Nick Adkins has always been one of the best goalies in our league, and this season was a final exhibition of that prowess. His 17/17 shutout shutdown of Silver in Week Seven wraps his stellar swan song in nets with 6-1-0/.903/1.86/3. He is certainly a major reason for Yellow’s tear to the top this season, and was easily the first star in their 2-0 win over Silver. Chuck Bender (16/18) was no slouch at the other end, as the teams battled through two scoreless frames before Bill Casey finally broke through on the powerplay early in the third. Josh Wirt converted a Shawna Hamon helper just fourteen seconds later, and that was more than enough for Captain Pereira’s side…especially with Adkins behind them. The win keeps Yellow on top of the pile with three games left in their schedule. Silver remain on shaky ground with the loss, still below the cut line, and battling for post season passage with a handful of other teams.
Adkins suited down to join FIVE other teammates in a battle for their playoff lives against Black. Coming in at 0-4-1, a loss would have effectively eliminated Teal. Captain DeGraffenreid & Company needed this win to stay alive in the playoff hunt, but they wanted a win for Nick at least as much. Fresh recruit (but old, familiar face), Steve Scott, got Teal off to the right start with his first late in the first, but Joe Malki brought things level in the second. Sadie Hellstrom’s second week of ironwoman effort bore a second goal in the third, her third of the season. It was fated fruit for the fearless forward, as it would stand as the decider in an improbable, desperately needed 3-1 win for Teal. Jon ‘JZ’ Zygelman allowed Teal to exhale, depositing an empty-netter off the post and in, and Nick Meglich (18/19) was finally rewarded for his stellar pipe work with a notch in the left-most column. Teal remain in must-win mode against Red this Sunday, while Black look for a rebound result in a middle of the pack showdown with Orange.
Captain Copp’s Pink underperformed their way into the ‘must-win’ camp as well, and finding Green due up on the schedule could not have been a pleasant prospect. Still, one of the main problems for Pink has been the absence of key players, and one the keyest of key players for any roster he has graced is the speedy/dynamic London Peters. Week Seven marked just the second appearance for Peters, and he would not make his presence known until late in the second in this one. Bob Marsolini, Hima Joshi, and Chris Tullio carried the scoring torch for Pink in a wild and loose first that also featured Green counterstrikes from Captain Chad Goins and suddenly stirring super sniper, Steve Jones. Patrick Walker and Mostafa Azab traded goals in the second to bring the tally to 4-3, Pink, and that pesky Peters potted the game-winner on the power player to close out the scoring through two. Jones’ second of the night came on the powerplay early in the third, but Nick Megich (16/20) would hold on to preserve the lead and the 5-4 win for his surrogate team. The win was crucial for Pink, who remain below the cut line at 2-5-0 with their bye week still to come. A win against Brown would do wonders for their playoff outlook, while a loss may spell certain doom. Green have been inconsistent and enigmatic this season, for sure, but they remain on the right side of .500, and well entrenched in the playoff picture at 3-2-1.
At risk of reading like a broken record, Brown came into play against Orange in Week Seven with a ‘must win’ mindset. With their bye week still looming, a loss would keep them cozy with the cutline, and running out of time to scramble to safety. Fortunately for Captain Mark Nagy, Brown has a really good player on the roster…Captain Mark Nagy. Nagy continued his sparkling season with another two goal effort, scoring less than a minute in, and again with just over three minutes to play to pace his team to a massive 4-3 win. Jordan Pynn and Matt Rogers provided the meat to Nagy’s winning bread slices, while Kris Tosczak collected primary assists on all three Orange goals (Wieland, Vankoughnett, LaGrossa) in the losing effort. Neither team is out of the woods yet, but Brown now carries some confidence and some key tie breakers into their final three games. Orange will look to slip past Black (and slide past them in the standings, as well) in Week Eight. Brown will look for some insurance (and another tie breaker for their bat belt) in the always-anticipated Stink v Pink bowl.
I’ll stop short of suggested that either side in the Red v White nightcap NEEDED to win, but honestly…all but two teams need all the points in the standings they can scavenge, at this point. Jeff Anderson elected for ‘snatch’ over ‘scavenge’, scorching Red for a first period hat trick to set a winning tone for White. Brian Sheptycki mixed in a response for Red, but Gary Peters restored the three goal lead with his second of the season late in the frame. Sheptycki added a second after a scoreless second, but that would be the extent of the pushback for Red in the 4-2 loss. Cory Brin (23/25) continued his strong campaign, battling injury as much as opposition to even his personal record at 2-2-1. With a winning record and their bye week behind them, White can breathe a bit more easily moving into the final weeks of play. They can spoil Silver’s season with a win on Sunday, and all but assure themselves of a playoff spot in the process. Red will look to their showdown with a retooled Teal this weekend as…you guessed it…a must win.