Both Captain Leah Gonzales’ Maroon and Captain Wendy Enright’s Olive rolled into the final week of regular season play knowing that their playoff passports were already set and stamped, but it never hurts to have a bit of momentum going into the second season. Maroon looked to build off their Week Thirteen waltz past a beleaguered Black, while Olive looked to rebound after their six week lossless streak was pitted the week prior by a desperate Aqua side. Josh Wirt opened the scoring in the latter half of the first (from Will Heinl and Gary Peters), and doubled Olive’s lead early in the second (this time from Peters and Heinl). Joe Malki halved Olive’s edge minutes later (from Jeffrey Henderson and Ryan Karns), and Karns would go on to notch a second assist on sub Janine Ulloa’s early third period tally (first assist to Chris Malki) and the lone assist on John Boddy’s game-winner at 7:18 in the final frame. Boddy provided the helping hand on Ezra Cohen’s insurance marker at 5:11, and Steve Deppensmith (7/9) literally could not lose at that point, as Olive was credited with just one shot in the third (!). Zach Siemer (27/31) deserved better than the 4-2 loss, but continues to look very strong since coming on board full time to replace Cory Brin midway through the season. The win bolstered Maroon’s playoff position to the six spot, while Olive merely ‘stayed put’ at the four seed, in spite of the loss. It’s very important to note that Olive managed a very impressive resurgence from 0-2-0 to 5-4-1 in spite of being without their second round pick, London Peters, for all but four games this season. With London officially back on the shelf with a re-torn MCL, Patrick Walker steps in to provide some playoff punch, starting with a Week One match with Purple. Maroon will look to avenge a 5-2 Week Six loss to Royal Blue when playoff action commences this Sunday.
Without question, Captain Audrey Stratton’s Silver squad has been THE story of the regular season. A sparkling 7-0-2 record had them pulling into the final week of regular season play with the top seed already on ice, and only their lossless luster at stake against an inconsistent Purple pack looking to make a late splash, serve notice with a ‘statement’ win, and improve their second season stock. If the relatively low stakes for both sides didn’t sell tickets, the promise of another Salt Bros™ showdown would. One problem…only one Salt Bro™ was present and accounted for. Plan C…fans would surely want to see Silas Perks in action. The unquestioned occupant of the goalie iron throne would surely end his magical season with more magnificence…right? Brandon Olsen was the first to shout ‘wrong’ in response, putting Purple on the board in the first (from Mark Nagy and Weston Nawrocki), and Trice Harvey’s first career cash-in (CONGRATULATIONS!) from Nagy and Jon Salt put Silver in a very unfamiliar place…down two. Justin Ker (from Sadie Hellstrom and Matt Gottfried) and Alexis DaCosta (from the same dynamic duo) restored balance to the game and the scoreboard, but the sole Salt made his presence felt again (from Eric Willard and Nagy) to make it 3-2 Purple through two. Sadie Hellstrom leveled the ledger again early in the third (from Joel Gattey and Ker), and as the clock wound into the final minutes, it looked as though Silver would indeed complete their wire to wire L-free campaign. After all, Perks had only allowed as many as two goals (never more) in the same game three times this season, making Purple’s three bagger already ‘over quota’. Eric Willard converted a Jon Salt pass to quash that quota, and give Purple a 4-3 edge. Salt added an empty-netter (from Nagy) to make it 5-3, but Alexis DaCosta (from Kevin Dinino and Ker) kept it spicy to the bitter end with an answer at 0:02 to play. The frantic finish was a remarkable twist to Silver’s scintillating season, as their lossless run was snapped with just 2:48 to play in a ten game span. The 5-4 win for Purple pushes them to the five seed, and while the win comes with something of an asterisk (no Zach in Silver’s attack), it is still a huge hat hanger going into May play. As noted, the loss merely tarnishes Silver’s sterling record, but they maintain their catbird seat, and look to bounce back form their only loss to date in a meeting with the eighth-seeded Aqua.
Captain Shelby Shattuck’s ‘Black Widow’ has been dead and buried for what feels like two months. After failing to score a single goal in their first five games, they clawed and crawled their way forward through the second half of the season like an extra on ‘The Walking Dead’. Their final week of play finally arrived, and at 0-8-1, with absolutely nothing to play for beyond pride and a love of the game, you had to figure they would go out the way they came in…with a whimper. Captain Maureen Ruchhoeft’s ‘White Hot Flashes’ proved ‘unkillable’ through their first six games, avoiding loses with remarkable last minute (and last second) escapes, but they finally got in touch with their mortality with two losses in the three games leading up to the final week of play. They looked to right the ship, take the ‘auto win’ over Black, and snatch the three seed and some momentum in the process. A scoreless first bled past, followed by a scoreless 6:09 in the second. Lo and behold, it was Black who struck first, with Jordan Pynn creating and finishing his own chance to put the underdogs on top. Brennan Abel answered for White a minute and change later (from Captain Ruchhoeft and Geoff Downes), setting up a third period for all the marbles (however insignificant the marbles). Matt Henderson (18/19) was great again…poor guy has been swabbing the decks and polishing the rails of the Titanic all season, and his efforts FINALLY paid off. It was Justin Stege with 2:49 (from Harsh Wanigaratne and Pynn)…his second of the season, and Black’s FIRST GAME-WINNING GOAL OF THE SEASON! Honestly, it was great to see…a team with no reason left to fight fighting to the very end, and ending a very low season on a nice high note, 2-1 Black over White. If you’re scoring at home, Stege’s goal tied him with Pynn for the team scoring lead with two. Only two other players had a goal (Matt DeBerry and Alan Razoky), for a total of six goals in ten games. While this will go down as one of the most offensively challenged teams in league history, this win buoys them above the ‘worst team ever’ waterline, for sure. Chuck Bender (11/13) absorbed his third loss in four games, and White back into the playoffs as the seventh seed at 4-3-3. They will need to switch back to ‘unkillable’ mode when they face a stout Charcoal side in their playoff opener this Sunday.
Red (AKA ‘Maroon 2: Electric Boogaloo’) trod a similar tragic trail to Black this season, but Captain Emily Bennington & Company did manage a Week Thirteen coup that gave them five points and (at the time) a chance at a last gasp playoff redemption. Captain Steph Palomo Schmidt’s Aqua promptly snuffed out that flicker of hope with a stirring comeback win over Olive in Week Thirteen, leaving Red in the same ‘already dead’ boat as Black going into the final week of play. Unlike Black, Red could still play spoiler in this one, with a win over Aqua leaving the door open for Tropical Blue to sneak into the eighth and final playoff slot. Aqua needed anything but a loss to (finally) punch their playoff ticket, and preserve any measure of momentum and confidence going into May. With the Gaudio Bros™ out of the lineup, Aqua hoped they might only need one goal to seal the deal. They got that one with 0:55 remaining in the second, as David Schlatter danced in, and juked and jived his way to a pretty breakaway goal. Brian Sheptycki had the lone assist on what would be the lone goal in the game, as Chris Tran (19/19) and Aqua’s defense kept Red’s remaining offensive threats at bay to secure the 1-0 brow-wiping win. Tran’s season has been overshadowed by Silas Perks’ heroics, but a .915/1.75/2 SO season line is, to quote Larry David, ‘pretty…pretty…good’. It was a double whammy loss for Nick Vacchio (9/10)…just another loss for Red, of course, but the Aqua win slammed the playoff door shut on his other team, Tropical Blue, as well. So…two teams…no playoffs for Vacchio, while his counterpart hogged all the playoff pride with both Aqua and Charcoal advancing. Making the playoffs is great and all, but it is certainly going to take a stronger effort than a one goal wiggler from Aqua to replicate Purple’s feat against Z Salt, ‘The Silencer’, and the rest of Silver this Sunday…
So, unlike so many seasons past, the final game of the Winter 2023 season ended up meaning absolutely nothing to either side. Tropical Blue had just watched as their playoff coffin was nailed shut, and Charcoal had no chance of moving up nor down from their seat in second place. At least there were still two stories in play at the player level…would Owen Perks rack up enough points to tie, or even topple Eric Herrmann for the scoring title, and would Melissa Busby continue to be the the stubby, superfluous appendage on the fist of fury that is Charcoal? I am sure I don’t need to tell you that the latter came to fruition…Busby has made zero impact in three games since joining the team…not a shock. Perks did get on the board in the first, but it was two minutes for hooking, which is not what he had in mind. Meanwhile, Ryan Loughran laced a wicked wrister past Sean Kelly to put Charcoal in front (from Chris Tran and Jackson Tomaszewski), and Kalen Hunter’s solo effort early in the second gave the favorites a 2-0 lead. Nick Vacchio continued to shine in the dark for Tropical Blue, notching his seventh of the season to cut the lead to one, but it was Hunter again to restore the two goal lead going into the third. Owen Perks recorded the primary on that second Hunter strike (Chris Tran had the second apple), but that would be all the scoring he would do in this one, as he finished the season with the silver in the scoring race with twenty points (13 and 7). Sean Kelly (17/21) was darting and sliding and breakdancing, and otherwise standing on his head, but alas, this game was a microcosm of a season lost for Da Kid…even when he had his best stuff, there was just not nearly enough in front of him. Captain Shawna Hamon put her stamp on the scoresheet with another sweet, sneaky wrister that slipped in near side (from Hunter), capping a comfortable 4-1 win for her team, and giving them some extra playoff steam. Don Tran (11/12) netted his sixth win of the season, and finished third in the goalie ranks with an impressive .898/1.63/2 SO line. All the pieces are there, and Charcoal look to make a deep playoff run starting with a repeat of their Week Thirteen 4-0 winning feat against White in this Sunday’s night cap. Sadly, Tropical Blue’s final game would also be the final game for Captain Kyra Forsyth, who is now off to pursue her PhD in sunny Indiana. We wish her well, and hope she comes home to play with us again at some point. Best wishes and safe travels, Kyra!