Captain Joe Malki’s Navy cruised into Sunday evening with plenty of weaponry, and plenty of sailor swagger. Unfortunately, they would manage just one goal against Purple. Fortunately, one goal was enough! Unfortunately, they managed zero goals against White. Fortunately, zero goals was enough! ONE goal scored in regulation in their first game, and NONE through regulation and overtime in their second game, and yet they are on to the final against Brown this Sunday. At the risk of sliding into eye-roll-worthy poetic/philosophical blather, it goes to show the power of one. Unfortunately for White, the power of that one seed was not enough to carry them through…

Ashley Herfindahl scored the one and only (non-shootout) goal of the entire night, and super sub Chris Tran (10/10) outdueled long lost cousin, and fellow super sub, Don Tran (9/10) to seal the 1-0 win for Navy over Purple. Donald Chow and Captain Joe Malki assisted on the game-winner, which came at 8:27 in the third period. It was a rollercoaster season for Captain Jon Salt’s Purple Cobras, who went winless in their first four, before a name change and front office shakeup. Navy did not have much time to relish the narrow victory before taking on top-seeded White…

You know by now that nothing of consequence happened through three periods and overtime in the Loser’s Bracket final. What you may not know is that Cory Brin was standing on his head to hold a determined Navy at bay. Brin stopped 29/29, while Chris Tran had a much less taxing night at the other end (8/8). Still, Brin had given his team a chance to prevail in the shootout, as they had done against Green in their playoff opener. That chance went to waste, as a trio of Navy shooters (Chris Malki, Mark Nagy, and Captain Joe Malki) converted their chances, answered only by White’s captain, Jim LaGrossa. The 3-1 shootout decision meant a ticket to the final for the upstart number three seed. They will need to defeat Brown in back-to-back games this Sunday to comlete their surge and capture the Cup. The teams have met just once, with Navy handing Brown their worst loss to date, 3-1…*cue intrigue music*….

The top two seeds have risen to a rematch, and the bottom two seeds are now out, as the playoffs stick and move into Week Three…

The second Sunday of playoff action kicked off with a loser-goes-home OT thriller. Captain Joe Malki was thrilled that >Navy sent Gold home losers in a 2-1 extra time affair. Even sweeter, it was Joe who assisted on his dad’s game-winner, Chris’ second of the game. Alexis DaCosta had leveled the match in the second period, but that would be the thin silver lining for Gold, who became the first team on the playoff scrap pile with the loss. Navy live to fight on, taking on fifth seeded Green, a team they narrowly nipped 1-0 in Week Nine of the regular season.

Vance Morra put Red on the board first in the first, with a strange, sneaky goal along the near post. The first period ended with the score knotted at 1-1, thanks to POTW Shawna Hamon’s first of the night. Hamon’s second of the night game in the third, and put the game officially out of reach, with Captain Mark DeGraffenreid having potted a pair in the middle frame on the way to another big win for Brown, 4-1. Alex Theis stopped 22/23, and Andy Strathman collected two assists in a typically stellar Strathman two way effort. Brown move on to the Winner’s Bracket finals, with a chance at regular season redemption and a ticket to the finals against White. Red will need to work their way through the Loser’s Bracket, starting with Purple this Sunday.

White has not exactly swaggered through the playoffs like the top seeded bosses they are. After sweating out an OT win over eighth seeded Yellow, they got even sweatier with a 2-1 shootout win over Green. Nick Adkins had White in the lead after one, but Captain Mara Bernd stayed hot to tie it, running her goal scoring streak to three games. Both goalies refused to budge, otherwise (Cory Brin 13/14 & Andrew Lockard 16/17), and OT passed with no winner determined. Michael Bottomley and Zach Siemer converted in the third and fourth rounds of the shootout, and Brin turned aside all four Green shooters to preserve the win, and propel White to the Winner’s Bracket finals. Green will look to regroup and rebound after a tough loss, taking on Navy in the opening game of playoff Week Three.

Sean Kelly and Captain Jon Salt made sure there was no Yellow drama in the late game, dispatching the bottom seeds, 3-0. Kelly struck for two in the second, and assisted on Salt’s insurance marker in the third, while super sub, Andrew Lockard, stopped all fifteen shots he faced. Yellow join color cousins, Gold, on the golf course, while Purple move on to face Red, whom they tied 1-1 in their regular season meeting.

Captain Ryan Belbin and his largely Canadian contingent handed Malkhale’s Navy their first defeat since Week One…which happens to be the last time these two teams met. Match-ups are funny that way…some teams just have another team’s number. The top two numbers in the seeding took care of their lower ranked opponents, but Green added an under-card upset as well, besting fourth-ranked Purple.

Panic set in in the lead up to the opening game of the playoffs, as Green’s goalie was nowhere to be seen. A quick call to Andrew Lockard confirmed the worst…he was probably thirty minutes from the rink, expecting a 6:30pm start. With no time to waste in a tight slate, Mark DeGraffenreid donned the hodge podge, incomplete mix of orphan goalie gear from the bin, and trotted in behind Green’s starting five. The result was predictably not great (the former Rec Gym goalie managed to stop just four of the six shots he faced), but Green had rallied from an early 0-2 hole to even things by the time the real talent arrived. Shelby Shattuck and Matt Drake had taken full advantage of the stand-in, but Tony Thinh and Jeff Chen had responded, and Green held a considerable edge in the shot column through two periods. Captain Mara Bernd capped the comeback, tucking the game-winner past Shane Sullivan with 2:57 to play. The unlikely 3-2 win for Green has Purple Captain Jon Salt thankful that he didn’t push any harder for a single elimination format. Green move on to face top-seeded White, while Purple look to lick their wounds against the other end of the seeding spectrum in Yellow.

Yellow and Purple earned big wins in Week Six to move themselves closer to playoff safety, while Red and Grey each suffered their fourth consecutive loss to push them closer to the cellar. It’s not over yet, but it’s still o-fer for Royal Blue, who will need to elevate their game several levels in the second half if they have any hope of making the playoffs.

Gold handed Black their first loss of the season, and remained clear of the lower half of the standings, as Geoff Appuhn (12/12) returned from the depths of semi retirement to preserve a 2-0 result. Matt Riordan’s game-winner came just over a minute into the affair, and Alexis DaCosta added insurance midway through the second. Third overall pick, Steve Linke, has been the subject of recent trade rumors for Black, who have gone from comfortable to concerned after falling out of the top pack in the standings over the past few weeks.

Purple changed their team name, and changed their fortune, notching their first win of the season, 3-1 over Green. Mark Ennsmann tallied twice, and Captain Jon Salt scored the game-winner late in the second, as the ‘Purple Cobras’ moved to 1-2-2…one step closer to playoff salvation. Greg Mallinger ruined Shane Sullivan’s shoutout (17/18) with just 1:07 to play, but Green could not escape their second loss in three games.

Rookie Brett Cohen’s third of the year was the first and only in the game, lifting White to a 1-0 win over Red . Red has now lost four straight, dropping them into the danger zone section of the standings, while White’s 4-0-1 run after their opening week loss has them in striking distance of the top spot. Cory Brin (17/17) outdueled Elliot Hicks (18/19), and Red hung tough, killing six penalties, including two stretches of five on three play. Red will need to change their course against Grey in Week Seven, or they could find themselves down and out for good.

‘Skid Marks’ Captain, Mark DeGraffenreid, recorded a hat trick in (what we presume to be) record time, flipping the score from 0-1 to 3-1 within a :31 span in the first period. Josh Wirt had the underdog ‘Royal Pains’ on the board first, but that was the only offense they would muster. Vinny Santora’s first of the season rounded out the 4-1 win for Brown, and Alex Theis stayed sharp (22/23) and unshaken after the early Royal goal. Brown enter their bye week comfortably atop the standings, and may clinch a playoff berth as early as Week Eight. As noted in the open, Royal Blue will need everything they have and then some to avoid an early elimination this season.

Min-Soo Smith, Lena Amelang, and Derek Lobo had a goal apiece, and another quasi-retiree, Don Tran, stopped all but one shot he faced, as Yellow topped Grey, 3-1. Chris Tran’s power play marker late in the third was too little, too late for Grey, who have lost their captain/super stud goalie, Jordan Pynn, for the season (to add injury to insult). Grey will need to tape it all together and surprise a few teams if they have any hope of surfacing this season.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and the midway point in the season…what better time to check in on the pulse of each team? It’s all about the BPM, or in SDFHL terms, the PPW (Points Per Week). Brown, Green, White, Black and Navy are all heart healthy with a PPW greater than 1.00. Gold, Red, Grey, Yellow, and Purple will need a little TLC (Tosczak-Like Clutchness), and possibly CPR (Cheating/Prayer/Recruitment) in order to rebound from a PPW of 1.00 and below. Royal Blue, well, they are on life support, and are a few more fruitless weeks from having to issue a DNR (Do Not Rissi-citate). There is no universal health care in this league, so now is the time to make sure you have a solid PPO (Personal Point Output), or and least an HMO (Hail Mary Option) to help keep you and your team alive and kicking into mid to late April…

White (fittingly) blanked Grey, 3-0, keeping the drab-clad crew on the cellar stairs. It was Grey’s third straight loss…their third straight SHUTOUT loss. Alas, Grey’s best offensive weapon is stuck in nets. Cory Brin (15/15) posted his first clean slate of the season, while Nick Adkins, Jim LaGrossa, and Kim Hernandez provided the one-two-three punch in the win.

Purple snatched non-loss from the jaws of loss, as Mark Ennsmann’s taly with 0:15 remaining sealed the 3-3 deal with Black. Black remain undefeated at 2-0-3 with the result, but should perhaps be concerned that this is their second such last-minute-failed-dismount-stick in five games (see 0:37 Tony Thinh tally for Green in Week Two). Still, Tim Vick, Jeff Henderson, and Jason Remple helped keep the ‘L’ column spotless for Black with a goal apiece. Mark Daquipa, Sean Kelly, and the aforementioned hero, Mark Ennsmann, matched that output for a Salt-less Purple. Purple have zero wins in four tries, and have a tough schedule ahead with Green and White on the horizon.

Donald Chow kept his rookie of the year buzz buzzing, scoring his third goal of the season as part of Navy’s 4-1 heave-ho of Gold. Chris Malki, Justin Stege, and Mark Nagy rounded out the offense, and took all of the stress off Nick Meglich (16/17) between the pipes. Rookie, Mike Testen, scored his first career goal, providing the lone measure of vengeance for his twin brother, and Gold netminder, Steve Testen (22/26).

Shawna Hamon tucked home a power play goal to put Brown on the board, and was a key player in the production of dazzling tic-tac-toe insurance marker, as Brown kept their winning ways intact against Red, 3-1. Vance Morra made things interesting, scoring his first of the season with the goalie pulled, but even an oafed WIDE OPEN EMPTY NET chance for Captain Mark DeGraffenreid did not leave the door open wide enough for Red to recover. DeGraffenreid did find the twine late in the second, and Mark Boulanger was the ‘toe’ in the aforementioned tic-tac-toe play…his first career SDFHL tally. Alex Theis is clearly the backbone for Brown, stopping 15/16 in this go, and very nearly recording his third shutout in five tries.

It’s hard to overcome the hard luck double-whammy of Captain Tony Rissi and Kevin Dinino. Both have something of a history of ill-fated teams, and ‘Royal Pains’ have carried on that sad tradition, so far. This was a particularly heartbreaking loss, with Kris Tosczak’s second of the game coming at 0:52 in the third to secure the thrilling 4-3 victory for Green. Green had built a 3-1 lead after one (Tony Thinh, Eric Willard, and Tosczak’s first), but Royal Blue built on Josh Wirt’s first period score with goals by…yes, Rissi and Dinino…before it all came crashing down. Royal Blue is legitimately approaching ‘must win’ country at this point. Although they do have their bye week behind them, they face the current pace-setters in Brown in their next game, then the only other undefeated side in Black the following week.