Not to be a downer, man, but the 70’s wasn’t all booger sugar and bell bottoms. Some bad shit went down. Bad shit happens every decade, and Steve Jones is a consistent reminder of the bad shit that can happen to your team when you dare to oppose him. Rub it in with Jurgens and the result is even more horrifying. The pleasant version of the story is that your team’s hopes of winning die. I’ll spare you the ugly details, but check the top of the standings, the scoring charts, and your team’s schedule…you’ll want to prepare for the worst.
The Citrus Bowl saw Orange slice up Lime, 5-2. It didn’t help Captain Wendy Enright’s cause that her team was already cut in half with absences. Orange took full advantage, as league founder, Raj Patel, led the way with 2 and 1, including the game-winner early in the second. Jerry Gonzales and Kevin Dinino chipped in 1 and 1, and Rob Sangha and Jet Javelet each recorded two assists for Orange. Not to be left out of the transportation-inspired name bonanza, rookie Sailboat Lewis booked his first SDFHL point, an assist on Gonazles’ late first period tally. SDFHL super vet, Justin Stege, provided both scoring responses for Lime, who were without Chris Malki, Joe Malki, Anthony Cerasuolo, Erik Talor, and Tyler Winstead.
They didn’t make the headlines this week, but ‘Eight-Ball Bender’ is lining up opponents and blowing them away. Captain Jordan Pynn’s side stands at 2-0-0, but also features a 9-0 GF-GA line. That’s right…pure, uncut, potent…the hard stuff…nothing to sneeze at. This week’s dealer of choice was Carl Vankoughnett, who struck for 2 and 1. Jon Zygelman accounted for 1 and 2, and Ryan Owen chalked up two assists, leaving Black with nary a sniff in the 4-0 win. The namesake, Chuck Bender, is off to a stellar summer, recording his second straight shutout with a 12/12 line. White will face a true test in Week Three, as they come up against 2-0-0 Green to give us a better idea whether coke or cash is king.
‘Wissco Briferno’ lit the kindling early, and stoked themselves to a 3-0 first period lead. John Gamm picked up where he left of last week, scoring the opener, and Captain Jon Salt promptly tacked on two more. Red’s resistance began with Craig Russell scoring what I am told (but still cannot believe) is his first ever SDFHL goal. Russell’s late first period first was all Red could muster until Jim LaGrossa found twine on the power play late in the third. Cory Brin was unconscious in nets, stopping 28/30, and weathering a late 5 on 3 flurry in heroic fashion, as Purple held on for the 3-2 win. Unfortunately, Brin was (quite literally) knocked semi-conscious by an errant knee, and is out for an undermined span with concussion syndrome.
Both Gold and Pink entered Week Two having generated zero goals. Both left the court on Sunday with matching goals-for goose eggs intact. The silver lining…the 0-0 result allowed both teams to pick up their first point in the standings. Outside of that, there is not much to record for posterity in this one. Chris Tran was the busier of the two netminders, stopping 17/17, while Matt Henderson deflected 13/13 shots, mostly of the ho-hum variety.
Steve Jones continued to enforce his will on the opposition, scoring twice before passing the baton to Dan Jurgens (2 and 2). Bill Casey and Captain Zach Siemer exchanged goals in the third to bring the final score to 5-1, Green over Tie Dye. Andrew Lockard (23/34) out-dueled Mark Boulanger (18/23), keeping Green a perfect 2-0-0, and dropping Tie Dye to 0-1-1. Jones and Jurgens are both bubbling at the top of the scoring charts, and the chemistry is clearly already there. They say ‘pick your poison’, but…poison is poison…never trust a big shot and a smile.