Yellow and Grey met to open Week Seven in a middle-of-the-standings battle that could be either a springboard or a trapdoor for both teams. Captain Carl Vankoughnett’s ‘Yellooow, Newman’ had righted the ship after an 0-2-0 start, rattling off three straight wins before falling to Teal 5-2 in Week Six. Captain Zach Siemer’s ‘Graymerica Industries’ had tread a very uneven path coming in, never having strung together so much as two of the same result, but weaving a cool pattern in the process (W-T-L-W-T-L). The pattern failed them in this case, as they fell through the trapdoor and into playoff peril, while Yellow sprung to reasonable safety in a wild, and somewhat controversial 3-1 win. Grey looked great out of the gate, with Kalen Hunter snapping the first shot of the game over Jon Cima’s shoulder at 9:45 to put his team on top 1-0 (from Rob LaVigne). That would be the only goal of the first, and Scott Wieland would record the only goal of the second to bring things level (from Captain Vankoughnett and Brennan Abel). Abel lofted a lazy ball out of his defensive zone, but managed to put it on net. This negated an icing call, but also (somehow) happened to slip through the pads of Matt Henderson to give Yellow a 2-1 lead. With just 3:36 to play, Grey pressed for the tie, and it looked as though a deflected/seeing-eye shot MAY have found the back bar and out just a minute or so after Yellow’s go ahead strike, but…it was ruled no goal and play continued. Grey had another goal disallowed in the second, after the referee blew the whistle, having lost sight of the (still loose) ball. Goals on the scoreboard are the only ones that count, though, and the scoreboard still read 2-1 in favor of Yellow into the waning seconds of the third. Mason LaGrossa used those waning seconds to net an empty netter, rounding out the scoring, and sending Grey to their first ‘streak’ of any kind…a two game losing streak. Captain Siemer’s crew now find themselves at 2-3-2, just one point ahead of a hungry pack of four teams with five points apiece. They are very much in control of their own destiny, though, with games against two of those four teams to close out the regular season (Black and Orange). A win against either team, or points in both should certainly be enough to punch their playoff ticket. Yellow’s 4-3-0 has them sitting in fourth place, all but assured of a spot in the playoffs, and primed to play spoiler for Purple in Week Eight, and potentially improve their postseason position in their finale versus Red.
John Boddy, David Schlatter, Sean Kelly…the current silver medalist in the scoring race, a perennial score-at-will terror, and the league’s long standing king of goaliedom…all three of these players, plus Joel Gattey and Janet Goins out of the lineup for Teal against Blue in Week Seven. Blue had attendance woes of their own (Captain Rob Gaudio, Bryan Ossa, and a suspended Janine Ulloa), but (with respect), it’s hard to compare to the missing Teal pieces, and it was hard to imagine Captain Ryan Karns’ team finding a way to overcome this significant star power shortage. A scoreless first had Teal hopeful, but Blue had to believe that tired legs would keep their opponent from finding a way out of this match alive. There was still plenty of pep in Joe Nguyen’s step at 6:15 in the second, as he found a hole in Chris Tran’s pads to put Teal in the driver’s seat, 1-0. Nick Meglich (24/24) did his best ‘Da Kid’ impression in this one, keeping Blue at bay, and giving his heavily outgunned hosts a chance to hang on and remain lossless on the season. Teal did just that, milking that one goal lead to the finish line, with a little help from Captain Karns’ junk (third star of the game). Chris Tran (8/9) absorbed the hard luck loss, having faced just over a third the shots his mates managed, but it’s that goals allowed stat that translates to wins and losses, and Teal escaped a short-benched week with yet another tick in the win column, 1-0 over Blue. At 6-0-1, (spoiler alert) Teal now stand alone atop the standings at 6-0-1…now the only team (spoiler alert) without a loss, third in goals-for (23), and first in goals-allowed (7). The results of the 7:00 Week Seven game certainly took some wind out of the ‘Battle Of Unbeaten Beasts’ matchup with Olive this Sunday, but all signs still point to that one being a hot ticket. The loss keeps Captain Gaudio’s team stuck in that aforementioned four pack of five point teams. They will need to have a good showing this Sunday against Red, and/or find a way past Purple in their final game if they hope to see the second season.
It was fitting that Black and White would meet in the one Week Seven matchup that was most clearly a ‘do or die’ duel. Captain Ian Crooks’ ‘Midnight Muffin Monsters’ came in with no wins, with their last non-win coming in a crushing 5-2 loss to (previously un-feated) Orange. Captain Sean Bathgate’s ‘Puffy White Shirts’ entered Week Seven with a win to their name (a 7-4 ambush of Yellow), but the same measly three points as their opponent at 1-4-1. The winner of this game could at least be assured some measure of control over their playoff fate, with five points in the bank and two games to play, while the loser would find themselves alone at the bottom of the pile, in (very) desperate need of two wins, and likely a fair amount of help to find a way through to September play. Mostafa Azab put White in front first (from Chris Malki and Jordan Pynn), but birthday girl (August 12th), Steph Palomo Schmidt, would equalize with 1:19 to play in the opening frame, finishing a gorgeous passing sequence from Rich Shane to Tomás Jankovich to Palomo Schmidt’s back door perch. Jordan Pynn untied the game in favor of White at 4:52 in the second (from Will Heinl), but Mark Nagy brought Black even again just eight seconds later, and a wild series of penalties (one on Black, then two on White) led to a go-ahead power play strike from Dan Jurgens (from Nagy and Gary Peters). Mark DeGraffenreid (very momentarily) found his late 90’s form, weaving past a pair of White defenders, then shoveling a backhand past Nick Meglich to make it 4-2 (from Steve Linke and Peters) early in the third, then Sadie Hellstrom made her return officially triumphant with a pretty tip goal (from Nagy and DeGraffenreid), and an empty-netter in the dying seconds to cap Black’s 6-2 long overdue uprising. Jimm Reifsnyder (6/8) was steady and solid as can be in a fill-in role, while Nick Meglich (15/20) was left hollow, suffering another loss for White after a sparkling shutout performance in relief of Sean Kelly in another win for Teal. The loss has Captain Bathgate’s bunch in a real bind, to say the very least. They will need wins in their final two games, or at the very least a win over Orange this Sunday and some help if they hope to survive. The ‘iceberg, dead ahead’ for White…Teal in Week Nine…yikes. The win for Black, coupled with losses for Blue and Purple, and a shocking (spoiler alert) second win for Orange, has created a log jam of teams with five points apiece. The odds are that three of these four teams will survive, while one will fall on the scrap heap with White (purely making mathematical assumptions here). Depending on tiebreakers and the like, the playoff picture could be mostly settled this Sunday. If the final spot(s) come down to the final week of play, it will be one last summer sweat out for Blue, Purple, Orange, White, Black…and possibly Grey.
We all, of course, know that the Bible is the most famous work of fiction ever committed to paper, but some of the parables and prose can still find real relevance and application in our modern world. Take ‘David versus Goliath’, for instance…the classic example of a lopsided battle “on paper”, with a terrifically twisty result that inspires underdogs around the world to this very day. Captain Josh Tran’s ‘Pulp Can Move, Baby!’ had already begun to bulk up a bit with a huge Week Six win over Black, but they were absolutely still in David mode at 1-4-1, with little hope of defeating Captain Tyler Winstead’s 5-0-1 Goliath with sass and slingshot alone. Mind you, this Goliath had become much kinder and gentler over the past month, having killed just seven local villagers in the that span after laying waste to seventeen the two weeks prior, but even without the bloodbaths and bludgeoning, the Olive trend had been their opponents’ end, and the odds were not in favor of Biblical ‘history’ repeating itself in this ‘lopsided battle’. The combatants wrestled to a scoreless draw through one period of play before David finally landed a shot at 7:39 in the second in the form of Andy Strathman’s fifth of the season (from Captain Tran and Justin Stege). Goliath would exact swift revenge a minute and a half later, with Nick Vacchio continuing to add to his impressive summer season numbers (from Chris Tullio and sub Steph Palomo Schmidt), but this only sent David into flurry rush mode (Zelda reference) with three unanswered goals from Matt Gottfried (Jackson Tomaszewski), Justin Stege (Jeremy Copp), and Tomaszewski (Mike Chiaco) to stun the giant, and leave him reeling in place down 4-1 after two. Captain Tran made it 5-1 early in the third, and Goliath would manage just one more swing of his giant limbs (Kyle Snyder from Chris Tullio) before collapsing atop a row of nearby houses in defeat, 5-2. So, if the Bible has taught us nothing else (and it hasn’t), it’s that you should never give up, and you should always have hope…or…something like that. Orange now find themselves hopeful, indeed, having won two in a row to resurrect their season (that’s a whole other Bible story that I don’t have time for). A win over White this Sunday could be all they need to make it to the second coming (no time), but failing that, they should still be alive to the finish line, where they will meet Grey in a match dripping with playoff implication potential. The loss is certainly tough to swallow for Captain Winstead’s waylaid winners, but they can climb back on top this week with a win over ‘that other Goliath in town’, Teal.
It’s always a sellout crowd in attendance to watch a Salt Brothers Smackdown™, but the scalpers took it on the chin when it was announced that this would (once again) be a low sodium installment. With younger, better looking, better liked, and more skilled brother Zach away, ‘the other Salt brother’ made Purple pay, leading the way for Red with a pair of first period goals and a third period helper en route to a 4-2 Red roundup of precariously-playoff-perched Purple. Salt’s first came at with just 1:40 remaining in the first (from Maureen Ruchhoeft and Christopher Fiore), and a short-handed solo strike with just 0:02 left in the opening stanza. Luke Wolmer was still plenty warm after his POTW performance in Week Six, and he promptly led Purple back with a pair of his own–an unassisted powerplay goal at 8:30, and another lone wolf bite at 6:28 to even the score at two all. Syd Costello (26/30) who was, by all accounts, in beast mode, was busy keeping Purple on track to victory with her trademark acrobatic slides and saves, but Justin Ker made the score sheet (and the Wrong Shirt Hall Of Fame) with the game-winner at 4:44 in the middle period (from Captain Geoff Downes and Fiore). Costello earned a very rare POTW honor for a member of a losing side, continuing to hold her team in under intense Red pressure heading into the final ten minutes of play, but Maureen Ruchhoeft notched her second of the season (Salt) at 8:35 in the third, and Silas Perks (18/20) held the fort at the other end to hang on for a 4-2 Red victory. The win has Captain Downes’ team in third place heading into the final two weeks of play. At 3-1-3, they are very likely already a mathematical lock for the playoffs (but who has time for that math). They will look to improve their position and polish their poise for playoff play with remaining games against Blue and Yellow. Captain Sev Brown’s brigade were (of course) hoping to find a way out of the cut line pack with a Week Seven coup, but will now have to get in the trenches and fight for their playoff lives against those same two teams (Yellow and Blue). A win against Yellow might be enough to get them through, but they will likely remain alive even with a loss, depending how the rest of the ‘Gang Of Four With Five’ fare in Week Eight…