…and then there were six. The first two weeks of playoff fat cutting left us with six lean, mean, hockey machines, including our Week Three opening pairing of Atomic Blue and Green. The two teams were equally ‘meh’ in the regular season, with Green entering as the four seed at 3-3-2, and Atomic Blue struggling mightily, then rebounding to a modest 2-3-3 record. It is no surprise that the two tied 2-2 back in Week Five, and handicappers were a bit handicapped in attempting to handicap the rematch, as a result. Well, the rematch did not disappoint in the close-as-can-be department, as one period, then a second ticked by with neither team managing a marker. It looked like the scoring drought would last through regulation, but Jon Zygelman finally broke through with just 1:53 left on the clock (from Mostafa Azab and Carl Vankoughnett) to give Atomic Blue a late 1-0 lead. Zach Salt found the empty net just 0:35 later, bringing the score to a final 2-0 resting place…Atomic Blue over Green. Don Tran (16/16), and super sub, Cory Brin (16/16) even faced the same number of shots in the narrow nail-biter which knocked Green out of the playoff picture, and sent Captain Chad Goins’ team on to the fourth and penultimate playoff phase. They will need to down second-seeded Pink, then immediately rally to get past top-seeded Grey if they hope to stay alive to face three-seeded Orange in the Final. That’s a one-two-three gauntlet that no one expects them to survive, but Stranger Things is not just a popular show on Netflix…
Poking a bear is proverbially (and literally) a very bad idea. Pink established themselves as one of the most dominant teams through the regular season, finishing with a 5-1-2 record, the third highest goals for (21), and the lowest goals against (12). The major reason for the former number is Captain Jon Salt, who racked up nearly half of those goals (9), and factored in more than half of them (11). The latter number is thanks in large part to Sean Kelly, who led all goalies in the regular season with a Kelly-esque .924/1.50. So, losing 3-2 to backdoor playoff bumrushers, Atomic Blue, in Week One of the playoffs, and having to watch little bro, Zach, celebrate that shocking win is your ‘bear poke’ here. The ‘bear’ took it out on the innocent (Lime) in Week Three, after watching that same Atomic Blue team advance to Week Four play in the first game of the night. Salt tore off a hat trick in the first period, added a fourth in the second, and assisted on Joe Nguyen’s tally late in the third to rage lead Pink to an easy 5-0 ousting of an outmanned/massively outgunned Gold. First year player/first time captain, Will Heinl, proved he has drafting/leadership mettle, but his team ultimately fell victim to the aforementioned ‘bear’, and a bare bench (no Omar, Sheptycki, or Cohen). Nick Meglich (17/22) could not keep up with the quantity and quality of Pink’s shots, while Sean Kelly (19/19) was Sean ‘Freaking’ Kelly, keeping a ‘clean sheet’ (as the fútbol folks say) for the billionth time in his career. So…the big rematch…Atomic Blue v Pink…brother v brother…it’s all on the line. Nope…rumor has it that ‘the bear’ will be not be there! This not only takes the wind out of the drama sails in the Week Four tilt, but may also means that Pink may well find themselves dead and gone in Week Four.
It is (very) well documented that Orange features a pair of ‘bears’, and that (poked or not) they will rip your head off and chuck it into the nearest lake. Mercifully for most of Orange’s opponents this season, the ‘bears’ have rarely made a joint appearance. Such was the case as Orange set themselves for a battle to the death with top-seeded Grey, with a ticket to the Final on the line. No David Schlatter meant that Jordan Pynn, Parsa Mostafavi, and the rest of Grey’s resistance would have half the headache, and twice the likelihood to prevail and push on to the big show. Enter ‘The Shadow Bear’, Josh Tran…a very good, very capable player, but one who had managed just one point (a lonely assist) in seven regular season games, and who had nothing to show for two previous playoff outings. Tran was actually the story at both ends of the court for Orange in this one, as Josh scored the game-winner in the first, then dropped two more in the third to complete the hat trick, while Chris shut down Grey with a 21/22 effort. I should note that Eric Herrmann was still very much a factor in this game, accounting for a goal and three assists, but a big part of what makes him scary is that he also makes his teammates scary. He assisted on two of JT’s tallies, and Wendy Enright’s first of the playoffs to help power Orange to a boat race 5-1 bouncing of one seed rivals, Grey. Brandon Olsen scored the lone goal for Captain Jeremy Copp’s side, (very) temporarily cutting the lead back to one in the first, but the law offices of Tran, Tran & Herrmann just had too strong a case in this one. Orange now have a week to rest and relish their big win, while Grey lie in wait for the winner of Atomic Blue v Pink, with a chance at redemption for this lopsided loss on the line in the Final.