The mathematical rubber really meets the road in the final weeks of the regular season, with teams cozied along the cut line carefully calculating the significance of win/draw/loss scenarios. Obviously, it is often very important how other teams in similar standings strata fare, as well, but you can’t control the course of another game, so the simplest (and sanest) option is to ‘just win, and hope for the best’. Captain Hima Joshi’s ‘Zero Dark Birdy’ had not been doing much ‘just winning’ at 2-5-0 coming into the first of two weeks of make-up play, leaving them ‘hoping for the best’ (and a little help) to survive to see the second season. Captain Joel Gattey’s injured calf did not keep him from showing up to support his Lime mates in their bid to collect a point (or better) and officially secure playoff passage. A loss for Black would mean a lost season, so it was really ‘just tie…at a minimum’ for Joshi & Company as the ball dropped to open the Week Three Make-Up slate. Papa Jon Salt put Black on course for that much needed result, sniping home his seventh of the season from Wendy Enright at 4:18 in the first. Salt’s goal touched off a wild series of scoring from both sides in the ensuing minutes of play, as Jordan Pynn equalized for Lime at 3:46 (Vance Morra), then Sean Bathgate gave Lime their first lead at 0:22 (Morra)…then Marc Lapointe re-tied the game with just six ticks left in the opening ten (Steve Pugliese & Enright)! So…two to two going into the second…and going into the third…and at the final whistle…no scoring for either side outside of that 4:12 span in the latter half of the first. Both Matt Henderson (20/22) and Chuck Bender (17/19) (in a fill-in role for the globetrotting Will Heinl) were sharp, with the 2-2 tie just enough to keep Black’s playoff hopes alive (pending later results), and just enough to lock Lime in for April games. Black will need Blue to loss to Pink at 5:00 this Sunday, and will need to follow that result with a win of their own over the disaster that is 0-8-0 Green. So, plenty of ‘hope for the best’ left for Black, but it is now a must-win-and-get-help final day of play.

Another team fretting over points and pushing through to the playoffs hit the court next, as Captain Bryan Ossa’s Pink warmed up opposite a skeleton crew showing for Captain Ryan Karns’ Flint Blue. Having just witnessed Black’s one point result, Ossa & Company knew they would be in with a win, and the odds of collecting that win were significantly improved with the likes of John Boddy, Luke Wolmer, and Ryan Loughran (who combined to account for over half of their team’s goals, coming in) not in the Flint Blue lineup. Pink would be without the services of Sadie Hellstrom and the aforementioned globetrotter, Will Heinl, but with their ‘big guns’ (Carl Vankoughnett and Josh Wirt) locked and loaded, this was Pink’s game to lose. Karns’ Krew showed early push, but soon flagged, and Pink began their assault in earnest late in the first period. Josh Wirt found twine at 3:32 (Elyse Shattuck & Mostafa Azab), and Carl Vankoughnett followed just twenty ticks later to pump Pink’s lead to two (Wirt & Captain Ossa). Vankoughnett struck again less than a minute later (2:34, from Mark DeGraffenreid and Pat Gladstone), and with a 13-3 shot count in Pink’s favor through the first period of play, it seemed clear that the FlamingOssas would get the result they needed on this day with relative ease. The action quieted down in the second period, but Vankoughnett’s hat trick capper at 4:47 (DeGraffenreid & Ossa) kept any inkling of a Flint Blue comeback at bay going into the final period of play. That final period saw a fourth Vankoughnett goal (Wirt & Gladstone at 8:10) and a sixth and final goal for Pink, courtesy of Captain Ossa at 7:27 (Vankoughnett & DeGraffenreid) to stick the dismount on a 6-0 playoff-clinching win. Jon Cima (12/12) was hardly tested in a surrogate shutout stint, while Nick Meglich was GREAT, but gutted in a 33/39 losing effort. The win gives Pink two in a row, evens their record at 4-4-0, and takes all pressure off for their regular season wrap against Captain Gaudio’s Blue. The loss for Flint Blue was hardly a playoff positioning hinderance for the presumptive second seeds, and should foster no concern otherwise for Captain Karns’ & Company, given the limited bench and arsenal available in this loss (however convincing).

Black’s non-win in the early game had already unlocked the playoff gates for both Captain Shawna Hamon’s ‘Turds Of A Feather’ and Captain Chad Goins’ ‘Chadinals’, but securing a higher seed and building some momentum going into the first round is never a bad idea. After dropping to 1-3-0 in a Week Five loss to Flint Blue, Red had surged back to 3-3-1 with crucial wins over White and Blue, and an impressive tie with previously-perfect Orange. Brown’s regular season redemption had traced a similar arc, with a 3-0-1 run flipping their season from an 0-3-0 flop to a 3-3-1 fun and gun frolic. With the obvious likelihood of a tie aside, one of these teams would finally forge their way above the .500 mark and move into the upper half of the standings, while the other would have their lossless streak snapped and find themselves in the frantic fight to not face Captain Jeremy’s juggernaut Orange to open their playoff campaign. Pat Gladstone threw the first stone (see what I very lamely did there), playing in her THIRD game of the evening in place of the absent Janet Goins, converting a passing series from Josh Tran and Brennen Abel to give Red a lead at 7:30. Abel would double the lead at 6:04 (Jackson Tomaszewski & Steph Palomo Schmidt) to cap a period that saw the leaders outshoot the trailers 9-2. The shot discrepancy continued in the second, with Red getting the better of Brown by a 10-3 count, but only one of those ten shots, Gordon Schmidt’s second of the season (Abel) at 9:22, found a way past a busier-than-he’d-like-to-be Sean Kelly. Brown pushed back in the third, mustering six shots to Red’s eight, but could find no answer to the three goals already on the books, nor the fourth chipped in by Josh Tran with 5:04 to play (Abel & Greg Wirth). Jon Cima (11/11) collected his second low stress shutout of the evening in Red’s 4-0 win, while Sean Kelly (23/27) and Brown suffered their first loss since a 7-0 Week Four beatdown at the hands of Pink. As noted, both teams are already a go for the playoffs, but both can potentially improve their playoff positioning with a good showing in their respective finales. Red could move up as high as the three seed with a win over Lime and losses for both Flint Blue (Brown) and White (Orange), but could also fall as low as six with a loss and a combination of other results. Brown can climb as high as the five seed with a win over Flint Blue and losses for Lime and Pink, but can also fall into the dreaded eight hole with a loss and a Blue win.

Captain Alan Razoky’s Green have been dead and decomposing for what feels like months. A rough start had them increasingly desperate for better results, but when no saving grace was found, things quickly unraveled. Razoky himself was suspended for two games for conduct in the late going of a particularly lopsided loss to Orange in Week Six, and the games since have generally been lightly attended, almost a bye week for opponents, and just another strike in the loss column in a beyond bleak trudge to finish out the regular season. Captain Zach Siemer’s White was having a near polar opposite experience, living up to their preseason ‘defense wins championship’ billing by having allowed an absolutely anemic EIGHT goals over seven games coming in (contrast that with Green’s thirty-one over that span), only having lost by more than one goal once (a 2-0 loss to Red), and just generally coming into every game with a chance to win. That ‘chance to win’ was (of course) high on this day, especially with Green missing Alan Razoky, Andrew Jacobsen, Brendan Jew, Sev Brown, Kaitlyn Brown, and Audrey Stratton. So, with two female subs plugged in…six total players for Green against a full White roster, eager to collect their two points and stay in the mix for the second seed. Jon Zygelman broke the scoring seal bright and early, converting at 9:25 (Captain Siemer & Vinny Santora), then had seconds with 1:58 to go (Siemer) to give White a 2-0 lead…something that a team backed by ‘The Silencer’™ can almost always count on as a guaranteed indicator of impending victory. Captain Siemer echoed Zygelman’s feat in the second, scoring unassisted at 2:00 and again at 1:31 (Janice Darlington & Tyler Winstead). A 4-0 lead, a 25-4 edge in shots over two periods, one lonely sub on the opposing bench, and a goalie who routinely says ‘no’ to heroic comebacks…just 360 doom and gloom for Green. Eli Schonbrun shone a bit of light into that gloom with 1:43 to play (Chris Tran & Maureen Ruchhoeft), but Scott Wieland’s response just thirteen seconds later restored the four goal edge for Green, and Silas Perks (7/8) and White would wrap the 5-1 win to draw even with Flint Blue in the race for second place. Chuck Bender (29/34) has played every game this season for Green, and is to be commended for standing in and giving his all every week, even when some of his teammates choose to avoid the ugly late stages of a tragic season. Green will close out their season against a desperate Black, with only the hope of avoiding an 0-9-0 season and the opportunity to play spoiler as potential selling points for their dejected ranks. White face the ultimate playoff tune-up in Orange in the final game of the final Sunday of regular season play. While White cannot hope to advance past Orange in the standings, a win would slather Siemer’s squad with a fair spread of confidence going into April play.

While it feels like Green has been dead and decomposing for months, it feels like Orange has had a playoff spot locked in since Week Two. In reality, they have had a spot reserved since their Week Five 6-2 win over Black, which left them the only undefeated team at 4-0-0, and the very clear Cup favorites on the strength of their insane offense and efficient team play. Captain Copp’s creation lasted all the way to Week Nine before conceding so much as a point in the standings, a 3-3 tie with Red, and with the top playoff spot all but guaranteed already, their pair of make-up games to wrap the regular season would be much more about their opponents’ needs than anything else. Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue certainly had needs after crashing out form a 3-0-0 start to a 3-4-0 record coming into their Sunday date with the resident juggernaut. While they could technically afford to lose a fifth straight, it would put them in a very bad position going into the final week of play, with Black sitting just one point below them with only the shell of Green sitting between elimination and a leapfrog win for Captain Joshi & Company. Obviously, this was not an ideal time to draw Orange as an opponent (not that there is an ideal time), but Blue brought the full roster and all the hope they could muster…you never know. When Trevor Vick gave the desperate dogs the first lead of the game at 3:39 in the first (Captain Gaudio & Tony Thinh), the ‘you never know’ optimism rippled through the Blue ranks, but an Aaron Cooney equalizer at 1:52 (Owen Perks), and an Owen Perks lead-stealer at 1:05 (Christopher Fiore & Cooney) served as an sobering reality check. Owen Perks made it 3-1 at 8:23 in the second with his league best thirteenth of the season (Silas Perks), but Captain Gaudio responded for Blue at 6:49 (Jason Remple) to keep his team close. Close would be the only consolation Blue would manage in this one, as Cooney’s twelfth of the season at 3:46 (The Perks Boys’™) in the second restored the two goal edge, and Cooney’s thirteenth, an empty netter with two ticks remaining, sealed the 5-2 win for Orange, officially locked them in as the top playoff seed, and left Blue in need of points and/or help on the final Sunday of play. Mason Holcomb (10/12) kept his (and his team’s) ledger free of loss with another solid effort, while Don Tran (23/27) and Blue’s fifth straight loss leaves them the coldest team outside of the corpse of Green. Blue face Pink in their finale, and a tie in that match would assure them a playoff berth…even if Black goes on to beat Green, Blue would advance on the head-to-head tie breaker, and even in the case of a three way tie at seven points with Brown/Blue/Black, Black would be out, having lost to both. If Blue should fail to secure a point against Pink at 5:00, they will need to hope that Black finds a way to lose to Green, or Black will be the last team in, and Blue will be, as the headline suggests, a rotten egg…

It was ‘another week, another tough loss’ for Captain Bryan Ossa’s slumping ‘FlamingOssas’. After a promising 2-1-0 start to the season that saw them rack up twenty goals and hang tough with the likes of Orange, Pink had drooped to 2-3-0, with a 7-1 loss to White and a 4-2 loss to Lime serving sobering notice that they had A LOT of work to do to stay safe through the regular season. The Week Eight matchup with Black would be a golden opportunity to rebound into the win column and deal a major blow to one of the few teams remaining below them in the standings. When a full compliment of Pink players gathered in warmups to find Papa Jon Salt out of the lineup at the other end, the anticipation of that much-needed rebound abounded all the more. I mean…if you read the first part of the first sentence of this recap, you already know that it was ‘a new week, a new life’ for Captain Hima Joshi’s Black, who came in at 1-4-0, desperate for a detour from their cutline course. Any win would work, but a win over Pink would be particularly prized, given the additional tiebreaker ammunition at stake. Geoff Downes kicked off the scoring at 6:59 in the first, completing a chain from Eric Willard and Rob LaVigne, and Downes quickly (1:10 later) doubled Black’s lead from LaVigne and Evan Melcher. A familiar fear and frustration crept through Pink’s ranks, and those emotions were only intensified by Eric Willard’s strike at 1:30 (Downes and Wendy Enright), then exponentially exacerbated but a (literal) last second Steve Pugliese breakaway conversion to cap a mic drop four spot for Black through one. Pink knew they had the time and talent to recover, but a tortured psyche is not an easy thing to soothe, especially in the course of a live game. Carl Vankoughnett would lead that recovery effort in the second, though, chipping one (Josh Wirt & Elyse Shattuck), then two (Mostafa Azab) past super sub, Nick Meglich, to calm the nerves and focus the resolve of his mates. Alas for Captain Ossa & Company, those would be the last balls past Meglich (28/30) who was stout to say the least in relief of Pink’s own Will Heinl. When Wendy Enright shoveled home an insurance goal on the power play at 8:41 in the third (LaVigne and Willard), there was a collective shoulder slump and heart sink in the Pink ranks, knowing they had let another crucial game go the other way. The 5-2 win was massive for Black, pushing them above the cutline for the first time all season by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker with their fallen Pink foes. Neither team is dead, nor (certainly) guaranteed second season survival, but Pink’s free fall has removed them from the current playoff picture, and a recovery from this kind of crash and burn calamity is unlikely, at best…

The Week Eight slate pivoted from the Pink v Black trench battle to a much loftier link-up between Captain Zach Siemer’s 3-1-1 White and Captain Ryan Karns’ 3-1-1 Flint Blue. While it is always beneficial to see how your team measures up to teams of similar caliber and playoff trajectory, there was very little at stake in this intriguing battle of second seed contenders. A win would officially (or, as officially as need be) punch a playoff ticket, and might also serve to increase the odds of holding on to a higher seed, so there was certainly more than pride on the line as the team’s lined up for the opening faceoff. Dan Jurgens put Flint Blue on the front foot with a powerplay goal at 3:41 (John Boddy and Ryan Loughran), and when Boddy doubled the lead at 1:44 (Jurgens & Captain Karns), some mid-volume alarm bells rang through the Siegulls’ hearts and minds. As we all know, one goal is usually all you get when you face Silas ‘The Silencer’™ Perks, and tallying two through one period of play is a win unto itself. The actual win, of course, was still at stake, and Scott Wieland wanted that win. Wieland was a man possessed in this game for White, by far the most impressive performer from either side. His solo strike at 4:07 in the second was the epitome of extra effort, with Wieland collecting his own rebound and sniping home a much-needed response from a bad angle to put his team back in the mix. Wieland’s blast from the point found the twine behind Nick Meglich at 9:29 in the third (Steve Linke), knotting the score at twos, and sending a surge of swagger through White’s ranks. Wieland’s heroics were indeed impressive, and while he was the best player on the court in this game, he did not make THE BEST play. That honor belonged to the humble, unassuming, dare I say unlikely personage of Mr. Ramsey Ksar. Ksar found himself in a battle along the near half boards in the attacking zone, and most in attendance probably assumed that the outcome of that scrum would be something rather benign and ordinary…the defender would chip it out, or Ramsey would struggle through and snap a bad angle chance toward Perks. Nope! As if he had found the exact combination of button presses and joystick wiggles in a very realistic video game, Ramsey spun off the defender, collected the ball in stride, strutted in alone, and sniped the game-winner over Perks’ shoulder…absolutely sublime! It’s tough (to say the least) to put two past Perks, but Ksar’s kshocking ksolo kshelf-job would be the difference in a truly thrilling regular season clash, with Flint Blue coming out on top, 3-2. Meglich (24/26) notched a ‘real’ win on the heels of his successful sub stint, outdueling the biggest baddie in goalie gear (Perks 18/21) to make Ksar’s star turn stand. Both teams remain in very strong playoff position, of course, slotting safely above the ‘six (point) pack’ of teams, but likely out of reach of an untouchable Orange as we wend into the final third of the season.

While SDFHL oddsmakers were not predicting a twist in the Week Eight Wing League ‘Citrus Bowl’, Captain Joel Gattey’s Lime could not be discounted outright from being the team that would finally find a way to fell Captain Jeremy Copp’s ‘Overpowered Orange Ogre’ (not their actual team name, so much as a nom de punishment I conjured just now). While Lime’s two wins coming in came at the expense of two of the worst teams in the league (Pink and Green), their ties came against two of the best (White and Flint Blue)…the latter of which coming as the result of a last minute lapse. There’s really no nuance to Orange’s back story…they just win…every…damn…week. At 5-0-0, I suppose the only motivations are staying perfect, and keeping the law offices of Perks, Perks & Cooney simmering at the top of the scoring silo. For Lime, a win would be a massive boost to their playoff potential, if not an outright ticket punch, and would put the big dogs on notice that anything can happen in a playoff rematch…including an upset encore. Before there can be an encore, there needs to be show, and Jordan Pynn staged his own two act shooting performance to put the underdogs on top with seeing eye snipes from distance early in the first and second periods. His blast at 9:36 in the first (Leah Gonzales & Joe Malki) served noticed that Lime was by no means cowed by Orange’s lossless legacy, and his similarly-sizzling strike at 8:32 in the second (Craig Russell) had onlookers on high alert for an upset. There would indeed be an ‘upset’ in this one, but not in the ‘unexpected win by an underdog’ sense of the word…more in the ‘damn…I thought we had that one’ usage. Yes, Orange would come to life with Aaron Cooney’s eighth of the season at 7:19 in the second (Owen Perks & Silas Perks), then Silas Perks would level the ledger at 9:24 in the third (Cooney). The teams were now on ‘even footing’, but the rink was clearly tilting in favor of Captain Copp’s crew. Cooney’s second of the game gave Orange their first lead at 5:55 (Owen Perks & Shelby Shattuck), and Owen’s empty netter at 0:36 iced yet another Orange win, this time 4-2 over Lime. Will Heinl (19/22) was very solid in Matt Henderson’s stead, weathering the Orange storm as well as any have so far, while Mason Holcomb (14/16) kept both his and his team’s record perfect at 6-0-0 with another strong effort. To add injury to insult, Captain Joel Gattey suffered a freak calf injury in the second period, and looks to be out for some time. He will need to hope that his team can earn a few more points in their remaining three games to lock in a playoff spot and await his return. Orange has the formidable front of Red, Blue, and White remaining between them and a flawless regular season, and I for one am not betting against them.

While our cover team, Captain Shawna Hamon’s ‘Turds Of A Feather’ are ‘making the paper’ for all the right reasons, it is safe to say that their Week Eight opponents are…not. Green were already in ‘must win’ mode coming into the contest, but with Captain Alan Razoky himself serving a two game suspension, and at least one (likely two) other players refusing to play in an apparent protest of that suspension, there was some concern that Brown might not even have an opponent to face in their bid for a third straight win. To the relief of all involved in keeping this league running strong, all but Alan and the expected AWOLs were suited and booted for Green, and beyond simply ‘showing up’, genuinely fought for their playoff lives from start to finish in perhaps the most exhilarating match of the week, if not the season. Eli Schonbrun put Green in front at 4:50 in the first (Brendan Jew & Trice Harvey), and Schonbrun’s second of the game and fourth of the season at 5:12 in the second (Maureen Ruchhoeft and Chris Tran) doubled the upset edge. When Tran struck to make it 3-0 Green just over a minute later (Jew & Chuck Bender) the long-awaited Green revolution was well and truly underway. Like many revolutions throughout history, however, this one was snuffed out as quickly as it rose up. Weston Oakley began his POTW campaign with his second of the season at 9:10 in the third (Kalen Hunter & Jim LaGrossa), then a pair of Hunter lamplighters at 6:56 (Andy Strathman & LaGrossa) and 3:33 (Oakley & LaGrossa) erased every trace of Green’s advantage. Jason Northrup would finally answer for Green with a solo goal with 2:48 to play, but it took just FOUR seconds for Brown to respond to that response with LaGrossa finishing a Hunter feed to make it 4-4. He wasn’t named POTW for nothing, folks…Weston Oakley, sitting on two career goals, both having come in his last five periods of play…0:45…game-winner (Strathman)…Green heart and back breaker…game over…Brown 5, Green 4…wow! Neither goalie will want to frame and hang their line from this one, but Sean Kelly (23/27) did JUST manage to outduel Chuck ‘Hard Luck’™ Bender (13/18) in this one to keep his team rolling. The stunning win finds the ‘Turds’ all the way back from the winless depths of the standings to 3-3-0, with all of the momentum and mojo you could ever hope for going into their final three games. The loss…obviously devastating for an already devastated Green side, but (contrary to my previous ‘must win’ indication), they are still alive in the playoff hunt. Two of their remaining three opponents are just four points ahead of them in the standings (Pink and Black), which keeps a fair amount of their fate in their own hands. The trickier part will be their March 23rd match with White, but they WILL need a win in all three of their remaining games (and some help) to survive into April…

The Week Eight nightcap was one of those ‘crossroads’ games, with Captain Chad Goins’ Red hoping to snag a second straight win, even their record at 3-3-0, and establish themselves in the thick of a mid pack of teams with solid playoff prospects. Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue were hoping to avoid a third straight loss, which would see them slide from a 3-0-0 early season record to a 3-3-0 mark heading into the final third of the season. While Jason Remple was already plugged in a producing points, Blue’s two game tumble started with a stunning 3-0 loss to Brown in Kyle Snyder’s Week Five farewell foray, and continued with perhaps the gut-punchiest-of-all-time losses to Flint Blue in Week Six…building a 3-0 lead through two, then allowing four goals, including two in the final 2:07…eeeesh! So, two teams one tick on one side or the other of .500, a great ‘on paper’ matchup…a nice way to wrap Week Eight. Unfortunately for Captain Gaudio & Company, this one was all but wrapped after one period of play. Jackson Tomaszewski muscled his way into thick of the race for second place in scoring pace on the strength of two second period assists, and two first period goals. JT put Red up bright and (super) early at 9:49 (Brennen Abel), then doubled the damage at 6:26 (Abel & Captain Goins). Min-Soo Smith padded the lead with his first of the season at 5:04, and it would be all smiles for Red in the first intermission huddle, up 3-0. Jason Lee finally responded for Blue on the powerplay at 6:39 in the second (Tony Thinh & Captain Gaudio), but Steph Palomo Schmidt restored the three goal advantage at 5:04 (Abel & Tomaszewski). Steph’s lesser half, Gordon Schmidt Palomo, pushed Red’s lead to four at 2:58 (Tomaszewski & Palomo Schmidt), but Jason Remple put Blue back where they left off after the first, rattling home his second of the season at 1:54 (Lee & Dorothy Kline). Lest there was any fear that Blue might do unto Red as Flint Blue did unto them, an Abel solo snipe made it 6-2 Red with 6:33 to play. Tim Vick’s conversion with 0:33 remaining (Remple & Lee) was little more than a minor moral(e) victory for Captain Gaudio’s gang, and a minor ding on Jon Cima’s solid outing (13/16). The 6-3 loss is Blue’s third straight, which puts them in lockstep with Pink for coldest team in the league (not counting Green), while the 6-3 win is Red’s second in a row, and has them liking their chances of making it to April. Don Tran (19/25) and Blue are certainly not in ‘must-win’ mode, by any means, but you really want to snap a regular season losing streak, especially when you have not yet sewn up a playoff spot. The problem…Blue has the 3-2-1 White, and the 6-0-0 Orange up next on the schedule. The silver lining…they play the aforementioned froze bros, Pink in their finale.

Captain Zach Siemers ‘Siegulls’ are a ‘lock down’ team by almost every measure, but a closer examination reveals what we all already know all too well…Silas ‘The Silencer’™ Perks is a bad dude. White came into Week Six play having allowed ONE OR FEWER goals in each of their first four games, and you might be inclined to believe that a large part of the credit for that stunning stat would be owed to Captain Siemer’s ‘defense first’ draft strategy. However, including their Week Six clash with Captain Chad Goins’ Red, Siemer’s squad has actually allowed the third highest shots-against total (111) in the league! So, you flip to the goaltending statistics page, and there’s that ‘bad dude’…sitting pretty at the top of the pile by a mile with a .955/1.00/1 SO line. Whether it is The Silencer™ just fully feeling it, or some combination of goaltending and a Linke-led defense limiting ‘quality chances’, White’s 3-0-1 record coming into Week Five play was proof that they have a working winning concept. Captain Goins’ group came in on a two game slide, dropping their record to 1-3-0, and leaving them thirsty for a win against one of only two remaining lossless teams. The first period came and went with no score, but served as an excellent illustration of my ‘bad dude’ point above, with Red outshooting White 12-0 (!) to no avail. White mustered some semblance of an attack in the second, with the shot count a bit less in Red’s favor (11-6), but it was Brennen Abel finally breaking through at 3:34 to…get this, loyal reader…put White down for the first time all season! Jackson Tomaszewski and Gordon Schmidt provided the helping hands on Abel’s goal, and it was Tomaszewski and Greg Wirth with the assists on young William Teglia’s strike to make it 2-0 Red with 2:34 to play. Remember, if you’re scoring at home, this is the first time all season that White has surrendered more than one goal…and it would lead to their first loss of the season, with Jon Cima (10/10) and Red holding on for the 2-0 win. Perks (29/31) was no less incredible than he has been all season, but even a perfect performance from him would have meant a tie for Siemer & Company. The win is an important one for Red, swinging them into a pack of teams looking to escape the cut line, while the loss does little to dampen the drive, nor the playoff prognosis for White.

If the league has ever seen a starker example of an ‘up and down season’ than Captain Bryan Ossa’s Wing League 2025 ‘FlamingOssas’, I would be very, very surprised. Pink opened their slate with a convincing 7-3 thrashing of Red, followed by a wild 7-6 loss to Orange, followed by a 7-0 boat race win over Brown, followed by a 7-1 laugher loss to White. So…whether dropping seven on a team, or having seven dropped on them, Pink was running a W-L-W-L chain coming into Week Six…a chain featuring perhaps the craziest contrast between links imaginable. The hope for Ossa & Company was that this pendulous pattern would continue, earning them a big bounce back win over Captain Joel Gattey’s 1-1-2 Lime. Lime’s pattern coming in was a bit less 3D, with a 4-2 loss to Blue, a 4-2 win over Green, and too dramatic ties…one late letdown against Flint Blue, and one late come up against White. The end result of these ‘patterns’ for both teams was four points in the standings, and a strong desire to create cutline distance and improve playoff prospects going into the second half of the season. A scoreless first (only the second scoreless period in a game involving Pink all season) saw Pink outshooting (6-2) and out-chancing Lime, but Matt Henderson and Lime would hold the line and surge to life in the second. Vance Morra converted on the powerplay at 5:54 in the second (Joe Malki & Chris Malki), and when Jerry Gonzales added a solo strike at 4:30 and Joe Malki a third tally at 2:25 (Jerry Gonzales & Chris Malki), the fear of another lopsided loss rippled through the Pink bench. Captain Ossa finally answered for his team at 2:14, finishing a very pretty tic-tac-toe rush from Josh Wirt and Sadie Hellstrom, but all potential momentum from that goal was sucked away by a Sean Bathgate dagger with just 0:05 to play in the middle frame (Leah Gonzales & Joel Gattey). Pink continued to push in the third, rallying the shot count back into their favor (9-3), and carving closer with a successful Mark DeGraffenreid breakaway, but that would be all that a heroic Henderson (21/23) would allow. The ‘heroic’ adjective in the previous sentence stems (in part) from the fact that Henderson was badly shaken up with 4:39 to play, with all signs pointing to an early exit with a gnarly shoulder injury. Nope…he stood back up, shook it off, and went on to finish a big 4-2 win for Lime…the kind of toughness that his forthcoming biopic will feature in an inspirational scene, with swelling music and emotional friends and family looking on in the stands. Michael Haine (11/15) was very solid at the other end, fully resolving any crisis of confidence his Pink mates may have had after a tough Week Five loss to White. Haine will have the benefit of a full array of weapons for Pink in Week Seven, with Carl Vankoughnett returning to run alongside Wirt against a suddenly sagging Blue side.

With Captain Goins’ Red moving to a safer place in the standings with their win over White, and Captain Ossa’s Pink sliding closer to the cutline with their loss to Lime, the already weighty trench battle between Captain Shawna Hamon’s Brown and Captain Hima Joshi’s Black took on an additional significance. The winner would keep pace with the four point pack, keep their vanquished opponent below the cutline, and earn a potentially important late season tiebreaker in the process. A win for Brown would also give them two in a row, and serve as some notice that they ‘are back’ after a very slow start to the season in the absence of super star, Kalen Hunter. Coming into Week Six, Hunter had appeared in just two of his team’s four games, but had accounted for three of their four goals. Brown would almost certainly need to find some more ‘secondary scoring’ to survive this season, and…right on cue…Kevin ‘The Deputy’™ Dinino came through, netting his first of the campaign at 9:24 in the first (Captain Hamon). Eric Willard would respond immediately for Black, equalizing just nine seconds later (Steve Pugliese) on what must have been a quick step and shoot off the ensuing faceoff. Brown found more ‘secondary scoring’ with Jim LaGrossa snapping home his second of the season at 3:46 (Hunter & Hamon) to give his team a lead going into the second. Following the trend, it was Weston Oakley’s turn to convert for Brown, finding powerplay paydirt at 6:42 in the second (Hunter and Greg Francisco) to pad Brown’s slim lead. Not only was this another bit of ‘secondary scoring’ for Brown, but it was also Oakley’s first career SDFHL goal! CONGRATULAIONS, WESTON! Evan Melcher brought Black back to within one at 9:05 in the third (Willard), adding his name to the ‘secondary scoring’ trend, which Black would certainly need in the absence Jon Salt. As if to remind all involved that ‘primary scoring’ is also important, Hunter’s fourth of the season (LaGrossa) was also the fourth of the game for his team, and Sean Kelly (16/18) would hold it down from there to seal the 4-2 win for Brown over Black. Chuck Bender (10/14) shouldered the loss for Black in Will Heinl’s absence, with Captain Joshi’s team remaining idle below the cutline through the midway point of the season at 1-4-0. As fortune would have it, her team can immediately redeem themselves and make progress to playoff safety with a win over winless Green this Sunday. Of course, a loss in that game would be the end of the road for Green, but in all likelihood, a loss would spell the end of the second season dream for either team.

In life, there is ‘good drama’, and there is ‘bad drama’. ‘Good drama’ would be…Severance, or Squid Game, or any other movie or show that keeps you locked in on the edge of your seat. ‘Bad drama’ would be SDFHL Wing League 2025 Week Six Orange v Green. Captain Jeremy Copp marshalled his Orange troops into this contest with a 4-0-0 record, TWENTY-THREE goals-for, and three of the top ten scorers in the league (Owen Perks, Aaron Cooney, and Silas Perks) on the court together at any given time. Captain Alan Razoky’s Green came in as perhaps the biggest underdogs in SDFHL history at 0-4-0, having managed just eight goals in those four losses, and with a near-palpable cloud of aimless despair hanging over their ranks. For good measure, Chris Tran would be out of the lineup for Green due to injury, while Orange was fully present and primed to play. In spite of the mismatch ‘on paper’, and by every measure of performance and projection to this point in the season, this game really did have some ‘good drama’ through two periods of play. Owen Perks continued his absolutely scalding scoring pace with his ninth of the season at 9:14 (Silas Perks), but Captain Razoky equalized for Green at 3:55 (Andrew Jacobsen) to send the two teams tied into the second. Orange pumped up the pressure in the second, outshooting Green 12-3, but Chuck Bender was as equal to the task as could be hoped (or more), holding Orange to just two tallies…an Aaron Cooney strike at 8:19 (The Perks Boys™), and a solo snipe from Christopher Fiore at 6:22. So, in spite of the expected heavy tilt of the court in Orange’s favor, and in spite of an 18-5 edge in shots, Green had hung tough with their formidable foes, and the concept of a courageous third period coup was not outside the realm of possibility. Owen Perks’ second of the game at 8:44 (Cooney & Silas Perks) certainly dashed Green’s hope, but the game wore on through the middle point of the third at a still-very-ho-hum 4-1 score. That’s about when the ‘bad drama’ ensued. Cooney’s second of the game with 4:06 to play (Owen Perks), and his hat trick turner at 3:39 (Owen Perks & Shelby Shattuck), broke the game open to a 6-1 Orange rout, drawing accusations from Green (or, at least, one player on Green) of Orange ‘running up the score’. It should be noted that Orange cannot help but ‘run up the score’…they have now averaged SIX goals per game…they are just an offensive juggernaut. At any rate, Fiore’s second of the game to make it 7-1 (Justin Stege) was the final straw for Captain Razoky, as the ‘bad drama’ came to an ugly head, with Green’s leader leading his team off the court in protest of Orange’s potency with 2:34 remaining on the clock. Yes, loyal reader…for the first time in SDFHL history, we saw a team refuse to finish a game, and essentially forfeit…’very bad drama’. As noted, Bender (19/26) was sharp in spite of the seven spot, keeping his outgunned gang in the fray going into the final frame. Mason Holcomb (4/5) was obviously hardly tested, but kept his personal record, and that of Orange perfect at 5-0-0 in the pretty/ugly 7-1 win. Needless to say, the two teams remain on their polar opposite paths with this result, with locking down the top playoff seed the only remaining to-do list item for Orange, and with Green now in must win mode for the remainder of their (miserable) season.

Not all losses hit the same. For Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue, dropping their first game of the season to a previously unbeaten Brown side…in shutout fashion…in super star Kyle Snyder’s final SDFHL game…that was a tough loss. Still, at 3-1-0, and having brought in the skilled and speedy Jason Remple to replace Snyder, Blue had to like their chances of bouncing back in Week Six against their rival shade, Captain Ryan Karns’ Flint Blue. If you read the headline above, you know already that this was another loss for Blue…and as tough as their first loss of the season was, their second was at least twice as tough. It all started well enough, with Jason Lee putting Blue up 1-0 just thirty seconds into play, and ‘The Other Jason’™ Remple wasting no time before contributing to his new team with the lone assist. Remple then scored his first of the season at 8:39 in the second, finishing a string from Captain Gaudio and Lee to really make himself at home on Blue’s roster, and Captain Gaudio himself made it 3-0 with his second of the season with less than a minute to play before the second period intermission (Tony Thinh & Bao Nguyen). A three goal lead…a late, gut punch second period goal…all of the momentum and swagger going into the third…all signs pointed to Blue getting back in the black in Week Six. Nope. John Boddy started the Flint Blue rally with 8:42 to play (Dan Jurgens & Mark Nagy), but as another three minutes ticked away thereafter, the pushback goal felt like more of a death rattle than a spark plug. When Dan Jurgens cut the lead to one at 5:37 (Nagy), it was at least clear that this one would be a fight to the finish. The clock wound down to the final minutes of play, with Blue still holding a lead and sensing a win when…Luke Wolmer…2:07 (Captain Karns & Jurgens)…now a 3-3 tie! Flint Blue’s Week Two third period scramble to a tie against Lime was impressive, but they went and topped themselves with a three goal rally to tie Blue…and then went and topped themselves again, stealing the win with Boddy finishing the rally he started early in the third with the go-ahead goal at 1:43 (Ruchhoeft). Absolute incredulous devastation on one bench, and ‘pinch me’ jubilation on the other. Nick Meglich (19/22) would hold on to preserve the flat out heist of a 4-3 win for Flint Blue, while Silas Perks (26/30) shouldered a very tough and very rare loss in an even rarer capacity as a sub (for Don Tran). Yes…buried lead alert…Flint Blue pulled off this little coup against ‘The Silencer’™…simply incredible! Blue will need to shake off this brutal loss and find a way to regain their winning ways against a hungry Pink side, while a suddenly-tied-for-second-place Flint Blue will push their house money into the pot against a resurrected Brown.