacation because when he volunteered to do all this he didn’t realize how much work it all was! Updates tomorrow, I’m going to bed.

Our early game featured an ecstatic Grey (fresh off their dramatic playoff clinching game last week) against Bao Nguyen’s Green who’s victory over Brown cemented them into the middle of the pack. Bao Nguyen’s confidence in his team was on full display as he eventually arrived to the rink mid-way through the first period. Grey started things off early in the first period with Audrey Stratton burying her first career SDFHL goal! CONGRATULATIONS!!! The early goal was followed by another one only a minute later by Josh Tran. Josh had the distinction of wearing one of the largest hats in league history during the game, which would cast a shadow on the hopes of Green as Jenna Chercoe would score her 2nd of the season putting Grey up 3-0 early in the 2nd period. Green would finally get on the board in the 3rd when the man with the perfect smile (Nick Vacchio) would enable Mr. Abel who scored his 10th on the season. Grey would finish things up a few minutes later and end things in a convincing 4-1 victory winning their last 2 games and heading into the playoffs in fine fashion(Especially Josh Tran).

The 5pm game interestly enough matched the colours and vibe of the 1984 WHAM video for “Wake me up“. Both teams securely in the playoffs were in a tough battle to try and capture that top seed. Eli Schonbrun was looking to extend his scoring streak after a strong performane in week 8 with two goals, meanwhile Neons rookie Darin Cerasuolo and the not even remotely close or in the same universe as being a rookie Pat Gladstone were both looking to extend streaks of their own. Other than the colourful shirts and Pat Gladstone’s putting Geoff Downes down it was a defensive battle from beginning to end. Chuck Bender and Will Heinl (First and 2nd Stars of the game) shut everyone down in a very low scoring game. The lone goal scored by youngster Darin Cerasuolo was assisted by Justin Hepler and Pat Gladstone (“The Hepstones”) which put Neon up 1-0 heading into the 3rd period. With the goalie pulled and a flurry of shots towards the end Chuck Bender held off Pink’s Jon Boddy and company and lead his team to victory which allowed Neon to head into the playoffs on a high note after a win in a VERY competitive game.

The 6pm game battle between Rob Lavigne’s Baby Blue and Mason Holcom’s Purple would have included famed POTW Chris Tran but playing 4 games last week must have been too much for him because he’s taking a break this week. Meanwhile Purple (who were missing half their team last week) are probably still recovering from the exhaustion of it all. Baby Blue are hoping to clinch that first overall spot which could mean this game is a preview of a first round playoff match up! Will Heinl a 2nd star as goalie the game before, scored early in the first from Arnold Gonzales to put Blue up and not even a minute later captain Rob Lavigne (despite an undisclosed lower body injury) netted one to put Baby Blue up 2-0. The MacBlueber women have built a 2 game penalty streak, last week TK Mason took her first penalty of the year and not to be outdone Leah Gonzales kept the streak alive by taking her first of the year and added an assist to boot. This one was all MacBlueber from beginning to end with a solid 4-0 win over the Eggplant’s In A Box and a good team victory as they move into the playoffs as one of the teams favoured to win it all.

With their victory over Pink last week, Captain Wendy Enrights Gilda Redners have positioned themselves to finish tops in the league.  Sitting just one point back of 1st place a victory this week could catapult them over multiple teams and into first heading into the playoffs.  Captain Sean Bathgates Brown look to rebound from last weeks loss to Green, the summer attendance plague struck brown last week but a victory over a top team like Red may build some confidence for them heading into the post season but with both Pope and Chris Tran (of Week 8 POTW game) absent this week it would be a tall order when facing the full fury of Red.  No scoring until later in the first period when Owen Perks and Trevor Vick combined for 4 unanswered goals. Brown wouldn’t have an answer until late in the 2nd when Erin Plone scored her 2nd from Joel Gattey but it would only take 19 seconds for Red to answer back, this time the resurging Jon Zygelman(Who is already complaining he is going to get drafted too early next year).  Red would finish with the 6-2 victory and finish 3rd in the regular season and looking very strong headed into the playoffs.

In the battle for the wooden spoon, Captain William Teglia and Captain Nick Meglich faced off in the final game of the night and the regular season. Captain Teglia’s team played with a short bench for so much of the season that they could have considered renaming the team to “Schmidty’s Schweddy Balls”. Catain Meglich’s “Live From 4S, It’s Sunday White!” came into the game tied with blue which meant the game did have some significance with both teams trying to avoid that last place finish. It would be rookie Captain Teglia himself to open up the scoring early in the first period in a mother-son effort with Janet Goins picking up an assist as well as Jason Northrup. The mother-son duo would once again combine to feed Jon Salt late in the 1st period to move the Blue Balls into a 2-0 lead. Janice Darlington would score her first of the season to move White within 1 (Assisted by Vance). That was as close as White could get though with Brendan Jew adding an insurance goal with assists from Jon Salt and Chad Goins(To make the hat trick of family members).

And just like that regular season ends and the playoffs begin, Pope returns Thursday so I will be relegated to ball boy once again. The Captains all have the playoff game times, Pope will update the schedule on Thursday or Friday with scorekeeper assignments and refs.

The only drama rivalling the Coldplay kiss cam scandal is that of the SDFHL three-way race for the playoffs battle between Tyler Winstead “It’s Not Grey In A Three Way”, William Teglias “Schmidty’s Salty Blue Balls ” and Nick Meglichs “Live From 4S, It’s Sunday White!”. All 3 teams have been hit hard by the summer attendance curse but going into Sundays games they all still have a legitimate shot at that coveted last spot!!! Who will make the cut, and who will take the 6 week holiday is anyone’s guess……

First game of the day featured a surging Brown(4-3) vs a leafy Green(3-3-1). A win for Captain Bathgates Brown would gain them ground on Red while Captain Bao Nguyens Green only needed 1 point to clinch their playoff birth. Despite the lopsided shots on goal, it was an understaffed Brown to strike first with Josh Wirt beating Matt Henderson late in the first period. But that was it for Brown. Thats when the man with the perfect smile took over, Nick Vacchio scoring first at 8:40 in the 2nd assisted by young Canuck Brennen Abel and power forward Sadie Hellstrom. Vacchio would then get his 2nd of the game only a few minutes later unassisted at 3:18 that ended up being the game winner and playoff clincher for Green.

The 5pm game featured Pink who are currently in the three-way tie at the top of the standings and Red a mere 1 point behind. Red have been helped by the resurgence of Jon Zygelman as well as offensive juggernaut Owen Perks and point per game high schooler Trevor Vick. Papi Tim Vick (despite his very limited skill and hockey sense) is having a career season in assists! Captain Boddy has been leading by example though sitting at the top of the scoring race with a massive 17 points. A bit of controversy before this game even began after a clerical error resulted in Red not having a goalie. A last minute fill in by our POTW Chris Tran would change the dynamic of the game. After a scoreless first period, Pink started the scoring early in the 2nd with Jason Lee scoring his 2nd of the year from Erin Plone and Parsa. Young Canuck Owen Perks would respond a few minutes later followed by an unassisted goal from Trevor Vick. The teams would trade goals until the 3rd when POTW nominee Owen Perks got his 2nd of the night that would move Red ahead for good. Perks finished off the hat trick with a few seconds remaining to lift Red over Pink in a game that had enormous playoff seeding implications.

Game three is where things really start to matter. Rob Lavignes Baby Blue vs Nick Meglich’s White. Baby Blue are deep in the hunt for the top spot and top playoff seed while White are battling to make the cut. Bryan Ossa going down to injury as well as Rob Lavinge’s “Undisclosed lower body injury” are cause of some concern for Captain Lavigne however Baby Blue are fortunately still one of the speediest teams in the league. This game started off with very stingy defence on both sides. The only real highlight of the first two periods was TK Mason taking her first Penalty of the year with only 41 seconds left in the 2nd period. It would be Captain Lavignve though at 3:19 in the 3rd who would seal the fate of a very forgettable season by Captain Nick Meglichs White. The win keeping Baby Blue in that race for the first spot and top seed in a very competitive race. White now have a an incredibly important game against their arch rival Dark Blue in the battle for the Wooden Spoon with both teams wanting to avoid that last place finish.

And then we have the 7pm game of Grey vs Purple. This is where the drama really begins, this is the CEO and the Head of HR Coldplay moment. With the huge win last week Rookie Captain Mason Holocombs Purple moved themselves out of the cellar but not out of danger. Grey with 4 points are still in total control of their playoff future and with both teams missing key players its anyones game to win or lose. In perhaps the most lopsided game of the entire season unassisted goals by former Blackburn Stinger Jordan Pynn and Josh Tran lifted Grey past an absolutely exhausted Purple who were missing their entire first line including last weeks POTW Shawna Hamon. The win was enromous because it clinched the playoff sport for Grey relegating both White and Dark Blue to the basement and the golf course. Because both White and Dark Blue lost it also clinched for Purple. It was yet another win for this weeks POTW Chris Tran, but in this one he didnt really have to do much because he didn’t face his first shot until the end of the 2nd period.

Rookie Captain William Teglias “Schmidty’s Salty Blue Balls” may not lead the league in points, however they definately lead the league in absenses with a combined 19 missed games this season. Silas “The Silencer” Perks has faced a league high average of 31 shots against him in his 5 games and has still managed to finish 3rd in his Save % this season which is insane. With a Grey victory Dark Blue required wins in both this weeks game as well as next weeks game to even have a chance for playoff glory. The game remained scoreless through almost the entire first period until Neon got a quick one, only to have Jon Salt score 4 seconds later to make it 1-1 after 1. Enter rookie sensation Darin Cerasuolo. The youngster would score 3 unanswered goals on the silencer moving Neon up 4-1, Justin “The Albatross” Hepler added a goal of his own and two more assists to add to Neons total. Tony Thinh Scored a nice goal on a pass from Jon Salt in the dying minutes, but it was too little too late as Neon won in convincing style 7-2 heading into a game against arch rival Pink which will could determine the top seed heading into the playoffs.