Flightless

Most SDFHL pundits pulled no punches when picking over the results of Captain Zach Siemer’s 2025 Wing League draft. Even the staunchest proponent of the ‘defense wins championships’ ideology squirmed a bit at the VERY backend heavy nature of White’s lineup, but a 1-0 win counts as much as a 5-2 win, and Siemer’s strategy was clearly to count on a steady diet of those tight, low-scoring wins this season. The aforementioned pundits (and perhaps even Siemer himself) were not counting on a breakout performance from Janice Darlington in their season opener, a 3-1 win over Black, but the lone goal against (and the winning result) was a sign that Siemer’s scheme might just rebuff all of the post draft scrutiny, after all. Captain Shawna Hamon’s Brown limped into Week Two licking their wounds from a 6-1 licking at the hands of budding offensive juggernaut, Orange. Still without the services of Kalen Hunter and Andy Strathman, but now also bereft of the presence of steady secondary scorer, Kevin ‘The Deputy’ Dinino, and super stud savemaster, Sean ‘Da Kid’ Kelly, things would not prove any easier for Hamon & Company on this day. Chris Tran was nothing short of spectacular for Brown in a fill-in stint for Kelly, but even spectacular has its limitations. A scoreless first saw Tran stop FIFTEEN shots, while Brown mustered ZERO the other way (!). Captain Seimer finally broke the scoring seal in the second with his second of the season at 4:51 (Jon Zygelman), and Silas Perks’ sleepy session at the other end was tested by just four Brown shots, including a rare penalty shot (a failed Weston Oakley attempt). Siemer would cash in again at 3:13 in the third, leaving Tran’s 36/38 effort completely wasted in Brown’s 2-0 loss. While Perks (6/6) was barely needed in this one, it is perhaps worth noting that even a massive, lopsided shot total in White’s favor (38-6) was JUST enough to earn them a win. It will be interesting to see how White hold up against some of the heavier hitting offenses in the league, including Silas’ ‘other team’, Orange.

Both Captain Jeremy Copp’s Orange and Captain Bryan Ossa’s Pink blasted past their Week One opponents with considerable ease, dropping six and seven goals on Brown and Red, respectively. While it is easy to overreact to early season results, I for one (as one of the referees in their debut) was convinced immediately that Orange was an incredibly well-oiled scoring machine straight out of the box. I was no less impressed with Pink’s output, but I had Ossa & Company as underdogs coming into what one might rightly have assumed would be a slugfest for the ages. It definitely was that…one of those games with very little white space left on the score sheet, and one of those games that force me into a rapid fire/lots-of-commas style recap. It was nearly all Orange in a five goal first, with Owen Perks opening the scoring at 4:56 (Aaron Cooney & Silas Perks), then Cooney making it 2-0 with a solo effort just nineteen seconds later, then Owen Perks making it 3-0 just thirty-eight seconds later. Josh Wirt finally answered for a reeling Pink side at 2:31 (Captain Ossa), but Justin Stege restored the three goal edge for Orange at 0:25 (Owen Perks). Pink staged a swift comeback in the second, with Pat Gladstone cutting the lead back to two at 9:23 (Carl Vankoughnett & Mostafa Azab), Vankoughnett notching his first of the game at 8:52 to cut the lead to one (Ossa & Wirt), then his second of the game at 6:44 to draw Pink level (Gladstone & Wirt). The euphoria on the Pink bench after the inspired surge quickly faded, with Orange’s first line taking full advantage of Pink’s second line to convert two quick goals and completely arrest and reverse the momentum in this one…Owen Perks at 6:28 (Cooney & Christopher Fiore), and Cooney at 5:43 (Silas Perks & Owen Perks). Orange padded their lead back to three at 8:05 in the third (Owen Perks from Cooney and Janice ‘The Better’ Darlington), and as the clock wound past the halfway point of the final frame, it seemed pretty clear who would win the big ‘slugfest’. Pink issued a collective ‘not so fast’, with Vankoughnett completing his hat trick at 3:19 (Ossa & Wirt), then Mark DeGraffenreid firing home his first of the season at 1:25 (Azab) to keep things VERY interesting going into the final minute of play. Alas, in spite of a strong press and a number of golden opportunities, Pink’s latest gasp would prove their last in a wacky, wild, Kool-Aid style 7-6 loss to Orange. I try to always include goalie stat lines in these recaps, and while I am sure neither netminder is dying to relive this one, Mason Holcomb (17/23) can at least console himself with the W, while Michael Haine (10/17) will have to hope for a better outing, and a better outcome next time.

Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue looked to keep pace with the lead pack in the standings with a second win in as many tries, while Captain Hima Joshi’s Black hoped to even their record and move away from the dreaded cutline in a Week Two ‘crossroads’ clash. It can hardly be considered a surprise that the first period bled by with no score, considering the teams combined for FOUR shots on goal, but things picked up in a second period that saw Black outshoot Blue 10-2. Steve Pugliese put Black in front first at 7:55 (Rob LaVigne), but Tony Thinh made one of those two Blue shots count, evening the score at 2:49 (Tim Vick). The shot count flipped back in Blue’s favor again in the third, likely owing to a pair of Pugliese penalties that also led to one Kyle Snyder powerplay strike (6:51, unassisted), then a second (4:57, from Captain Gaudio). Trevor Vick added empty net insurance with five ticks to play (Synder), sealing the 4-1 win for Blue, and dropping Black into the cut line pit with the other two point-free sides, Brown and Green. The shot totals ended up being pretty even in this one, with Don Tran (13/14) besting Will Heinl (10/13)…the lesson is ‘do not give Kyle Snyder four powerplay opportunities in an otherwise close game’. Gaudio & Company will look to stay perfect in a matchup with Captain Razoky’s 0-2-0 Green, while Captain Joshi’s Black brood will look to start their climb to playoff safety against a 1-1-0 Red this Sunday.

The Week Two SDFHL slate saved the best for last, with two hotly contested matches (both featuring dramatic last minute twists) serving as a delicious denouement. First up, it was Captain Chad Goins’ Red facing off against Captain Alan Razoky’s Green. The two captains were taking turns kissing the Cup with last season’s champion Orange just a month or so prior, but now stood in opposition, both looking to capture their first win (or, at least, first point) of the season. Dorothy Kline (apparently) grabbed the ‘Girl Power’ baton from Week One heroines, Janice Darlington and Maureen Ruchhoeft, putting Green up 1-0 with an unassisted strike at 6:57 in the first, then restoring Green’s one goal lead at 5:02 in the second period (Eli Schonbrun & Trice Harvey), after a Jackson Tomaszewski tally at 5:13 had Red oh-so-temporarily tied (Josh Tran & Janet Goins). Schonbrun would make it 3-1 Green at 3:51 in the second (Brendan Jew), and Captain Razoky’s ‘Parrot Heads’ looked primed for paydirt, up two heading into the third. That third period would be ‘The Josh & Joe Show’™, though, as Red’s Josh Tran halved Green’s advantage at 5:56 (Greg Wirth), then Joe Nguyen knotted the score at three apiece with a solo strike with just 1:09 to play! Just as the buzz on both benches was dying down from this dramatic late swing…boom…JT again with the game-winner at 0:58! Eleven seconds, two goals, and this game swung from a 3-2 Green win to a 4-3 Green loss…incredible. Jon Cima (11/14) reaped the benefits of the last minute flip flop, while Chuck Bender (18/22) could only hang his head and tip his cap to Josh, Joe, and most of his mates from the previous season for pulling out the gritty, gut punch win.

As advertised in the recap above, the Week Two nightcap was another tight, thrilling match with a delightful (depending on who you’re asking, of course) twist ending. Captain Ryan Karns’ Flint Blue prevailed over Green with relative ease in Week One (5-2), and they hoped to complete the ‘shades of green’ sweep to start their season, while Captain Joel Gattey’s Lime hoped to shut down that fun little couplet coup and rebound from their opening week loss to, fittingly, ‘the other blue’. Dan Jurgens put Karns & Company in front first at 6:34 in the first (Erin Plone & Captain Karns), but Vance Morra (the man just does not stop scoring) equalized for Lime at 4:21 (Joe Malki & TK Mason) to leave the teams even going into the middle ten. In spite of the even shot count (5-5), that middle ten was dominated by Lime, who somehow managed to score on 60% of their shots. Joe Malki restored Lime’s lead at 9:37 (Jerry Gonzales & Vance Morra), but Luke Wolmer brought Flint Blue back level on the powerplay at 6:32 (Jurgens & Plone). It was another J, this time Captain Joel Gattey, putting Lime back on top at 4:44 (Joe Malki & Morra), and yet another J, this time Jordan Pynn, giving Lime their first two goal edge at 2:42 (Chris Malki & Joe Malki). Mark Nagy brough Flint Blue back to within one at 8:44 in the third (Wolmer), but in spite of the lopsided shot count in their favor (22-11, at game’s end), it was beginning to look like Lime would steal a win based on that pesky, all-important ‘how many actually went in’ bit. The clock wound down toward the final minute of play, when Flint Blue did finally actually put one more in…it was Captain Karns himself at 1:07 (Jurgens), snatching a point from the jaws of defeat, and keeping Lime out of the win column in stunning fashion. The 4-4 tie felt (I’m sure) like a victory for a returning Nick Meglich (7/11), while Will Heinl (18/22) can hold his head high after holding on to a winning line for as long as he could in Matt Henderson’s stead. Lime, while frustrated with the non-win, should consider themselves grateful that superstar John Boddy was out of the lineup for Flint Blue in this one…he may well have added an ‘N’ to the front of that ‘one point’ they earned in his absence.