Happy Jays

Captain Joel Gattey’s ‘Malkiwis’ came into Week Four play with the early season blues, having lost their opener to Blue (4-2), and having lost a third period lead to Flint Blue (4-4). The lone point was something, but still stung, and Lime was hungry to get their season on track with a first win against Captain Zach Siemer’s ‘Siegulls’. Probably (if not definitely) the last person a struggling team wants to see warming up between the pipes at the other end…Silas ‘The Silencer™’ Perks. Perks appeared to be in prime form in White’s first two outings, although the second of their two wins coming in was really more about an under-powered opponent (Brown mustered just six shots) than Perks’ trademark prowess. Lime would surely prove a bigger challenge for the studly shot stopper, and Captain Gattey’s crew was ready for the reciprocal challenge of finally pinning an L to his line, and earning their first W in the process. A scoreless first saw Lime on the front foot, outshooting White 6-3, and while the shot trend continued in the second (13-7 in Lime’s favor), it was White’s Steve Linke who would be the first to find twine (3:36 from Jon Zygelman). The shot total was extremely lopsided in the final frame, with Lime racking up ten to White’s ONE, but per usual, The Silencer™ was stealing the show, and had White primed to steal two points. Joe Malki finally broke through for Lime with just 1:25 to play (Jordan Pynn), salvaging another precious, but painfully-difficult-to-procure point for Captain Gattey’s still-winless side. Perks (28/29) was the obvious choice for first star in this one, while a nearly-one-third-as-busy Matt Henderson (10/11) was relieved that his personal record was spared a second loss in as many tries. The 1-1 tie is exactly the kind of score that SDFHL oddsmakers would have predicted for just about any game involving White this season, but Captain Siemer and his crew are having the first laugh (at the very least) now at 2-0-1. Lime sit just above the cutline now at 0-1-2, and will have to hope that their streak of tough luck comes to an end against Captain Alan Razoky’s 0-3-0 Green when league action resumes on February 16th.

My personal assessment of teams, be it fresh off the draft, or after a week or two of live play, is typically not so great, but having seen Captain Jeremy Copp’s Orange play twice (once as a referee, and once as their opponent), and having two eyes, a Flint Blue roster, and at least a loose sense of SDFHL player skill levels, I had the two teams in the second game of Week Four pegged as two of the best. At the very least, I figured this game would prove/disprove my theory about their respective Cup contender statuses, and/or would be a good early season ‘measuring stick’ for the two sides. Owen Perks put Orange up at 3:37 in the first with his fifth on the young season (from Brother Silas™ and Matt DeBerry), but Captain Karns answered at 2:18 (Dan Jurgens) to keep things knotted through one. It’s worth noting the Flint Blue managed to keep both the score even and the shot count close (7-8, in Orange’s favor) in spite of killing two overlapping penalties which gave Orange forty-eight seconds of five on three play. The shot count was dead even (five apiece) in the second, but Chris Fiore was the only player to make a shot count, putting Orange back in front at 6:21 (Silas Perks & Shelby Shattuck). The third period saw the teams trading punches, but with something of a quirky twist thrown in, for good measure. Matt DeBerry shored up his second star honors with his first of the season to put Orange up 3-1 (Silas Perks), and not long after John Boddy responded for Flint Blue to cut the lead back to one at 3:37 (Ryan Loughran & Jurgens), Captain Karns’ & Company were forced to pull their goalie to push for the tie. Silas Perks found the empty net to ‘ice’ the game…but Boddy struck again with 0:29 on the clock (Luke Wolmer), leaving the outcome of the game in question to the final buzzer. Mason Holcomb (16/19) and Orange would hold on for the 4-3 win, with the Silas Perks owning the very rare stat of ’empty-net game-winning goal’. Nick Meglich (14/17) was certainly solid in the losing effort, and again, boasts the very rare distinction of posting the losing line that actually matches the goals-allowed of his winning counterpart…bizarre! So, while my acumen may not always be accurate, and in spite of their dissimilar records through the first third of the season, I am standing by my contention that both of these teams are top Cup contenders. I for one am anxious for the playoff rematch, if nothing else…

It is no surprise that the two total goals scored for Captain Hima Joshi’s ‘Zero Dark Birdy’ in their first two outings translated into an 0-2-0 season start. What is surprising is that this was NOT the lowest goals-for total in the league…a distinction that did (and still does) belong to Captain Shawna Hamon’s Brown, who have managed just ONE goal through now three full games. Captain Chad Goins’ ‘Chadinals’, by contrast, had racked up a respectable seven goals in their first two weeks of play — three in utter vain in a 7-3 opening week boat race loss to Pink, but two of their four in a 4-3 win over Green coming in a rousing rally with just 1:09 left to play. Black had a ‘strength of schedule’ argument in their favor coming in, having played Blue (now 3-0-0) and White (now 2-0-1), and the chance to play a team with a few weak spots and a loss on the books was a welcome relief. Jon Salt converted that relief into pure confidence for Black, breaking the scoring seal at 9:20 in the first with his second of the season (Eric Willard), but Josh Tran responded for Red at 7:30 (William Teglia), locking the teams in early to what looked destined to be a high-scoring dog fight. Eric Willard put Black back on top with a solo effort at 4:35, and the dead even shot count in the first (8-8) seemed to indicate that we would, at the very least, likely be in for a close contest in this one from start to finish. Brennen Abel equalized for Red with 1:45 remaining in the second (Teglia), and just when it looked like things would remain tied going into the third, a super strange/fluky/unintended ricochet goal found the netting behind Will Heinl to make it 3-2 in Red’s favor with just ten ticks left before the second intermission (credit on the goal going to an unsuspecting Jackson Tomaszewski). It was more early period punch from Jon Salt in the third, with the sublime sniper lacing home an unassisted strike to bring Black level at 9:31, then Salt once again to complete the hat trick at 3:37 and finally wrest the lead back for Black, 4-3. Heinl (21/24) would make that 4-3 score hold up for a Black win, their first of the season, and the first of his SDFHL starting goaltender career. CONGRATULATIONS, WILL! Chuck Bender (13/17) absorbed the loss in Jon Cima’s stead – it would be his first of THREE games played on the night…we all owe this man a big thank you for his selfless devotion to the league!

If you can’t beat ’em (on the court), at least put the smack down in the ‘best team name’ competition. Captain Shawna Hamon’s Brown certainly ‘can’t beat ’em’ so far this season, with just one goal-for coming into their match with Captain Bryan Ossa’s Pink, but when the veteran captain dropped ‘Turds Of A Feather’ on my desk last Sunday afternoon, I knew her team would have at least one ‘big win’ this season. Frankly, this season’s crop of names are not exactly tough to beat, but this moniker (apparently owing its birth to one Greg Francisco), coupled with the team motto/chant of ‘stink together’…*chef’s kiss*. At the risk of appearing biased, the team with the second best name this season was Captain Ossa’s pride and joy, the ‘FlamingOssas’. By the starkest of contrasts, Ossa’s club had amassed THIRTEEN goals in their first two games, seven in a win over Red, and six in a one-goal loss to Orange. Spoiler alert…the contrast between these two teams’ offensive output get much starker in Week Four. The return of Andy Strathman and Kalen Hunter to Brown’s lineup, and a very-much-on-form Sean Kelly made for a scoreless stalemate through the first period and a half of play, with Pink having nothing to show for their very convincing edge in shots (23-6, through the first two periods). Josh Wirt would finally break the seal at 5:33 in the second (Carl Vankoughnett), and Vankoughnett followed with one of his own at 3:32 (Pat Gladstone & Wirt), just twenty ticks before Wirt struck again (Sadie Hellstrom) to put Pink up 3-0 in three blinks of an eye. The initial scoring spate left the floodgates ajar, and four more goals in the third would burst them wide open and flush Brown down to another humbling loss…Carl Vankoughnett from Elyse Shattuck and Wirt at 6:33, Wirt from Hellstrom and Vankoughnett at 6:13, Wirt from Mostafa Azab and Mark DeGraffenreid at 3:08, and Will Heinl from Vankoughnett at 0:39. The 4 and 2 effort from Wirt and 2 and 3 line for Vankoughnett has the duo sitting at one and (tied for) two in the scoring race, while Pink’s team total TWENTY goals through three games is certainly an eyebrow-raiser for future opponents. Chuck Bender (11/11) kept Brown’s season goal total at ONE with a shutout in his second sub stint of the night, while the 7-0 Pink win somehow made a very sharp Sean Kelly (27/34) look rather pedestrian. Needless to say, ‘Turds Of A Feather’ will need to find their scoring touch in short order, starting with their Week Five showdown with Captain Rob Gaudio’s undefeated ‘Blue Jays’ (quite possibly dead last in the team name race, if it is any further consolation to Captain Hamon). A loss, let alone another shutout loss, will go a long way to assuring that Brown ‘stink together’ all the way to the playoff scrapheap.

Another SDFHL Sunday, another blue-green clash on the slate. Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue opened the season with a 4-2 win over Lime, and Lime would go on to suffer a heartbreaking 4-4 tie at the hands of Flint Blue in Week Two. Rains washed out what would have been a break from the blue on green crime, but Week Four brought the color rivalry back into focus with Captain Razoky’s Green hoping to find their first win of the season against Gaudio’s undefeated flock. While this game marked the end of just the first third of the regular season, another loss for Razoky & Company would certainly have them in a deep hole. Conversely, a third win to open the season would have Blue already in striking distance of the typical eight team playoff watermark of nine points. Captain Gaudio put his team out front first at 3:09 in the first, converting a Tony Thinh pass into paydirt, and Kyle Snyder doubled that lead with an unassisted end-to-end rush with just ten ticks remaining in the opening period (always a back-breaker). Green rallied in the second, flipping the lopsided shot count (11-5 in Blue’s favor in the first…then 13-3 in Green’s favor in the second) and finally cashing in against Don Tran to cut the lead to one. I never thought I’d see the day my fingers would type the words ‘we had an Andrew Jacobsen sighting’…as the perennial super star sniper finally registered his first of goal (and point) of the season at 1:22 in the second (Jason Northrup)…a good indication of why/how this team has struggled to this point in the proceedings. Blue’s one goal edge would hold strong over the ensuing ten minutes of play, and Ralph Feuer would deposit an insurance marker with just 0:23 remaining (Trevor Vick). I checked…this was NOT an empty-netter…just a very late goal to make the final score 3-1, Blue over Green. The result sees ‘the rich’ (Blue) getting richer, while ‘the poor’ (Green) see their playoff prospects get poorer, but (as noted in the headline blurb) Blue will be losing their first round stud, Kyle Snyder, after their Week Five match with Brown (talk about ‘poor’). It remains to be seen whether the Board will find a replacement for Snyder that comes anywhere close to his level of skill and scoring prowess, but Captain Gaudio’s team can take solace in the fact that they are already a near lock for the playoffs at this point.