Fourward March

Playoffs Week 3:

I am running out of Canadian-themed ideas for the front page, so I Google ‘Canadian four’ in desperation, and hit on this gem. The fact that a developed country actually minted a FOUR dollar bill means that just about anything can happen in this crazy world, and certainly anything can happen in the final two weeks of Fall League 2022 playoffs. Just four teams remain…two high seeds, and two low seeds…who will cash out, and who will cash in and take top bill-ing (see what I did there)? Playoffs will resume after the Thanksgiving break.

The elder of the Salt Bros™ had the first laugh in the regular season, as Jon posted a hat trick to lift Green over Zach and White 3-2 in their Week Eight meeting. He had the second (and possibly last) laugh, as well, as Green won in, well, a laugher in the Week Three playoff rematch. Jon scored the only goal in each of the first two periods, with helpers to Kim Hernandez and Gary Peters on the strike at 6:37 in the first, and Justin Ker on the game-winner at 3:20 in the second. His goal at 6:20 in the third (from Ker and Peters) completed the natural hat trick, and put Green well in control, 3-0. White would muster just one response, with Justin Stege closing the gap on the power play with 1:43 to play (from Andrew Wong and Steve Linke), but Justin Ker’s empty-netter restored the three point edge less than half a minute later, and Eric Willard chipped in one more at 1:01 to close out the scoring, and close out White, 5-1. Matt Henderson (19/23) was the much busier goalie in the losing effort, while Silas Perks (8/9) collected a rather ho-hum W to help usher his team into the Fall League 2022 Final. The top seed will await the survivor of a Week Four ménage a trois in which White will sit by for sloppy seconds after Black and Neon have a go at each other.

David Schlatter and Sean Kelly are really fucking good, and the rest of the roster looks quite nice, but Neon just sort of bumbled and fumbled their way along through the regular season, never once stringing together consecutive wins. After dropping their playoff opener to White 4-1, many (if not most) pundits would have had them making a quick two and through exit. Enter the aforementioned hero horses, Schlatter and Kelly, with the former dropping a third period hat trick, and the latter stopping 24/25 to snuff out Red in a Week Two elimination match. Could Neon finally keep that winning form going for a second straight game, or would Navy (who prevailed in the regular season match with Neon 4-3, and who came in not having lost two in a row thus far) eliminate the lower seed, and stay in the race for the Cup. Schlatter opened the scoring midway through the first (from Rob LaVigne), and doubled Neon’s edge late in the second (from Captain Luke Wolmer and Nik Thompson). To that point, Kelly had only faced THREE shots, and that’s not enough of a push to push one past the GOAT. The shots picked up for Navy in the third, and Josh Wirt picked his team up with 6:04 to play, cutting the Neon lead to one goal. It was Schlatter again, though, restoring the lead on the power play at 2:07 (from Thompson)…a lead that the underdogs would not surrender…3-1 Neon over Navy. Kelly (11/12) collected his (and Neon’s) first back-to-back win, while Alex Theis (14/17) and Navy suffered their first back-to-back loss…and this L was a playoff KO. Neon look to continue their surprising surge after the Thanksgiving break, hoping to best Black, then wiggle past White and into the Final.

Our league has been running strong for a quarter of a century, and coming into this season, I cannot recall an instance where we had to resort to spot male subs. It might have happened once, but certainly not multiple times. When Neon reported seven players out for their Week Nine match with White, we were forced to call in reinforcements. Fast forward a whopping three weeks to Captain Brandon Olsen reporting just three players and a goalie for their elimination playoff match with Black. One female sub (Steph Palomo Schmidt), and one male sub (Sean Bathgate) gave Grey the bare minimum, but sadly left them barely able to compete. Sadie Hellstrom recorded what may well be the most potent performance ever from an SDFHL female, pouring in FOUR goals, and assisting on another, as Black crushed, and cruised to a 7-0 win over a severely short Grey side. Hellstrom scored twice in the first, twice in the third, and recorded the only assist on Carl Vankoughnett’s late game strike. Vankoughnett and Brennan Abel each had goals of their own in the second, as the trio account for 4 & 1 (Hellstrom), 1 & 3 (Abel), and 2 & 1 (Vankoughnett). Nick Meglich (27/34) was absolutely battered and deep fried at one end, while Chris Tran (9/9) just had a nice view of the carnage at the other. It’s a tough break for Grey, who certainly showed signs of strength through their season, but attendance is an important part of a winning formula, and sometimes the calendar is not in your favor. Black move on to face Neon in the first of two games on December 4th. If they can prevail in that match, they will have a short rest, then turn to face a waiting White side to determine who will advance to face Green in the Final…

Six To Go

Week 2 Playoffs:

The original ten teams are down to the original six, as two playoff teams became dead soldiers on the playoff end table, standing sadly in a shallow sea of stray Smarties, and clumps of Cheezies crumbs. Green and White are the toast of the playoffs, thus far, but only one can pass on to the Final without spilling a drop. Navy, Black, Grey, and Neon are all hoping they can avoid being the ‘cold ones’, and can live to order another round…

Captain Matt Rogers and ‘The Grape Ones’ entered the playoffs as the eighth seed long shots, and they exited the playoffs the same way. Black had something of an up and down season, but stuck the dismount in Week Nine with a 10-2 lambasting of Blue that pushed the stats totals on the regular season for Brennan Abel to 25 (13 & 12), and Carl Vankoughnett to 22 (11 & 11). Both teams fizzled in their playoff debut, but there was really no question who the favorite was in this match up. Joe Malki threw caution to that prevailing wind, scoring just 0:34 into the first to prop Purple up 1-0, and send a shock of tension through the Black ranks. Carl Vankoughnett righted the ship for Black in the second, with assists from his BFF linemates, Brennan Abel and Sadie Hellstrom, but both Chris Tran and Chris Malki seemed calm, collected, and in control in their respective nets. The dam finally broke in the third, as Vankoughnett found the game-winner in the early going, then followed minutes later with his third of the game. Abel sealed off any possible escape routes with an empty netter to cap the 4-1 win for Black, putting Purple out to playoff pasture in the process. Tran (18/19) recovered nicely from the early blip to keep his mates in the match long enough to muster some offense, while Chris Malki’s debut season came to an end with a valiant, but vain 18/21 effort. Black move on to face Grey in a battle of short-benched sides this Sunday in another loser-goes-home scenario.

Playoffs don’t always play out by the numbers, of course, but you can typically expect the top three seeds to be in the mix for the first three or four weeks of play. Captain Rob Gaudio and ‘Robby Reddy Piper’ proved an exception to that norm, losing a crazy, close contest to sixth-seeded Grey in their second season opener, then failing to find redemption against the seven seed in Week Two. A scoreless first was no real cause for concern, and Janine Ullloa first career SDFHL goal (CONGRATULATIONS!) in the second had Red on top, and feeling fine. Don Tran was a perfect 18/18 at this point, but you can’t really expect to get more than one or two against Sean Kelly, so he would have to continue that hot hand through the third…he didn’t. David Schlatter evened the score just thirteen seconds into the final frame, and Will Heinl follow less than a minute later to give Neon the lead. Luke Wolmer provide the lone assist on Heinl’s goal, then provided the only assist on Schlatter’s second of the night to make it 3-1. Schlatter would complete the hat trick with an empty netter in the waning seconds, and with that Red’s playoff hopes were wiped out in a stunning 4-1 loss. Kelly (24/25) proved why he is still considered the best in the business, while Tran (22/25) could only tip his cap, and shuffle out of the playoff picture with the rest of his mates. Neon march on in the Losers Bracket with renewed confidence, as the only team to have unseated an upper seed. They will look to make more waves this Sunday, as they face the four seed, Navy, in another elimination match.

Coming into Week Two of playoff action, the last time that Captain Jon Champine and ‘JONtario’ had lost was in Week Four…to Captain Arnold Gonzales and Navy. Since that loss, Green had won six straight, while outscoring their opponents THIRTY-FUCKING-TWO TO FIVE! So, Week Two scene set…storylines in place…Green looking to continue their reign of terror, and avenge their last loss, and Navy looking to repeat the defeat, knock the top seed into the Losers Bracket, and move on to the Winners Bracket final. There are no ties in playoff hockey, so…one of these possibilities became a reality…it was the former. Jon Salt continued his ‘man on a mission’ antics, opening the scoring two minutes into the first, then doubling the lead for Green minutes later. A scoreless second gave Alex Theis (24/27) and Navy some breathing room, but the third brought another wave from the favorites, with John Hwang building the lead to 3-0, then sliding home an empty net coffin nail to seal Navy’s fate, 4-0. Silas Perks (18/18) was sharp as ever, keeping both his Calder and Vezina campaigns cooking with another shutout/shut down effort. Navy remain alive in spite of the loss, and will stay afloat against upstart Neon in Week Three. The Winners Bracket final is a treat for Salt Bros™ fans, as Jon and Zach line up for Green and White, with a ticket to the big show on the line.

Grey jumped all over Red in their first playoff game, strutting out to a 5-1 lead over the three seeds before slinking back into a 5-4 sweat-it-out win. White’s playoff debut followed a similar pattern, with the two seed building a 4-0 cushion, only to let that lead erode in the third against a pesky Neon side. The Week Two questions, then…which team would manage to build a lead, and would that lead hold, or fold? It was Captain Tomáš Jankovic and White who did the building…a slow and steady effort starting with (who else) Zach Salt (from Justin Stege) in the first. Jeff Henderson netted his first goal (indeed, first point) of the season in the second, with the lone assist coming from his D partner, Andrew Wong. Meanwhile, Jeff’s brother, Matt, was working on a shutout, and was looking much steadier and sharper since some early season post-surgery comeback kinks,rust, and relapse. Justin Stege (from Salt) gave White some additional breathing room at 3:47 in the third, and that was more than enough to get the job done in this one…3-0 White over Grey. Henderson (Matt) earned first star honors for the game, and POTW honors for the week with his 20/20 outing, while Nick Meglich (9/12) and Grey took their lumps, and limped off to the Losers Bracket. White move on to a major marquee meeting with top-seeded Green in Week Three, while Grey bring an empty bench, and a full helping of hope into a loser-goes-home liaison with Black.

Back Up Plan

Playoffs Week 1:

Tails…Red loses. Captain Brandon Olsen and ‘Nicelbackcheck’ were the only underdogs to overcome in Week One of playoff action this past Sunday. The six seed now has designs on pressing their unexpected momentum against second seeded White, while Red will need to regroup and survive the Loser’s Bracket trenches, as the playoffs flip to the knockout stage.

Week One of playoff action kicked off with the closest of playoff seeds in the closest of contests. This was also a battle between two teams with the most ridiculously wordy names, as Captain Arnold Gonzales’ ‘Canadian Moun-Theis Of Navy Scotia’ entered as the four seed to face Captain Ian Crooks’ fifth-seeded ‘Black Bacon, Trancakes & Mabel Syrup’. A scoreless first saw Chris Tran stop all THIRTEEN Navy shots, while the five seed managed just three balls batted at Alex Theis. The shots were a bit more even in the second, and Black found a way to un-even the score, as the regular season scoring co-champ and Young Canuck™ super stud, Brennan Abel, made it 1-0 Black with 2:01 to play in the middle frame. Joe Nguyen re-evened things midway through the third, finally solving Tran, with assists to Jim LaGrossa and Nick Vacchio. The 1-1 tie looked likely to last through regulation, but Josh Wirt gave the game-winner a good home with just 1:07 remaining, sending Black to the Losers’ Bracket track with a 2-1 *yoink* job. Rarely does a player from the losing side earn the top star of the game, but Tran (33/35) was the real story of this game…a story with a sad ending for Black. Theis (19/20) was no slouch at the other end, deserving a healthy serving of credit for keeping his team in it from start to finish. Navy move on to face top-seeded Green, while Black look to stave off elimination against bottom-seeded Purple, as Week Two action ratchets up the stakes…

Captain Brandon Olsen and ‘Nickelbackcheck’ snatched headlines in Week One by becoming the only lower seed to prevail. The six seeds upended third-seeded Red in a laugher-turned-nail biter for the ages. Grey showed incredible scoring depth in this one, with no one player scoring more than once, and two of their goals coming from rather unlikely sources. The first such surprise came courtesy of Phil Nguyen, who cashed in a Kevin Dinino assist at 0:52 in the first to put Grey in front. That lead lasted just sixteen seconds, though, as The Gaudio Boys™ were there with a lightning quick response (Joe from Rob). It was a more customary combo putting Grey back on top in the second…Alexis DaCosta from Eric Herrmann, but the third period shifted back to ‘variety is the spice of life’ mode. Marc Lapointe scored his first of the season (indeed, his first point of the season) just 0:31 into the third, and Captain Brandon Olsen and Eric Herrmann quickly followed to build the lead to 5-1 in Grey’s favor. Red did not earn a top three regular season finish by lying down when losing, though, and Captain Rob converted on the power play at 5:41 (from brother Joe, of course) to spark a heroic comeback. Craig Russell decided that one ‘first goal of the season’ deserved another, matching Lapointe’s effort, and cutting the lead to 5-3 at 3:41. Nick Meglich (14/18) weathered the storm well, but Joe Gaudio whitened Grey knuckles even further with his second of the game with just 0:16 remaining. Meglich and Grey would hold on to win 5-4, bouncing the three seed to the lower decks, and setting up a showdown with second-seeded White. Don Tran (18/23) suffered the loss…just his second in nine outing this season, and Red will now need to fight for their playoff lives against a scrappy Neon side.

There was certainly no tension or drama in the top v bottom match, as Captain Jon Champine and ‘JOntario’ shook, rattled, and rolled over Captain Matt Rogers and ‘The Grape Ones’ in a laugher-turned-even bigger laugher. Josh Tran, Gary Peters, and Zach Siemer each pumped home goals to put the top seed in the driver’s seat 3-0 after one. Jon Salt joined the scoring parade on the power play early in the second, before Emily Bennington (filling in for the AWOL Gladys Balderas) finally answered for Purple. The flood gates opened for Green in the third, as Salt, Justin Ker, John Hwang, and Salt again bloated the board to an 8-1 ‘stop the fight’ final. Eric Willard collected three assists in the win, which saw EVERY player on Green make the score sheet (including Pat Gladstone, who filled into for Kim Hernandez)…Captain Champine made it by virtue of taking a penalty, but who’s counting? Silas Perks (19/20) was steady as ever, having actually faced more shots in the win than Chris Malki (9/17) did in the loss. Green move on to face Navy this Sunday…the same Navy who defeated them 3-1 in Week Four. Purple will need a MUCH better effort Black in the Week Two early game if they hope to live to see another Sunday.

The nightcap was well in line with game two in Week One, but this time it was the favorites building a big lead, then holding on to secure the win. Captain Tomáš Jankovic put White in front late in the first, with Jeff Henderson on the helper. Jankovic’s crew broke the game open in the second, with goals from Zach Salt, Kyra Forsyth, and Rich Shane ballooning the lead to 4-0. Forsyth was actually a fill-in, with both Sally Jackson and Shelby Shattuck out of the lineup, but her goal would stand as the game-winner, after Neon woke up and fought back in the third. Rob Lavigne broke the scoring drought for Neon with 7:00 to play, and when David Schlatter followed suit just twelve seconds later, the door was open for a swift and stunning comeback form the seven seeds. Matt Henderson (22/24) decided that enough was enough, though, as the injury plagued backstop snuffed out the Neon coup, and held the fort to preserve the 4-2 win for White. Sean Kelly (18/22) suffered the loss, and may now officially be having and ‘off’ season…by Da Kid standards. He will need to be in top form, and/or Captain Luke Wolmer & Company will need to find more scoring as they face a tough Red side in the Loser’s Bracket this Sunday. White move on to face an upstart Grey, whom they nipped 3-2 back in Week Six of regular season play.

Take Off

Week 9:

The hosers have left the building, and the remaining eight competitors are bundled up, and heading north into playoff country. Everyone wants to sip Molson from the Cup, but there can be only one. Find out who takes the first step forward, and who falls back this Sunday, eh…

Boxes are up…recaps to come…

Maple Leave

Week 8:

“OAT, OAT…and STAY OAT!” I am paraphrasing here, but these words were overheard on Sunday, as Gold and Blue were officially sent packing from the playoff picture. The remaining eight teams have nothing to lose (nor gain) in the final Sunday of regular season play, save positioning, pride, and the plumping of personal points.

I don’t believe anyone bothered to do the math, but it’s entirely possible that Blue’s playoff hopes were already cement-shoed coming into Week Eight. With zero wins and just one point to show for seven games, the blast doors were closing, if not already closed. Still, Captain Chuck Bender and the gang were all present, accounted for, and ready to play with/for pride, if nothing else, against a hit or miss Grey side. Eric Herrmann has a penchant for pile driving pride, and ripping out throats and hearts, and he got all of that glorious gore underway early in this one. Goals at 8:46 and 7:18 had Grey up 2-0, and the bloodbath looked to be coming to a boil before Blue had even completed a second line change. But lo…a spark…the aforementioned Blue pride fueled a spirited comeback, with John Boddy and Vance Morra rising up to level the score through one period of play. Captain Brandon Olsen wrested the lead back for Grey midway through the second, only to have Blue’s unsung hero, Weston Nawrocki, nip and tuck home his fourth of the season to knot the score at 3-3 through two. Remember Eric Herrmann…from earlier in this paragraph…pile driver of pride…remover of throats and hearts? Well, Herrmann is as Herrmann does, and Herrmann did Blue in for good at 5:51 in the third…completing the hat trick, producing the 4-3 win for Grey, and officially (super officially) putting Blue out of their season-long misery. Nick Meglich (20/23) was steady as ever, but did get some help from the iron in surviving a furious late push from Blue. Chuck Bender (23/27) was tagged with yet another loss, but he and his mates can take solace in the fact that the suffering is nearly at an end…

Black and Red rolled into Week Eight with playoff passports already stamped, just looking to tune up against like-caliber competition, and maintain or improve their respective playoff seeds. Young Canuck™, Brennan Abel, finally yoinked Black’s goal scoring crown from early season scoring stalwart, Carl Vankoughnett, notching his ninth of the season (from Vankoughnett, of course) late in the first to put Black in front. Veteran Joel Gattey brought Red level with his first of the season in the second, leaving the outcome very much outstanding going into the final frame. Chris Tran (22/24) and Don Tran fill-in, Nick Meglich (31/33), kept their dynamic duel going late into the third, when Captain Rob Gaudio finally broke through and broke the tie for Red at 2:51 (from brother Joe…who else). Just when a Red win seemed signed and sealed, Captain Rob’s counterpart stood and delivered. It was the first of the year for Captain Ian Crooks, and it came with 0:19 remaining, preserving 2-2 tie, and preventing Red from keeping pace with Green and White in the regular season points race. The one point leaves both teams ‘in place’, but Navy’s win later in the evening actually moves them ahead of Black on head-to-head going into the final week of play. Red still have a chance to capture the top playoff spot with a win over playoff flotsam, Gold, along with losses for Green and White. Black can climb as high as two, and fall as low as six, but…odds are they will remain at four or five, meaning they will likely face Navy in Week One of playoff action.

A late season matchup between two top teams is already charged enough, but add in that it happens to be the Battle Of The Salt Bros™, and well…hot ticket. As with Red v Black, playoff placement has not been in the peril for Green and White for at least a month, so this one was all about pride, bragging rights, and sowing seeds for a second season rematch. The elder Salt had the first laugh in this one, scoring an unassisted goal just one minute and one second in. White would respond in the second, with Justin Stege drawing his team level at 6:50, and little Salt Bro™, Zach, putting White on top 2-1 on the power play later in the period. The third period belonged to Jon Salt, as he smacked Zach and company with the game-tying and game-winning goals at 3:54 and 1:31. The 3-2 win for Green sets up an intriguing rematch, which seems all but guaranteed to be in our future. The fate of both teams, and the Salt’s Thanksgiving table smack talk trajectory hangs in the balance. Silas Perks picked up his league-leading fifth win with a 12/14 showing, while Alex Theis (15/18) did all he could in a loss (White’s first of the season!) in place of the (still) injured Matt Henderson. The win finds Green in sole possession of first place at 6-2-0, but the final seeding will come down to the final week of play. White (5-1-2), can claim the top spot with a win over Neon, and a Green non-win, while Green will look to tune up for the playoffs in the best way possible…by beating Purple. A win over Purple this Sunday ensures that Green will face…Purple in the first round.

Captain Arnold Gonzales and his Mounties entered Week Eight looking to rebound from a stunning loss to Purple, and generally regain their swagger after having lost two of their previous three games. Neon came in also having dropped two of three, with that one win coming at the elimination expense of Gold. A win for either team would mean a solid chance to finish the season in the top half of the playoff bracket, while a loss would do damage to little beyond pride. David Schlatter put Neon in front early in the first, and put his team back in front late, after a Josh Wirt strike had evened the score. Jim LaGrossa drew Navy level again with the lone goal for either side in the second, with Captain Gonzales and Mark Nagy collecting assists. It was Schlatter, this time short-handed, putting Neon out front early in the third, put Nagy answered with his first goal of the night, then chalked up his third assist of the night on LaGrossa’s game-winner with 1:56 to play. Alex Theis (18/21) backstopped the 4-3 Navy win, while Silas Perks (13/17) did his best Sean Kelly impersonation to no avail in the Neon loss. Neon can now rise no higher than sixth with a win over White in Week Nine, while a loss puts them in jeopardy of falling to the bottom seed. A win for Navy in their finale versus Grey, and some (frankly, highly unlikely) help could push them as high as the three seed, while the lowest they may fall is the six spot.

The marquee game came in the Week Eight night cap, with Purple and Gold facing off with all of the playoff marbles at stake. Well, not quite all the marbles, as a Purple win would take all, while a tie, or a Gold win would push the determination of both teams’ fates to the final week of play. A scoreless first period ratcheted up the tension a notch, with both teams finding opportunity, but no results early. Young Canuck™, Kalen Hunter, decided it was (once again) his time to shine, as the skilled, speedy forward struck gold first for Purple early in the second, then struck second later in the period. The 2-0 lead would hold, as Chris Malki (17/17) chose the perfect time to have a perfect game…his first career shutout, and a sparkling, season-saving performance. His boy, Joe, added the empty net icing on the 3-0 Purple win, with Nick Vacchio (30/32) doing all he could and more in vain in a sub role for the (still) injured Captain Parsa Mostafavi. The loss was the final nail in an already lived-in Gold coffin, while the win pulled the nose of the Purple plane up just in time to avoid a messy mountainside meeting. While there is almost no real benefit to be gained for Purple from what would be a colossal upset win over Green (the potential to move up from eighth to seventh) in their regular season wrap, it would be something of a statement. A loss to Green, and they will have an insta-rematch with Captain Jon Champine’s squad in the first week of playoff action. For Gold, they will play out the string along with fellow playoff castoffs, Blue, just looking to have some fun and avoid injury against Red this Sunday.