Make It A Double

Two shades of green…one goal…to eliminate their color cousin, and advance to the Losers’ Bracket Final with a ticket to the Fall League Final just waiting to be seized. Captain Zach Salt’s Lime (Green) got the better of Captain Nick Meglich’s (Forest) Green back in Week Seven, with Eric Willard going full hero mode in accounting for all three Lime lamplighters, including the last minute game-winner in a 3-2 coup. Bear that regular season result, twist ending and all, in mind as we recount the events of the playoff rematch. The first period ticked by without a goal, and with both teams testing the opposing goalie to near equal measure (8-7 shot totals, in Lime’s favor). Lime’s Week Seven hero was first to strike, with Willard finally snapping the scoreless standoff at 0:44 in the second (Justin Ker & Captain Salt). A goal that late in the period is typically a significant gut punch for the opponent, but Green gut punched back with 0:04 to go in the second, with Josh Wirt starting his own ‘hero’ campaign to bring his team even going into the third (Vinny Santora & Nick Vacchio). Willard was not ready to relinquish the cape and tights just yet, putting Lime back on top with 3:46 to play (Christopher Fiore & Captain Salt), but Nick Vacchio swooped in to save Green less than a minute later (Wirt), and Wirt ripped the ‘S’ off Willard’s chest a snatched out Lime’s collective heart in the same motion, slipping home a subLime stunner with just 0:22 to play (Trice Harvey & Vinny Santora). Wirt earned first star honors for his epic efforts, but Captain Meglich (32/34) was definitely the source of his team’s grit and give-it-your-all in Green’s rollercoaster 3-2 win. It’s never easy losing an elimination playoff game, but having the rug pulled out from under you with twenty-two ticks to go is just brutal. Jon Cima (12/15), as always, handled the emotional ambush with class and grace, and both teams should be proud of their efforts in this well-played, hard-fought playoff battle for the ages.

Week Four is always something of a whirlwind, with the winner of the first game having little time to savor victory before stepping back out to face a fresh opponent, and the sudden/stunning ending to the opener only amplified the emotional waves for all involved. Captain Jon Salt had little time to console his brother on the tough loss before shifting his focus to his own ship. That ship had sailed smoothly through regular season waters, but finally struck a rocky shoal in a Week Three loss to Orange. The plan was simple for Salt & Company…repeat the feat from two weeks prior, when they bested Green 3-1 to advance to the Winners’ Bracket final. A second win over the four seed would send Heather Blue on to the Final, and an opportunity to avenge their lone loss and capture the Cup. For Green, the plan was to keep the mojo and momentum rolling, parlaying the energy from their epic ousting of Lime into another upset win, and march on to the Final under a ‘WE CAN DO THIS’ banner. The hero of the early game definitely kept his mojo and momentum going strong, as Josh Wirt put Green on the board first at 5:30 in the first (Vinny Santora). Captain Salt equalized late in the first on the power play (Joe Nguyen), leaving the teams dead even in every measurable way (1-1 score, 6-6 shots) through ten minutes of play. The second period followed a similar pattern, with Erin Plone putting Green back in front at 8:54 (Wirt & Andrew Wong), and Alexis DaCosta pushing Heather Blue back to even at 5:12 (Julie Ott & Craig Russell). So…all the marbles were riding on the last period of play, with a tired, but clearly very determined Green hoping to pen ‘The Coup, Part Deux’, and Heather Blue looking to curb the underdogs and take their expected place in the big dance. It was Green’s white knight of the night to act first, converting on the power play at 8:53 (Wong) to give Green a one-goal lead that would hold for almost exactly six minutes. Unfortunately for Heather Blue, that one goal lead was not erased with 2:53 to play, but rather doubled by Nick Vacchio (Wirt). Desperation set in for the favorites, and after Captain Salt slapped home and unassisted goal with Eric Kroeker replaced with an extra attacker at 1:16, that aforementioned ‘whirlwind’ really started to swirl for both teams. The deepening drama was relieved in relatively short order when Wirt completed his hat trick with an empty net goal to seal the victory for Green, 5-3. Captain Meglich (21/24) was truly a rock for his team in the back-to-back Salt-shaking spree, but Josh Wirt was THE hero with FIVE goals and THREE assists on the night, including a 3 and 2 output that put Heather Blue out of the playoff picture. Eric Kroeker (13/17) and his mates had perhaps the worst case scenario of ‘timing is everything’ befall them, saving their only two losses of the season for the games that mattered most, but he and the Heather Blue crew should certainly be proud of their incredible season. Timing is everything for Green, as well, and their own incredible season will now stretch to the Final, where they hope to serve up an encore pair of upset wins and hoist the Cup on December 8th…