A tight, thrilling opening night of playoff action kicked off with Kaptain Kayleigh’s Cinderella squad arriving in their shiny glass slippers to face Captain Chad’s three seed side.  You’ll recall, Black made the playoffs with a shocker in (literally) the final minute of the regular season, with Jordan Pynn snapping home the game-winner at 0:55 to send his team on, and send Purple packing.  Well, this one came down to the final minute, as well, and (spoiler alert) it was Pynn for the win once again.  Tim Vick had Pink on the board first, converting on the power play late in the second.  Jordan Pynn equalized around the midway point in the final frame, but Matt Henderson (18/19) and Tiffany Fox (15/17) stood tall through the rest of regulation and…almost all the way through OT.  After a controversial no-goal decision late in OT stung Black, erasing what would have been a Jim LaGrossa from Jordan Pynn winning strike, the same duo teamed up, but switched roles seconds later, as Pynn cashed in on a feed from LaGrossa to end it at 0:26..2-1 Black over Pink.  Can this trend continue for Black, or have they tempted fate to the limits at this point?  The next test comes in the form of the second seed, Maroon, whom Black bested 4-2 back in Week 3 (without Pynn and Trevor Marsolini in the lineup!).  Will Pink survive to see playoff Week Three?  They will look to avenge a 4-0 Tosczak-less loss to White that they suffered back in Week Nine.

Maroon and White took things to OT and beyond in the second match of the night.  Chuck Bender (9/10) and Christian LeClair (13/14) faced a total of twelve shots through the first two periods, and their combined efforts nearly kept things 0-0 all the way through regulation.  Brian Sheptycki spoiled the scoreless party, putting White out front with 2:22 to go, but Jon Zygelman responded just five seconds later to bring things back to square ones (that’s a 1-1 pun).  Bender and LeClair would not relent in OT…owing to the fact that (apparently) neither faced a single shot.  It was on to the shootout, where (spoiler alert) it was all Maroon.  Jerry Gonzales, Jon Zygelman, and Sailboat Lewis all made no mistake with the shake and bake, while Brian Sheptycki, Mark Ennsmann, and Eric Caligiuri got Chucked aside at the other end.  A 3-0 triumph in the shootout meant a 2-1 win for Maroon, who march on to face the pesky Black team on the Winners’ side of the bracket.  White will look to stay alive against Pink, with their captain out…and Tosczak in. 

Captain Adkin’s crew romped through the regular season, suffering just one defeat (the aforementioned last minute shocker that sent Black to the big show).  Green was largely romped-upon, by contrast, squeaking into the playoffs as the lowest seed.  In an interesting twist, Melissa Busby is a member of both teams.  Busby was, by design, not present when the two teams met in the regular season – a game which saw Red torch Green 7-1.  The Sophie’s choice was made for her this time around, as Red has three females, and Green has but one goalie.  Busby would suit up in nets for the underdogs, facing her other team, the top dogs.  While she could not be truly thrilled, nor distraught with either team prevailing, she would certainly hope for a better fate than that of her Week Two substitute, Christian LeClair.  Two scoreless periods ticked past, setting the table for yet another down to the wire Week One match.  Busby had kept her team (Green) in the game with eleven saves to that point, shutting down her team (Red), and making an upset look like a real possibility.  Greg Wirth spoiled the scoreless streak, making good on the power play at 9:44 in the third.  In a stunning turn, Jason Remple answered back for Green almost immediately.  Both goalies had been sharp, and (in spite of the two goal flurry) it looked as though we might be heading to a third straight OT thriller on the evening.  Nope.  Connor Miller…shot from distance…off Busby’s stick…straight up in the air…arching high over Busby’s head…Busby’s head swiveling about, trying to locate the ball…I swear a full two seconds tick by…the ball drops in just behind her, and into the net.  That would turn out to be the game winner.  I will let you be the judge whether that is better or worse that a 7-1 face smash.  Anyway, I didn’t check to see if Melissa shook her own hand, but Red prevailed 2-1, and will move on to face Tie Dye in the upper bracket.  Red won the first meeting with relative ease, 3-0, but playoffs are a different animal.  This is a juicy matchup of the league’s top goalies…the fans want it to go to a shootout.  Green look forward to a showdown with Orange, whom they bested 1-0 in Week Nine.  That win was perhaps Busby’s best career game, and the one that ultimately secured a playoff berth for Green.  Does she have any more magic left in those pads, or will she be down to one team come Monday?

Only one game left on the docket…surely this would be a convincing win, maybe even a blowout?  On the contrary, this one outshined  the previous three with respect to ridiculous thrill factor.  Vance Morra deMorralized Orange with an early strike.  Orange would finally find a crack in Sean Kelly’s armor late in the second, with Jet Javelet touching home the equalizer on a wild play in front.  The score remained 1-1 through the rest of the second, all of the third and all of OT…wait…wait…all of OT?  No!  In one of the most insane and surreal finishes in league history, Harsh Wanigaratne tucked home the game winner with less than a second left on the OT clock.  While Tie Dye celebrated, Orange looked around in stunned disbelief.  Surely this dagger hadn’t beaten the buzzer?!?  It had, or at least it was deemed to have done so by the naked eyes of the referees (and those of yours truly) in real time.  So…no shootout, but one second and one shot put Orange down and out, 2-1.  It was such a fitting way to end this spectacular night of playoff hockey.  This league prides itself on parity, but this was just insanity from 4:00-8:30pm.  The win has earned Tie Dye the right to face top seeded Red this Sunday.  The loss has Orange thinking about redemption, starting with a chance to avenge a stinging 1-0 Week Nine loss to Green.  If this week’s games are anywhere near what Week One gave us, buckle up and start reaching for the Cup…it looks like all eight teams are legitimate contenders.

Captain Mark Ennsmann put his team on the board late in the first, but that would be the last of the scoring for his warmish and cold side.  Captain Joe Malki evened the score early in the second, assisted on Harsh Wanigaratne’s game-winner less than a minute later, and added a final nail in the coffin early in the third to lead his team to a crucial and convincing 4-1 win.  Vance Morra (1 and 1) rounded out the attack for Tie Dye, Chris Malki recorded primary assists on both of his son’s goals, and Sean Kelly (16/17) finally got the support he needed when his team needed it most.  A loss would have kept Tie Dye in peril going into the final two games of the night, but the win propelled them all the way (past White) to the five seed.  White were safe by virtue of their Week Nine win over Pink, but their games of late have been less swim and more sink.  Whatever the case, the first of three desperate Week Ten contenders had come through, and it was on to game two…

I came to praise Melissa Busby for her Week Nine heroics, but Purple came to bury her.  A six pack attack surrounded the lone Green goal (Matt Hanley), as Andy Strathman struck just over a minute in, Weston Nawrocki and Carl Vankoughnett each erupted for 2 and 1, Alan Razoky went for 1 and 2, and both Michael Quadrini and Tiffany Fox collected two assists.  Captain Chris Tran was sharp as ever, stopping 19/20 when not busy watching the fireworks at the other end in the 6-1 romp.  Green was grateful to have booked playoff passage the week prior, with the lopsided loss meaning little beyond seeding and momentum.  It was desperation, turned to inspiration, turned to domination for Captain Tran & Company, who needed a win and some help to complete an impressive rebound from an 0-4-1 start.  The win had them in…as of 7:00pm.  A tie or a loss for Black, who would be facing the league’s only undefeated team, and Purple could wipe the slate, and start game planning for a January opponent…   

Jordan Pynn is a game-changer.  He missed over half of the first eight games of the season for Black, but he stood on the court to face Red with Black standing on the brink of elimination in the final game of the final week.  It was ‘win and in’ for Black, who held their fate, and the fate of the onlooking Purple players in their hands.  Purple just needed the immovable object to stay put…for previously unbeaten Red to hold serve and just…not…lose.  This game was incredible, folks.  Black had all guns blazing from start to finish…shot after shot…chance after glorious chance.  Their desire to win pulsated through every play.  Were it not for Captain Nick Adkins, who was ABSOFUCKLY RIDICULOUS in nets, it might have been over halfway through.  Seriously, this game should have been 6-1…maybe not even that close.  Adkins dove, and shuffled, and crawled, and clawed, and snatched, and kicked and sticked away everything that came his way…everything until Jordan Pynn finally found a hole to make it 1-0 late in the first.  The Purple hearts sank, but Connor Miller lifted them back on high, finishing an incredible, patient, pinpoint centering feed from Melissa Busby to knot it at 1-1.  Black continued to press, but Adkins would not crack.  As time wound down to the final minutes, Captain Kayleigh Marsolini was forced to indulge the rare desperation of pulling a goalie in a tie game.  Less than a minute to play…draw in the Red zone to Adkin’s right…Trevor Marsonlini…:59…back to Jordan Pynn…:57…shot on the way…:56….back of the net…:55.  To paraphrase The Simpsons, I have actually pinpointed the second when Purple’s heart ripped in half.  Black had done it.  Beaten the unbeatable…beaten the odds…beaten the clock.  A 2-1 Christmas miracle win to send them to the playoffs as the six seed, and send Purple out into the bitter cold.  What an incredible way to end the regular season (unless you’re Purple…then…bah, humbug)!      

Captain Ennsmann and his EnnsMen Without Hats came off their bye week with a strong rebound from their 6-0 Week Seven loss to Orange.  The 4-0 shocking of Pink was also a playoff ticket-puncher for the hot and cold crew, as four different goal-scorers scored goals in a dominant first period.  Eric Caligiuri kept rolling in what may be the best season of his career, scoring first for the winning side.  Captain Ennsmann added insurance, and added an assist on Brian Sheptycki’s goal to make it 3-0.  Sheptycki, in turn, had the primary helper on Tom Darlington’s goal, with the Kim Hernandez’ contributing the second assist…her second assist on the night.  Bringing everything back full circle, Hernandez and Darlington were primary and secondary table-setters on Caligiuri’s game-winner to start all of this.  Christian LeClair picked the right night to have the best game of his career, stopping 27/27 to earn his first career shutout, and help propel his team to playoff safety.  Pink’s season is a wrap at 5-3-1, and their playoff positioning is set in stone in the three spot.  The results of this Sunday’s games could result in an immediate Pink v White rematch, and you can bet that Captain Chad Goins will have his troops (including super sniper, Kris Tosczak, who missed round one) ready for revenge, if that is the case.

I should probably just whip up a recap template for cases like the Purple v Blue Week Nine showdown.  It seems to happen every season…two teams, both desperate for two points…both walk away with one…thereby assuring mutual destruction.  Captain Chris Tran (13/14), who (ironically) was a major reason that Royal Blue wasn’t already eliminated (see his 32/32 Week Eight heroics versus Green), was solved my Min-Soo Smith late in the second.  Carl Vankoughnett evened the score early in the third to account for Nick Adkins’ only blemish in a fill-in role for Blue (15/16).  This season’s installment of ‘Tragic Tie Theater’ does leave a shred of hope for Purple, who have one game remaining to save their season.  They’ll need some help, but their destruction is not yet assured (lest you took my earlier words literally).  All is lost, however, with the 1-1 woe-is-me tie for Captain Jon Salt and Blue.  The aforementioned Week Eight win over Green looked to be a season-saving turning point, but the Week Nine tie means ‘Ferris Blue-er’ and his pals will have quite a few days off between now and mid-February.  The playoff possibilities tend to hurt my tender little brain, but suffice it to say that Purple will need a win, and some help if there is to be any hope of an eleventh hour redemption.

Captain Brett Cohen and ‘The BrettFast Club’ will graduate with playoff honors after all, securing the second seed with a 3-0 win over Tie Dye.  Stephanie Chen recorded the game-winner in the early going, with help from Sailboat Lewis and Jon Zygelman.  Zygelman doubled the lead minutes later with the assists from Justin Stege and Dorothy Kline, and Eric Willard’s empty-netter removed any aspirations of a Tie Dye rally.  Chuck Bender chalked up his first shutout on the season, stopping 17/17, while Sean Kelly continued to be that ace pitcher with no run support, stopping 10/12 to dip to 2-3-1 on the campaign.  Tie Dye are the ones who find themselves in detention at this point.  The loss leaves them in the trailing pack going into their final game.  Still, the Linke-O-Matic 5000 has indicated that they are ‘likely to make the playoffs’, with a win or a tie locking up a spot in the second season.  They can still get in with a loss, but their destiny will be out of their hands, and in the hands of Green and Red, at that point.  First thing’s first…they need a strong result against White.  We all know Sean Kelly will do his job, but can the lowest scoring team in the league (tied with 10 goals-for with Purple) find a way to put some orange behind the opposing goalie?

Karma is a bitch, and that bitch was in nets for Green in Week Nine, serving up a steaming pot of karma stew for your humble narrator and his (innocent) teammates.  Yes, Melissa Busby, the much, much, much maligned punchline punching bag punched back, shutting up her number one ‘critic’, and shutting out Orange with a 15/15 dazzler.  The perfect, and poetic performance featured (of course) several incredible, point blank stops on golden chances for…you guessed it….yours truly.  As you all (should) know, I tease because I love (and because I find it fun).  Melissa and I go WAY back, and I was really proud of her for this one…it was awesome!  Love you, Simma!  Meanwhile, Zach Siemer was no slouch at the other end, stopping 21/22 in a hard-luck 1-0 loss for Orange, who back into the playoffs with a 1-2-1 stretch leaving them the (current) four seed.  Matt Hanley’s second career SDFHL goal was not only pretty (nifty backdoor tuck), but pretty crucial for Green, who punched their playoff ticket with the two points.  They can move as high as the five seed with a win over Purple in their regular season finale, or slide as low as seven with a loss.  As noted, Orange are locked into the four spot, and will wait until Sunday’s results to determine their January 5^th opponent.

Pink left Black on the brink, teetering dangerously along the cut line after a 2-1 defeat.  Glenn Pinto scored in the first minute of play, and Kris Tosczak netted the game-winner with 3:17 to play in the third to shore up Pink’s playoff positioning, and give Tiffany Fox (24/25) her fifth win of the season.  Jim LaGrossa had Black even with his eighth of the season in the closing minute of the second, but Fox held strong, Tosczak tallied, and Matt Henderson (12/14) swallowed his third loss in his last four outings.  The win kept Pink in sole possession of second place, with Red now officially locked in first.  They will close out their regular season, and look to protect their second seed against White on December 8^th.  Even with a loss, the lowest they can fall is the four spot.  The aforementioned brink for Black features Captain Kayleigh’s Crew just one point ahead of Royal Blue with one game remaining for both teams.  Also lurking at six, five, and four points, respectively, are White, Green, and Purple.  The problem for Black…these three teams all have two games to play, and one of those games is Green v Purple.  The other problem for Black…they tied White, and lost to both Green and Purple.  Oh, one more problem…Black’s final opponent is Red!

Purple earned a crucial first win in Week Six, but a bye week snuffed that momentum, and had them starting from scratch in Week Eight.  Maroon was looking for a final notch in the standings to secure playoff rights, and Eric Willard notched one early in the second to put the favorites on the front foot.  A loss would not mean elimination, but it would certainly hurt the cause for Captain Chris Tran’s clan.  Having failed to score on a lengthy 5 on 3, and with the clock winding down to wee seconds, it looked like Purple was going to have to embrace another loss, and hope for better results in their remaining games.  Cue Andy Strathman…hero among men.  Strathman finally solved Chuck Bender (16/17) with 0:04 to play, knotting the score for good at 1-1, and securing what could turn out to be a vital point in the standings for his team.  Captain Tran was stellar, as always, stopping 15/16, and somehow willing his team to avoid the L.  Purple are hoping that will finds a way, as Purple will almost certainly need wins in both of their remaining games in order to find their way into January play.  It helps that those remaining games are against Royal Blue and Green, the very two teams that Purple is hoping to leap past.  Maroon are now safely tucked in the top half of the standings, concerned only with maintaining/improving their playoff seeding going into their final match against Tie Dye on December 8^th.

Speak of the devils, Royal Blue and Green squared off in a low standings, high stakes affair.  Captain Jon Salt’s side had managed just one win and three points coming in, meaning that anything less than a tie would be all she wrote for the storied scorer and his gang.  That storied scorer authored a hat trick (all unassisted), and Chris Tran’s 32/32 wrote off Captain Vacchio’s offense in Royal’s 3-0 triumph.  The bottom of the standings is now an intriguing tangle of hope and desperation.  If Royal can manage a win over Purple in their final game, they will have completed their swim to playoff safety.  A loss, or a tie against Purple, and they will likely find themselves sunk.  I, for one, am not counting Salt out.  He has a knack for finding a way over the top, and with the playoff door ajar, I fully expect him to kick it in and stride through.  Green will have to hope for a good result against a tough Orange squad in Week Nine, and/or find a way to prevail over Purple in their regular season finale.  There are a number of scenarios that would find them in the playoff picture, but unfortunately for Green, Melissa Busby is set to return to play in nets to close out the season.  Whatever the case, the final few weeks of play will be dripping with playoff implications.

The Week Eight showdown between Red and Orange was billed as a must-see heavy weight bout.  Red came in undefeated at 6-0-1, and featuring the league’s top male point scorer (Connor Miller), top female point scorer (Julie Ott), and top goalie (Captain Nick Adkins, at your service).  Orange came in having lost just once, hovering just below Red in the standings, with their very own London Peters hovering just below Mr. Miller on the stat slate, hoping to prove that they could be the team to bring down Big Red.  Well…Connor Miller was absent, and neither team managed to score in a let down of a 0-0 tie that saw fans heading for the exits early.  Orange dominated play for most of the game, outshooting Red 22-4, but neither Captain Adkins (22/22), nor Zach Siemer (4/4) would budge.  Siemer’s shutout streak is now at 63:40 and counting, while Adkins filthy numbers got even filthier with his third shutout of the season.  Here’s hoping a playoff rematch between these two features both Connor and London, or we may be forced to endure a 1-0 shootout result. 

Tie Dye and Black entered Week Seven with identical records…and exited Week Seven with identical records.  Ty Pereira was shot out of a cannon in the first period, putting Black on the board in the first minute of play.  Trevor Marsolini made it 2-0 midway through the second, and Black looked well on their way to their first win since October 13^th.  Kamal Gill dampened those hopes with a sick end to end rush less than a minute later to cut the lead in half, and Harsh Wanigaratne found the equalizer early in third.  Matt Henderson and frequent flyer fill-in, Chris Tran, posted twin 17/19 lines in the 2-2 tie which saw both teams stay flush in the middle pack of the standings at 2-3-2.  Both teams are safely above the cut line for now, but both face tough challenges in their remaining two games.  Tie Dye will enjoy some time off, returning on December 8^th to face Maroon, then finishing out the string against White, in what may be a do or die game for both teams.  Black take on the second place team this Sunday in Pink, then face the current pace-setters in their December 15^th finale against Red.  Both teams will want to secure at least one more point, but may well need two to ensure a spot on the court in January 2020.

It was an all Orange, lots of Peters, and mainly London show in the second game.  To say that London Peters ‘had himself a night’ would be an understatement.  Our Week Seven cover boy assisted on both Jet Javelet’s game-winner, and papa Peters short-hander in the first, then rattled off four goals of his own to pace a 6-0 punishment of White.  Zach Siemer’s 13/13 earned him his first career shutout, while Christian LeClair will be seeing the Peters boys in his nightmares for a while after this one.  Captain Kevin Dinino missed Orange’s most convincing win of the season (and their first in over a month), but will return to play knowing that his team has already clinched a playoff berth at 3-1-3.  Their next challenge will be their biggest, as they hope to hand Red their first loss of the season this Sunday, and they will wrap the following week against the Melissa Busby led Green.  White find themselves in the same 2-3-2 boat as Black and Tie Dye, with a tough putt in Pink up next, and a showdown with Tie Dye to close out their slate.  Odds are that at least one of those boatmates is going to be in real trouble come December 15^th…

Captain Jon Salt has a rather impressive track record of assembling and leading winning teams in this league.  It looks as though he has finally stepped on the banana peel this season, with his DFL team on the brink of elimination at 1-5-1 after yet another loss in Week Seven.  Pink was in the role of grateful beneficiary this time around, with Kris Tosczak wielding the heavy hammer with a 3 and 2 output.  Glenn Pinto was the Robin to Tosczak’s Batman, assisting on all three of his goals, and adding one of his own in the third.  Dale Stuzka rounded out the scoring for Pink, who secured a playoff spot, and improved to 4-2-1 with the convincing 5-2 win.  Their playoff positioning push begins with Black this week, and ends with White on December 8^th.  Captain Salt (who did manage to score in this one, along with Patrick Fusco), finds himself in unfamiliar territory, facing back-to-back must win games to close out the season.  Even with wins against Purple and Green, Royal Blue will need some help to survive.  Both of those opponents have a game in hand, and that game is…you guess it, against each other.  Long story short, it looks like a long season will come to a merciful end in short order for Salty & Company.

The Big Red Showdown went the way of the brighter shade, as Captain Nick Adkins crew remained undefeated through seven weeks of play.  Ian Crooks continued to roll along in his best SDFHL season to date, opening the scoring for Red midway through the first.  Eric Willard tied it up late in the second on a feed from Jon Zygelman.  The same duo cashed in early in the third, but that goal was wedged between two Connor Miller strikes, including the game-winner.  Marc Lapointe added insurance, and sealed the 4-2 victory in front of Captain Adkins (17/19).  Red enter the final stretch of the season with the league’s best record (6-0-1), three of the top seven scorers (Connor Miller, Joe Nguyen, and Jeffrey Henderson), the top goals/points/PPG player in Connor Miller, the top female scorer (Julie Ott), the top goalie (Captain Adkins, himself), and a gaudy +20 goal differential.  It will take two losses, and some other bad breaks to knock them out of the top spot, and even then, they would have to enter the playoffs as the odds-on favorites to win it all.  Maroon have not yet officially clinched a playoff berth, but are certainly curled up and cozy on the doorstep.  Their remaining schedule features two struggling teams (Purple and Tie Dye), both of whom will be desperate for a win.  One point in either contest, or just another week of fruitless play for any of the basement teams will stamp the playoff passport for Captain Cohen’s crew.