Last Meal

The final week of the Summer League 2023 season kicked off with a clash between the two top teams, Olive and Teal. It’s incredible that the schedule (with some help from the lone rainout this season) saved the battle of the best for last, but it’s a bit ironic that this titanic tilt was also the only truly ‘meaningless’ match on the final Sunday slate. Both Captain Ryan Karns’ Teal and Captain Tyler Winstead’s Olive came in with a record of 6-1-1, so beyond regular season bragging rights, pride, and posturing, little more than the top playoff seed was on the line. A scoreless first was a testament to the two great goalies represented on these rosters, with both Don Tran and Sean Kelly deflecting double digit scoring chances through the first ten minutes of play. It was Captain Karns who would break through first, with assists to John Boddy and David Schlatter, to put Teal on top at 7:27 in the second. Schlatter would follow with one of his own just over a minute later (from Boddy), but Nick Vacchio gave Olive some life with just 0:33 to play in the middle frame, cashing in what has to be a career high eleventh goal to cut the lead in half (from Captain Winstead and Alexis DaCosta). Teal’s roster is so loaded that you almost forget about a veteran stalwart like Alan Razoky. He made sure Olive would remember his name, as he struck for two goals in the third (the first from Schlatter and Joe Nguyen, and the second from Vinny Santora and Captain Karns), building Teal’s lead to three with just three minutes and change to play. Kelly (24/25) would hold on to win the goalie duel, secure the 4-1 Teal win, and celebrate his team’s finish atop the regular season standings with a final record of 7-1-1. Don Tran (26/30) absorbed just his second loss of the season, but never looked off the form that found his regular season numbers right there with the ‘elite’ goalie tier (.914/2.00/3 SO). Teal will hope for a repeat defeat of eight-seeded Blue this Sunday…a team they managed to prevail over 1-0 in Week Seven, in spite of a number of key absences (Boddy, Schlatter, and Kelly…no big deal). Olive will tangle with the seven seed, White, whom they defeated 2-0 back in Week Three.

The real playoff pins and needles came into play from 5:00 on, with four games straight to decide the fate of the six teams who had yet to clinch playoff passage. Captain Zach Siemer’s team entered the week as the leader of the back pack, and it would take a loss and a lot of bad luck to land them on the playoff sideline, but…math can be a cruel mistress and ‘you never know’. Captain Ian Crooks’ Black had settled all the way to the bottom of the standings at 1-4-3, and only a win and some help would be enough for eleventh hour salvation. Kalen Hunter ripped Blacks’ hearts out before they could even beat twice, racing in off the opening faceoff and scoring NINE seconds in to give Grey what has to be a record for fastest lead in league history. Black would right the ship, and Steve Linke equalized with just three seconds to play in the first (from Mark DeGraffenreid and Stephanie Palomo Schmidt). Sadie Hellstrom flipped the script, turned the tide, and <enter third cliché of your choice>, giving Black a 2-1 lead on the power play at 9:46 in the second (from Captain Crooks and Mark DeGraffenreid). Alas, it would be just Black’s luck that Tom Darlington had just graduated from an intensive three month hockey course (taught by his wife, Janice…of course), and his new skills would translate into his first goal of the season to tie the game with 1:37 to play in the second (from Dan Soar). Soar would cash in one of his own to open the third period scoring (from Hunter) to put Grey back on top, Darlington’s second of the night (this was an advanced course, people) from Hunter pumped the lead to two, and Hunter’s empty-netter sealed the 5-2 win for Grey, and sealed Black’s fate, forever laid to rest in the crypt at the bottom of the Summer League 2023 standings. Matt Henderson (15/17) (shout out for always being the first person to ‘like’ the post announcing that new recaps are up) was strong and steady in the win, while Chuck Bender (12/16) and his mates would find consolation only in their open NFL Sundays for the coming month or so. The win moved Grey well out of harm’s way with nine points (3-3-3), but there was still one last playoff lamb to slaughter, and while this result eased tension for some, there was still wishful work to be done for others.

At 3-1-4 coming in, Captain Geoff Downe’s Red was already seated comfortably in the playoff lounge, with just their final seeding, momentum, and a possible scoring title for Jon Salt on the ‘what’s at stake’ list. Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue had only just learned that they would survive the regular season. Black’s loss, and the fact that both Orange and White were set to clash in the nightcap (and therefor could not both win) meant that their seven point total entering warmups would be enough…if only JUST enough. It’s a good thing for Blue they didn’t need a win, because they very much did not win…they failed to even keep it close. Red smashed and grabbed their way through the first period, with goals from Mark Ennsmann (Chris Fiore), Geoff Downes, Jon Salt (Ennsmann), and Captain Downes himself (Salt and Ennsmann). The second period was still all Red, with Salt (Downes and Ennsmann), and Rogers (Ennsmann) building the lead to 6-0. Salt (from Fiore) kicked the extra point at 3:04 in the third to wrap the whipping at 7-0, locking in the three seed for Red, and dooming Blue to the bottom seed with the same seven points and two total wins that they had coming in. It’s not often that you see Chris Tran (25/32) touched up for more than two or three, but…it happens. Tran was also slated to sub in nets for both Purple at 7:00 and White at 8:00, so…this was just the start of a LONG night. A shutout can sometimes feel a bit ‘hollow’ when there is a seven spot at the other end, but Silas Perks (30/30) was just as dominant in preventing goals as his teammates were in racking them up. He finished the regular season atop the goalie stats board with a terrifying 4-1-2/.959/0.86/3 SO line…gross. In other chart-topping news, Jon Salt’s hat trick and a helper performance capped a staggering statistical season with 13 and 7 in just SIX games played! Only a handful of players (including little Salt Bro™, Zach) would have a chance to equal or eclipse that total in the final two games on the slate…

Captain Sev Brown’s Purple took the desperation baton for the 7:00 game, needing a win to get in to the postseason through the front door, or a tie, and an Orange loss to sneak in the back door (TWSS). Captain Carl Vankoughnett’s Yellow were in the rare position of being ‘frozen’ in the standings with regular season hockey left to be played. No result could result in any movement in either direction, with Red’s win locking them in at the four seed. Further, Grey’s winning finish meant that the Yellow v Grey matchup was already set in stone for playoff Week One. So, all of the pressure fell on Purple, but Zach Salt (from Captain Brown) and Trice Harvey (Brown and Salt) lowered that PSI with a pair of pops early in the first to give the desperados a dos a cero edge. Purple knuckles whitened and throats tightened as Captain Vankoughnett (Brennan Able and Jim LaGrossa) cut the lead to one at 9:16 in the second, and LaGrossa (Abel) brought Yellow level with 2:13 to play in the middle ten. You wouldn’t think that 2:13 left in a period would be enough time for more than maybe one more goal, but…you’d be wrong. Salt’s unassisted second at 2:05, his third at 1:48 (Wollmer and Captain Brown), and Harvey’s second of the night brought the blitz to bear on Yellow, and put Purple up 5-2 going into the final third. The tides turned again in the third, as an early strike from Elyse Shattuck (LaGrossa and Abel) got Yellow back in scoring form, but all remained calm from there until late in the period, when Captain Vankoughnett’s second of the night (from Mason LaGrossa) cut the lead to one with 1:11 to play. Luke Wolmer put Purple back on top 6-4 at the 0:59 mark, but his effort would ultimately stand as the game-winner after an incredible tic (LaGrossa)-tac (Abel)-toe (Vankoughett) tally capped Vankoughnet’s hat trick at 0:32, and kept the heat on Purple down to the final buzzer. Syd sub, Chris Tran (25/30), and Purple would hold on (BARELY) to a 6-5 win, completing their transformation from ‘dead and gone’ to six seed. Yellow did find some merit to the meaningless loss, with Brennan Abel’s four assists proving just enough to share the scoring title honors with Red’s Jon Salt (CONGRATULATIONS!). Jimm Reifsnyder (11/17) was tagged with the loss, but he was also merely a stand in for this one. He would need to take a short rest, and ready himself for his real game…a winner-take-all showdown with White in the season finale…

Again…it’s as if the schedule itself has a pulse, a brain, and a wicked sense of humor. Final faceoff of the season…two teams with everything to lose and everything to gain facing off under the lights in what is essentially a ‘play-in game’…crazy. Captain Josh Tran’s Orange held a one point edge over White in the standings, with the first ‘2’ in their 2-4-2 record coming in having come off a to-be-expected win over Black in Week Six, and a WTF beatdown of Olive in Week Seven. Anything but a loss in this game would have Orange squeezing through. Captain Sean Bathgate’s White had struggled most of the season, but had pulled the nose of the plane up in Week Nine with a super stunning trashing of top tier Teal. They would still need a win (and nothing less) in this one to survive to the second season. Timing is everything, and Pat Gladstone picked the perfect time for her first of the season…weaving through three White defenders and spinning off another before shaking and baking Chris Tran and finishing with a backhand shelf job! OK…she just tucked home a loose ball that was sitting on the goal line behind Tran after a Justin Stege shot found most of the way through the five hole, but…it counts just as much as the highlight reel jobber would have. Jordan Pynn responded for White two minutes later (from Chris Malki), and Joe Malki put White up 2-1 late in the first (from Papa Malki). A scoreless second meant a tense third, with both Nick Meglich stunt double, Chris Tran (24/25), and Jimm Reifsnyder (16/19) battling hard to give both sides a chance to the bitter end. Joe Malki (from Ramsey Ksar) underscored the ‘bitter’ bit of that phrase for Orange with his second of the night early in the third to give White a 3-1 lead which they would never relinquish. So, like the phoenix from the ashes…White’s rebirth was complete…and Orange’s season turned to ash. The winning coup brought Captain Bathgate’s crew to a closing mark of 3-5-1, good enough for the seven spot. They will look to avenge a 2-0 Week Three loss to Olive when playoff action kicks off this Sunday.