The structure of the SDFHL playoffs is probably not perfect, with the double elimination format meaning that the Final could very well be a back-to-back brawl for it all, but there is something to be said about managing to build a ‘rivalry’ over the course of a mere fourteen weeks of play. The maximum number of times any one team can face the same opponent in this league is four, and Captain Carl Vankoughnett’s ‘CarliforNeons’, and Captain Wendy Enright’s ‘Gilda Redner’ hit that cap, starting with Neon’s 5-1 regular season win back in Week Three. Neon was without the services of Justin Hepler and Mark Nagy in that convincing first meeting win, but Red was without Andy Strathman, Jon Zygelman, and Owen Perks…so, maybe not the best gauge of how the rest of this sizzling series would settle out. Both teams were at full strength (well…almost…Elyse Shattuck was in for her sister Shelby) when Red handed Neon a 4-2 revenge dish that sent the former on to the Final and the latter to the Losers’ Bracket, but after Neon survived a close contest with number two, Baby Blue, we knew we would be treated to at least one more clash of these two titans ‘for all the marbles’. Neon, of course, would need to beat Red not once, but twice to capture the Cup, while Red would just need to repeat their feat from two weeks prior…just one more win to win it all. Neon was on the front foot early, outshooting Red 9-2 through the first period of play, and Ryan Karns finally found twine behind newly-minted goalie and professional Jon Cima stand-in, John Kushneryk, to put the top-seeded underdogs on the board first at 1:20 (Darin Cerasuolo & Jim LaGrossa). Young Darin quickly doubled Neon’s lead at 0:47 (Captain Vankoughnett), leaving Red reeling going into the first break. Amazingly enough, Red committed three penalties in that first ten minute chunk, but both of Neon’s goals game at even strength. Owen Perks produced Red’s first response at 6:27 in the second (Jon Zygelman & Captain Enright), and with the shot count starting to find level (just 9-7 in favor of Neon in the second), it was clear that Red was pushing hard to make this a one and done final showdown. Red held a 12-4 shot edge in the third, and Perks made one of those dozen darts pay off with 7:37 to play (Zygelman & Andy Strathman) to knot the score at twos and set up a frenetic fight to the finish. Both John Kushneryk (19/22) and Chuck Bender (19/21) remained stout and solid under the third period (literal and figurative) heat, but someone would have to emerge a hero in this one, and that someone was Neon’s Captain Vankoughnett. A scrambling series in front of Red’s net saw the ball bound from Shelby Shattuck to Darin Cerasuolo to the Vankoughnett’s backhand in front…back of the net…3-2 Neon with just seven ticks left. Neon rejoiced…Red (and, honestly, the volunteer officials) sighed heavily, and steeled themselves for the rematch…the fourth and final installment of this forged in fire rivalry…

So…down to the final, final game…the last of four in this hotly-contested series, with Neon having won two of three over Red, but (because timing is everything), now finding themselves merely on ‘equal’ footing with their familiar foes as the ball dropped between the two weary sides with the summer sun dropping (mercifully) behind the hills to the west. It was Red who came out fast in the second match, with Andy Strathman converting unassisted on the powerplay at 5:47 in the first, and Jon Zygelman doubling Red’s edge at 3:48 (Tim Vick). Neon found their energy after the first break, and their shot count followed suit, rebounding from just one in the first period to nine in the second. Darin Cerasuolo made one of those nine shots count at 8:50 in the period (Justin Hepler & Jim LaGrossa) to cut the lead to one, but Zygelman’s second of the game at 1:43 (Trevor Vick) restored the two goal advantage heading into the final break in regulation. For all of the tight, tense drama of the regular season meeting and the first two playoff games between these two determined teams, the twelfth period in the series was something of an anticlimax. Owen Perks pushed Red’s lead to three with 7:50 to play (Zygelman & Nguyen), and Tim Vick’s empty-netter with 3:40 remaining was the final nail in Neon’s 5-1 losing coffin. Jon ‘JZ’ Zygelman captured first start honors with his 2 and 1 performance, and John Kushneryk (14/15) earned the respect and admiration of all involved, coming in with VERY little experience to secure the final, Cup-clinching win for Red. Chuck Bender (10/14), Captain Vankoughnett, and the rest of the Neon crew pushed hard from Week One through to the final game, but came up just short. Congratulations to both teams on a great season, and to Red, for winning the ‘right’ two games of this four game saga…

Back to back blowout losses to Red to close the regular season and open the post season had Captain Sean Bathgate’s Brown feeling pretty down, but sliding past Grey and Pink to build back some mojo and momentum had them believing they might just be the little six seed engine that could. It would take plenty of chugging for that little engine to puff past the second and first seed in the same night, but a 3-0 regular season win over the former had Brown’s brains trained on at least one upset win. A scoreless first had a ‘feeling each other out’ vibe, with neither team wanting to expose themselves to attack, and neither able to find a successful strike. Then came a four minute span in the second that saw four goals…three of them on Baby Blue’s half of the ledger in the first three minutes of that stretch. Kalen Hunter was the first to convert, depositing a Luke Wolmer feed at 9:32, and goals by Weston Nawrocki at 7:57 (Leah Gonzales & Will Heinl) and Captain Rob LaVigne at 6:48 (Kalen Hunter) had Brown feeling like a speed bag the week before a big fight, and Baby Blue (rightfully) feeling like ruthless assassins. Mark DeGraffenreid tapped home a gorgeous crossing feed from Josh Wirt to stop the bleeding for Brown at 5:37 in the second, but a second Kalen from Luke nuke at 1:08 restored Baby Blue’s three goal edge going into the third. Another stretch of scoreless play ate away the majority of the final frame, but Brown’s second at 1:29 (Wirt from Chris ‘Pretty Awesome’ Tran) sprinkled a dash of hope over the underdogs’ bench. Alas, no heroic comeback, no Cinderella crescendo…just Don Tran (9/11) holding on to secure a win for Baby Blue, and eliminate Chris Tran’s ‘other team’ in the process, 4-2. Matt Henderson (10/14) deserved better in this one…he was great all season, but Brown’s ‘little engine’ finally ran out of steam, and ultimate ‘couldn’t’. In the most deliciously amusing twist, Chris Tran would leave the court, throw on his pads (well…SLOWLY put on his pads), then shuffle back on to the court to rejoin his Baby Blue mates in the Losers’ Bracket Final against a waiting and eager Neon…

So, the aftermath of a dozen playoff games did little more than clip away the lower seeds, leaving #2 Baby Blue to face #1 Neon for the right to face #3 Red for the ultimate prize. Sometimes things just math out more or less as expected, but history has frequently shown that the ‘tired team’ (played by Baby Blue this time around) gets the better of the second game of the night in Week Four. Neon got the better of the Week Seven regular season matchup, but it took a late three goal surge to push Vankoughnett & Company to a 4-2 win on that day, and Baby Blue hoped to turn the tables and deliver the most satisfying of all counterpunches…the knockout blow. Luke Wolmer sustained his game one sizzle, this time serving in the scoring role to put Baby Blue in front at 8:28 in the first (Captain LaVigne & Kalen Hunter). Justin Hepler used his ‘Albatross’™ wing span to wrap home Neon’s response with 2:54 to play in the first (Mark Nagy), leaving the teams on equal footing going into the first break. It was Wolmer again at 7:08 in the second (Kevin Hunter & Rob LaVigne) to put Baby Blue back on top, but Captain Vankoughnett drew Neon even again at 6:15 (Hepler), and Shelby Shattuck struck from the point on the powerplay with just 0:08 to go in the middle stanza (Hepler) to give Neon their first lead of the night. Neither Chris Tran (14/17), nor Chuck Bender (12/14) would allow another ball behind them the rest of the way, as Neon held tight against a late Baby Blue push to preserve the 3-2 win. Congratulations to Captain LaVigne and Baby Blue for a great regular season and a strong playoff push, and congratulations and best of luck to Captain Vankoughnett’s Neon, who will face Captain Enright’s Red for the Cup after the holiday break on September 7th. Neon dealt Red a 5-1 regular season defeat in Week Three, but a fully-staffed Red had the next laugh in a 4-2 playoff plot twist triumph. Neon will now need to beat Red twice to capture the Cup, while Red can complete their impressive march with just one last win…

Folks…I have discovered my new obsession, and it is Suno…an AI song generator. These are pretty silly/ridiculous, but…it was fun. Please enjoy this twist on our typical recaps…

Baby Blue v Purple (Wolmer Wall Remix)…NOTE: I oafed the lyrics a bit on this with ‘night four’…I may release a ‘remix’ with a fix, at some point…

Brown v Pink (Wirt His Weight In Gold Mix)…

Neon v Red (Irie Vix Mix)…

If there is popular demand, I can do this again sometime. Otherwise, I will have ‘normal’ recaps again next week…cheers!

A thrilling Week Nine clash between Captain Carl Vankoughnett’s ‘CarliforNeons’ and Captain John Boddy’s ‘Night At The PinkDeBerry’ saw the former squeeze past the latter 1-0, and set a baseline of buzz for the second season encore encounter. Both teams had handled their opening game business against their lower seed match, but neither was what you would consider a ‘convincing’ win. Neon edged past eighth-seeded Purple 3-1, but an empty-netter made that score look a bit more comfy than it really was. Pink made a one goal lead hold up through a scoreless third to move past their downstairs neighbor, Green, 3-2. With two of the highest scoring offenses through the regular season (Neon with 29 goals, and Pink with 27), it seemed unlikely that the rematch would leave the scoresheet as empty as the first go around, but a scoreless first was certainly ‘giving’ (as the kids say) another nail biting pitchers’ duel. Justin Hepler broke the scoring seal for Neon at 9:48 in the first (Darin Cerasuolo & Jim LaGrossa), and that seal was (apparently) holding back a flood! Darin Cerasuolo made it 2-0 Neon at 6:38 (LaGrossa), and it was DC again just twenty seconds later to make it 3-0 (Captain Vankoughnett & LaGrossa). Liv Bryant finally answered for Pink with a blue line snipe to cut the lead to two at 5:49 (Ryan Loughran & Captain Boddy), but Ryan Karns restored Neon’s three goal edge on a breakaway at 2:12 (Darin Cerasuolo & Mark Nagy). Jackson Tomaszewski answered again for Pink at 0:45 (Loughran & Boddy), but Cerasuolo capped his hat trick with just 0:07 to go before the second break (Hepler & Vankoughnett) to wrap a wacky, wild, Kool-Aid style seven goal second. Captain Vankoughnett made it 6-2 Neon at 5:48 in the third (Ramsey Ksar & Cerasuolo), Captain Boddy cut the lead to three at 1:10 (Bryant & Downes), and a Hepler empty-netter finally put an end to a ten goal maelstrom that buoyed Neon to a 7-3 win, and washed Pink down to the Losers’ Bracket with a lopsided loss. Chuck Bender (19/22) was solid in the win…likely having any nerves he may have had coming in settled by his team’s score-at-will swagger, while Will Heinl (13/19) faced three fewer shots, but looked at least twice as taxed in his first playoff loss. Darin Cerasuolo has certainly waged an impressive rookie campaign, but this 3 and 3 POTW effort locks DC in as THE rookie of the season, and perhaps the biggest reason to bet on Neon to finish what they started and win it all. Neon is not there yet, though…they must find a way past a red hot Red this Sunday to book a spot in the Final. Pink will need to regroup and redeem themselves to stay alive in the race when they face a hit or miss Brown side.

It’s safe to say that neither Captain Sean Bathgate’s Brown, nor Captain Tyler Winstead’s Grey were in much danger of winning their opening round match. Brown got smacked around and beaten (way) down by Red, who touchdown danced their way to a crushing 7-2 win in Week One, while Grey SOMEHOW (well…Don Tran how) held their losing line to Baby Blue to 3-1, in spite of being outshot THIRTY-FOUR to FOUR. So…straight to the Losers’ Bracket for both teams, with no margin for error, much less margin for falling behind by five goals, or conceding a thirty shot deficit. Mark DeGraffenreid put Brown in front first, tucking home a rebound on a Chris Tran power rush to give his team something to show for a 9-2 edge in shots through the first ten minutes of play. A scoreless second saw the shot gap close to 6-3 in Brown’s favor, and a Josh Tran equalizer at 8:49 in the third (Jenna Chercoe & Jeremy Copp), combined with…brace yourself…a 7-5 shot edge in Grey’s favor had the seven seeds feeling like this was their much-needed, long-awaited turning point. Neither team could muster a game-winner in regulation, so it was off to the first overtime period of these Summer League 2025 playoffs. The safe OT hero money was on someone like…oh, I don’t know…the man who tied last season’s final with 0:04 to go in regulation, then won it all at 3:05 in OT. Yes…it was that guy again…Josh Wirt reprising his hero role with the game-winning-Grey-gut-puncher at 3:02 in extra time (Austin Szymanski & Chris Tran). Wirt backhand batted a weird, arcing, deflected ball behind Don Tran (20/22) to keep Brown alive and unalive Grey, 2-1. Matt Henderson (12/13) was sharp as ever in the must-win for Bathgate & Company, who survive to face Pink this Sunday. These teams met WAY back in Week One (May 18th…time flies!) and Brown will have to hope for a VERY different result from the 6-2 groin kick Pink issued on that date. With the playoffs running ‘by the numbers’ to this point (no upsets), the underdog role seemed destined to be simply ‘roll over and die’, but…perhaps some lower seed inspiration would come from the final two games of the Week Two playoff slate…

The second Winners’ Bracket bout on the Week Two fight card was (for me, anyway) the most intriguing ‘on paper’. Yes, the Neon v Pink Week Nine tilt was a tight and titillating tip toward the playoff rematch, but the Week One battle between Captain Rob LaVigne’s #2 Baby Blue and Captain Wendy Enright’s #3 Red was an equally sublime showdown. You’ll recall (or not…I am here to remind you) that this was the game that Chris Tran (33/34) flat out stole for Baby Blue, with Kevin Hunter and Gary Peters cashing in on two of the total dozen shots Baby Blue fired in response to nearly thrice the other way to smash and grab a 2-1 opening week (indeed, opening game of the opening week) win. Revenge is a dish best served cold, but sometimes a cooked and cooled revenge plot is just a gross, cold meal that you are left choking down between sobs and slugs of warm white wine. Whatever the course set before them (see what I did there), Red would need to cut and stab with two of their key utensils in a drawer far away (Owen Perks and Andy Strathman). Baby Blue was bereft at the banquet as well, with Captain LaVigne and The Hunters™ (Kalen and Kevin) out of the lineup. So, it would be up to the ‘secondary scorers’, and none of those ‘secondary scorers’ managed to score through the first ten minute chunk. Jon Zygelman finally broke the scoreless tie at 6:21 in the second (Trevor Vick), but that would stand as the lone goal for either side heading into the third. Joe Nguyen became the second ‘secondary’ to do damage, bumping Red’s lead to 2-0 at 7:55 (Trevor Vick & Tim Vick), and Captain Enright made it 3-0 in her team’s favor with her first of the playoffs at 6:07 (Zygelman). JZ’s second of the night nestled into an empty net at 1:41, and had both sides gathering their belongings and heading for the exits, but a too-little-too-late-but-no-less-cool pair of strikes from Gary Peters at 0:58 (Luke Wolmer) and 0:10 (Wolmer) served to spoil the shutout for Jon Cima (10/12), and perhaps provided the slightest silver lining/reason to hope for Baby Blue in the 4-2 loss. So…right on cue…speak of the devil…the first upset of the Summer League 2025 season was authored by a suddenly VERY dangerous and daunting Red. Chris Tran (19/22) and the rest of the number two crew will look to rebound this Sunday against bottom-seeded Purple, while Red look to stay hot and scorch their way to the cat bird seat with a second straight upset win, this time over top-seeded Neon.

The Week Two playoff slate wrapped with (for me, anyway) the least intriguing match ‘on paper’. Nothing at all against Captain Bao Nguyen’s Green, nor Captain Mason Holcomb’s Purple, but an elimination bout between two lower seeds who finished in the bottom half of the regular season goals-for chart (including, of course, the two teams that didn’t make the playoffs), and just two players on either side having really strong seasons (both on Green…Brennen Abel and Sean Kelly)…not exactly the makings of ‘must see’ hockey, especially if you’re 50+ like me and have work in the morning. My ‘on paper’ assessment of this one was not at all ‘on target’, though, with another OT thriller unfolding under the lights as two down and desperate teams battled to determine who would survive, and who would become the fourth team on the playoff scrap heap. A scoreless first saw the bottom seeds holding a slim edge in shots (6-4), and that edge produced the first cut on the scoreboard at 7:42 in the second, with Joe Malki putting Purple on the front foot first with an unassisted effort. Dr. Greg Francisco picked a perfect time to score just his SECOND career goal, and first career playoff goal to make it 2-0 Purple at 6:09 in the second (Hima Joshi & Zach Siemer). CONGRATULATIONS, GREG! Nick Vacchio provided the first answer for Green less than two minutes later (Dave Bourgouin), leaving Captain Nguyen & Company down just one going into the final frame. Veteran Steve Goncalo was next to act, knotting the ledger at 2-2 with 5:32 to play in regulation (Mostafa Azab), and Sean Kelly (18/21) and Captain Holcomb (15/17) kept it knotted to force the second overtime period of the evening for all the marbles. A keen eye trained on the previous sentence (or, you know, just paying any attention at all over the course of this week) would tell you that it was Purple who would push the game-winner past the opposing goalie in that abbreviated fourth period, with Joe Malki finishing the hero’s quest he started earlier in the game with his game-winning/Green-eliminating second of the night at 4:10 (Shawna Hamon & Chris Fiore). The 3-2 OT win for Captain Holcomb’s plucky Purple served as the night’s second upset, and pushes the bottom seeds into another fight for life against a wounded but weapon-laden Baby Blue. Green Bao out (see what I did there) with the sudden death loss, becoming the second lower seed to exit the tournament, joining #7 Grey on the ‘no Sunday plans…what are you up to?’ pile with playoff personae non gratae, Royal Blue and White.

Momentum is huge in sports, but it isn’t everything, and the playoffs can be a much needed ‘reset’ for some, and an untimely streak snapper for others. Captain John Boddy’s Pink cruised out to 3-0-0 to open their season, built the rest of their playoff case with a 2-1-0 middle third, then crashed hard and limped to the finish line with three straight losses to fall to the four seed. So, a ‘reset’ was certainly the plan for Pink, while Captain Bao Nguyen’s Green looked to continue their resurgence after entering the playoffs through the front door with a 2-1-0 final swing to push to the middle of the post season pack. Nick Vacchio put Green on top first at 3:07 in the first (Brennen Abel & Steve Goncalo), but Jason Lee drew Pink level on a nifty power play series from Liv Bryant and Geoff Downes at 2:31. Eli Schonbrun put Pink’s ‘reset’ in motion in earnest at 7:23 in the second (Jackson Tomaszewski & Downes), and Downes padded the Pink lead at 5:49 (Lee & Captain Boddy). Abel drew Green back to within one with 2:13 to play in the second (Goncalo), setting up a tight, tense third with Pink hoping to preserve their ‘reset’ and avoid an ‘upset’. Green were only in striking distance of the latter thanks to the heroics of Sean Kelly (23/26) who was (once again) keeping his team in a game in spite of a very lopsided shot count (26-10 in Pink’s favor, at game’s end). Alas for Captain Nguyen & Company, striking distance would be as close as they would get, as Mason Holcomb (8/10) deflected all four shots he faced in the final period to earn a 3-2 win for Pink in a fill-in foray for Will Heinl. The ‘reset’ win has earned Pink a rematch with Neon — a chance to avenge a VERY tough/tight 1-0 Week Nine loss and propel themselves one step closer to the Final in the process. Green will need a regroup/reset of their own now, with bottom seeds Purple lurking in the late game this Sunday.

Much like momentum, playoff seeding is important/telling, but far from a fool-proof predicter of post season performance. Captain Carl Vankoughnett’s ‘CarliforNeons’ had not only the momentum of a three game regular season landing-sticking dismount, but also the glory, prestige, and privilege afforded by a hard-earned top seed on their trophy shelf coming into their playoff opener against Captain Mason Holcomb’s Purple. Purple…losers of their last two to faceplant through the back door to the playoffs as the eighth seed…basically Neon’s polar opposite in terms of mojo and expectation, but…you never know how the playoffs winds will blow. The winds blew tumbleweed through a scoreless first that saw the teams combine for seven shots, but Captain Carl finally broke the scoring seal at 7:52 in the second (Jim LaGrossa & Darin Cerasuolo) to set Neon on their presumed path to victory. Justin Hepler made that presumed path a bit less precarious at 6:42 in the third (LaGrossa), but an odd/fluky Chris Malki shot from range tightened the margin back to one with 5:11 to play (Joe Malki & Steve Linke). Neither Chuck Bender (9/10) nor Captain Holcomb (13/15) were especially taxed in this game, but Neon’s one goal edge forced Holcomb to vacate his net in the waning minutes, leading to a Darin Cerasuolo empty-netter to seal the 3-1 win for Neon (Hepler & Mark Nagy). As noted in the first recap, this result sets up rematch for the ages between Neon and Pink in the Winners’ Bracket, and a fight for playoff life between Green and Purple on the Losers’ side.

Yet another typical metric employed in divining the outcomes of playoff play is, of course, the outcome of the regular season matchup. The outcome of the first Red v Brown throwdown was a resounding/convincing 6-2 victory for Captain Wendy Enright’s Red, and (of course) a deflating/demoralizing 6-2 loss for Captain Sean Bathgate’s Brown. Adding to the impact, the fact that this lopsided first meeting loaf came hot and fresh out of the Week Nine oven. The only glimmer of ‘yeah, but’ for Brown…the absence of both Chris Tran and Mark DeGraffenreid in that regular season finale. With both back in uniform in the post season rematch, and stalwart defender Andy Strathman out of the lineup for Red, Brown had to like their chances of keeping this one close, and possibly even staging the first upset of the Summer League 2025 second season. Nope…hard, loud, booming NOPE! Josh Wirt actually had Brown believing the ‘revenge is a dish…’ angle early, putting Brown in front 1-0 with an impressive effort (Austin Szymanski & Mark DeGraffenreid), but the Red storm started less than a minute later with Jon Zygelman’s counterstrike at 5:45 (Owen Perks & Tim Vick). Super sub Shelby Shattuck made it 2-0 with an unassisted tally at 2:12, and Perks notched the first of his three on the night to make it 3-1 before the first break (Zygelman & Trevor Vick). The second period was all Red, with Tim Vick adding his name to the list of Red scorers at 9:40 (Perks), then Perks piling on his second of the game at 9:05 (Trevor Vick), then sliding home his unassisted hat trick capper at 8:12 to push this one into ‘laugher’ territory at 6-1 through two. Trevor Vick became the fifth Red scorer of the night at 8:40 in the third (Perks & Shattuck), and a late deflection goal for Chris Tran (Mark DeGraffenreid & Josh Wirt) did very little to soften the crushing blow of the instant encore 7-2 blowout win for Red. Perks claimed his second straight POTW crown with a 3 and 3 hammer, as Jon Cima (9/11) earned the win with light effort while Matt Henderson (12/19) bore the brunt of Perks’ brilliance, and Red’s truly impressive offensive array. Captain Enright will be back to enjoy the fun with her fully-fueled friends as Red square off against a tough number two in Baby Blue, while Brown look to avoid playing the clown and going down and out of the playoffs as they fight to right their sinking ship against seventh-seeded Grey.

The Week One nightcap saw the first team to book playoff passage, Captain Rob LaVigne’s Baby Blue, taking on the last team to make the cut, Captain Tyler Winstead’s Grey. Granted, LaVigne & Company shared the Week Six post season confirmation honors with both Pink and Neon, but they were technically the first, due to the order of the schedule that night. Winstead’s crew, meanwhile, laid dead and waiting to be buried for seven weeks of regular season play before rolling away from the edge of the grave and rising to the seventh seed like a zombie in a way-too-farfetched-even-for-a-zombie-flick flick. All consideration of ‘momentum’ and ‘destiny’ aside, it would take an even less believable effort for Grey to topple Baby Blue on this night, especially with Josh Tran out, and Jordan Pynn having given way to the capable, but hardly-Pynn-akin (no one is, to be fair) Mark Daquipa. This tale read as written, but not without Don Tran (31/34) giving his all and then some to subvert the prevailing plot. Tran’s heroism, even if it had risen to the heights of absolutely perfection, would have BARELY been enough to see his team to a win. With three goals allowed, Grey would have needed literal shot perfection to prevail. That’s right, humble reader…Grey scraped together just FOUR shots! Grey mustered period shot totals of ZERO, ONE, and THREE, whilst THIRTY-FOUR shots were fired the other way. It’s a minor miracle that this game was ever in doubt, but Tran kept Baby Blue frustrated through a 12-0 shot first, and only (finally) allowed the first blemish on his sparkling sheet at 1:34 in the second…Arnold Gonzales from Luke Wolmer. Wolmer made it 2-0 at 9:04 in the third (Arnold Gonzales & Kalen Hunter), and an unassisted strike from Captain LaVigne at 6:47 finally saw the score coming into some semblance of mathematically sane sync with the steeply sloped shot count. Distant Don cousin, Chris Tran (3/4), meanwhile, may well have been lulled to sleep at his end by then, and can hardly be blamed for the lone Grey retaliation off Dan Jurgen’s stick with 5:45 to go (Mark Daquipa and…yes, DON TRAN). That’s right, folks…Don added an assist as the cherry on top of his incredible Sunday sundae, but Baby Blue earned just desserts for their dominant performance with a 3-1 win. LaVigne & Company will hope for a cooler opposing crease-minder when they take on Red in a VERY intriguing Week Two matchup, while Don will hope for a more balanced shot count and some actual scoring support as Grey battle with Brown to stay alive on the Losers’ side.