Dan Jurgens watched in street clothes (shirt and all!) as Glenn Pinto took the court in his stead for Captain Zach Salt’s Lime in a Week Nine showdown with a down and desperate White side. Jurgens’ nagging injury had finally landed him in surgery, but Lime had survived his limited capacity and significant attendance issues elsewhere in the ranks to find themselves just a point or two away from a locked and loaded playoff bullet. Captain Geoff Downes’ White were in a considerably more desperate position, with their 2-4-1 record leaving them just one rung off the bottom of the standings ladder, still below the cut line with five points, and in desperate need of a win. Sean Bathgate and Captain Downes himself were out of the lineup for this crucial clash, but Lime (of course) obliged with the absences of Troy Ohlsson and (make sure you are seated, please) Justin Ker. A scoreless first saw both teams trading chances, and it wasn’t until the latter half of the second that Carl Vankoughnett would finally break the scoring seal (4:08, from Zach Siemer and Wendy Enright). White’s lead lasted less than two minutes before Captain Salt drew Lime even (2:17, from Eric Willard), and the teams would head to the third period in a 1-1 deadlock. Zach Siemer struck bright and early in that third period (8:51), converting a Mark Scelfo feed into a 2-1 lead, and brimming White’s bench with hopes of redemption for a season of coming up short. The one goal edge would hold, then hold some more, forcing Lime to pull Jon Cima and send everything in an effort to steal a point. Not all heroes wear capes, but at least one wears novelty shorts emblazoned with dozens of lime margaritas. That person…Shelby Shattuck…Lime’s hero, and White’s hated heel…turning and wristing home a backhand from the slot to tie the game at 2-2 with 0:47 to play (Eric Willard & Captain Salt), lick Lime’s playoff envelope, and leave White very much in playoff peril. Both Lime’s Jon Cima and White’s Sean Kelly posted identical 15/17 lines, but the late strike and the significant stakes makes the latter sting (appropriately) like salt and lime poured on an open wound. It was a special moment to watch for one of my favorite Shattuck sisters, but an absolute dagger for Downes & Company, who must now hope for points and/or help to survive the season. The good news…their destiny is in their hands as they face Gold in the biggest game for any team all season. Lime have a drastically less dramatic denouement on tap, as they take on fellow nine pointers, Brown, in a low key playoff tune-up.

Kalen Hunter’s Week Eight heroics finally snapped Brown’s three game losing slide, and left them primed for a playoff ticket punch as they lined up to face Captain Jeremy Copp’s Grey. Grey carried a matching record (3-3-1) coming in, but found themselves in the throes of their own slide, thanks to a 3-2 Week Seven loss to Red, and a 3-1 Week Eight loss to Green. A win for either side in this one meant playoff safety, while a loss meant at least some measure of genuine cut line peril. Jokes of an agreed-upon tie were batted about as the teams met to face off in the first, with three wins and eight points projected to keep both teams safe from regular season elimination. No such deal was struck (nor seriously considered, lest you are a crazy conspiracy theorist at heart), though the first and second periods wore by with the rivals locked in a 0-0 tie. Owen Perks finally found paydirt for Grey at 9:38 in the third (Jon Zygelman), and quickly followed with a second just fifty-one seconds later (Dan Soar & Hima Joshi) to give Grey a two goal edge. Mark DeGraffenreid eased the tension for Brown at 8:25 (Kalen Hunter & Andy Strathman), and Mario (pronounced MAY-rio) Peia brought Brown even with a crazy, bad angle bat from along the goal line (Pat Gladstone & Strathman). This was a huge goal for Brown, and a milestone for Peia…his first career SDFHL goal! CONGRATULATIONS, MARIO! The tie lasted just a few more minutes before DeGraffenreid slapped a second home at 5:12 (Sadie Hellstrom & Hunter), and Hellstrom would punctuate the 4-2 win with an empty-netter at 0:24 (Captain Ryan Karns). Mason Holcomb (13/15) collected his second straight win, while Matt Henderson (20/23) suffered his third straight loss, tempering his stellar early season shine a touch. The loss is a setback for Grey, for sure, but they remain in playoff position, and only a double dose of wins for White over Gold, and Red over Heather Blue can put them in a position to NEED a point (or more) against Orange in their finale. As the scheduling fates would have it, Grey will know where they stand when they take to the court for warmups. Speaking (well, typing) of warmups, Brown will take on standings twins, Lime, in their finale, with little more than pride and playoff positioning on the line.

I’m not sure what the league record for ties in a season might be, but Captain Jon Salt’s Heather Blue has got to be in that conversation. While still undefeated, Heather Blue had not managed to distance themselves from the rest of the pack coming into Week Nine thanks to FOUR ties in seven tries. Keeping the loss column clean is a big statement, but beyond being a fun, fútboltacular feat, and a nod to the ‘slow and steady’ adage, a 3-0-4 record does make the betting world wonder how Salt & Company will fare in the tie-free wilds of the playoffs. Those playoffs have been guaranteed pastures for Heather Blue for several weeks, and Captain Nick Meglich’s Green group was equally comfortable coming in with nine points in the bank at 4-2-1. A win for Green would not only finally hand defeat to the only remaining undefeated side, but would actually vault Green into first, with the total wins and head-to-head tiebreakers in hand going into the final week of play. So, while not quite dripping with the drama of the playoff trench wars, there was enough at stake in this one to make it spicy…the kind of spice that only YET ANOTHER TIE could tame. Josh Wirt began his POTW campaign with an early first period goal (8:09 from Maureen Ruchhoeft and Vinny Santora), and a second at 5:57 (Trice Harvey) to put Green up two. Heather Blue doesn’t even like to leave a given period untied, though, and a pair of Captain Salt shakes–3:45 from Joe Nguyen and Bryan Ossa, and 2:13 from Ty Pereira–had all things even at two going into the second. The second period was another stalemate, this time of the scoreless variety, and the third…also a tie! Ty ‘Even The Players Are Named Tie’ Pereira converted another Ossa apple into the go-ahead goal at 9:15, but Josh Wirt completed his hat trick and saved the day for Green with 0:43 to play (Nick Vacchio). That’s right, loyal readers…ANOTHER TIE for Heather Blue, this one a 3-3 draw with Green to give them FIVE on the season! Mason Holcomb (13/16) was bapTIEzed in Heather Blue’s grand tradition of ‘meh’ in a fill-in stint for Eric Kroeker, while Captain Meglich’s 29/32 sparkler was about as valiant a non-winning effort as one can imagine. The tie keeps Heather Blue on top of the pile, but should they post another tie in their finale versus Red this Sunday (odds currently sitting, fittingly, at 1:1), they will leave the door open for Green to steal the crown with a win over Atomic Blue. A loss for Heather Blue this Sunday actually leaves the door WIDE open for FOUR other teams to claim the top spot, based on the ‘total wins’ tiebreaker…winning has fringe benefits.

Captain Joel Gattey’s Gold limped into Week Nine with a 1-4-2 record, all but left for playoff death, but also knowing that a win over Captain Janet Goins’ Orange would bounce them off the standings floor and actually leave them in a surprisingly solid/strong position to pull the nose of the plane up and land a playoff spot at the last possible second. Orange had rather simple designs on winning a game they expected to win, thereby officially securing a playoff berth, and keeping themselves in contention for the top seed in the process. Any potential for drama in this one was sucked out and spit off a cliff in a seven (!) goal first period. Unfortunately for Captain Gattey’s gang, six of those seven belonged to Orange. Jackson Tomaszewski’s first came at 7:51 (Brennen Abel & Steph Palomo Schmidt), his second at 7:29 (Alan Razoky & Gordon Schmidt), and his third at 5:46 (Abel & Schmidt). Chad Goins wedged one of his own home in that span, the eventual game-winner at 5:46 (William Teglia & Steve Linke), giving Orange a 4-0 lead in the span of 2:05 (!). Kyle Snyder finally answered for Gold at 5:06, but Orange quickly snuffed out any swing in momentum with goals at 3:25 (Abel) and 2:21 (Palomo Schmidt). It’s worth noting (and fretting over, if you meet Orange from here out) that all of this carnage took place against a very good goalie (Alex Theis), and all without the services of Orange’s leading goal scorer, Eric Enciso. A kinder, gentler, saner second saw just two tallies, with Abel notching a second to make it 7-1, and Snyder a second to bring the lopsided ledger to 7-2, which would hold as the final (mercifully, for the sake of the scorekeeper’s wrist). The trouncing may well be the last action of the season for Theis (17/24), who will be spelled in Gold’s finale by Chris Tran, while Chuck Bender (16/18) continued his steady hand in helping Orange to a 4-1-1 record after a tough 0-2-0 season start. Incredibly enough, Gold are still not done! A win over White in their regular season swan song would improve their record to 2-5-2, and drop White to 2-5-2 in the process. If Red then lose to the heavily-favored Heather Blue, it would produce a three way tie for the final playoff spot, and if you can believe it…Gold would advance from that threesome on head-to-head points against the other two! So…brace yourself for the 4:00 and 6:00 games this week, SDFHL fans!

The Week Nine nightcap was rife with playoff implications, with Captain Rob Gaudio’s 3-3-1 Atomic Blue facing Captain Mark Nagy’s 2-3-2 Red. A win for Atomic Blue would seal a playoff seat, while a win for Red would vault them past White and Grey, and put them in a much-improved position to survive the cut line…especially with an auto-tie coming in the form of a meeting with Heather Blue 🙂 . Scott Wieland dipped his toe into the goal pond for the first time since his triumphant return to league play, picking a fine time for this first of the season to put Atomic Blue in front at 4:46 in the first (Shawna Hamon & Mostafa Azab). A scoreless second ended with the teams posting nearly identical shot totals (Atomic Blue with thirteen, and Red with fourteen), but both goalies holding strong, leaving the all important standings points on the table going into the third. Chris Tran capitalized on a rare delay of game penalty with 4:38 to play, with Wieland adding an assist to go with his earlier goal and bump the Atomic Blue edge to two. Vance Morra, who has scored at least one goal in all but ONE game for his team this season (!), closed the scoring with an empty-netter 1:11, capping the 3-0 Atomic Blue win over Red, officially stamping his team’s playoff passport, and leaving Red curled up along the cutline with one Sunday left in the regular season. The win was big for Atomic Blue, but an even bigger potential plus came with the 19/19 shutout return to glory for Silas ‘The Silencer’™ Perks. If Perks really has rediscovered his winning form, Atomic Blue may be the team to beat come November. Gaudio’s gang draw a perfect pre-playoff challenge in Green this Sunday, while Red will fight for their second season lives against the lossless Heather Blue. Don Tran (14/16) shouldered another loss to keep Red out of the postseason picture going into the final Sunday, but there remain a number of combinations of results that would allow for Red redemption. The simplest path is probably a tie (or better) against Heather Blue, coupled with a Gold win over White. If White should beat Gold, Red’s only hope is a win over Heather Blue, and anything but a win for Grey in their finale with Orange.

Week Eight opened with a clash of two teams currently wallowing in the muck and mire of cut line uncertainty. Both Captain Mark Nagy’s Red and Captain Joel Gattey’s Gold struggled significantly out of the gate, with the former opening at 1-3-0, and the latter at 0-4-0, but both had started their climb to playoff cruising altitude in the ensuing two weeks of play. Red tied Green 1-1 in Week Five, then bested Grey 3-2 in Week Six to improve to 2-3-1 coming in, while Gold rolled over Brown 4-0, then tied the tie-prone Heather Blue 2-2 to move to 1-4-1. The prevailing speculation is that it will take eight points to secure a playoff spot this season, and earning two points while taking two points away from an opponent who needs them as badly as you do raises the level of urgency and intensity in these late season meetings. The Vick Boys™ put the needier of the two teams in front at 7:26 in the first, with Papa Tim™ finishing a feed from Sonny Boy Trevor™ to give Gold the early edge. Alex Theis, who seemed inspired by his son Patrick’s successful Week Seven sub stint in his stead, was back in true Theis form, stopping all eighteen shots he faced through the first two periods of play, including the ever-rare penalty shot! Yes, the box score wizard does not allow me to record penalty shots, but Red’s Jordan Pynn (a defenseman, mind you) was awarded one after his clean (SHORT-HANDED) breakaway was deemed to have have been broken up by not-so-clean means. Theis turned Pynn aside, pumping the Gold bench all the more, and preserving his team’s tenuous lead heading into the third. That’s when The Deputy™ (Kevin Dinino) stepped up, completing a series from Will Heinl and the aforementioned Pynn to deliver the tying tally for Red with 5:53 to play. Neither Theis (25/26), nor super sub, Chris Tran (11/12), would yield from there out, leaving both teams heaving a half-hearted hoorah after a 1-1 draw. The single point keeps Red JUST above the cut line with six points, and leaves Gold still stewing in dead last with four. Red has The Blues™ left on their slate, with Atomic this Sunday, and Heather in their finale. Gold will likely need back-to-back wins over Orange, then cut line cohabitants, White, if they have any hope of saving their season.

Another pair of teams fighting to find their way back to the pack was next up on the Week Eight slate, as Captain Janet Goins’ 3-3-0 Orange squared off with Captain Geoff Downes’ 2-4-0 White. Two points in the standings, relative (if only temporary) playoff safety, a potentially valuable tie breaker, and increased playoff jeopardy for the vanquished foe…big stakes on the line, with neither team prepared to budge in their efforts to keep from going bust. A scoreless first period saw comparable shot totals and chances for both sides, but an all-accounted-for Orange took advantage of a short White bench (Sean Bathgate and Tyler Winstead out of action) to throttle the shot count heavily in their favor (13-2) in the second. One of those thirteen shots came off the hot blade of young William Teglia, who found twine behind Sean-Kelly-stand-in, Silas Perks, to give Orange the first leg up at 3:59 in the second (Steve Linke). Captain Downes snapped White back to even with a solo job at 8:11 in the third, but Chad Goins’ first of the season (on a gorgeous feed from the sweet sixteenager, Teglia) put Orange back in front with 5:56 to play. A late Orange penalty (their second of the game for too many players) led to game-tying power play paydirt for Carl Vankoughnett (Tony Thinh) at 1:51, and neither team would manage to break the 2-2 tie from there out. Chuck Bender (15/17) collected another vital point for his team, while Perks (24/26) served admirably in Kelly’s stead, helping White stay off the bare basement floor of the standings, now one point ahead of Gold. Both teams still have Gold on their schedule, with Orange facing Gattey’s gang this Sunday, and White taking them on in the October 27th finale, and both teams face a tough challenge in their other remaining game, with White going up against Lime this weekend, and Orange grappling with Grey in their finale. So…lots of possibility for shifting, scaling, and sinking in the final two weeks of play…

I suppose it should have come as no surprise that Captain Ryan Karns’ ‘Bar Stool Samples’ would have started out at the head of the standings, but gradually snaked and slid toward the rear. A three game skid kept their toilet trajectory true, and they would need to control the mess in Week Eight or find themselves that much closer to wiping out altogether. Captain Rob Gaudio’s Atomic Blue had designs on distancing themselves from Brown and the rest of the flush it down flock at the bottom of the pack, having finally climbed back above .500 with a 5-3 win over White in Week Seven. A win would give them nine points, effectively punching their playoff ticket and taking any and all pressure off going into the final two weeks of play. Chris Tran put that winning plan into action very early on, sliding home his fourth of the season solo style at 9:28. Kalen Hunter leveled the ledger with his own lone wolf effort at 6:41, leaving both teams cautiously optimistic going into the middle frame. The first period scoring pattern repeated in the second, with Captain Gaudio recapturing the lead for his team at 6:57 (Tran & Shawna Hamon), and Mark DeGraffenreid bringing Brown back to tie town at 3:43 (Hunter & Arnold Gonzales). Captain Karns’ has proven over his career to be a ‘lead by example’ skipper, and he did just that with a gritty rush and a body-be-damned diving finish to give his team their first lead of the night with 8:11 to play (Hunter, of course, with the assist). Hunter’s second of the game, an absolutely disgusting bar down museum piece, put some padding on the Brown lead, but Vance Morra’s tenth (!) of the season (Gaudio) kept the tension on with 4:37 to go (I am sure at least Vance will appreciate the Gowan reference). It was more (and more) Hunter from that point on, as our POTW completed his hat trick at 2:18 (Sadie Hellstrom & DeGraffenreid), then iced the 6-3 losing-streak-break cake with his forth on a breakaway as the clock ticked down to one. Mason Holcomb (9/12) finally found his way back into the win column, staying steady to help his team even their record at 3-3-1, and lodge themselves in the seven point pack in the heart of the playoff chase. The loss, another stunning six goal gashing for Silas Perks (10/16), finds Atomic Blue in the same bustling mid-pack boat with the same 3-3-1 record. Both teams will almost assuredly need at least one point in their remaining pair of games, with both teams facing teams with a combine 6-5-3 record (Brown has Grey and Lime, while Atomic Blue has Red and Green).

At the risk of swerving back into last week’s ‘crossroads’ theme, the meeting of two 3-2-1 teams, Captain Jeremy Copp’s Grey and Captain Nick Meglich’s Green, carried payoff/pitfall potential beyond the obvious two points. A win would would mean virtual (if not actual) playoff passage, while a loss would leave the loser in late season limbo. Both teams suffered a 3-2 loss in Week Seven, adding just a splash of desperation to an otherwise relatively low stakes affair. Another fun storyline that probably missed the radar of most fans and pundits…this was (essentially) the battle of the league’s top two Fall League goalies. With The Silencer™ suffering from a rare case of Six Goal Fever, and Sean Kelly killing it, but only in VERY limited action (just two games), the Henderson v Meglich bout was really at the top of this fight card. Both goalies boasted a .925+ save percentage and a sub 1.40 GAA coming in…numbers typically good enough to secure the goalie crown in an average season. Trice Harvey’s first of the season at 3:35 in the first (Vinny Santora & Josh Wirt) accounted for the only goal in the opening period, and Rob LaVigne’s third of the season gave Green a two goal edge at 5:37 in the second (Eric Plone). Owen Perks finally solved Green’s goalie with 2:01 in the second (Leah Gonzales & Jeremy Copp), spoiling an otherwise spotless sheet for Captain Meglich (16/17), and setting up a fight to the finish in the final third. Neither Meglich, nor Matt Henderson (16/18) would concede again, but Wirt’s empty-netter with 0:15 to play (Harvey & Plone) sealed Grey’s fate and the 3-1 win for Green. Dan Soar and Jon Zygelman, who had accounted for 7/11 Grey goals coming into Week Eight, were both out of action, and Grey’s offense was (very understandably) a bit out of sorts as a result. Captain Copp will hope for a full arsenal in this Sunday’s crucial clash with Brown, while Green look to seize the opportunity to seize the top spot in the standings with a win over lossless Heather Blue.

The ‘Battle Of The Salt Boys’™…always a great opportunity to fetch your popcorn, find the least uncomfortable perch possible around the rink (not easy), and prepare for a good old fashioned smack talk showdown/throwdown. Adding some seasoning to the Salty mix this time around…both Boys™ are captains of their respective ships, and both ships are sailing the high seas of the Fall League standings, with Captain Jon’s crew at 3-0-3, and Captain Zach’s pack at 3-2-1. The crowd thrilling lived up to the billing in this one, starting with a slugfest first. Christopher Fiore gave Lime the lead at 8:54 (Dan Jurgens & Captain Zach Salt), and Jurgens doubled Lime’s edge at 7:27 (Fiore). Heather Blue would punch back late in the period, with Alexis DaCosta converting a Captain (Jon) Salt feed at 2:54, and Luke Wolmer stunning Lime with the equalizer exactly twenty seconds later (DaCosta). The second period was only slightly less score-laden, with Captain (Zach) Salt wresting the lead back for Lime at 4:16, only to have big brother even things again for Heather Blue at 3:34 (Joe Nguyen). Luke Wolmer’s second of the game at 1:33 (Julie Ott & Craig Russell) gave Heather Blue their first lead of the game, leaving just one period left for further swapping of scoring salvos. It was actually a quiet third, but Captain Zach made enough noise with a solo strike to even the score at 4-4, where this one would end…(literal) bro hugs all around. A solid, but not suitable-for-framing effort was turned in by both Blue’s Eric Kroeker (13/17) and Lime’s Jon Cima (15/19), and the stalemate result is actually pretty delicious, in that it adds that much more mystery to a potential playoff rematch. The single point is enough to officially (officially) book playoff passage for Heather Blue, while Lime are all but in now at 3-2-2. The wire late Sunday night buzzed with the news that Jurgens will miss the remainder of the season/playoffs. With an already AWOL (literally, and/or statistically) Justin Ker on the roster, Lime will hope for a solid replacement to keep their playoff hopes humming.

Week Seven was definitely set up as a ‘crossroads’ slate, with three of the five games offering a struggling team a chance to leapfrog a team ahead of them in the standings…or fail to do so, and get set to fight it out in the trenches in the coming three weeks. Captain Rob Gaudio’s Atomic Blue came in at 2-2-1, having been bounced around a bit over a very rare rough patch for ‘The Silencer’™, while Captain Geoff Downes’ White hoped to preserve the existing pattern of their season (L-W-L-W-L) and slip past their standing neighbors and into the relative safety of the mid pack. With both the aforementioned ‘Silencer’™ (Silas Perks) and ‘Da Kid’ (Sean Kelly) out of action, it would be up to Don Tran and Will Heinl (respectively) to keep the back of the nets ball free. Chris Tran broke the scoring seal at 8:07 in the first (Captain Gaudio), and a still-white-hot Vance Morra doubled the lead for Atomic Blue at 0:27 (Mostafa Azab & Captain Gaudio). It was the same pattern in the second (I mean…almost EXACTLY the same), with Tran’s second of the game coming at 6:02, then Morra’s second at 5:45 (again, from Azab and Gaudio) to build the lead to 4-0. Tony Thinh finally answered for White at 2:51 in the second (Jeannine Stuzka & Zach Siemer), but Tran would complete his hat trick at 1:39 to restore the four goal edge moving into the third. Zach Siemer chipped away at that edge with his first of the season at 8:03 (Tyler Winstead), and Carl Vankoughnett thickened the plot at 6:42 (Mark Scelfo), but that would be as close as White would come to a come back, as Don Tran (27/30) and Atomic Blue would hold on for the 5-3 win. So, in the first of three ‘crossroad’ matches, the team in a better position coming in bettered their position, while the would-be-leap frog will continue to croak along the cut line for at least another week.

While not quite a ‘crossroads’ clash, Captain Mark Nagy’s Red really needed to start making a move in the standings to shore up any measure of safety going into the final weeks of play. Standing in their way was Captain Jeremy Copp’s Grey, a team with as many losses (one) as Red had wins coming in. With a sizzling Matt Henderson in nets for Grey, and the ever-steady Don Tran at the ready for Red, this was destined to be a tight, low-scoring affair. This was not a ‘must win’ for either side, but it was ‘must win adjacent’ for Red, and one or two more points would likely be good enough to (officially) punch a playoff ticket for Grey. A scoreless first seemed to confirm the ‘goalie duel’ billing, and the second period yielded just one conversion, Eli Schonbrun’s second of the season at 8:17 (Kevin Dinino) to give Red the first lead of the game. Will Heinl made good on a Red powerplay at 9:33 in the third (Jordan Kitterman & Captain Nagy) to put Red up by two, but Hima Joshi cut the lead back to one with 5:58 to play (Jon Zygelman & Justin Stege). It was the same trio in a different configuration on the next Red strike, with Kitterman restoring the two goal edge at 4:27…assists to Heinl and Nagy. Dan Soar closed the gap back to one with 2:01 remaining (Zygelman), but Tran (14/16) kept the goal gate closed the rest of the way to preserve a massive 3-2 win for Red. Henderson (14/17) was saddled with his first loss of the season, and now finds himself in a statistical dogfight with ‘Da Kid’ for the Fall League goalie throne. It’s safe to say that Grey is playoff safe in spite of the loss, and Red can now breathe easier going into a crucial matchup with Gold in Week Seven. A win in that game should push Red to playoff safety, while a loss will keep them in limbo with ‘The Blues’ (Atomic & Heather) lurking in their final two games.

If we’re going to keep with the ‘crossroads’ theme, the Week Seven middle game was a ‘street’ fight between one team on an eight lane super highway (Captain Jon Salt’s Heather Blue), and one on a dusty, rut-filled dirt road (Captain Joel Gattey’s Gold). Salt’s squad came in doing a cruise-controlled 80, with every other car in the league somewhere in the rearview mirror, and not a single ding or dent on their washed and waxed fenders. Gattey’s gang, while still on the road and driving to catch up, were bumping along on bald tires and a damn-near-shot transmission. With less shiny and speedy vehicles on their regular season road ahead (Red, Orange, and White), Gold knew that a loss to lossless Heather Blue would not break them down for good, but every mile counts, especially as we enter the home stretch. Alexis DaCosta took the air out of Gold’s tires right off the line, putting Heather Blue up 1-0 just 0:39 in (Captain Salt & Luke Wolmer), but Kyle Snyder quickly shifted Gold back to level at 6:00. The old Gold jalopy lurched into a lead at 2:36 in the second (Tim Vick from Janice Darlington), and as the clock dwindled in the third, it looked like Gattey’s clattery coupe might just pull off the coup of the season. Alas, Luke Wolmer rev’ed Blue back to even with 2:02 to play (Ty Pereira), and the teams would cross the finish line in a dead heat, 2-2. Patrick Theis (16/18) stunt drove for proud papa, Alex, in this one, while Eric Kroeker (17/19) remained unbeaten…but just barely, racking up his third tie in four games in his SDFHL career so far. The result keeps Gold gassed up for their final laps, but they will likely need wins in two of the remaining three games if they hope to drive on into November. Captain Salt’s squad are almost assuredly already a playoff lock (math is hard), but the lead pack remains very tight as we round into the final laps of regular season play.

If you make a habit of reading the headline, or even just the POTW blurb, you already know how ‘The Battle Of The Greens’™ turned out. Still, the people want their prose, and certainly want their props, so I will delve into the details for your reading enjoyment (I’m sticking with my understanding that any of you reading this actually enjoy it). This was the second ‘crossroads’ game of the evening, with Captain Zach Salt’s Lime sitting two points back of Captain Nick Meglich’s Green coming in. A win for Lime would draw them level in the standings with their darker-shaded rivals, but would (of course) also grant them the benefit of ye olde head-to-head tiebreaker…you never know when you’re going to need to break a tie in your favor. Speaking (well, typing) of such things, this one was an absolute thriller, and VERY nearly ended in a tie…until (fittingly) that tie was broken in the final minute of play. Josh Wirt put Green on the board late in the first period (Vinny Santora), despite Lime outshooting his team 11-3 in the frame. The lopsided shot totals continued in Lime’s favor in the second (13-6), but they finally started to see a return on that investment when Eric Willard popped his first of the game at 6:45 (Brian Baker & Captain Salt), then his second at 2:23 (Captain Salt & Pat Gladstone). Lime’s shiny new 2-1 lead lasted nearly a full ten minutes of game time until Rob LaVigne cashed in with 2:28 to play, surely saving the day and a point in the standings for Green…or not. It was Willard again with just 0:58 on the clock, snapping home his third of the game (Christopher Fiore & Dan Jurgens), his league-leading ELEVENTH of the season, and…oh, yeah…completing a HAT TRICK OF HAT TRICKS, PEOPLE! Yes, Willard has now posted a hat trick in three straight games! Note to remaining opponents…you should definitely cover this dude 🙂 So, yes, when you are outshot 32-14, you can rightly expect to lose, but coming within 58 ticks of a tie, only to get ‘Willarded’™…painful. Captain Meglich (29/32) was about as heroic as humanly possible (in the SDFHL sense, I mean…perspective) in the loss, while Jon Cima (12/14) had a much easier time, but held the line in the 3-2 win for Lime. As noted, the result draws these two teams level in the standings at 3-2-1, but as noted in the headline blurb, also sets up the potential for Captain Zach to slip past big bro, Captain Jon, in a ‘get your popcorn’ Week Eight showdown with first place (at least, in part) on the line…

Unless you are a window washer (which, if you are, I may need a quote from you), streaks aren’t always a bad thing. The late game turned our attention from the hottest team in the league (Lime…now riding a three game winning streak), to the coldest (Brown…sitting on a two game losing streak, coming into their Week Seven match with Orange). Keeping a winning streak going is probably at least as challenging as ending a losing streak, but the former is so much more fun and rewarding than latter. Captain Karns’ & Company set to their not-so-fun task with all of the focus and fervor required, but an early strike from Eric Enciso (9:16 in the first from Jackson Tomaszewski) quickly sucked much of the spunk out of the Brown bench (note to self…work on phrasing). Brown continued to press, and objectively had the better of the play and more quality chances through a scoreless second, but another early Enciso goal in the third (9:18 from Alan Razoky and Brennen Abel) brought Brown’s bubbling frustrations to full fruition. At this point in the game, Brown knew they would need at least two goals to wrest a point from Orange, in spite of having just ONE goal to show for their last eight periods of play. On cue, Kalen Hunter came through at 8:56 (Sadie Hellstrom & Captain Karns) to cut the lead in half, and give Brown some semblance of reward for their all-out effort. When Hunter struck again (unassisted) at 4:33, the light at the end of Brown’s losing tunnel shown blindingly bright…it really felt like this would not only be the turning point in this game, but the end of the losing streak, and possibly a turning point in the season. Nope…no, it would not. Enciso capped his hat trick with a wide open look at 1:27 (Tomaszewski & Steph Palomo Schmidt), snuffing that bright light, sealing up that tunnel, and leaving Brown entombed within to contemplate their three game losing streak in the cold, cramped dark space of a brutal 3-2 loss. Orange’s ‘crossroads’ win has them back at .500, sitting just a tack back of the lead pack going into the final three games. Amazingly enough, the three game slide has not pushed Brown below the cut line just yet, but with a tough slate ahead (Atomic Blue, Grey, and Lime), they will need everything they have (and maybe more) to fight their way out of October alive.

Last week’s cover team (for all the wrong reasons), Captain Joel Gattey’s ‘Goal-Schlägers’, had nothing to show for the first four games of their season, and nothing but the law of averages, a very good looking roster, and a growing sense of urgency upon which to build any hope (let alone confidence) for a second half redemption. Captain Ryan Karns’ ‘Bar Stool Samples’ came into Week Six having suffered their first loss of the season to Green the week prior, and hoped that a meeting with the only winless team in the league would set them back on the right path at the game five fulcrum. Tim Vick gave Gold just their second opening lead of the season, tucking home a rebound at 6:56 in the first (Matthew Ulloa & Kyle Snyder), and Kyle Snyder quickly reinforced that advantage with his first of the game at 5:19. It was another pair of Gold goals in the second, both courtesy of Snyder who made it 3-0 at 9:22, then completed his hat trick at 2:15 (Steve Pugliese & Ulloa) and capped the scoring in Gold’s 4-0 win over Brown. Don Tran (24/24) was very sharp in a fill-in role for Alex Theis, while Mason Holcomb (21/25) was tagged with his second career (and second straight) loss at the other end. The two game downturn for Brown is certainly troubling, especially when considering they have managed to score just one goal in that span. The hope is that the return of Kalen Hunter this Sunday will give them enough to sneak past a stout Orange side. The win is a big one for Gold, but they are far from out of the woods, especially given that the perimeter of said woods is patrolled by their Week Seven opponent, Captain Jon Salt’s undefeated Heather Blue brigade.

Tanqueray and Solo Cups…a frat party match made in heaven…just add juice. For Captain Mark Nagy’s ‘Do’lo Cups’, that ‘juice’ would take the form of a much-needed win. At 1-3-0 coming in, Red longed to shimmy up the basement stairs to join the real party, and solidify their playoff credibility with the cool kids. The ‘juice’ for Captain Nick Meglich’s ‘Tanqueray & TwoNicks’…just another winning splash to take the edge off the latter half of the season, and keep them in with the really cool kids at the real real party on the top floor. As it went, neither team made a successful juice run, and instead traded straight shots (of gin…*shudder*), puked on one another, then stumbled off to their respective couches to sleep it off. Jordan Kitterman did lose his SDFHL virginity at some point in the middle of the party to give Red reason to raise the roof, but Josh Wirt (Brandon Olsen) killed that buzz minutes later. CONGRATULATIONS, Jordan! To translate for those who hate not-so-thinly-nor-expertly-veiled nonsense, the game would end in a 1-1 tie, with neither team sent walk-of-shaming home, but neither impressing the rest of the throng with an epic naked back flip into the pool. Don Tran (19/20) kept his popularity popping with a second stellar showing (after posting a 24/24 shutout win as a sub the game prior), and Captain Meglich rivaled his rizz (I know…I will punch myself for that…my apologies) with a 20/21 showing. Red will need to pregame hard and be ready to crash Grey’s gala this Sunday, while Green hope to suck down some Lime Jell-O shots and continue their festive foray into the second half of the season.

This season’s installment of the ‘Citrus Squeeze’ had all of the juice that the previous game lacked, and then some. Orange’s early season struggles (1-3-0, coming in) could largely be explained and excused by attendance woes, and even the losses were sprinkled with plenty of peeks at the power that their potent-on-paper roster promised. Lime’s fancy Latin motto is ‘Attendus Atrocious Non Botherus’, and their 2-1-1 record coming in proved that they could hit sets without breaking sweats no matter how light their bench may be on a given Sunday. Lime boasted just ONE player with perfect attendance coming into Week Six, and while that one player (Eric Willard) did plenty of heavy lifting once again, he could not muscle another neon-clad skeleton crew through to a win in this one. Willard did strike first, wasting little time putting Lime in front at 8:57 in the first (Marc Lapointe), but Alan Razoky erased that edge with his second of the season later in the period. The middle stanza saw a six goal scoring bonanza, all kicked off by rookie William Teglia’s first career SDFHL goal. Congratulations, William! Chad Goins and Brennen Abel provided helpers on the milestone marker, and Eric Enciso celebrated the kid’s feat with one of his own less than a minute later to make it 3-1, Orange (Abel & Steve Linke). I want you all to make sure you are sitting down when you read this…Justin Ker was not only in the lineup, but accounted for Lime’s response at 6:29 (Captain Zach Salt & Emily Bennington)! Ker’s appearance shatters the hopes of those who took the under on the Vegas line of 1.5 appearances this season…sorry folks! If it makes you feel any better, I lost that bet, as well. If one is fun, twice is extra nice…it was Teglia again to restore Orange’s two goal edge (Razoky)…no fanfare this time, kid…now it’s just expected. Willard would post his second of the game just nineteen seconds after Teglia’s double dip (Ker & Salt), and Enciso’s second (Steph Palomo Schmidt) capped a crazy flurry of six strikes between the two teams in less than a four minute span. It was a calmer, gentler third, with Willard completing his hat trick with a solo effort to cut the lead back to one at 5:12, and Abel restoring the two goal edge and icing the 6-4 win for Orange with an empty-netter at 0:19 (Palomo Schmidt & Encisco). The result leaves both teams somewhere in the creamy middle of the standings, with Lime at 2-2-1 and Orange at 2-3-0. Call it a hunch, but I suspect both of these teams will find their way into the second season, and maybe even give the higher seeds a run for their money…

With all of the media hype and accolades that swirl around ‘The Silencer’™ and ‘Da Kid’™, there is not a lot of attention left to go around to the rest of the goalies in the league. As such, I certainly would not blame any of you for being ignorant of the fact the Matt Henderson is absolutely crushing it this season. Henderson has proven to be a fearsome force in flourishes throughout his career, but his first four games with Captain Jeremy Copp’s Grey this season are on a new level. With ‘Da Aforementioned Kid’ out of the lineup for Captain Geoff Downes’ White, it would be up to super sub Eric Kroeker to outduel the GOTS (greatest of this season) and carry his temporary host team to a much-needed Week Six win. Jason Lee, one of maybe two or three players in the league who are quieter and less assuming than Grey’s goalie, gave his team the lead with his first of the season at 6:26 (Hima Joshi). That…that was all, folks…just the one ball past Kroeker (12/13), and another donut down for Henderson (15/15) to secure the 1-0 win for Grey, and improve his gaudy numbers on the season to 3-0-1/.971/0.50/2 SO. If you have the SDFHL streaming package, and you watch most (or all) of the games each season, you know that Captain Copp drafted Silas Perks last time around…he was absolutely bonkers, lights out amazing. Perks is now struggling, but Copp has ‘this season’s Silencer’ now…it’s uncanny! The win propels Grey to 3-1-1, just a point off pace-setting Heather Blue at the top of the table. Incidentally, Heather Blue holds that standings edge thanks in part to boat racing Grey in Week Four…the one week that Henderson missed, and the week that accounts for 6/8 goals against for Grey. Captain Downes’ and White will need to find the right kind of consistency this season if they hope to avoid being sucked into the cut line void. The pattern thus far has been L-W-L-W-L…if they get that next W this week against Atomic Blue, they will be back in the hunt, but they cannot afford a run of L’s, at this stage (that would be the bad kind of consistency).

Preseason ticket sales for ‘The Battle Of The Blues’ were through the roof, with the promise of a high-powered offense taking on ‘The Silencer’ in what many may have expected to be a potential Cup preview. The secondary market saw trickles, then floods of tickets over the past few weeks, however, with the recent profound and unprecedented struggles of Atomic Blue’s Silas Perks. Perks has perennially proven to be THE goalie to beat in this league, often carrying otherwise ‘serviceable’ teams to great heights, but back-to-back games with SIX goals allowed meant two straight loss for Captain Rob Gaudio’s gang, and (very) tempered expectations for a competitive clash with Captain Jon Salt’s Heather Blue. Don’t sell that Silencer stock just yet, fickle fans…because it looks like he’s back, and his Atomic Blue mates jumped on his ‘back’ back in this one. Captain Gaudio gave his team their first lead since Week Two with his seventh of the season at 3:51 in the first (Mostafa Azab & Scott Wieland), and Perks was perfect through the first…then the second to keep his team in line for a massive statement win going into the third. Heather Blue doesn’t do losing, though, and Captain Salt saved the day again with 5:44 to play (Ty Pereira), finally solving a reborn, resolute Silencer™ to knot the score at 1-1. That would be the only damage that either Perks (25/26) or Eric Kroeker (10/11) would allow, however, which thrilled fans who held on to their tickets for this one…a tight, tense 1-1 draw. Heather Blue remain the only lossless team in the league with the one point result, and the tie not only stops the bleeding for Atomic Blue, but (much more importantly) serves notice that their biggest weapon (ironically, a shield) is back in the mix.

Our cover team was due up first on the Week Five docket, hoping to slide past Lime and snap their early season three game slide in the process. Captain Zach Salt’s side had managed a 1-1-1 record coming in, in spite of some significant attendance woes, and with Dan Jurgens and…wait for it…Justin Ker (!) back in the lineup, Lime looked to leverage the simple luxury of plentiful personnel to secure a second straight win. Eric Willard broke the scoring seal for Lime at 2:40 in the first (Captain Salt & Dan Jurgens), but Gold quickly countered with the equalizer from Trevor Vick (Tim Vick & Captain Gattey), and Matthew Ulloa (John Gamm) with the go ahead goal to close the first with Gold in front, 2-1. When Papa (Tim) Vick made it 3-1 Gold early in the first (Joel Gattey & Janice Darlington), it looked like Gold may finally be on their way to a win. Willard posted his second of the contest on the powerplay with 2:34 to play in the second (Chris Fiore & Captain Salt), but Gold would enter the third with the lead…only to lose it 0:26 later. Captain Salt cashed in at 9:34 (Fiore), and even the tepid ‘triumph’ of a tie was torn away with Willard’s hat trick capping game-winner with 1:58 to play (Salt). So, another tough loss for Captain Gattey’s gang, this time a 4-3 come-from-ahead loss to Lime. Will Heinl (14/17) secured the win in a rare surrogate shot stopper stint, while Alex Theis (22/26) drops to 0-3-0 in his return to the league that continues to be a hall of horrors for the only winless team in the league.

Captain Mark Nagy’s Red and Captain Geoff Downe’s White followed the same L-W-L path to 1-2-0 records, making them tense neighbors in the lower rungs of the standings coming into Week Five play. A rare instance of perfect attendance for both teams was spoiled only by the absence of White’s Mark Scelfo, so this match would be not only an opportunity to even their season record, but also a genuine measuring stick/indicator of the likely fate of their respective campaigns. With Silas Perks mucking through by far the worst season of his career, it is safe to say that the ‘Old Sheriff’ is back in town in the personage of Sean Kelly. Red’s seven total goals to date was a concern with Kelly keeping White’s crease, and that concern turned to consequence in this one, as Red’s goal total would remain idle in the face of a sparkling 23/23 shutout performance for ‘Da Kid’. White was right to be concerned about scoring, as well, having amassed just FIVE goals over their first three games (the lowest in the league), but that concern was rendered cosmetic after a five goal outburst doubled their season output. Three of those five goals belonged to Carl Vankoughnett, who opened the scoring at 7:04 in the first (Wendy Enright), tacked on a second at 8:30 in the second (Tony Thinh), and capped the hat trick at 5:40 in the third (Thinh). Tyler Winstead’s second of the season came less than a minute after Vankoughnett’s first (Sean Bathgate), and Captain Downes’ solo effort came less than a minute after Vankoughnett’s second in the second. Don Tran (25/30) did as much as he could to keep Red in this one, but you can’t win if you can’t score. The 5-0 win for White evens their record at 2-2-0, and provides them some much needed trust in their ability to produce offense, while the loss leaves Red in a panic-adjacent state at 1-3-0, still looking up from below the playoff cut line.

Two solid wins and a miracle tie had Captain Ryan Karn’s Brown believing that their early season roll was just a sign of things to come. Captain Nick Meglich’s Green had a fair claim to confidence themselves, having staked themselves to a 2-1-0 record in three close, low-scoring games coming in, and were likely feeling very capable of handing Brown their first loss of the season. Brandon Olsen put Green on the path to doing just that at 5:16 in the first, cashing in his first of the season, and Josh Wirt doubled the lead at 2:20 (Nick Vacchio). Brown would right the ship a bit with just 0:21 to go in the first frame, with Kalen Hunter completing a tic-tac-toe combination from Sadie Hellstrom and Mark DeGraffenreid. That would be all the ship-righting Brown would have in them, though, and a second period strike from Maureen Ruchhoeft (Vacchio & Andrew Wong), and a third period tally from Rob LaVigne (Wirt & Vacchio) meant that Green would cruise to a 4-1 win. Captain Meglich (19/20) was the busier of the netminders, but continued to lead his team from the back with another stellar stint. Mason Holcomb (9/13) suffered his first career SDFHL loss at the other end…also (of course) the first loss of the season for Brown, who now find themselves in the upper middle class of the standings at 2-1-1.

The SDFHL world was still spinning off its axis after watching Silas ‘The Silencer’™ Perks surrender six in a Week Four match with Orange, but even the all-time greats have off nights, and with Perks (literally) blowing out the candles on his birthday cake moments before flipping the mask down to face Grey, the expectation was that that proper axis would be restored, and that his (presumed) birthday wish would be granted. As cruel fate would have it, though, brother Owen kept things noisy for Silas throughout in this one. ‘The other Perks’ had the lone goal of the first to give Grey the early lead, but he was far from done with just one, providing the first assist on Dan Soar’s early second period strike (second assist to Pat Gladstone) before Vance Morra became the first responder for Atomic Blue at the five minute mark (Mostafa Azab & Captain Rob Gaudio). Jon Zygelman restored Grey’s two goal edge later in the second (Hima Joshi), then poured in two more early in the third to complete his hat trick and snatch POTW honors. Justin Stege had the lone assist on Zygelman’s second, and…yes, Owen Perks had the lone assist on the third…before scoring his second of the night (Soar) to cap a 2 and 2 effort that saw his suddenly beleaguered brother holding another warm, flat six pack! The Silencer’s struggles are THE story of this season, so far, but let not the (surely) fleeting negative narrative detract from another heroic season for Matt Henderson. Henderson (11/12) has been outstanding to this point, with this 6-1 win moving his personal record to 3-0-1 on the season, and the rest of his stats putting him on the tip top of the goalie stack. By shocking contrast, Perks (16/22) is rock bottom on that list. As I noted, I have every confidence that ‘The Silencer’™ will find his form in due time, but back to back six goal smacks is a troubling trend, and Captain Gaudio & Company will need more as the push to the playoffs heats up in earnest.

Orange’s offense came into their own in Week Four…the aforementioned Silencer Smack Down™ that saw rookie Eric Enciso flexing his foreshadowed fabulousness to the tune of 3 and 2, and Brennen Abel riding shotgun with 2 and 2. With those two weapons, and indeed the full arsenal suited and booted, Captain Janet Goins’ gang looked to keep the positive momentum and improve to .500 against the only remaining undefeated team in the league, Captain Jon Salt’s Heather Blue. It took just 0:51 to take some of the swagger out of Orange’s sails, with a Captain Salt solo strike putting his team in front bright and early. Joe Nguyen would make it 2-0 later in the first (Alexis DaCosta & Julie Ott), and Captain Salt’s second of the game even brighter and earlier in the second (DaCosta) had the lossless favorites comfortably in front going into the final third. Eric Kroeker (22/23) very nearly nabbed his first career SDFHL shutout, but a late blemish in the form of Alan Razoky’s second of the season (Abel) spoiled the flawless fun, and added the daintiest of dashes of drama to the final minutes of play. Kroeker & Company would hold on for the 3-1 win, preserving the nice round number in Heather Blue’s middle column, and keeping them safely in the standings attic at 3-0-1. Chuck Bender (17/20) suffered the loss for Orange who, in spite of boasting one of the most impressive rosters in the league (on paper), now find themselves at 1-3-0, still cuddled up to the cut line as we hit the midway point of the season.