Charge!

Black’s momentum continued to mount, as they maintained co-ownership of the top spot in the standings with a 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Royal Blue. Brett Cohen sparked the scoring, Steve Jones added one and one, and Bill Casey collected two assists, including a helper on Glenn Pinto’s power play game-winner. Cory Brin stopped 21/22 in the winning effort, which keeps Black nestled at the top of the pile with Orange.

In the land of the desperate teams, the one-pointed result is king. Both Dark Green and Grey had certainly hoped to find a way to win (and, as importantly, hand their neighbor in the nether neck of the standings a loss), but a point is a point. Justin Stege and Danny Antonelli did the honors for Grey and Dark Green, respectively, and both goalies held the line from there (Don Tran 14/15…Tiffany Fox 15/16). Both teams are still very much in danger of missing the playoff mark this season. To add another fun twist, Dark Green will be without the services of Tony Thinh for the remainder of the season. Sources close to the team have reported that Arnold Gonzales will be the second Gonzales boy to come off the shelf to fill a roster hole this season…

Captain Shawna Hamon continued her campaign of terror, with a goal to start the scoring, and assists on the second and third tallies in a 3-2 win for Orange over Light Blue. Captain Jon Salt had equalized Hamon’s first marker, and had his team up 2-1 with his second of the evening, but Alan Razoky struck on the power play to make it 2-2, and Jon Zygelman’s fifth of the season would be the game-winner. Meanwhile, Hamon is now legitimately a threat to become the first ever female season scoring champ. Her eight points (4 and 4) have her just three points back of Black’s Steve Jones at eleven…and she has a game in hand! Definitely another layer to look for in the April 14 showdown between these two great teams.

Captain Jeremy Copp and his NetsCopp Navigators were looking to clear the cache after suffering their first loss of the season in Week Seven, while Captain Mark Ennsmann’s as-yet-unnamed side were out to prove that they could do more than just not lose games. The latter did just that, as Ennsmann put White on the board early in the first, and Evan Melcher’s strike later in that period stood as the game-winner. Chris Tullio gave Teal life with a late first period goal, but neither goalie would surrender anything further (Alyce Perry’s insurance market was deposited into an empty net). The 3-1 win is just White’s second in five tries, but they remain one of only two teams without a loss. Forgive the PSA, but in case you hadn’t noticed, Steve Testen is damn good goalie. His .976/0.40/3 SO line is tops in the league this season by a good margin. His success should come as little surprise to anyone paying attention to his past few seasons.

The sublime serendipity of the schedule never ceases to amuse me. The St. Patrick’s Day slate wrapped with…what else…a clash between Green and Gold. Unfortunately for Green, it was once again not their lucky day. It has not been their skilly season, frankly. Patrick Fusco gave Green life with his tying goal in the second, but that was just the fourth goal Green has scored in six games, and it was the only goal they would manage against Gold. Mark Nagy netted the game-winner just forty seconds later, and Chris Tran stacked two insurance tallies on top in the third. Philip Nguyen threw one last shovel of dirt on the grave in the final minute, to go with his an assist on Nagy’s GWG, and make the final 5-1. Chuck Bender stopped 15/16, helping Gold move above the cut line and into the middle of the pack at 2-2-1. For Green, a Week Nine bye means one sad truth…at least they will not lose this weekend.