Red continued to ride high on brotherly love in Week Five, as The Gaudio Boys™ carried the day yet again in a 4-1 win over Neon. Joe struck on the power play to open the scoring late in the first (from Rob and Bao Nguyen), then it was Captain Rob fourteen seconds later (from Joe and Andy Strathman) to give ‘Robby Reddy Piper’ a 2-0 lead, all in the final minute of the period. Captain Luke Wolmer responded for Neon in the second, but it was another bro fest in the third, as Joe rebuilt the two goal lead (from Janine Ulloa and, of course, Rob), and Rob capped the scoring with a late empty net marker (from Joe, of course). The twin 2 and 2 efforts have the brothers sitting (fittingly) in a tie for second in the scoring race with twelve points each. Don Tran (19/20) kept himself and his team spotless in the L column, while Sean Kelly (10/13) suffered his second loss of the season (*gasp*). If The Gaudio Boys™ can keep it up, and Tran continues to hold the fort at the other end, Red would have to be considered one of the Cup favorites, as we slope down into the playoffs.
There was a bit of a ‘blowout’ theme to Week Five, and Black set aside their penchant for low scoring ‘efficient’ wins in favor of taking part in the trend. Having scored just seven goals in their prior four games, Captain Ian Crooks & Company racked up a six spot against Purple, and (finally) started veering off the ‘Carl or bust’ scoring schema. Ryan Loughran recorded his first career SDFHL goal (CONGRATULATIONS!), putting Black on the board at 7:49 in the first, Brennan Abel followed suit minutes later, and Sadie Hellstrom rounded out the rally with the game-winner late in the frame. Carl Vankoughnett DID NOT SCORE in the period, although he did assist on the Abel and Hellstrom strikes. Vankoughnett DID score in the second to make it 4-0, and Abel’s second of the night made it 5-0 through two. The Purple comeback started early in the third, with Captain Matt Rogers solo effort, but unfortunately for Purple, it ended with a goal from Aaron Cooney’s replacement, Steve Goncalo. Vankoughnett snatched another goal in the waning minutes to bring the final damage to 6-2…a romp for the front runners, Black, over the precariously-perched Purple. Chris Tran (14/16) was steady as ever in the win, running his league leading numbers to 4-0-1/.935/1.00/2 SO in five games…wow!
The only non-blowout in the Week Five books belonged to the ‘marquee matchup’ between White and Navy. Both teams entered without a loss, and both teams planned to keep it that way. Zach Salt broke the scoring seal with ONE second remaining in the first. White’s lead would be short-lived, however, as Joe Nguyen answered at 9:36 in the second. If you thought Vankoughnett or The Gaudio Boys™ had a monopoly on their teams scoring, you should check White’s team page. It was Zach Salt again to regain the lead for White in the second, then Salt again early in the third to make it 3-1. Mark Nagy would respond for Navy to keep things tight and tense to the end, but Chris Tran (23/25) stood in for Matt Henderson, and stood tall to preserve the 3-2 win for White. So, outside of an (obviously fluky) hat trick from Steve ‘Fat & Old’ Linke, there has been very little secondary scoring for White. Salt (the good one) leads the league in soring with 11 and 5 in five games, outstripping The Gaudio Boys™, and willing White to hang around in striking distance of the top spot. The loss is hardly devastating for Captain Arnold Gonzales’ Navy, as they remained safely tucked in the middle of the pack at 2-1-2. With the likes of Wirt, Vacchio, LaGrossa, and Theis in the mix, I think it’s safe to say that Navy will have a chance to avenge this loss sometime in November…
You can always count on Blue to bring the blowout back. There is not a lot to say about this game…it could barely even be considered a game. Captain Jon Champine opened the scoring for Green, then Jon Salt, Kerri Sevenbergen, Gary Peters, and Kim Hernandez piled on to make it 5-0 after one period of play. Eric Willard made it 6-0, then Salt and Hernandez each scored a second time to bring the final to 8-0, Green over Blue in a boat race. Rookie John Hwang racked up FIVE assists in the beat down to put him just one of the league lead in that category with seven (David Schlatter leads with eight). Silas Perks (13/13) was hardly tested in the win, and really, this game wasn’t even as close as the ridiculous score suggests. Blue has A LOT of work to do if they have any hopes of salvaging their season. If they can beat basement buddies, Gold, this Sunday, they have a chance. If not, then they are well and truly fucked. Green look to be a lock for the second season, but face a nice challenge in Neon in Week Six…a team that sits just one point back of them, and a team that is hungry to avenge the 4-1 loss that Red put on them in Week Five.
The other blowout magnet, Gold, capped the evening by…getting blown out. Grey, a team that has faced their share of struggles this season, seemed to exorcise any inadequacy demons in this one. The first period was actually rather quiet, with Phillip Nguyen’s early tally (from Eric Herrmann and Pat Gladstone) standing alone. Captain Brandon Olsen notched the game-winner unassisted early in the second, with Harsh Wanigaratne’s goal three minutes later standing as the only measure of pushback for Gold. From there, it was the Eric & Alexis Show™, as DaCosta rattled off four goals, and Herrmann added a goal and two more assists to grind Gold into a fine paste, 7-1. Nick Meglich (18/19) was as cool as the other side of the pillow in the win, which moves Grey a safe distance (for now) from the grey area along the cut line at 2-3-0. They face a tough challenge this Sunday in White, while Gold enter a do or die battle with Blue in the Toilet Bowl™, with redemption or resignation handing in the balance.