Previously on ‘The SDFHL’, Olive racked up seventeen goals in their first two games, and had the rest of the league wondering how long this ridiculous power surge would last. Short answer/spoiler alert…not long. Captain Tyler Winstead’s gang still found a way to put up numbers, but those numbers were ‘normal’, for once. Also ‘normal’…it was enough to give them a win, keeping them in an elite company of just two, in that regard (cover team, Teal, being the other). Nick Vacchio didn’t get the ‘normal’ memo in this one, building on his impressive early season numbers with his fifth of the season at 0:50 in the first (from a freshly-arrived Alexis DaCosta), and his sixth of the season at 3:54 in the third (from Chris Tullio). He now sits tied for second in goal scoring with Brennan Abel, just one back of his teammate, Kyle Snyder. That was it folks…two Vacchio tallies for Olive…nada, nada enchilada for White. Don Tran (22/22) served that enchilada cold, like his heart, and gunky…like his lungs (seriously, Don…see a doctor, bro), while Nick Meglich (8/10) was tossed to the loss lions in his team’s second scoreless sortie of the season. So, whether they bring the thunder sticks or the tweezers, Olive seems to have what it takes to make wins. White remain right in the thick of things in the middle of the standings in spite of the loss, and will look to even their record against one of only two teams with less goals scored this season, Grey.
The backstory for Captain Carl Vankoughnett’s ‘Yellooow, Newman’ coming into Week Three was ‘consistent/solid offense…bad results’. They fell 8-5 to Olive in their season opener, then 7-4 in the encore. So…maybe adding ‘not the strongest back end’ to that backstory…maybe actually highlight that. Week Three saw a preservation of the ‘consistent/solid offense’ aspect of Yellow’s game, and a reversal of the ‘not the strongest back end’ trend. Jim LaGrossa continued to savor a clutch comeback season, opening the scoring for Yellow with his third goal in as many games (from Scott Wieland), and closing the scoring with his fourth (and Yellow’s fourth of the game…this one from Brennan Abel). Shawna Hamon had evened the score for Blue after LaGrossa’s first (from Josh Wirt), but Abel gave Yellow the lead back for good with just 0:34 to play in the first. LaGrossa and Abel (in that order) set up Scott Wieland’s second period goal, and Jon Cima (10/11) held on for his first career SDFHL win, Yellow over Blue, 4-1…CONGRATULATIONS! Chris Tran (20/24) did his best to keep his team alive, but tensions ran at least as hot as the rink surface throughout the Blue ranks, in a rather flat showing in Captain Rob Gaudio’s absence.
Two teams with equal, but opposite early season histories met in the middle game, with Captain Geoff Downe’s 1-0-1 Red meeting Captain Ian Crooks’ 0-1-1 Black. Red blistered through their Week One opponent 8-0, then survived a meeting with Grey without a loss, in spite of the absence of the bulk of their scoring trust. Black has made an early season habit of failing to capitalize on an opponent’s AWOL awesomeness, losing 5-1 to a Schlatter-less Teal in Week One, then blowing a late lead against a Josh-Wirt-and-Chris-Tran-free Blue in Week Two. Surely Crooks & Company could capitalize on a Red rendezvous sans Justin Ker and Jon Salt…right…maybe…no. Black did play well, with Janine Ulloa and Erin Plone filling in quite capably for Steph Palomo Schmidt and Sadie Hellstrom, and a hot and surly Chris Tran stepping in for Chuck Bender, but Silas Perks was (once again, for the umpteenth time in his career) the great equalizer. Captain Geoff Downes put Red on the board midway through the first with a very slick, swooping, stick-handling dance through Black’s zone, finishing with a chef’s kiss of a backhand past Tran (from Mark Ennsmann and Kevin Dinino). The game wore on from there with Black carrying most of the attack, but finding nothing to show for it. Tran (10/11) held serve, and held his foster team in it to the very end, which, mercifully for Black, was a death bed redemption courtesy of Dan Jurgens. With Tran on the bench for an extra attacker, Jurgens finally solved Perks with just four ticks left on the clock, rifling a seeing-eye shot from distance over an outstretched left pad. It was the only blemish on the day for Perks (27/28), and the only damage dealt by Black, but it was enough just enough in just enough time to produce a 1-1 tie. Red remain undefeated through three weeks, in spite of significant super star attendance issues. Black have yet to win a game, and cannot fall on the same excuse as a crutch…they will just need to be much better the rest of the way, or they will not survive to see the second season.
This season has been so strange…just a lot of bizarre, bloated scores, with boat race blowouts and score-keeper-wrist-cramp-inducing slugfests, sprinkled in amongst ‘normal’, close, low scoring contests. Orange v Purple fell squarely in the ‘score-keeper-wrist-cramp-inducing’ category, with the eleven goals between the two teams matching the total from all eight other teams in four other games on the night. Hima ‘Muthafuckin” Joshi opened the scoring for Orange with her second in consecutive games (from Andrew Jacobsen and Justin Stege), but Ty Pereira answered for Purple less than a minute later (from Zach Salt). The Orange floodgates opened at that point, as the next three goals in Orange’s offensive outburst (which, impressively, featured five different goal-scorers) rattled past in a two minute span. Andy Strathman from Jackson Tomaszewski and Justin Stege at 5:21, Jacobsen from Stege and Jeremy Copp at 4:13, and Captain Josh Tran from Jacobsen and Joshi at 3:21. Just like that…4-1 Orange take a commanding lead into the sec…wait…Zach Salt responds with 0:16 to play in the first to cut the lead to 4-2 (from Jason Northrup). Then…sixteen seconds of scoreless hockey to wrap the period (miracles). Salt would continue, then complete the Purple comeback in the second, with his second of the night at 9:20 (from Pereira), and a solo job at 4:29. Just like that, a 4-4 game going into the third. Trice Harvey continued his impressive sophomore campaign with his second of the season at 8:26 in the final period (although, some observers report that he may well get a SHOE deal out of this particular ‘goal’…if you follow), and that 5-4 edge would hold for Purple into the final minutes of play. Tomaszewski (from Jacobsen) awakened Orange from their twenty minute offensive nap at 1:38, knotting the game at 5-5, and sending everyone home with one poi…nope…another late goal, the FOURTH of the game for Salt (this one from Mark Scelfo), and the (*triple checking the sheet*) game-winner for Purple in a weird and winding first win for Captain Sev Brown’s side, 6-5 over Orange. Jimm Reifsnyder (12/18) slid back in the goalie stat stack with the ice cold six pack of GA Lager, while Ian Crooks (24/29) tasted victory for the first time this season, although (sadly) not with his own team. Honestly, whatever the outcome, neither of these teams looks like a real Cup contender at this point. Still, better to be in Purple’s position at 1-2-0, than Orange’s 0-2-1. There is only one way to go for Captain Josh Tran’s clan, and that is up. Well, if ‘stay right where you are in dead last’ is a direction, then…then there is that direction, as well.
Last, but ironically first (in the standings), Teal…our cover team (I mean, barely ‘cover’ team…*giggity*). Captain Kar…Sorry…we interrupt this recap with a word from our sponsor…
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OK…that was a first, but…we have to keep the lights on somehow. As eerie coincidence (if that is your real name…ALEXA) would have it, that commercial also ties directly into the remainder of this recap! Captain Karns’ led by example, and led off the scoring for Teal midway through the first (from Vinny Santora and John Boddy). Earlier in the period, Ryan TOOK A PENATLY FOR TRIPPING. He wanted to make sure I mentioned that, and we have to keep our advertisers happy here. Santora plumped the lead to 2-0 in the second (from Captain Karns), and that would be all the scoring for either side in this one. It would not, however, be all of the PIMs, as Karns WAS BOOKED FOR INTERFERENCE IN THE THIRD (again, just paying bills here, people). Sean Kelly’s return to de facto Head Ninja Goalie, and VP Of Humane Decapitation has been swift, but not at all shocking. His 17/17 shutout in this 2-0 win over Grey has his numbers at 3-0-0/.970/0.67/1 SO…the sheriff is back, and the sale of ‘Make Da Kid Great Again’ hats are now on back order. Teal looks primed and pumped to preserve their pole position through the remaining two thirds of the season, but as good as they have been, Olive is still right there with them. Tickets to the Week Eight matchup between these two titans are now fetching as much as $3500 in the secondary market. The jury is still out on whether or not Captain Zach Siemer’s Grey are contenders or pretenders. With a sample platter record through three weeks of play (1-1-1), and five of their league low six goals scored coming in a Week One thrashing of a power-compromised Purple, they will definitely need Kalen Hunter to find his tights and cape, posthaste…