Last Laugh

The structure of the SDFHL playoffs is probably not perfect, with the double elimination format meaning that the Final could very well be a back-to-back brawl for it all, but there is something to be said about managing to build a ‘rivalry’ over the course of a mere fourteen weeks of play. The maximum number of times any one team can face the same opponent in this league is four, and Captain Carl Vankoughnett’s ‘CarliforNeons’, and Captain Wendy Enright’s ‘Gilda Redner’ hit that cap, starting with Neon’s 5-1 regular season win back in Week Three. Neon was without the services of Justin Hepler and Mark Nagy in that convincing first meeting win, but Red was without Andy Strathman, Jon Zygelman, and Owen Perks…so, maybe not the best gauge of how the rest of this sizzling series would settle out. Both teams were at full strength (well…almost…Elyse Shattuck was in for her sister Shelby) when Red handed Neon a 4-2 revenge dish that sent the former on to the Final and the latter to the Losers’ Bracket, but after Neon survived a close contest with number two, Baby Blue, we knew we would be treated to at least one more clash of these two titans ‘for all the marbles’. Neon, of course, would need to beat Red not once, but twice to capture the Cup, while Red would just need to repeat their feat from two weeks prior…just one more win to win it all. Neon was on the front foot early, outshooting Red 9-2 through the first period of play, and Ryan Karns finally found twine behind newly-minted goalie and professional Jon Cima stand-in, John Kushneryk, to put the top-seeded underdogs on the board first at 1:20 (Darin Cerasuolo & Jim LaGrossa). Young Darin quickly doubled Neon’s lead at 0:47 (Captain Vankoughnett), leaving Red reeling going into the first break. Amazingly enough, Red committed three penalties in that first ten minute chunk, but both of Neon’s goals game at even strength. Owen Perks produced Red’s first response at 6:27 in the second (Jon Zygelman & Captain Enright), and with the shot count starting to find level (just 9-7 in favor of Neon in the second), it was clear that Red was pushing hard to make this a one and done final showdown. Red held a 12-4 shot edge in the third, and Perks made one of those dozen darts pay off with 7:37 to play (Zygelman & Andy Strathman) to knot the score at twos and set up a frenetic fight to the finish. Both John Kushneryk (19/22) and Chuck Bender (19/21) remained stout and solid under the third period (literal and figurative) heat, but someone would have to emerge a hero in this one, and that someone was Neon’s Captain Vankoughnett. A scrambling series in front of Red’s net saw the ball bound from Shelby Shattuck to Darin Cerasuolo to the Vankoughnett’s backhand in front…back of the net…3-2 Neon with just seven ticks left. Neon rejoiced…Red (and, honestly, the volunteer officials) sighed heavily, and steeled themselves for the rematch…the fourth and final installment of this forged in fire rivalry…

So…down to the final, final game…the last of four in this hotly-contested series, with Neon having won two of three over Red, but (because timing is everything), now finding themselves merely on ‘equal’ footing with their familiar foes as the ball dropped between the two weary sides with the summer sun dropping (mercifully) behind the hills to the west. It was Red who came out fast in the second match, with Andy Strathman converting unassisted on the powerplay at 5:47 in the first, and Jon Zygelman doubling Red’s edge at 3:48 (Tim Vick). Neon found their energy after the first break, and their shot count followed suit, rebounding from just one in the first period to nine in the second. Darin Cerasuolo made one of those nine shots count at 8:50 in the period (Justin Hepler & Jim LaGrossa) to cut the lead to one, but Zygelman’s second of the game at 1:43 (Trevor Vick) restored the two goal advantage heading into the final break in regulation. For all of the tight, tense drama of the regular season meeting and the first two playoff games between these two determined teams, the twelfth period in the series was something of an anticlimax. Owen Perks pushed Red’s lead to three with 7:50 to play (Zygelman & Nguyen), and Tim Vick’s empty-netter with 3:40 remaining was the final nail in Neon’s 5-1 losing coffin. Jon ‘JZ’ Zygelman captured first start honors with his 2 and 1 performance, and John Kushneryk (14/15) earned the respect and admiration of all involved, coming in with VERY little experience to secure the final, Cup-clinching win for Red. Chuck Bender (10/14), Captain Vankoughnett, and the rest of the Neon crew pushed hard from Week One through to the final game, but came up just short. Congratulations to both teams on a great season, and to Red, for winning the ‘right’ two games of this four game saga…