Perfection is a persnickety little princess, and pursuers of said princess leave themselves prone to the pangs of pushback at some point in that pursuit. It was at this late juncture in the season that Captain Copp’s Orange met Captain Captain Goins’ Red, with the former hoping to perpetuate their push to pre-playoff perfection, and the latter merely pursuing points in an effort to stay playoff proof going into the final weeks of play. While Red had brightened their playoff outlook significantly with a two game winning streak coming into Week Nine, a loss to the lossless Orange would drop them into a precarious pack of teams fighting to remain above the cutline, while a win would not only serve as a major ‘statement’, but also all but guarantee passage into April play. Aaron Cooney put the favorites in their favorite position with his tenth tally of the season at 5:48 (Matthew DeBerry), and an 8-3 shot count in Orange’s favor seemed to indicate that this would be just another piece of the perfection puzzle. The same duo made it two-oh at 5:33 in the second, with DeBerry doing to scoring honors, and Cooney lending the helping hand. Josh Tran finally answered for Red, then assisted on a second response from Jackson Tomaszewski that brought the two teams level…for roughly three minutes, before Silas Perks restored Orange’s edge at 1:44 (Cooney) and pushed Orange’s perfection preservation plot just one period from panning out. This recap has been brought to you by the letter P, and Josh Tran’s play positioned him prominently as the ‘P’ in ‘POTW’. Tran’s second of the game at 4:37 in the final frame (Tomaszewski & Palomo Schmidt) drew Red level for a second…and final time, as Jon Cima (18/21) and Red would hold on to FINALLY wrest a point away from Orange, 3-3. All good things must come to an end, and even great things like Orange’s dazzling dominance can slide a step back to ‘just plain good’. Obviously, Orange won’t be missing the point (*rim shot*), as the course of their incredible season has been charted since the early weeks…be the last team standing. For Red, the draw not only provides some additional playoff security, but also provides a patch of pride…the only team so far this season to NOT LOSE to the clear Cup favorites.

That ‘persnickety princess’ named Perfection was hot and heavy with Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue through the first three weeks of the Wing League 2025 season. The two were seen necking (as the kids say) openly at clubs, and rumors of Blue making that princess a wedded and bedded queen began to circulate through the SDFHL rumor mills. Alas, the princess persnicked…and persnicked…and persnicked, turning a hot and heavy 3-0-0 start to Blue’s ribald romance with rash royalty into a tepid and timid 3-3-0. With perfection well out of the question, Captain Guadio’s gang turned their eyes to the MUCH more approachable Princess Playoff Passable. With the ‘ugly lights’ on, time was beginning to run out for a Blue rebound, and…*GASP*…Captain Zach Siemer’s White was already chatting up PPP, slurring something about ‘coming back to our place to check out our collection of shutouts’ between spilly sips of sangria. Tom Darlington (of all people…seriously) led the rizz-capade with his first (shocker) goal of the season at 8:01 in the first, with Scott Wieland and Steve Linke serving as wingman and wing(old)man. A scoreless second saw Blue REALLY pouring on the charm (10-2 shots in their favor in the period) to absolutely no avail, with ‘The Silencer’™ smoothly taking shot after shot on a stool nearby, making a mockery of their every attempt at making a move on the suddenly-popular princess. Leave it to Scott Wieland to take the sloppy leftovers of any social scene…he would ‘score’ on an empty net to seal the 2-0 win for White, and deliver another staggering slap to Blue’s once peachy playoff prospects. The White shutout win, Silas Perks’ second of the season (23/23) locks Captain Siemer’s side into the playoff picture, but…the result is also the FOURTH straight loss for Don Tran (8/9) and a hard luck Blue. They will now NEED to win, or at least produce a point or two in their remaining two games, or it will be bitter bachelorhood and Blue balls come April. To add drink-in-the-face to this most recent slap…Princess Playoff Passable (who, it turns out, isn’t even a real princess) will be swooning over Orange this Sunday, while Blue vies desperately for her attention…sad.

It’s as though Captain Shawna Hamon’s ‘Turds Of A Feather’ literally wrestled the figurative ‘Win Baton’™ from Captain Gaudio’s Blue in Week Five. Brown entered that match at 0-3-0, desperate to find a way to win and keep hopes of playoff play alive, while Blue stood at 3-0-0, not even especially concerned about losing superstar Kyle Snyder, what with six points in hand, and plenty of time to rack up more. That figurative baton certainly changed hands that day, with Brown blanking Blue 3-0, and the coming weeks produced two more wins for the former, and two more losses for the latter. Brown watched and waited to warmup as Blue continued their Titanic trajectory with a fourth straight loss, and Captain Hamon & Company hoped that these two eerily intertwined trends would hold true, billowing Browns win streak to four, and all but assuring them of a playoff berth after what appeared to be an out-of-the-gate death. Captain Joel Gattey’s Lime was only partially present, with Gattey himself on the shelf with a calf injury, and, oh yeah…Jordan Pynn (who, I learned has been playing on a broken foot for some time), Chris Malki, Sean Bathgate, and Leah Gonzales all unaccounted for, So, two teams who seem ‘even on paper’ and who share six point mid-pack parking spaces in the standings, but one team missing a lot of potent pieces and a relying on relief from a mere two subs…distinct edge to Brown. A scoreless first saw both teams come out gunning, racking up ten shots a piece to no avail, and while Brown held a 6-4 edge in shots in the second, it was Lime’s Vance Morra who would be first to break through. Morra’s fourth of the season at 5:27 (Joe Malki) had the undermanned underdogs on top through two. Brown’s press produced a 7-1 shot count in their favor, but as the clock wound toward full time, it looked like Matt Henderson might steal a big win for Lime. Kalen Hunter was not particularly a fan of that ending to the story, so he wrote his own with a game-tying tally with 1:42 to play…a gorgeous tic tac toe rush from Andy Strathman to Jim LaGrossa to Hunter to knot things at 1-1…where they would stay. Henderson (22/23) was spectacular in the point-saving effort, while Sean Kelly (14/15) kept his team undefeated since February 2nd with another trademark terrific turn. The point a piece gives each team seven, now just hovering on the high end of the middle pack, primed to punch playoff passage with two games to go.

Captain Bryan Ossa and his cover team, ‘FlamingOssas’, were on the same sinking ship as Captain Gaudio’s Blue coming into Week Nine. After flashing out to a 2-1-0 season start, Pink’s plumage paled along with their once sound playoff position, dropping three straight, including a 7-1 beatdown loss to White, and a dagger of a 5-2 L to a barely breathing Black. If ever there were a do or die test for a struggling Wing League 2025 team, it would be a meeting with a down and desperate Green, already very much in must-win-and-get-help mode coming in at 0-6-0. A loss to Green would be disastrous at best for Pink…a fourth straight loss, yet another loss to a fellow standings basement dweller, and…I mean…the ONLY win for a team that has struggled all season, and whose captain was serving the second game of a two game suspension. Green had every reason to write off the season, make excuses to miss this game, or show up and put forth a half-hearted effort, but that was not at all the case. With Captain Razoky, Eli Schonbrun, and ‘The Browns’™ all out of the lineup, the rest of Green’s roster arrived dialed in and determined to play playoff spoiler for Pink, and keep their own sliver of second season hope alive in the process. The first period passed with no scoring, with Pink holding the edge in shots (9-6) and overall play, but when Green flipped the shot script (9-5 in their favor) in an equally scoreless second, Pink’s FOMP™ (fear of missing playoffs) hit new heights. Sadie Hellstrom finally broke the scoring seal and the palpable tension in Pink’s ranks, tucking home her first (!) of the season on a funky bounce in front (Bryan Ossa) at 7:29. The winless/captain-less underdogs kept the pressure on, with super sub Nick Meglich preserving Pink’s edge in spite of a number of glorious Green chances, but a furious Ossa forecheck and a feathery centering pass led to a second Pink goal (Mark DeGraffenreid), and the collective Pink exhale could have pushed a sailboat across the Pacific. Hellstrom’s second of the game/season at 1:36 was even funkier than the first (Will Heinl & Mostafa Azab), but they all count the same, and the 3-0 score would count for a slump-snapping, possibly-season-saving win for Pink. Meglich (23/23) was otherworldly in the fill-in foray, and with Pink having lost newcomer netminder Michael Haine for the season, they will need to rely on superb sub play from here out if they are to see their way into April (and beyond). The loss was the final nail in Green’s coffin, making them the first team to be officially eliminated at 0-7-0. Pink has ‘The Blues’ remaining on their regular season slate, starting with Captain Ryan Karns’ Flint Blue this Sunday. A single point, coupled with a Black loss would be enough to push Pink into the playoffs, but a loss, let alone a loss and a Black (and/or Blue) win will put them in a very bad place going into the final week of play.

Such a smooth transition from mentions of Flint Blue and Black…the two faced off in the nightcap, with Captain Karns’ crew looking to punctuate their already-booked playoff passage and stay within striking distance of top-seeded Orange, and Captain Joshi’s Black looking to chain together two wins, stay in the thick of the six point pack, and keep the pressure on Pink, Blue, and the rest of the potential cut line casualties. Proud papa, Jon Salt, was back in the lineup for Black, and with Luke Wolmer away for Flint Blue, the door to a much needed win was ajar for Joshi’s 2-4-0 team. Mark Nagy slammed that door in Black’s collective face just FIVE seconds into play, converting a Dan Jurgens feed into an instant 1-0 lead for Flint Blue. Black would settle in, and Papa (Jon) Salt would have equalize in his newborn’s honor at 8:58 in the second (Rob LaVigne & Wendy Enright), leaving the teams tied going into the all important third. We may want to check Nick Meglich for PED’s, because the man is absolutely shutting down offenses of late. He would earn his second first star honors in as many games in Week Nine, keeping Black off the board in the third and finishing with an 18/19 line (or 41/42 on the night, if you’re scoring at home). John Boddy wasn’t scoring from home, but he was scoring, notching his ninth of the season with 3:50 to play (Jurgens and Pat Gladstone) to lead Flint Blue past Black, 2-1. The win keeps Karns & Company in the hunt for the second season catbird seat, now just two points back of Orange…though Orange does hold the head to head tie breaker, as they do over all but one team to date. The loss leaves Black in a rather bleak position, with four points, and only winless Green below them in the standings. Should they fail to earn at least a point against Lime this Sunday, their playoff hopes could be crushed before they play their final game (if both Pink and Blue manage a tie or better against the top two teams…not likely, but not impossible). A win and some help this Sunday will keep Black alive and kicking into the last week of play, where (as fate would have it) they would face the nothing-to-play-for Green on the heels of a Pink v Blue match that should produce an opportunity to leapfrog their way into one of the final spots in the playoff picture.

The obvious primary storyline in the Spring 2024 Final was the battle of the league’s two top goalies. Silas ‘The Silencer’™ Perks has gotten more press than Taylor Swift of late, but if you missed his Scrooge-On-Meth miserly mission this season, he went 6-0-2/.968/0.63/4 SO for Olive through the regular season. He was only slightly less lockdown in the playoffs, but still by far the toughest goalie to face (if you like scoring goals and winning games) on any given Sunday. Red’s Sean ‘Da Kid’ Kelly…a living legend whose legacy only lengthens each season. His regular season line of 5-1-1/.940/1.14/2 SO would put most any other netminder’s numbers to shame, but Kelly would need to be at his sharpest to outduel Perks and make certain that this Final would only go one round. To no one’s surprise, this one played out as expected…an extremely tight, and extremely low-scoring affair. A scoreless first saw both teams finding a few chances, but no conversions, with Red holding the slimmest of edges in the shot count department (5-4). Olive, not typically known for outshooting their opponents, actually doubled Red’s shot total in the second (10-5), but it was Red’s Nick Vacchio who would shoot the only shot that counted…finding and burying a rebound off the back boards to give Red the one goal edge (Alexis DaCosta) on the powerplay at 6:36. It was another double up in the shot column for Olive in the third, as they fired twelve at Kelly with just six hitting Perks, but Kelly (26/26) was the Jedi Master to Perks’ Padawan in this one, as he and his Red mates made their only goal the only goal they would need to reach their goal…the Spring League 2024 Cup. Congratulations once again to Red, and also to Silas Perks (15/16) and his Olive mates, who absolutely dominated the regular season, and came up JUST short of their late summer destiny.

Captain Ryan Karns’ ‘Wirt-Collar Crime’ limped into Week Seven play with a 1-3-0 record, and TEN of their fourteen goals coming in their lone victory, a wild Week Four overkill ownage of Orange. Captain Kyle Prior’s Brown rolled in with the opposite record, but also with the knowledge that the scheduling and attendance gods had smiled on them to that point in the season, particularly in their Week Five trouncing of a taped-together Teal roster with no subs and even less sizzle. Attendance is a fickle mistress, however, and a rendezvous with a mistress sometimes leads to unwanted results. With Zach Salt and Shawna Hamon out of action, it would be down to a quality sub (thank you, Jess), and the rest of Brown’s roster to scrape enough skill and stamina together to outlast a good team with a bad record. Jim Peters notched his first career SDFHL goal (CONGRATULATIONS, Jim!) tucking home a backdoor pass/shot from Mark DeGraffenreid to give Brown the early edge, and super sub, Nick Meglich, held White off the board in spite of facing thrice as many shots as his counterpart (15-5 edge in White’s favor through one). Carl Vankoughnett finally broke through for White on the penalty kill (Josh Wirt), and Kevin Dinino (Karns) sandwiched his third of the season between trips to the box for high-sticking and slashing to give White the one goal edge through two periods of play. Chuck Russell returned the short-handed favor at 3:13 in the third (DeGraffenreid), and with Matt Henderson shaken up on the play, there were thoughts that a stand-in would need to stand in to finish out the game. Henderson would shake it off and stand tall the rest of the way, though…a rest of the way that included a game-winning Wirt wrister at 1:33 (‘The Ryans’™…Karns and Owen)….White over Brown, 3-2. The win is a big one for White, who move out of cutline country and into the middle of the pack at 2-3-0. Matt Henderson (20/22) can ice his shoulder with a winning smile on his face, while Nick Meglich (26/29) was studly as ever in the losing effort in lieu of Cory Brin. The loss knocks Brown off their pursuit of a top spot in the standings, but at 3-2-0, they are still well in the playoff mix as they make the turn into the truly tough part of their schedule (Black/Red/Purple). Fun fact…and don’t look now…actually, do look now, as I am sure it will change this week…with two assists in this loss, Mark DeGraffenreid (yours truly) remains your points leader at the halfway point in the season!

On paper, our cover team, Olive, looks fairly ordinary…at least to these old, cobwebby eyes. ‘The Silencer’ has certainly staked a solid claim to ‘best in the business’, Dan Soar and Jon Zygelman are proven (though, not ‘premier’) point producers, and the rest of the cast is solid, but my preseason predictions would have had this team closer to struggle bus then armored tank. With both Soar and Silas out of the lineup to face Orange, SURELY the first loss of the season would land on Captain Jeremy Copp & Company…right? Wrong….and don’t call me Shirley. Zygelman put Olive on top very early (Hima Joshi), and the confusion and controversy surrounding the goal would not keep it off the board. Aaron Cooney’s second of the season even earlier in the second (Christopher Fiore) doubled Olive’s advantage, and Zygelman’s second of the game (Cooney) came without controversy, and gave Olive a 3-0 lead. A Schlatter-less Orange (speaking of notable absences) finally found their scoring form with 0:05 remaining in the middle stanza, with Mostafa Azab making good on a Jess MacKinnon feed….her first career SDFHL point (CONGRATULATIONS, Jess!). Weston Nawrocki kept the teeth clenched and sweat flowing on both sides, cutting the lead to one at 3:44 (Azab and Rob Gaudio), but pseudo-Silas, Ian Crooks (14/16), and Olive would hold on for the 3-2 win to remain undefeated at 3-0-1. Nick Meglich (24/27) suffered his second loss of the night, but this one actually counts towards his numbers, which remain really good at 1-1-0/.942/2.00. Now at 1-2-1, Orange are JUST above the cutline, but really in need of some positive midseason momentum. The bad news…they face 4-0-1 Red this Sunday. Olive will look to keep their loss column spotless against a resurgent Grey side who have won two of their last three.

The marquee Week Seven matchup between Black and Red lived up to the ‘tough, tight, and thrilling’ billing. Captain Joel Gattey’s Red knew nothing but winning coming in, while Captain John Boddy’s Black had split points once in their first three outings, and hoped for at least a point and a renewed zero in the loss ledger against the early season frontrunners. Rookie sensation, Brendan Jew, kicked off the scoring for Black with his first career SDFHL goal (CONGRATULATIONS, Brendan!) with the lone assist belonging to Mark Scelfo (pronounced SKELL-fo…now you know). Geoff Downes made it 2-0 in favor of Black later in the first (Bao Nguyen and Captain Boddy), and it was starting to look like a third Meglich loss of the night would be the first loss of the season for Red. Jordan Pynn took matters into his own super skilled hands in the second, careening coast to coast to cash in with a sick strike to cut the lead in half, and Tim Vick followed later in the period to even the score (Nick Vacchio and Captain Gattey) heading into the final frame. Vacchio’s powerplay punch (Gattey and Trevor Vick) had Red all the way back in the driver’s seat with 7:10 to play, but Captain Boddy answered just twenty seconds later (Dan Jurgens) to knot things at three apiece. The clock carried the day from there, as Nick Meglich (20/23) would hold the line for Red in Sean Kelly’s stead (and avoid a personal third loss on the night), and Ryan Loughran (13/16) would keep both himself and Black lossless for at least another week with a strong effort in the 3-3 thriller. Black face an intriguing challenge in Brown in Week Eight, while Red will look to regain their winning ways against an up and down Orange.

If Red v Black was the marquee Week Seven matchup, Teal v Pink was the bathroom stall graffiti game of the night. Captain Janine Ulloa’s ‘Tranthers’ came into the contest as the lone un-feated team, while (new, replacement) Captain Zach Siemer and Teal had only just slipped off the schneid with a shocking 6-3 grilling of Grey the Sunday prior. Needless to say, both teams were in rather immediate need of a batch of better results, and stepping on the shoulders of another cellar dweller is the ideal way to climb out of a woeful hole. It’s hard to step anywhere with a ruptured Achilles, and Teal’s tender tendon this season has been attendance. Without Chris Malki, Luke Wolmer, and Will Heinl in the lineup, Pink was presented with a platinum opportunity to prevail on a proverbial platter. The first period passed without a point, but Teal’s tired legs started to show in the second, and Pink’s peckish offense started to produce. John Gamm’s first of the season came courtesy of Matthew Ulloa’s first assist, and Mason LaGrossa gave Pink just their second two-goal lead in five games later in the period. Jim LaGrossa matched his son’s goal with one of his own midway through the third (from said son and Gordon Schmidt), and would later add an empty-netter (once again, from Mason) to seal the deal on the first W of the season for Pink, 4-1. Captain Siemer served up the only resistance in a futile fight (Joe Malki and Justin Ker), and Chuck Bender (14/17) and Teal dropped to 1-4-0 with the loss, now officially dead last in the league going into their bye week. Nick Vacchio, rich with wins as a member of Red, finally felt the joy of victory in nets with a smooth 17/18 showing. A win is nice, but Pink are FAR from out of the woods at 1-4-0, themselves. They will need to upset a rested 2-2-0 Purple side this Sunday to bring any real sense of hope to their situation.

The nightcap saw two hungry teams looking to stay alive in the playoff hunt at the midseason mark, with Captain Chad Goins’ 1-2-1 Grey facing Captain Jeannine Stuzka’s 1-2-0 Gold. Both teams were looking to bounce back from a Week Six loss, but Grey had perhaps a bit of additional motivation to prove that their 6-3 loss to previously-winless Teal would not define the rest of their season. At the risk of sounding like the most broken of records, attendance is a big factor in this league. Captain Stuzka’s team has been without vaunted veteran netminder, Chris Tran, all season long, and would have to hope that Zach Siemer (essentially an ’emergency’ sub) could hold off Grey’s attack, while their own offense could find a way to start and run without its engine (Brennen Abel). The good news for Gold…Grey would be without Kyle Snyder, Rob Lavigne, and Jeff Henderson in this one, making the odds making on this one hazy, at best. Enter Vance Morra, whose quiet, unassuming manner allows him to fly well below most opponent’s radar. Morra was flying high in this one from the start, racking up a natural hat trick in the first period to give Grey a commanding 3-0 lead. Eric Willard and Captain Chad Goins assisted on the first goal, but the other two were unassisted ‘radar schmadar’ strikes from the sneaky skilled vet. Tom Darlington made it 4-0 on the powerplay in the second, and Willard (Justin Stege and Janice Darlington) and Captain Goins (Morra) rounded out the scoring in a 6-0 statement body slam for Grey. Morra captured POTW honors with the 3-1 display, and Chuck Bender (16/16) recorded a shutout in Jon Cima’s shoes to improve Grey to a healthy 2-2-1. Zach Siemer’s rough night with his native Teal was not helped by the lopsided loss, but his 27/33 could have been 32/33 and it wouldn’t have mattered to an anemic, incap-Abel Gold. Captain Stuzka’s crew take on White this Sunday in what has to be considered a crucial contest for the cutline dwellers. Grey face a tough challenge in undefeated Olive, but an upset win will have them very comfortable going into the playoff home stretch.