Captain Joel Gattey’s White was well entrenched in the ‘desperation’ camp coming into Week Eight. At 1-3-2, they shared the standings basement with Grey and Purple, and while Silas ‘The Silencer’ Perks had kept them in games (and even won them one), their seven goals scored was the lowest in the league. They would either need to have a breakout offensive outburst, or hope for Perks perfection against a high octane Neon side who rolled into Week Eight with nearly thrice the goal total, and at least twice the swagger. Captain Gattey himself was out with injury, but it had to be some relief to him and his mates to see Kaity and Matt Gottfried out of the lineup on the other side for this one. Bryan Ossa drew first blood for White at 5:14 in the first (from Jon Zygelman), and a strangely anemic Neon mustered just two shots in the first ten minutes…not nearly enough volume to expect results against the league’s reigning goalie god. A five shot second period did produce pay dirt, however, as the (ironically) white hot Carl Vankoughnett converted on the powerplay at 7:38 in the second (from David Schlatter and Captain Sean Bathgate) to level the ledger at 1-1. The third period belonged entirely to White, who finally found that aforementioned ‘offensive outburst’ in the form of Ossa’s second of the game, Zygelman padding that lead (from Jeannine Stuzka), and Ryan Loughran icing the 4-1 White win on the powerplay. So…desperate team finds their scoring form, gets the game they have come to expect from their stud netminder (Perks (12/13)), and secures a crucial two points in the standings to move above the cut line for the first time since Week One. The kicker, they hold the tiebreaker over Neon, who now feature an identical record, but find themselves below the cut line as a result of this loss. Both teams turn to the holiday break knowing that another important game looms on the other side. Neon will face off with Brown, and White will joust with Green…a win in these games means leapfrogging to playoff safety (at least temporarily).

Captain Geoff Downes’ Orange strutted into Week Eight at the top of the pile, with just a 1-0 loss to Green in Week Five dulling the shine on their 5-1-2 record. That one loss came in the absence of Janet Goins, Justin Ker (surprise), Mostafa Azab, and…oh yeah, Zach Salt. So…maybe you write off the L, but maybe you also worry about another L when you roll into battle with Brown without Bao Nguyen, Glenn Pinto, Nadia Connolly, and…oh yeah, Zach Salt. At 3-3-0, Captain Rob LaVigne’s Brown was neither dashing nor desperate, but every point counts, and a chance to topple the top dogs (regardless of their attendance) is always a mouth-watering prospect. Brennen Abel had the underdogs out to a strong start with his league leading eleventh of the season at 2:43 in the first (from Harsh Wanigaratne and Janice Darlington), and Vance ‘Refrigeration’ Morra doubled the lead early in the second (from Captain LaVigne). Well, you don’t get handed a free pass to the top of the standings, and Orange showed their stripes in the absence of their brightest star, rallying to a 2-2 tie late in the second. Both goals belonged to Captain Downes…a 2:40 strike from Mostafa Azab and Ryan Karns, and a 0:46 conversion from Ker and Azab. Matt Henderson (28/30) continued his tour de force season, keeping his team alive and kicking from start to finish, and improving his league leading line to .935/1.43/1 SO. Nick Meglich (11/13) was considerably less pressured at the other end, but coming away from a tangle with Orange (Zach Salt, or not) without a loss is impressive, and the single point gives Brown some much needed cut line breathing room. Numbers are hard, but I believe that Orange has already clinched a playoff spot. Brown will likely need just two more points to make certain they are playing into February, and the last leg of their campaign begins with a match with a potent Neon side who will be determined to swap places with Captain LaVigne & Company in the standings.

Our cover team was up next, and while Red came into Week Eight play at 3-2-2, and having moved through their schedule to date with relative calm and ease, the fact that most teams behind them carried a game in hand meant that they would need to stay on the front foot going into the two week holiday break (made three weeks virtue of their January 7th bye). A loss to Captain Kaitlyn Brusso’s 3-3-0 Gold would push them to .500, and have them waiting a full month to redeem themselves and resume their final playoff push. Zach Siemer put the heat on Captain Linke’s crew with his second of the season at 8:08 in the first, but a late pair of goals from (who else) John Boddy flipped the lead in Red’s favor moving into the middle ten. Sadie Hellstrom had the first assist on Boddy’s first tally, and she chipped in one of her own in the second (from Josh Tran and Phil Nguyen) to make it 3-1. Hellstrom was not done yet, building Red’s lead to 4-1 with her second of the game/season (from Captain Linke) at 6:08, and with Gold having mustered just FIVE shots on goal to that point, it began to look very bleak indeed for Captain Brusso’s bunch. Andrew Jacobsen finally produced an answer to Red’s run of four (from Erin Plone and Alan Razoky), but Justin Stege blocked any emergency exists with an empty-netter to seal the deal for Red…5-2 winners over Gold. Boddy’s two tallies have him in a tie for the goal scoring lead at the holiday break with eleven (Abel), and while Red show no shortage of scoring punch, one COULD raise an eyebrow of concern over their goaltending. Jon Cima (4/6 in this win) has fared just fine with the avalanche of goal support that he typically enjoys, and Red does allow BY FAR the fewest shots per game (now 92 in eight games), but his .816 save percentage is the worst in the league, and if teams down the stretch/in the playoffs find a way to put more volume his way, that could be an issue. Still…a win is a win is a win, and Red now have four of them in eight tries, and a total of ten points, which is good enough for a (virtual) tie with Blue for second place at the break. Don Tran (19/23) takes the loss for Gold, who now find themselves at 3-4-0, very much in danger of being dragged below the cut line when play resumes in January.

It has been another painful season for yours truly…having to type up a seemingly endless string of summaries of yet another loss after yet another loss for my team. The high from Purple’s win over basement buddies, Grey, was worn away quickly by the sobering reality that we would likely need at least five points in our final four games to have any hope of playoff redemption. Enter…Black, a team that was once like Purple, but whose two game win streak coming into Week Eight put them in a relatively comfortable perch in the middle of the standings, and at a decided advantage in all ways over their 1-3-2 opponent, not the least of which advantage being the all important confidence. Kyle Snyder put any confidence Captain Mark Nagy & Company did muster/possess to the test with a late first period jab (from Mason LaGrossa and Eric Caligiuri), and an early second period powerplay cross (from Captain Gaudio). Purple would fight back, with Josh Wirt cutting the lead in half at the midway point in the game (from Mark DeGraffenreid), but the penalties starting piling up for Purple, and with that came pressure, and with that came another Black goal. This time is was Jim LaGrossa from Wendy Enright and Kyle Snyder, but even as I type this, I remain skeptical that it was an actual goal. It was counted as one…and counted as the second powerplay conversion for Black in the second period, a wild stretch that saw Purple charged with three penalties, and Black sitting for one. It was more of the same in the third…three more Purple penalties, and two more Black box visits, but Purple managed to shake off the short-handed situations, and a second goal from Wirt (Captain Nagy & DeGraffenreid) early in the final frame made this one tight and tense to the bitter end. Alas, it was just that once again for Purple…a bitter end…another loss…this one a 3-2 head shaker to a surging Black. Don Tran (24/26) secured the win in a sub role, while Sean Kelly (28/31) absorbed the loss in the same capacity at the other end. The three week win streak has Black quite comfortable, though not quite assured of a postseason place at 4-4-0. They will come out of the break to a true test against penthouse pimps, Orange, while Purple will begin their final fateful push to playoff safety beginning with an uber-important grapple with Gold.

Captain Luke Wolmer’s crew put up a fight in Week Seven, with the skipper himself posting a hat trick, but Neon had a scoring bee in their bonnet that day, and not even the likes of Sean Kelly could hold back the offensive flood that left Green soaking in an 8-4 loss. Joe Malki was not in the lineup for Green in that beatdown, but he returned in Week Eight hoping to avenge his team against a down and out Grey side. Captain Kyle Prior’s gang were looking for a bounce back of their own, fresh off a loss to Purple, the lone remaining un-feated team in the SDFHL Winter League pool at the time. In fact, they were in desperate need of at least a tie to stop the bleeding and save them from an extended basement stay. Spoiler alert…it was the Joe Malki side of this story that would have a happy ending in Week Eight. Joe and Papa Chris had the assists on Matt Rogers’ early first period goal, as well as Rogers’ second goal minutes later to make it 2-0 Green. It was the Joe show from there, with two goals for the young Malki to close out the first (the first from Rogers, and the second on the powerplay from Emily Bennington), then a late second period strike to complete the hat trick (from Rogers…who also clearly had a big night). Captain Wolmer capped the scoring even later in the second (from Joe and Chris…again), and a (mercifully, for Grey) quiet third meant that Joe’s Green Dead Redemption would come in the form of a 6-0 win over Grey. The 18/18 clean sheet for Kelly has him back on track, and the win pushes Green to higher ground in the standings at 3-3-1. It has been all downhill for Cory Brin (17/23) and Grey since his show-stopping 24/24 effort in a 2-0 Week Five win over Red in his first game back from a long league hiatus. Now sitting at 2-5-0, Grey will need to find a way to at least two wins in their remaining three games if they are to have any hope of surviving to see the second season. The bad news…their opponents in the new year…an undefeated Blue side, current top dogs, Orange, and another high-powered offense in Neon…ouch!

Our cover team drew the early game once again in Week Seven, and the desperation that comes with a 0-3-2 record (the only record with a leading goose egg) drew a fiery speech from Captain Mark Nagy just before the opening draw. A scoreless first kept the flames of frustration and desperation fanned in the first intermission huddle for Purple, with yet another tie, and certainly yet another loss not really an option at this point in the season. It was the captain himself leading the charge in the second, breaking the scoreless knot at 6:04 from Josh Wirt and Ian Crooks. Any calm and confidence derived from a one goal edge was quickly eroded in the third, as Andy Strathman showed no ill effects from a nasty first period tumble into the boards, drawing Grey level at 9:43 from Alexis DaCosta and Jordan Pynn. Both Cory Brin (8/10) and super sub, Sean Kelly (16/17), kept the keel even into the late going, but Purple’s purpose would not be denied, with Josh Wirt snapping home his team’s first game-winner of the season with 1:37 remaining (from Captain Nagy)…2-1 Purple over Grey. The win, while absolutely crucial and certainly cherished by Purple, still finds them in a hole below the cut line floor boards. They will need to repeat the feat this Sunday against a resurgent Black band to cultivate any real playoff hope going into the holiday break. The loss keeps Grey in that same dank basement at 2-4-0, and their clash with 2-3-1 Green this week is now as big as it gets for Captain Kyle Prior’s crew, too.

Scoring was obviously at a premium in the first game of the night, but goals were cheaper by the (literal) dozen in the second square-off. Yes…TWELVE total goals, but…how would this Costco quantity of conquest be divvied between Captain Sean Bathgate’s Neon, and Captain Luke Wolmer’s Green? Chris Malki was first to enter a claim, finding twine less than two minutes in (from Matt Rogers) to push Green in front 1-0, but Carl Vankoughnett answered once (from David Schlatter), then twice (from Shawna Hamon) to flip the lead in Neon’s favor, 2-1. Captain Wolmer found time on the first period clock to pull the teams even at 2-2, and the first intermission found both sides feeling pretty good about their equal share of what looked to be a big goal scoring pie. All of the pie slices went to Neon in the middle third, as Schlatter tallied his first of the night (solo), Vankoughnett completed his hat trick (from Hamon) and Hamon pumped the lead to 5-2 (from Vankoughnett and Vinny Santora). I should pause at this point to remind you that this five goal spate was not coming against a broken broom braced against the cross bar…this was all coming against living league legend, Sean Kelly! So, the swagger was certainly on for Captain Bathgate’s crew, and that swagger translated into two more slices of pie to open the third…Schlatter’s second (from Vankoughnett and Chris Fiore), and Vankoughnett’s FOURTH (from Schlatter) to put this one in boat race territory, 7-2. Captain Wolmer finally found a response for his team (from Chris Malki), but Neon quickly restored their five goal edge on one of the prettiest goals of the season…an absolute dime from Schlatter to Kerri Sevenbergen, who promptly roofed it…sick! It was Captain Wolmer again, who capped the scoring (mercifully, for the poor scorer), capped his hat trick, then turned, saluted, and went down with the Green ship, 8-4. When the flood of score sheet ink finally ebbed, Vankoughnett had racked up a career high six points (4 and 2), while Sean Kelly had perhaps a career worst 24/32 in nets at the other end. Chuck Bender (10/14) was steady enough to get the win for Neon, who now find themselves in the middle-of-the-pack pack at 2-2-2. Captain Wolmer’s Green will need to do some wound licking and soul searching after this one. At 2-3-1, they are only BARELY balancing above the cut line. A Week Eight showdown with Grey is as big as a game gets at this point in the season for Green, and they will need ‘Da Kid’ back on form to firm up their footing in the standings.

The middle game saw half the offense as the 5:00 flamethrower, as both Captain Kaitlyn Brusso’s Gold and Captain Rob Gaudio’s Black looked to build on important Week Six wins. Black was the needier of the two, coming in at 2-4-0, while Gold rolled in at 3-2-0 with their bye week behind them, and their eyes on the upper reaches of the standings. Kyle Snyder struck first in the first, cashing in on a power play (from Mason LaGrossa and Andrew Wong) to put Black on top, and Snyder would double the damage (from Captain Gaudio) in the second to build the lead to 2-0. Gaudio kept the ball rolling (into the net) for Black early in the third (from Will Heinl), before Gold finally fought back with one of their own…Alan Razoky from Ty Pereira and Andrew Jacobsen. The clock became a factor for Brusso’s bunch, and late power play provided the opportunity to make a late push. With that push came a pull (of goalie, Don Tran), which allowed Wendy Enright to push home a rare SHG/ENG to put this one out of reach, 4-1. Jacobsen would make good on the power play with eight seconds to play, but it was too little, too late to avoid a losing fate, 4-2 Black over Gold. Chuck Bender (15/17) enjoyed his second win of the evening, this time in a fill in role for Jimm Reifsnyder, who has yet to suit up this season for Black. The loss drops Don Tran (21/24) and Gold to 3-3-0, but the silver lining is that .500 is good enough for fourth place at this stage, and ‘The Golden Dundies’ hold a game in hand on all three teams above them in the standings.

The evening’s proceedings took the next exit off Highscore Highway back on to the quiet, gently curving streets of Parity City, where local goal ordinances prohibit teams from more than a pair apiece. Captain Steven P Linke’s Red looked to continue their steady push to the top. coming in as winners of two straight, both of the big number/blowout variety (7-5 over Black, and 7-2 over Neon). Captain Joel Gattey’s White, on the other hand, were just looking to stay alive in the playoff picture, with their 1-3-1 record coming in only JUST enough to keep them from settling to rock bottom in the standings. Compounding matters, their five goals in those five games coming in made them officially the most anemic offense in the league (obviously either of Red’s previous two games alone would eclipse their season total). So…power and poise versus desperation and determination…a struggle that found no hint toward resolution in a scoreless first. It was Captain Gattey breaking the seal at 9:18 in the second (from Ryan Loughran), then assisting on Jon Zygelman’s second of the season to give White a 2-0 lead. Josh Tran put the first blemish of the night on Silas Perks’ sterling sheet, cutting the lead in half late in the second, with assists to John Boddy and Mark Scelfo. Phil Nguyen took the scoring torch, and brought Red level at 9:14 in the third (from Sadie Hellstrom and Boddy), and neither Jon Cima (6/8), nor Perks (28/30) would budge from there out, leaving both teams in compliance with the Parity City scoring ordinance in a 2-2 sister kiss. You read that right, Perks was nearly four times as busy as Cima in nets! It will not surprise you to learn that White’s -53 shot differential is by far the league’s worst, nor will you be shocked to read that their (now) seven goals for…also the league’s worst. The saving grace has (not surprisingly) been ‘The Silencer’, who has kept them in every came to the tune of the second best total goals against thus far. Perks and his White mates face a tall order in that department this Sunday, with Neon (twenty goals for) on the schedule, but the flip side is that Neon has also allowed twenty goals. It will be interesting to see which force wins out in that one, but if White cannot find a way to find some potency and prevail post-haste…they’re paste.

The nightcap stayed centered in Parity City, and if you have any measure of reading comprehension/retention, you know that this installment of the Battle Of The Salt Bros™ was a tight, low scoring affair. Fun twist…only a single point, and not a single goal was scored by either of the titular brothers in this, the top dog show down between 5-1-0 Orange and 3-0-3 Blue. Justin Ker made a rare appearance at the rink, and made his presence count with a 1 and 1 outing. The goal came as the first of the game in the first (from Zach Salt and Glenn Pinto), and the assist came on the game-tying Orange tally late in the third (more on that later). Kalen Hunter equalized for Blue less than a minute after the Ker strike, and Maureen Ruchhoeft found her first of the season late in the second (from Mark Ennsmann) to flip the lead in Blue’s favor. It was another unlikely late game hero with that aforementioned game-tying goal for Orange…Janet Goins. Her first of the season at 2:17 lifted Orange back to equal footing, and with both teams having reached their two goal Parity City max, that would be all of the scoring in a second straight 2-2 tie to wrap the Week Seven slate. In a delightfully amusing twist, this game featured the very same goalie match-up (and the very same result) as the 7:00 standoff, as Silas Perks (20/22) filled in for Orange’s Matt Henderson while Jon Cima (12/14) pinch hit for Blue’s Nick Vacchio. Perks was only 50% busier than his counterpart in this one, but the result was the same, and both Orange and Blue are happy to split the points and remain comfortably atop the standings at 5-1-1 and 3-0-4, respectively. The former has the most wins, and the most points to this point in the season, while the latter is the only team remaining with an unblemished loss column. It will be fun to watch how this race for the top spot unfolds down the stretch, but rest assured that both of these teams will be a force in the playoffs, no matter what happens through January play.

Captain Mark Nagy and ‘The Money Beets’ have taken more than their share of ‘beats’ so far this season. Limping into Week Six as the only winless team at 0-2-2, it was not exactly a thrill for Purple to see Orange up next on the docket. Even worse…Orange after suffering a stunning 1-0 loss to Green the Sunday prior…a game in which they outshot the victors 25-6. Worst yet…Zach Salt returning to the lineup after missing the previous two games…a player with as many goals himself in two games (5) as Purple had mustered as a team…in four! Glenn Pinto kicked off his first star of the game performance with the lone goal in the opening period (from Salt), but it was the second period that really beat down the Beets. Salt doubled the lead at 7:02 (from Pinto), Captain Geoff Downes converted on the powerplay to make it 3-0 at 5:08 (from Ryan Karns and Pinto), and Nadia Connolly scored her first of two (I could swear she had a hat trick, but…what do I know) from Salt at 1:41. Purple would finally stop the bleeding early in the third, with Mark DeGraffenreid slapping home a clean Josh Wirt draw win, but Connolly’s second of the game just twenty-three seconds later made it clear that there would be no miracle comeback in this one. Josh Wirt (from Elyse Shattuck and Mark Nagy) made it 5-2 at the 4:17 mark, but Pinto’s second goal and fifth point of the game (2 and 3) from Salt and Karns fully realized Purple’s presumed fate…a 6-2 capital L. Matt Henderson (19/21) continued his MVP-caliber play with his fifth win of the season, and now sits alone atop the goalie stats pile with a disgusting .935/1.33/1 SO line. It was another frustrating loss for Chris Tran (27/33), with nearly every one of the half dozen allowed of the ‘fluky’ or ‘soft’ variety. With no wins in the first half of their season slate, Purple will almost certainly need to go at least 3-2-0 from here out to have any chance of surviving into February play. Amazingly enough, a win over the 2-3-0 Grey side this Sunday, and some help from the favorites on the Week Seven schedule could have Purple above the cut line for the first time all season. At 5-1-0, Orange have all but punched their playoff ticket already, but their showdown with Blue this Sunday is not just another Salt vs Salt™ installment, but a battle between the two top teams to this point in the season.

Shifting seamlessly to the Week Six story of the second best Salt, it was Captain Jon and ‘Bluesnickel’ squaring off with Captain Luke Wolmer’s ‘Kelly Kapoorsports’ in a tight tilt that would end in a 2-2 draw. The skippers did all of the scoring in this one, starting with a Captain Wolmer conversion on the powerplay late in the second (from Joe Malki and Matt Rogers). Wolmer gave his team a two goal edge at 7:53 in the third (from Rogers), and it looked as though Sean Kelly might be in line for his 1,000,000th career shutout (I will double check that stat, at some point). Enter Captain Salt, who, like little brother Zach, was a driving force for his team in returning to the lineup, scoring at 6:33 to cut the lead to one (from Tim Hamon), then finding the equalizer just twenty-four ticks later (from Kalen Hunter). In case you missed me spoiling the outcome a few sentence back, that would be all the offense allowed by Kelly (15/17) and Nick ‘Elite’ Vacchio (7/9). As noted in last week’s recaps, Vacchio has been a revelation this season for Blue. His .920/1.50/1 SO line is second only to that of Orange’s Matt Henderson, who is having another one of his monster years that seem to be on some sort of astrological cycle…new age ‘scientist’ are still trying to work out the pattern there. Blue will need Vacchio’s A game, and they’ll need old and busted Salt to outduel new hotness Salt if they are to prevail in the 1-2 punchout with Orange this Sunday. Green has held a steady course through the first half of their season (2-2-1), but a loss to Captain Bathgate’s Neon this Sunday would flip them below .500, and into cut line peril.

Remaining recaps to come…

Captain Rob Gaudio’s Black and Captain Steve Linke’s Red rolled into Week Five looking to strive and stay alive in the playoff drive, with both sides sitting on one win, coming in. With two of the…less decorated goalies serving as the last line of defense for their respective sides, Vegas had the O/U set at 7.5. The offense oozed slowly at first, with a pair of Josh Tran tallies in the first (both from Sadie Hellstrom) accounting for the only score sheet accounting through one period of play, but the flood was coming, and (spoiler alert)…I hope you had the over. John Boddy matched Tran’s pair with two of his own early in the second to put Red at a four goal advantage, and Tran had the primary assist on both, with a second assist on the second goal credited to Sadie Hellstrom (her third apple of the afternoon). Just when you thought this was going to be a boat race all up in Black’s face, Jim Lagrossa (from Wendy Enright and Will Heinl) and Captain Gaudio (from The LaGrossa Boys™) cut the lead to two, and pumped some air back into a deflated Black bench. Phil Nguyen settled Red back in with a late strike to move the lead back to 5-2 (from Boddy and Captain Linke), and that was just the start of the hand-cramp-inducing fun and games for the scorekeeper in this one. Will Heinl brought Black back to within two with his first of the season at 7:10 in the third (from Kyle Snyder and Captain Gaudio), Boddy completed his hatty and pumped the lead back to three less than two minutes later (from Captain Linke), Snyder cut it back to two less than a minute later (from Jim LaGrossa), and Scott Wieland responded again for Red at 3:39 (from Tran) to make it 7-4 Red going into the final minutes of play. Alas, Black had just one live bullet left in the chamber, as Captain Gaudio found powerplay pay dirt with 1:04 to play (from Snyder) to round out the scoring in a wild and loose 7-5 win for Red. This is definitely not a game that either Jon Cima (14/19) and super sub, Chuck Bender (18/25) will want to include on their resume, but Cima & Company will certainly take the wins where they can get them. Red’s 2-2-1 first half is good enough for fourth place at the midway point. They will look to continue their high scoring swagger against a 1-1-2 Neon this Sunday, while Black will need to begin to dig their way out from below the cut line in their Week Six matchup with a 3-2-0 Brown brigade.

Another pair of teams struggling to find the start button on their season squared off in the second game on the Week Five slate. For Captain Mark Nagy’s Purple, the (sad) story coming in was a near complete lack of scoring (just ONE goal in three previous games), which (not surprisingly) meant just one point to show in the standings. Captain Sean Bathgate’s Neon had fared fairly well in the goals-for column coming in with six in three games and, unlike Purple, had actually managed a win in their first three tries, leaving them with the proverbial ‘sample platter’ start of 1-1-1. So…destined to be a close, low-scoring affair by all logic, and…at least one of those predictions came true. Jeff Henderson got the ball rolling in Purple’s favor with a powerplay strike from distance at 7:10 in the first (from Craig Russell), but David Schlatter would equalize at 1:10 (from Carl Vankoughnett and Kaity Gottfried), and twist home a 0:04 solo dagger to leave Neon on the high ground through one. The second period belonged to Purple, with Captain Nagy (from Josh Wirt) and Mark DeGraffenreid (on a sweet outlet pass from special guest sub, Kyra Forsyth) turning the tables in their team’s favor going into the final frame. The lead flipped back the other way one more time, courtesy of a 5:30 Chris Fiore strike, and an unassisted Vankoughnett goal to make it 4-3 Neon with time running low. Josh Wirt saved the day, and saved a big point in the standings for Purple with the knot-maker at 2:11 (from Ian Crooks), and that is how this one would end…in a 4-4 tie. Both Chuck Bender (15/19) and Chris Tran (14/18) split the spoils with solid efforts, and ‘a point is a point’, but Purple remain the only team without a win to this point in the season. They will need to find a way to punch their way to multiple wins if they want to remain in the playoff fight, but they face the toughest of challenges this Sunday in Orange (4-1-0). Neon have done enough to stay above the cut line in their first four games, and will look to keep it that way when they take on Red (2-2-1) in an intriguing middle ground melee.

The middle game finally provided some relief for the poor scorekeeping crew, as two of the stingiest teams in the league scrapped and scraped to find red light redemption over three tight periods of play. Captain Geoff Downes’ Orange rode in on a 4-0-0 high horse named ‘Hendo’…an homage to their out-of-his-fucking-mind-crushing-it-this-season goalie, Matt Henderson. The legend that is Sean Kelly was out of action for Captain Luke Wolmer’s Green, but with legend-to-be Silas ‘The Silencer’ Perks in nets in his stead, this one was definitely billed as a ‘whoever manages to score a single goal may win’ affair. Newcomer* Erick Zawislack managed just that, pushing his second of the season past Henderson to give Green a 1-0 lead at 5:10 in the first. Actual newcomer, Jason Lee, recorded his first SDFHL point on the play with the primary assist (CONGRATULATIONS!), and Shelby Shattuck collected the second. One goal…do I hear two? Anyone else? Just the one goal, then? Going once…going twice…sold to Captain Wolmer’s Green, 1-0. Yes, after TWENTY goals poured past pipe-minders in the first two games, this one was settled with one, and only one. Henderson (24/25) was the story again, although this time the story had a twist…the first loss for Orange on the season, leaving just Blue unblemished in that column. Perks would face less than a quarter of that total at the other end, stopping the whopping half dozen efforts he faced to earn a big W for his surrogate side. It’s worth mentioning that Orange was without Zach Salt for the second straight game, and were also missing second fiddle sniper, Justin Ker (who…let’s be honest…is rarely there), and defensive stalwart, Mostafa Azab. Green were without their captain, but you can be sure Luke’s eyes lit up upon seeing the group text after this one. Orange will look to bounce back from this new feeling (loss) against a desperate and determined Purple, while Green look to undue another undefeated season in a Week Six brush with Blue.

With Orange finally suffering a loss, Captain Jon Salt’s Blue was licking their chops at the chance to slip into the top spot in the standings. A win over a so-far-so-so White was all it would take, but Orange were not the only ones with a sodium shortage, and Blue would have to make do with Captain Jon off sailing the seven seas. A scoreless first bled into a scoreless second, as the goalies continued to dominate in the third and fourth games of the night. From twenty goals in six periods to just one in the ensuing five, this contest certainly had the ‘one goal could do the trick’ vibe all over again. With Captain Jon gone, it was ‘the other John’ who finally broke through for Blue, as Mr. Gamm cashed in at 5:35 (from Mark Ennsmann and Kalen Hunter) to put the undefeated favorites in a familiar position…on top (TWSS). Gary Peters would save the day and preserve an important point for White with his second of the season at 1:51 (from Jon Zygelman and Ryan Loughran), tying the tense tilt for good at one apiece. Both goalies were superb, with Silas Perks and Nick Vacchio each allowing just the one goal, and each making twenty-five saves. We have definitely come to expect this level of play from Perks, who is a perennial MVP on Cup contender after Cup contender, but Vacchio’s play has been eye-opening thus far, to say the least. His .933 is just a hair behind Perks for second overall in that category, and his 1.40 GAA is actually a touch better than that of ‘The Silencer’ (1.50)! It’s no wonder Blue is the only remaining team without a loss, when their goalie is going toe to toe with the best in the business, and the team is able to accrue three out of four points in the absence of their super star captain. It will be another juicy duel for Vacchio this week, as Captain Salt returns to lead his team against Sean Kelly and Green, while White will look to turn around their league-worst offensive numbers (four goals in four games) and climb above the cut line in a Week Six showdown with 2-2-0 Gold.

Team color combinations can (for me, anyway) often call to mind a season, or a holiday, or some pop culture this or that. When I think brown and grey (or brown and silver, or brown and black), a very on-theme vision comes to mind. Some of the sad, drab balloons for Kelly’s ‘It Is Your Birthday’ party were more inflated (or, less deflated) than others, and so was the case in what I am dubbing ‘The Birthday Balloon Battle™’ that served as the Week Five finale. Grey puffed up first, with Marc Lapointe’s first of the season coming courtesy of an Andy Strathman helper. It was all Brown in the second, though, with Brennen Abel leading a four goal charge that would suck the air out of the Grey ranks. Abel tied the game at 7:14 (from Janice Darlington and Dan Soar), then gave Brown the lead less than a minute later (from Soar and Hima Joshi). Vance ‘Refrigeration’ Morra was next to strike (from Jeremy Copp and…Nick Meglich!), and Harsh Wanigaratne made it 4-1 with just 0:12 to play in the middle stanza (from Janice Darlington and Soar). Jordan Pynn kept the Grey hope balloon aloft with his third of the season midway through the third, but Abel popped one more to complete the hat trick and wrap the scoring in a 5-2 Brown win. Janice ‘Clearly The Superior’ Darlington collected her third assist of the game on Abel’s third goal…good enough for second star of the game (and Darlington Manor bragging rights). Cory Brin (22/27) came back to earth after an other-worldly first game back from injury and absence in Week Four, while Nick Meglich (7/9) was (apparently) bored enough at his end that he decided to contribute to the offense! At 3-2-0, Brown sit just below the top two teams in the league, very much in the hunt for the catbird seat as we make the turn. They will look to build their win streak to three in ‘The Birthday Balloon Battle, Part Deux™’ this Sunday against Captain Gaudio’s Black, while Grey will make the tough choice of savoring their bye week by taking an hour nap, or watching an hour of TV.

Our cover team kicked off a night of close, low scoring games with a…very close, very low scoring game. Minutes after Steph Palomo Schmidt quipped ‘you better not let Gordon score, Pope’ Gordon Schmidt (naturally) scored to finally blow the literal pounds of dust off his SDFHL stat history and give White a 1-0 edge with 2:30 to play in the first (lone assist to another famous SDFHL spouse, Jeannine Stuzka). Purple poured on the pressure, and worked up a lot of quality scoring chances, but a-las…Si-las. Perks’ perfect performance (28/28) meant that Purple would be shut out for the second time in three games, with just one lonely goal to show for nine periods of play to date. Chris Tran (16/17) was heroic yet again, but had yet another L hung on him by another Silas silence job and one seeing eye shot from an washed up old man (no offense, Gordo). The 1-0 win is the first of the season for White, and an important one for their confidence and cut line comfort. Purple will look to finally generate some offense and get a first win of their own against a 1-1-1 Neon, while White will look to build back to .500 in Week Five with an upset win over 3-0-1 Blue.

Captain Luke Wolmer’s Green had visions of becoming the second 1-0 Week Four winners, after a scoreless first bled into a second period that saw Joe Malki stake his team to a 1-0 lead (from Ramsey Ksar). Those visions looked like a lock to become reality as the third period clock dripped down to the final minute, and Brown pulled Nick Meglich in a last ditch effort to salvage a 1-1 tie. Brennen Abel (from Vance Morra…Vance Refrigeration and Captain Rob LaVigne) would give them that 1-1 tie with just 0:18 to play (I think…could not read the score sheet), then shocked all involved by rattling home the ultra upset special with 0:01 to go! The 2-1 winning coup for Brown made Meglich (9/10) the brow-wiping winner, and Sean Kelly (23/25) the VERY hard luck loser, with Brown evening their record at 2-2-0, and Green dropping to 1-2-0. Brown will look to run their winning streak to three against fellow 2-2-0ers, Grey, while Green have a tough challenge in 4-0-0 Orange.

The ‘big blow out’ in Week Four was (much) more about the ridonkulous resurgence of Orange’s Matt Henderson than anything else. Captain Kaitlyn Brusso’s Gold outshot the favorites 26-10, but we all know it’s the ones that go in that count, and the count was once again in the favor of Captain Geoff Downes & Company. Justin Ker broke the scoreless draw with a nasty top shelf snipe with just eleven ticks remaining in the first (from Mostafa Azab), Chad Goins doubled the lead with a nifty breakaway burial at 6:21 in the second (from Captain Downes), and Glenn Pinto capped the scoring at 6:40 in the third (from Ker and first time sub, Kaela Martin). Again, though…the story here was Henderson, who stopped 26/26 to preserve the 3-0 win, improve his season line to .935/1.25/1 SO, and help Orange to their fourth straight win to start the season. It’s safe to say that Orange is already a lock for the playoffs, and they may well have what it takes to take down the Cup. Don Tran suffered his second loss of the season, as Gold dip to 2-2-0 heading into their bye week. Orange will look to stay perfect this Sunday against a tough, and triggered (see previous recap) Green side.

Two teams moving in opposite directions kept that inertia intact, as Captain Jon Salt’s Blue crew proved that they can spell ‘W’ without him in the lineup. It certainly helped Blue’s cause that Kyle Snyder was also elsewhere for this particular meeting, leaving Black with much less of a knack for attack. Kalen Hunter opened the scoring for Blue at 3:12 in the first (from Tim Hamon and Janine Ulloa), and closed the scoring with a solo shorty in the second, all while Nick Vacchio (16/16) was keeping the ‘lack’ in Black, and enjoying the Kalen Cruise Control™ . Don Tran (14/16) performed admirably in a pinch hit role for the ailing Jimm Reifsnyder (best to you, buddy), but he could not keep Captain Rob Gaudio’s group from slipping below the cut line at 1-3-0. The 2-0 win keeps Blue loss-free and still very much in striking distance of attic-dwelling Orange. They will look to keep pace (or pass) the only other undefeated team this Sunday in a showdown with White, while Black will look to put themselves on track before it’s too late against Old Man Linke’s 1-2-1 Red.

The nightcap was another tight tilt, with two middle-of-the-packers hoping to build points, momentum, and a (possible) tie breaker tipping result, as Captain Steve Linke’s Red brought their 1-1-1 record in to face Captain Kyle Prior’s 1-2-0 Grey. We had a Jordan Pynn sighting at 1:06 in the first, as the uber-skilled veteran blueliner converted a Dan Jurgens pass into paydirt to put Grey in front first. Actually, he put Grey in front first, and last, as that would be all the scoring that POTW and early ‘comeback player of the season’, Cory Brin would need to steal a win for his team. Brin was sensational in his return, stopping 24/24 while his team mustered just SEVEN shots the other way. Jon Cima (6/7) allowed just the Pynnpoint strike past him late in the first, but Leah Gonzales did add some icing with an empty netter with 0:26 remaining. The 2-0 win levels Grey’s record at 2-2-0, and they’ll look to make it two in a row before their bye as they take on Brown this Sunday. Red will look to bounce back in another pivotal match against a beleaguered Black in the Week Five early game.