BACK ROW L>R: Pat Gladstone, Sadie Hellstrom, Captain Bryan Ossa, Josh Wirt (MVP), Mark Daquipa

FRONT ROW L>R Mark DeGraffenreid, Will Heinl, Chuck Bender, Mostafa Azab, Carl Vankoughnett, Elyse Shattuck

At the risk of beating a (very) dead bird, the Wing League 2025 playoffs will easily go down as one of the weirdest and wildest stretches in SDFHL history. Upset after upset…nail biter on nail biter on nail biter…OT’s galore…SO’s galore…a VERY literal ‘any given Sunday’ smorgasbord that ultimately led to a Final featuring Captain Joel Gattey’s SEVENTH seeded challengers, ‘Malkiwis’, taking on the Captain Bryan Ossa’s SIXTH seeded Final incumbents, ‘FlamingOssas’. Lime would need to repeat their Week Four feat and manage two wins to capture the Cup, while Pink would just need one more winning effort to complete a perfect playoff run and turn a so-so season into a sensational success saga. Given the unprecedentedly unpredictable trajectory of the playoffs to this point, the only sure bet seemed to be on more twists, turns, and tension on the final night of play. Josh Wirt put Pink on the board first at 6:53 in the first (Sadie Hellstrom & Mostafa Azab), and in spite of being outshot 20-10 over the first two periods, Chris Malki’s equalizer at 9:23 in the second (Joe Malki) meant another tight, tense playoff battle would wage into the third. Neither team could finish the job in regulation, so it was on to YET ANOTHER overtime period. Lime finally found a shooting edge in that fourth frame (6-1), and one of those six shots, a bouncing pinball swat off the blade of Craig Russell (Joe Malki), worked it’s way over the goal line to end things in Lime’s favor in the opening game, 2-1. Matt Henderson (27/28) was spectacular in the must-win win, and while Chuck Bender (18/20) was less busy, he was no less impressive in the Pink’s first losing postseason effort. Much of the capacity crowd headed for the exits at that point, and Ossa’s troops (and the officials, no doubt) heaved a heavy sigh at the prospect of having to start all over with a second game to decide it all…

The second game opened in eerily similar fashion, with Sadie Hellstrom giving Pink the first lead of the game at 7:23 in the first (Carl Vankoughnett & Josh Wirt), and when Jordan Pynn evened the score with a point snipe at 3:17 in the second (Joe Malki & Leah Gonzales), it looked like we were headed for another 1-1 battle to the tape in the third. The game one parallel was broken, however, when Mark DeGraffenreid tucked home the go-ahead goal for Pink with just 0:11 remaining in the second…a lead that Pink’s ranks hoped would hold through ten more minutes of play, with the Cup awaiting their eager hands on the other side. Nope…Jordan Pynn blasted home his second of the game to knot the score at twos with 8:50 to play (Joe Malki & Chris Malki), and Joe Malki gave Lime their first regulation lead of the night just 1:22 later (Chris Malki & Leah Gonzales). There was some controversy about that third Lime goal, with Pink alleging goaltender interference on the goal scorer, but the officials deemed it a valid goal, and the Pink push was on to salvage their Cup run with seven minutes left to play. Neither team would budge, and with time winding down, Pink pulled Bender for an extra attacker. With Joe Malki working to possess a loose ball and deposit the would-be-game-and-Cup-icing-empty-netter, Captain Ossa took a well-advised hooking penalty to prevent the chance. Unfortunately for Pink, he then threw his stick in frustration, which earned him another two minutes in the box. Short handed, short on time, and beyond desperate, Pink pushed on…and that is when this insane Wing League 2025 playoffs took its final stunning twists. SIX seconds left…ball pops out to Josh Wirt at the point…FIVE…Wirt shoots…FOUR…GOAL! Yes, loyal reader, Wirt had found the game-tying, short-handed tally (Mostafa Azab) to lift Pink back to level at 3-3 and force YET ANOTHER OT period…the OT period to end all OT periods. Wirt was not done playing hero, and with 3:05 remaining in overtime, he shot from nearly the same spot into the same net and that was game, set, and Cup for Pink…4-3 winners in the most thrilling conclusion to a season imaginable for Pink, and the most crushing finish imaginable for Lime. Sadie Hellstrom and Mark Daquipa collected assists on the Cup-winner, with Daquipa collecting his first ‘ring’ in what I am told is seventeen years of SDFHL play. Chuck Bender (14/17) is no stranger to rings…collecting another for his collection with brilliant night of work after coming on as a mid-season replacement for Pink’s Michael Haine. Matt Henderson (17/21) was as gritty and great as ever, fighting through more shoulder issues to shoulder his team to the brink of an end around Cup run…super impressive, Matty! It will be tough, if not impossible to top the drama that Wing League 2025 has laid out, particularly the five weeks of pulsating playoff play, but it is time to look onward to Summer 2025…get ready to rumble in Week One this Sunday!

The Wing League 2025 playoffs were already WAY off script coming into Week Four of playoff play. With Captain Ossa’s sixth-seeded Pink already through to the Final and surviving a harrowing bye week that no one enjoys, Captain Joel Gattey’s seventh-seeded were primed to perpetuate the spate of upsets that had landed both the one and two seeds on the chopping block. While this postseason has proven that anything can happen (and will), and while Lime had proven just three weeks prior that they could best the second best team in the regular season, back-to-back elimination games against the top two seeds is a gauntlet for the ages, and it would take two A games, plenty of grit, and a bounce or two for any team to survive. For Captain Ryan Karns’ Flint Blue, this was an opportunity to avenge the loss that put them in this position, with the hope to then take out the all powerful ‘end boss’ in advance the Final battle. The teams exchanged similar shot totals in a scoreless first (8-6, in Lime’s favor), and the second period (which saw Lime outshoot Flint 10-5) was very nearly scoreless as well. Joe Malki put Lime on the board first with 0:38 remaining in the middle frame (Jerry Gonzales & Captain Gattey), but John Boddy answered for Flint Blue just eight seconds later (Erin Plone & Ramsey Ksar) to leave things back on even footing heading into the third. Jerry Gonzales reestablished Lime’s edge with 7:15 to play (Chris Malki & Joe Malki), and while Flint Blue pushed hard to equalize, Vance Morra’s strike at 6:02 (Sean Bathgate & Leah Gonzales) seemed to spell doom for a Wolmer-less Flint Blue with everything to lose. Matt Henderson (18/19) stayed hot in playoff play to preserve the 3-1 win for Lime and eliminate Flint Blue. The result was the SIXTH ‘upset’ in twelve playoff matches to that point, and the second time in April that Lime prevailed over their higher bracket counterpart. Nick Meglich (22/25) was strong as ever (he’s so good), but it was clearly not meant to be for Flint Blue, who became the fifth team on the playoff scrapheap with the loss. A second win over the second seeds probably felt amazing, but there was no rest for the weary, as Lime took just enough time to sit, stretch, and slug down some hydration before heading back onto the court to take on top-seeded Orange…

Captain Jeremy Copp’s Orange had already secured a playoff spot at 5-0-0 coming into the Week Eight regular season match with Captain Joel Gattey’s Lime (!). It could be argued that Orange were at the height of their power after besting Lime 4-2 to move to 6-0-0 on that day, as they finally conceded a point in the standings to Red the very next week. That 3-3 tie proved the smallest of speedbumps though, as Orange went on to two more wins to finish the season a near perfect 8-0-1, very comfortably the top seed, and the clear and overwhelming favorites to win it all when playoff play began. The regular season is one thing, but as noted repeatedly in previous weekly recaps, this season’s playoffs have been an absolutely unpredictable fun house, and while Orange survived two close calls in their first two games (a 2-1 shootout win over #8 Brown, and a 1-0 squeeze past #5 Blue), they were finally dealt a loss in their third game, with Pink pushing past them into the Final with a 3-1 win. Lime’s regular season was uneven to say the least, as they leaked into the playoffs at 2-3-4, NINE points back of Orange, who would now stand as their opponents in the Losers’ Bracket Final, AKA The Citrus Bowl™. The capacity crowd (I’m told) settled in for what was sure to be a thrilling duel, with playoff death awaiting one team, and a date with destiny the other. It was POTW Joe Malki again, with an unassisted effort at 6:04 to stake Lime to the game’s first lead, but reigning scoring champ and all around WMD, Owen Perks, answered at 3:32 (Maureen Ruchhoeft) to leave the score level through one. The second period saw just one goal scored, and…yes…it was Joe Malki again, this time at 4:35 (Jordan Pynn) to push Lime back in front 2-1 heading into the second break. It’s worth nothing that Orange was absolutely dominating in shots at this point, having outshot their opponent 8-3 and 9-3 in the first and second, respectively. The third period shots were also in Orange’s favor (8-5), and Orange managed to find an edge in goals in the final ten minutes, as well. Christopher Fiore knotted the score at twos with an unassisted strike at 8:24, then it was Papa Chris Malki’s turn to play hero and give Lime back the lead at 6:23 (Pynn), then Fiore again on the powerplay with 2:04 to go (Aaron Cooney & Owen Perks) to make it a VERY tense 3-3 with minutes to play. Orange continued their shot dominance in the overtime period, but their 5-1 edge in extra time bore no fruit (see what I did there), and it was off to YET ANOTHER Wing League 2025 shootout…this the weightiest of all. Owen Perks…automatic…Orange up 1-0…Chris Malki quick to respond…1-1 through one round. Silas Perks…no…Joe Malki (for once, on the night)…no. Aaron Cooney missed, then Jordan Pynn converted to give Lime their first shootout lead through three. Christopher Fiore missed, then Jerry Gonzales stepped up…and iced the 3-1 shootout winner, and in turn the 4-3 game-winner for Lime. Neither Maureen Ruchhoeft nor TK Mason would shoot…it was all over for Orange…Lime had finally driven the final dagger through the heart of an absolute beast of a team. Matt Henderson (27/30 – 3/4) was a beast himself, keeping Lime in this one from start to finish in spite of being outshot 30-12, then slamming the door shut in the shootout. Mason Holcomb (9/12 – 1/4) had a sparkling season undone by everyone’s least favorite method of settling a game, let alone ending a season. So, Lime survive, and the seven seeds march on to face the six seeds (Pink) in the Final…because everything is upside down and backwards in this, the wackiest post season in SDFHL history.

Captain Karns’ Flint Blue force fed a four goal third period ‘dessert’ to Captain Gaudio’s Blue to rally to a stunning 4-3 comeback win in Week Six, and Gaudio’s Gang were ready to serve cold revenge in a playoff elimination table for two blue, part deux. The twisted ‘new math’ that seems the basis for the course of this playoff season means that terms like ‘favorite’ and ‘underdog’ are about as applicable and descriptive as the word ‘fact’ in modern parlance, so the only safe bet here was that this rematch would be an absolute dogfight from start to finish. Dan Jurgens put the ‘favorites’ in front first at 6:34 in the first (Luke Wolmer & Erin Plone), and Ralph Feuer equalized at 4:29 (Jason Remple & Trevor Vick) with his first of the playoffs and just his second goal (indeed, second point) of the season. Trevor Vick put the ‘underdogs’ on top for the first time at 9:22 in the second (Tony Thinh & Captain Gaudio), but Emily Bennington made her playoff return to the Flint fold fruitful with her first to make it 2-2 at 5:47 (John Boddy & Wolmer). Jason Remple put Blue back on top at 1:22 in the second (Trevor Vick & Rob Gaudio), making Gaudio & Company the ‘favorites’ heading into the final ten. It’s probably an appropriate point to mention that the fear of the lights going out on this night of playoff play was high. With the first game starting at 6:30, the final game scheduled to get underway at 8:30 (at best), and the lights set to go off at 10:00pm sharp, the slate could ill afford more of the OT/SO drama that prevailed in the first two weeks. Mark Nagy proved he cares not about late nights and no lights, snapping home the 3-3 knot with 3:48 to play (Wolmer), and sending a FOURTH of the first nine playoff games to overtime. A frantic, frenetic OT period produced no winner, so…on to the third shootout in as many weeks. When even the shootouts go into OT, it really start to feel like the clock gods are mocking us. Captain Gaudio was first to shoot, and he promptly hit pay dirt. A Boddy miss and Remple miss were followed by a Jurgens conversion to bring the string level. Trevor Vick, Mark Nagy, Tim Vick, Luke Wolmer, Dorothy Kline, Erin Plone…all turned away by a clearly determined Nick Meglich and Don Tran. Gaudio made it 2/2 at the top of the second go around, but this time (of course) Boddy would match him. A second Remple miss left the door open for a (merciful) kill shot…and Dan Jurgens delivered! Jurgens secured first star honors with one of his team’s three regulation goals, and two of his team’s three in the shootout, sending Flint Blue on to another ultra tight, ultra tense 4-3 win over their color rivals. Nick Meglich (12/15 – 5/7) earned the win with his gritty play, but Don Tran (22/25 – 4/7) certainly did not deserve to lose…such is the nature of the shootout. Blue become the third team out with the loss, while Flint Blue move on to enter a Week Four Citrus Gauntlet™…facing Lime for a third time with the hopes of earning an immediate date with an on-tilt Orange.

Tick tock…the second game got underway at nearly 8:00…but surely this bottom seed middle match between Captain Joel Gattey’s Lime and Captain Shawna Hamon’s Brown would be decided in regulation, putting any fears of a lightless late game to rest. So what if the regular season meeting ended in a 1-1 tie, and so what if EVERY game in this post season has been a nail-biting thriller, SURELY this would just go down as a clean and easy win for one side or the other. Nope. Lime were on the front foot in the first, holding a 9-3 edge in shots, but Kalen Hunter made one of those three Brown shots count with a solo effort at 1:35. If you haven’t checked the POTW blurb yet…check it, then come back to read this next bit…Lime outshot Brown FIFTEEN TO ONE in the second period, and Sean ‘Da Kid’ Kelly just pretended that statistics and odds do not matter in the slightest, stopping everything he faced to keep his team on top 1-0 going into the third. Kelly was truly (and fittingly, on this day of all days) a ‘savior’ for Brown, but because Jebus ‘is risen’, and because he clearly hates me for my lack of faith, he ‘blessed’ this game with a game-tying goal early in the third. Jerry Gonzales finally found twine behind Kelly to make it 1-1 with 8:17 to play (Captain Gattey), and…you already know that this game just HAD to go to overtime, then just HAD to go to shootout. We’re now wending on towards 9:00, as Kalen Hunter stick-handled in with the first shootout effort…a miss. Joe Malki made good on Lime’s first attempt, and (merciful Jebus…perhaps I should have faith) that would be the only successful strike in this, the FOURTH shootout in ten playoff games. Jim LaGrossa, Jordan Pynn, Andy Strathman, Jerry Gonzales, Glenn Pinto, Chris Malki, Shawna Hamon…all thwarted, meaning TK Mason would not need to shoot, as Lime had already locked up a 2-1 shootout win, keeping their playoff drive alive, and eliminating a hard-luck Brown and an even harder-luck Kelly (29/30 – 4/5) as Pink and Orange rushed the court to get in a VERY quick warmup. Matt Henderson (12/13), while decidedly the less busy of the two tenders, did earn his paycheck in a flawless shootout, helping his team earn a third go at Flint Blue this Sunday.

Captain Bryan Ossa and Captain Jeremy Copp met briefly as yet another shootout unfolded and the clock wound towards the witching hour, wondering whether or not it was worth even trying to get in a game with the prospect of a blackout now threatening in earnest. It was agreed that we would try, with Week Four available as a handy (albeit awkward) safety net. The final period of an unfinished game could be tacked on to the front of a Week Four schedule, leaving the winner free to leave, and the loser left to watch and wait for their next opponent. So, a very short warmup (kudos to the officials for their efficiency) led directly into the final clash of the night. Pink had dropped a 7-6 slugfest to Orange way back in Week Two, but felt confident that things could go their way in a playoff rematch with a full bench, a renewed swagger, and a ticket to the Final on the line. The runaway regular season scoring champ was first to act, as Owen Perks opened the scoring with an unassisted effort at 5:40. The run of play remained rather even through the first ten minutes of play, and Mark DeGraffenreid made sure the scoreboard reflected that parity, wresting a 50/50 ball from Orange’s goal-scorer along the far boards, then wristing a long distance prayer between Zach Siemer’s pads with 0.7 seconds remaining to draw Pink even at the first break. Carl Vankoughnett gave Pink the lead at 7:17 in the second (Sadie Hellstrom & Josh Wirt), and the pace and passion of this match rose to new levels as Orange’s vaunted offense pushed to equalize. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, and DeGraffenreid’s second of the game was certainly proof of that. An innocent backhand flip into the zone found the same hole as his first scoring effort, sliding between Siemer’s pads and trickling past the goal line to give Pink a two goal lead (a VERY rare feet against the as-yet-undefeated Orange). Chuck Bender (10/11) was sharp, and Pink’s defense was stout and stingy, keeping Orange at bay the rest of the way to stun the entire SDFHL, and FINALLY topple the top seeds, 3-1. Zach Siemer (10/13) put forth a solid effort in Mason Holcomb’s stead, but the VERY late first period strike, and the fluky third period flip were his undoing, and spelled the end of Orange’s reign of terror. Actually, this courageous Pink coup may serve as a mere pause in Orange’s reign of terror, as Copp & Company are but one win away from a chance at sweet revenge, a double dose of redemption, and the Cup glory which has seemed their destiny from mid-January on. They await the winner of Flint Blue v Lime this Sunday, and Pink await the winner of that spicy menage in the final Sunday of play as the wacky, wild, Kool-Aid style Wing League 2025 playoffs rise to a (no doubt) teeth-clenching, toe-curling climax…

Captain Ryan Karns’ Flint Blue and Captain Chad Goins’ Red navigated the regular season with a combined 11-5-2 record, leaving them positioned as the two and three seeds, respectively, coming into playoff action. While the SDFHL playoffs certainly don’t always play out ‘by the numbers’ in the first round, it is very rare indeed to see three upsets (nearly a clean sweep for the lower seeds, actually), and it is that rare occurrence that found these two top contenders in a fight for their playoff lives in Week Two. The regular season meeting between these two teams served as the last Sunday of Red’s ‘Losing Era’, with Flint Blue prevailing 6-3 to drop Goins’ Group to 1-3-0. An inspired 4-0-1 dash to the regular season finish line locked up the bronze position for Red, but after an opening round playoff loss to Pink, they found themselves faced with a familiar and formidable Flint foe once again…this time with elimination at stake. Karns’ & Kompany suffered perhaps the most shocking loss of the opening round, with an all-accounted-for Flint contingent falling 2-1 in overtime to a Lime side bereft of key cogs Chris Malki and Jordan Pynn. The playoffs are the honey badger of the sports world…they DGAF how and why your team is where they are…all that matters is where they go from here. John Boddy made clear where he wanted Flint Blue to go from their unexpected Losers’ Bracket lie, ripping home the game’s first goal at 9:12 in the first. Both teams racked up fifteen shots through the first two periods of a tight, hotly-contested contest, but it was Luke Wolmer converting on the power play at 7:21 in the second (Ramsey Ksar) to provide padding for Flint Blue and apply that much more pressure to a pressing Red. The Wolmer strike was his first since returning from a lengthy absence – an encouraging sign for a team whose offensive output was nearly all-Boddy for the past three or four Sundays. Brennen Abel was not in the lineup for Red’s regular season loss to Flint Blue, and he made his presence felt in the playoff rematch, bringing Red back to within one at 6:12 in the third (Steph Palomo Schmidt & William Teglia). Red continued to press, but Matt Henderson (21/22) was superb in a sub stint for Nick Meglich, and he would keep Flint Blue up 2-1 to the final buzzer. Jon Cima (17/19) absorbed the tough loss for Red, who started the season ice cold, warmed to Red hot, then froze out of the playoff picture in two and out fashion. Karns’ Krew move on to face Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue (‘The Other Blue’™) in another elimination bout this Sunday. If the playoff encore of this match is anything like the regular season sizzler (in which Flint Blue rallied to a 4-3 win with four goals in the third), then spectators will be in for a true treat.

The flipside of the Week One wreckage that saw a Week Two match between top three seeds with death on the line is a Winners’ Bracket clash between sixth and seventh seeds. Enter Captain Bryan Ossa’s fully-feeling-it ‘FlamingOssas’, and Captain Joel Gattey’s living-their-best-life Lime. The Week Six first go-round for these two denizens of the lower bracket saw Lime hand Pink their second of three straight losses, with four different scorers making good in a big second period to carry Gattey’s Group to a 4-2 win. The axiom that ‘the playoffs are a different world’ was clear enough from the crazy opening week orgy of overtime, and amplified by the fact that three seeds Red had already left the chat, so both teams should have wrapped warmups bracing for just about anything. Pink was technically the higher seed, but had lost to Lime in the regular season, and Lime was technically the lower seed, but had proven they could prevail over Pink. The common denominator between the two games…the absence of super stud blueliner, Jordan Pynn. The differences…the return of Carl Vankoughnett and Will Heinl to a nearly all-accounted-for Pink (less captain Ossa), and a change in nets, with Jon Cima serving in place of the departed Michael Haine. Vankoughnett made his triumphant return from tropical touring, putting Pink on the board first at 7:21 on the powerplay in the first (Josh Wirt), and Pink were clearly charged up with a 10-4 edge in shots going into the first break. Pink’s shot edge was even more pronounced in the second (9-2), but Matt Henderson stayed stout, allowing just a Sadie Hellstrom rebound strike at 1:36 (Wirt & Vankoughnett) to keep Lime close-as-could-be-hoped going into the final third. Vance Morra proved that Lime could hope (and realize) closer, tucking home the first response for his team at 6:31 in the third (Hima Joshi & Sean Bathgate), and when super sub, Janet Goins, slid the equalizer home at 3:41 (Morra & Jerry Gonzales), the ‘anything can happen’ nature of the playoffs birthed a brand new game going into the final minutes of regulation. It was Vankoughnett again, back form vacationing on volcanic islands in time to provide a second goal for Pink, completing a wild, bouncing ball sequence to put Pink back in front 3-2 with 1:34 to play (Sadie Hellstrom). Josh Wirt would seal the deal with an empty-netter at 0:21, and Jon Cima (8/10) would come away with some sense of consolation from his own team’s elimination, helping Pink to a 4-2 win over Lime. Matt Henderson (21/24) was outstanding in a second straight start (which, funny enough, was a head-to-head rematch with Cima), but a Pynn-free Lime and a Carl-ful Pink likely proved perhaps the biggest factors in this revenge result for Ossa’s Outfit. Pink press on in the Winners’ Bracket to face the omnipotent overlords of Orange in Week Three, while Lime will look to keep on the playoff path as the higher seed in a clash with Captain Hamon’s Brown.

Captain Shawna Hamon’s ‘Turds Of A Feather’ backed into the playoff picture with two straight losses to wrap a 3-5-1 campaign, and relied on a head-to-head tie breaker with Black to put them in as the bottom seed/first round fodder for Jeremy’s Juggernaut Orange. Brown proved anything put ‘fodder’ in that first Sunday of play, putting more than a slight scare into the top seeds with a gritty, but ultimately gutting shootout loss. As the only lower seeds to fail their Week One coup attempt, the Turds could either come away with a sense of FOMO, or a sense of pride and confidence for having come so close to finally drawing blood from the Wing League 2025 Goliaths. Losing the opening round middle pairing battle to Blue was not nearly as provocative a twist for Captain Zach Siemer’s ‘Siegulls’, but the 1-0 loss was no less tough to swallow, given the outstanding (as ever) efforts of Silas Perks, and the fact that the imposing piece that is Jason Remple was not part of the Week One winning puzzle for Blue. White came into the playoffs tied with Lime for the second lowest goal output of the playoff field (twenty-two), but may have taken some pregame solace in the fact that Brown was dead last in that category with just fourteen. Alas, that solace was mostly dissolved by the absence of both Jon Zygelman and Scott Wieland, who had combined for nearly half of that regular season goal total. One player in White’s ranks who, for privacy’s sake, let’s call him Steve L…no, that’s too obvious…let’s say S Linke, assessed his team’s situation quite simply in a candid post warmup quip with ‘we’re done’. You’re not done until you’re done, and Vinny Santora had the faithless wonders on top first at 5:12 (Andrew Hoff). It should be noted that this was Hoff’s first ever SDFHL point…CONGRATULATIONS! Glenn Pinto answered for his new team at 1:24 in the first (Kalen Hunter & Jim LaGrossa), leaving both teams on equal footing going into the second. ‘Equal footing’ might not be the most accurate term, given that Brown outshot White 13-8 in the first, then 15-1 (!) in the second, but this was a goalie duel for the ages, and The Silencer™ was up to the task of keeping White in this one to the bitter end. Pinto struck paydirt again at 5:01 in the second (Andy Strathman & Kalen Hunter), making it 2-1 and still technically ‘anyone’s game’ heading into the second break. It was more dominance from Brown in the third, as they racked up a 12-2 edge in shots, but more importantly found a third goal (Hunter on the powerplay from Captain Shawna Hamon at 3:54), and with the final shot count recorded as 40-11 in Brown’s favor, it is no wonder they went on to win 3-1. Silas Perks (37/40) was the real wonder, as this would have been a been a blood bath with just about any other goalie in his stead. So, our anonymous source in the White ranks was right…they were/are ‘done’, exiting the playoffs in two-and-out fashion after finding just one goal to support a superb Perks (59/63) in six periods of playoff play. Sean Kelly (10/11), POTW Glenn Pinto, and the rest of Brown live on in the Losers’ Bracket to face fellow low seeds, Lime. The two tied 1-1 back in Week Nine, and the reprise has all the makings of a thrilling do or die death match…

Orange’s regular season saw them blowing away five opponents with scores of 6-1, 6-2, 7-1, 5-2, and 4-0, slipping past another trio with scores of 7-6, 4-3, and 4-2, and conceding just ONE point in the entire regular season in a 3-3 tie with Red. We have established by now that things are different in the playoffs, and Captain Copp & Company proved prone to this playoff power balance perversion in a VERY narrow escape from bottom-seeded Brown in their second season opener. Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue staged the smallest of three low seed coups in Week One, slipping past White 1-0, but two sobering realities swirled coming into their second shot at THE team to beat. First, Orange were the team to beat not only because of their top seed status, but because they had NEVER been beaten, and second, Blue was one of Orange’s freshest kills, having been dispatched 5-2 just three weeks prior (in a game with the ‘key pieces’ in place for both sides, no less). I would add a third point…that Blue was once again without the services of Jason Remple, but that bit of bad Blue news was countered by the absence of Aaron Cooney and Chris Fiore on the Orange side. So…Orange still holding that magic mojo, and certainly still the favorites in this rematch, but with every playoff game to this point being decided by two or fewer goals, and upsets landing at an alarming rate, this game was still very much up for grabs. A scoreless first saw Orange enjoying a heavy edge in shots (11-4), and while that edge dulled significantly in the second (6-4), Silas Perks finally found the back of the net at 4:31 (Owen Perks & Justin Stege) to put Orange in front. As vaunted as Orange’s offense is/has rightfully been, it was the defense that really bottled up Blue in this one, holding the challengers to just three shots in the final ten minutes to preserve YET ANOTHER win, this time by the slimmest of margins in regulation, 1-0. Mason Holcomb (11/11) was decidedly less busy than Don Tran (22/23), but ‘Da New Kid In Town’™ still knows no loss this season, and neither do Orange, who march on to the Winners’ Bracket Final to face Pink. Having lived by the 1-0 sword and died by the 0-1 sword, Captain Gaudio’s Group must now rally back from the Losers’ Bracket, starting with a blue-on-blue showdown with Captain Karns’ Flint Folks this Sunday. Neither shade of blue is doing much scoring of late, so it will be interesting to see how this elimination battle plays out…I’ve got 2-1 in OT.

Way back on January 12th, the SDFHL Wing League 2025 season officially kicked off with a clash between Captain Chad Goins’ ‘Chadinals’ and Captain Bryan Ossa’s ‘FlamingOssas’. The result was a convincing 7-3 win for Pink, and while Ossa & Company went on to build their early season record to 2-1-0, Goins’ Group struggled to 1-3-0. It was around that midseason point where the fates flipped, with Pink dropping three straight, and Red bouncing back in a big way with a 4-0-1 regular season balance. That flipped fate found these two shades of red pitted against one another once again, this time to kick off the postseason, with Red having risen to the three seed, and Pink having settled to the six. So, math, logic, and a season’s worth of performance sample had Red the clear favorites in the rematch, and the absence of number four on the regular season scoring charts (Carl Vankoughnett) added additional prickliness to Pink’s plight. All of that math, logic, regular season momentum, and absence asterisk had this game unfolding as expected, with Josh Tran putting Red on the board first at 8:01 in the first (William Teglia), then Steph Palomo Schmidt making it 2-0 less than three minutes later (Brennen Abel). Teglia built the lead three at 4:18 in the second (Gordon Schmidt), and when Jackson Tomaszewski made it 4-0 at 2:21 in the middle frame (Abel & Palomo Schmidt), it seemed the regular season revenge rout was well and truly underway. The only real silver lining (or source of frustration, depending on your perspective) for Pink was that they were outshooting, and generally outplaying/out-chancing their rivals to that point. Silver linings are for silver medalists, though, and Josh Wirt wanted gold. Wirt finally found an answer for Pink at 1:12 in the second (Mark Daquipa & Mark DeGraffenreid), then another at 0:51 (Sadie Hellstrom). Mostafa Azab fed off the late second period momentum, netting his first of the season at 8:22 in the third (Will Heinl & Wirt), and even hit the fabled ‘Flamingo Celly’™ for good measure. Wirt capped his hat trick less than a minute later (7:33, from DeGraffenreid), and just like that…four goals for Pink in the span of 3:39 to draw everything level! Pink stayed on the front foot, and Mark Daquipa was the next to activate ‘hero mode’, snapping home Pink’s first go-ahead goal with 2:40 to play in regulation. The stirring/stunning comeback was complete, but emotions on both sides were leveled and left back at the default setting of ‘nervous, but hopeful’ when Abel broke loose, broke in on Chuck Bender, and equalized with 1:41 to go. On to overtime, where both teams had chances to end it (but didn’t), then to shootout. The goaltenders were the story from here out, as both Chuck Bender and Jon Cima were sharp and steady throughout. The first round saw both Brennen Abel and Mostafa Azab fail to score, the second round saw Josh Tran miss and Josh Wirt succeed, and the third round saw Gordon Schmidt succeed and Mark DeGraffenreid fail. When Jackson Tomaszewski, Sadie Hellstrom, Steph Palomo Schmidt, and Will Heinl were all stymied, this incredible battle of wills flipped over into a second round of shooting. Abel and Azab both came up empty once again, and after a second Josh Tran miss, it was Josh Wirt to (finally) end it for Pink. Wirt was living legendary, having racked up 3 and 1 in the surging comeback effort in regulation, then converting on both attempts in the shootout to will Pink past Red, 6-5. Again, both goalies are to be commended, but Chuck Bender (6/7 in SO) really shined for his surrogate team when it mattered most. Jon Cima (22/27, then 5/7 in SO) was no slouch at his end, but the shootout is that necessary evil that grants one team all the unbridled glee of a nail-biting playoff win, and the other a leaden, lingering loss and a case of the ‘what if’ woes.

There is a certain mystique to the playoffs, and whether you finish in the top two, bottom two, or somewhere in the middle four seeds, there is a renewed sense of hope that your A game, a break here, and a bounce there will lead to a win against anyone else in the field. All it takes is four straight wins to run the table, and if you’re going to have to tackle the top dogs, you might as well sneak attack them out of the gate and REALLY boost that sense of hope to new heights. Such was the position of Captain Shawna Hamon’s ‘Turds Of A Feather’, having squeezed themselves into the eighth and final playoff spot, knowing that the ‘big prize’ for surviving the regular season gauntlet was a rematch with their Week One abusers and near perfect nemesis, Orange. That Week One meeting ended in a 6-1 win for Captain Copp’s Crew, and it would be the first of eight wins in an undefeated run that saw them rack up SEVENTEEN points in the standings and produce three of the top five scorers in the league (SIXTY combined points for PCP™…Perks, Cooney & Perks). Brown had some additional reason for renewed hope in the playoff encore, however, as prime pieces Kalen Hunter and Andy Strathman were both elsewhere for that first meeting, and were both back in action to face an Orange side bereft of prime pieces Aaron Cooney and Christopher Fiore. Hamon & Company had also just watched sixth-seeded Pink knock off the three seeds in epic comeback fashion, so the Kevin Garnett ‘ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE‘ vibes were flowing, for sure. Orange held a slight edge in shots in the first (7-5), but Brown held their ground, absorbing or deflecting nearly every blow, but reining in the reigning scoring champ is no small task, and Owen Perks broke the scoring seal at 2:35 (Silas Perks & Shelby Shattuck) to give Orange a lead going into the first break. The second period story was similar, but different (in that it was a near mirror opposite), with Brown gaining an edge in shots (6-5), and Brown producing the lone goal courtesy of Jim LaGrossa at 1:51 (Glenn Pinto & Kalen Hunter). Both Orange’s Mason Holcomb (19/20) and Brown’s Sean Kelly (24/25) were unbreakable backbones for their respective teams, keeping the nets unbothered by orange balls through a scoreless third and an equally scoreless overtime period. So, the already-way-behind-schedule Week One slate slid into a second straight shootout scenario, this time with Orange’s undefeated course to the Cup in jeopardy, and Brown (I am guessing) now expecting to finish this colossal coup with a living SDFHL legend in their net, opposite a young second year apprentice of the crease craft in the other. Owen Perks stepped up and erased any sense of advantage Brown may have had, converting on the first shot to put Orange up 1-0. Jim LaGrossa and Silas Perks followed with misses, before Kalen Hunter made good on his opportunity to match his Young Canuck™ fellow and level the ledger at 1-1. After Rec Gym OG’s Andy Strathman and Justin Stege traded empty efforts, it was perhaps THE most unlikely of heroes up next…Andrew ‘M*ther F*cking’ Wong, ladies and gentlemen! Yes, THAT Andrew Wong…the VERY pass-first, stay-at-home defender, with TWO career goals in nearly TWO HUNDRED career games…THAT guy…just walked in and buried his chance (past Sean Kelly!) to give Orange a 2-1 edge…f*cking surreal! Kevin Dinino failed to match Wong’s shootout prowess, and when Maureen Ruchhoeft couldn’t convert, it all came down to Captain Hamon for Brown. Shawna slinked in and got off a great chance, but Mason ‘Da New Kid In Town™’ Holcomb was there to make the save, and preserve the WAY too close for comfort 2-1 shootout win for Orange. While very far from the dominant decision normally enjoyed by the Copp’s ‘Wings’, Orange still found a way to win and continue their seemingly destined climb to the Cup. They will put their (still) undefeated run on the line against Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue this Sunday, while Brown will face Silas Perks once again…in nets this time…as they take on Captain Zach Siemer’s White with elimination in the offing for both sides.

Captain Rob Gaudio’s ‘Blue Jays’ went from freshly-hatched to flying high, darting deftly through their first three games at 3-0-0, and looking every bit the birds to be reckoned with in the early going. Their next five opponents indeed brought about a reckoning for Blue, as five straight losses plucked them from their lofty perch and dropped them along the cutline at 0-3-5 going into the final week of play. The fourth team in that five team season-gutting gauntlet for Blue was Captain Zach Siemer’s White. White dispatched Blue in Week Nine in typical ‘Siegulls’ fashion, with Silas ‘The Silencer’™ Perks shutting all offensive doors, windows, and improvised exits with a 23/23 gem, while Don Tran surrendered one goal on nine shots in a very tough to take 2-0 loss. Blue would pull out of their five loss nose dive JUST before hitting the playoff scrap heap, and as fate would have it, that one last win did enough to boost them into the five spot, and line them up across from White once again in the opening week of playoff play. As noted in the recaps above, the playoffs are a bird of a different feather, and the playoff rematch between these two sides played out as an eerie negative of the original photograph. Perks would face twenty-three shots again in this one, and Tran would face just one more shot than he did back on March 16th, but it was White who would feel the sickening sting of a razor thin loss on this day. Captain Gaudio did the damage himself, finally solving Silas with just 0:15 to play in the first (Dorothy Kline & Trevor Vick). While I wasn’t on hand to witness the goal, I have to imagine it was scored on the last of THIRTEEN shots racked up by Blue in the first ten minutes of play, and you certainly need that kind of shot volume to have any hope of actually putting one or two past The Silencer™. That one would be the only one, as Perks (22/23) would not yield again, giving his team a chance (as always) to find an equalizer and perhaps a game-winner. Don Tran (10/10) did not like the idea of a remake of this particular original, however, and his clean sheet meant that Captain Gaudio’s lone goal would stand, and deliver Blue a big 1-0 redemption playoff win. Timing may not be everything, but it certainly is important, and while Blue’s hot regular season start is now a distant memory, their new two game streak is coming at the JUST the right time to arrest their five game free fall from grace, push them into the playoffs, and now restore their confidence heading into a showdown with Silas’ ‘other team’, Orange. White are now in a fight to reverse their own downturn, having lost both their regular season finale to Orange, and now their playoff opener to Blue in shutout fashion. Siemer & Company will need to find enough offense to support Perks, which is typically no more than one or two goals. The problem…they will be shooting on Brown’s Sean Kelly this Sunday, and Kelly was silencing SDFHL teams before ‘The Silencer™’ was out of middle school.

All of the overtime and shootout hockey pushed the start of the nightcap between Captain Ryan Karns’ second-seeded Flint Blue and Captain Joel Gattey’s Lime back roughly an hour, and there was some genuine concern that the lights may go out if this one went beyond regulation. That concern was not helped by a review of the regular season meeting between these two teams, which ended in a 4-4 tie. Captain Karns himself was the hero of that first meeting, capping a two goal third period comeback for his team with 1:07 remaining in the Week Two clash. At that early point in the season, Karns Krew felt fortunate to have snatched a point, especially with John Boddy out of the lineup. Boddy was back for the reprise, and it would be Lime’s turn to make do without some key weaponry in the personages of Jordan Pynn and Chris Malki. So, the Flint-clad favorites were all the more favored as the ball FINALLY dropped on the last game of the night, but with the underbird uprising having felled two higher seeds and scared even the highest seed, another upset did not seem at all out of the question. Boddy produced immediate returns in his return, putting Flint Blue in front at 2:49 in the first (Mark Nagy), but Sean Bathgate answered for Lime with just 0:15 to go in the first third to bring Lime even (Wendy Enright & Craig Russell). A scoreless second was followed by a scoreless third, and for the third time in the first four games of the Wing League 2025 playoffs, it was on to extra time! Captain Joel Gattey was questionable to even hit the court in this one, having recently injured his calf, but he soldiered on, and as all great Hollywood tales of grit and determination go, scored the overtime game-winner for his team. It was Gattey from Joe Malki and Jerry Gonzales at 2:54…the only shot recorded in the bonus period, and the only one that mattered. Matt Henderson (21/22) outdueled Nick Meglich (16/18) to preserve the 2-1 OT win for Lime, and the mind-boggling triple upset opening round was wrapped with the two, three, and four seeds all falling to their lower ranked counterparts. The topsy turvy opening round results have produced some unexpected second round matchups, as Captain Karns’ second seed will now face Captain Goins’ third seed in an elimination battle, while Captain Gattey’s Lime move on in the Winners’ Bracket to face Captain Ossa’s sixth-seeded Pink. Given the insanity of the first Sunday of play, I won’t dare make predictions on second round outcomes, but Flint Blue did handle (an Abel-less) Red quite handily (6-3) back in Week Five, and Lime took care of Pink (4-2) in Week Six. Nothing means anything anymore, though…expect the unexpected this Sunday…*cough*Orange loss*cough*.