You might expect a broken, beaten, one-win team limping into the final week of play to just lay down and die, but Brown gets massive pride points for showing up, and showing Pink a tough game. Captain Joshi’s team was not yet locked into a playoff spot with nine points coming in, but were likely (consciously, or not) expecting to extend, then end Brown’s misery with relative ease. Brian Sheptycki served notice that Brown would not go down without a fight, getting the underdogs on the board right out of the gate. Patrick Walker and Carl Vankoughnett turned the tide to Pink’s favor before the close of the first, but it was Sheptycki again to level the score midway through the second. Vankoughnett netted his second with just six seconds remaining in the second, and as fate would have it, that would be Brown’s fate accompli. A scoreless third period meant that Pink would prevail 3-2, securing their playoff place with the win, and pushing their regular season ledger above .500 (5-4-1). For Captain Goncalo & Company, the loss was as meaningless as any of the other eight they suffered in a very forgettable 1-9-0 campaign. Pink now ready themselves for a Week One playoff match with Grey, whom they defeated 2-0 back in Week Three of regular season play.
The second game on the slate simmered with much more playoff implication that the opener. At 4-3-2, Black was certainly more comfortable than White, whose 3-4-2 meant ‘must win’ (and maybe ‘need a hand’, as well) to get in. Rob Gaudio tightened the jaws and whitened the knuckles on White’s bench with the first strike in the first, but Mark Ennsmann answered almost immediately for White. Ennsmann just kept on ‘answering’, even when Black went quiet. The second period saw Ennsmann’s second, followed by a Jason Northrup power play pushback for Black…then Ennsmann again to complete the hat trick. Ennsmann shoveled another on the pile early in the third, and Shawna Hamon netted an empty netter in the closing minute to complete the 5-2 coup. Hamon and Josh Wirt each racked up a pair of assists to share the offensive load (TWSS). Whoever has the scoring baton on a given night, it really appears that White is finding their form at the right time. This result, combined with a loss by Orange later in the evening (spoiler alert) meant that White would rise to the six seed, and Black would settle as the seven seed. White will look to avenge a 4-1 loss to Red, while Black hope to survive against a motivated two seed, Green, with whom they tied 2-2 in Week Ten.
The middle game on the menu was another meaty slice dripping with playoff possibility. For Captain Ryan Karns and Mötley Blüe, one distinct possibility was missing the playoffs altogether. Even a win over powerhouse Purple might not save Blue from five free Sundays, but a loss would surely spell the end. For Purple, well, winning is their way, and a win would be their way to the top playoff seed. Captain Zach Salt set the tone for the favorites in the first, Raj Cheema responded for Blue, then Janice Darlington said ‘we’ll take that lead back…thanks’ (just like that…I heard her say it). Birthday boy, Justin Stege, had the helper on Darlington’s game-winning tally, and would score one of his own to open the second. Blue pushed the play, but Alex Theis (10/11) stood tall to preserve Purple’s edge. Phil Nguyen grew that edge in the latter half of the third, and Janice ‘J-Dagger’ Darlington sealed off any hope for a safe exit for Blue with her second of the night in the final minute of play. Both Stege and Salt collected a pair of assists to fatten their season totals, and Theis wrapped a wrecking ball season with a line of 7-1-1/.933/1.22/ 2 SO. The 5-1 face smash finally fulfilled Purple’s first place destiny, and flushed Blue out of the playoff picture in the process. Purple start the playoffs with a juicy draw in Orange…a matchup that produced a 2-2 Week Ten draw…WITHOUT Eric Herrmann in the lineup…
The chip on Jon Salt’s shoulder is really threatening to cause him some significant back pain. It’s also doing plenty of damage to Red’s opponents, who have been feeling the sting of his ‘I’m still really good’ campaign for months. He’s still really good, and he had the last laugh (of the regular season) at the expense of his upstart foil, Eric Herrmann. The scoring opened with Salt from Linke, matched just over a minute later by Captain Casey from Herrmann. The second period went Salt (unassisted), Eric Willard (from Herrmann and Dorothy Kline), then Salt from Linke again. The third…Salt from Linke AGAIN, then Willard from Herrmann and Casey, then solo Salt…his fifth of the night. Both teams entered with ten points, but Salt’s scorched earth drive powered Red to a 5-3 victory, and a third place regular season finish. Oh, it also powered Salt himself to a…second place finish in the scoring race…two points behind Herrmann, who appeared in three fewer games. Salt is good, Herrmann is just….gooder. Andrew Lockard (22/25) improved his personal record to just north of break even at 4-3-1, with a win that kept his team from falling into the bottom half of the bracket. Red will square off against a revitalized White in Week One, while Orange will need to shake off this loss, and ready themselves for a rematch with top-seeded Purple.
Purple’s win over Blue meant a loose, smiley warmup for Grey. Even a loss to Cream could not keep them from the second season. Still, you never want to back into the playoffs, and you never want to be at the back of the playoff pack, if you can help it. So, a nearly-full Grey bench set their sights on a win in their finale. The absence of Jurgens, Gottfried, Gottfried, and Pereira made a convincing Grey win seem like a foregone conclusion, but…stranger things. Cream’s short bench brought plenty of heat in the early going, but Mark DeGraffenreid, Marc Lapointe, and Craig Russell all scored within 1:06 of the late third period to take control for Grey. DeGraffenreid padded the lead with his second in the second, and Eugenio De Santis added to the pile before Ian Crooks finally broke the seal (and Chris Tran’s shutout bid) in the final minutes of play. So…not much mystery or suspense in the 5-1 nightcap win for Grey, who slot in at the five spot behind Pink (who edge them in the standings based on the head-to-head tiebreaker). Captain Joel Gattey must have been thrilled waking away from the draft table, with an absolutely loaded roster, and absolute reason to believe that making the playoffs would be just the beginning. In the end, it was (significant) personnel/attendance woes, and shaky goaltending that was their undoing. Grey live to fight on after back-to-back wins to push their record to 5-4-1. They will meet Pink in the middle of the playoff bracket this Sunday with revenge on their minds.