Shocker Khan

No team was hotter coming into playoff play than Captain Jeremy Copp’s ‘The Final FrontTeal’. It was really a tale of two seasons for Copp’s Crew, with an ice cold 0-4-0 start melting steadily away under the heat of a five game winning streak that saw them climb all the way to the three seed. Captain Bao Nguyen’s Green, by contrast, trickled through the regular season in tepid fashion, never managing so much as a two game win streak, but also posting consecutive losses just once (W L L W T W L W L). The first ‘W’ in that Green train was a 6-3 win over Teal, but momentum, and an in-full-flight Alex Giummo certainly stamped Teal as the favorites in the playoff rematch. Giummo had that ‘in-full-flight’ flare on display early and often for said favorites, snapping home his first career SDFHL playoff goal at 8:50 in the first (Jim LaGrossa), then repeating the feat at 4:22 (LaGrossa). Joe Malki wedged a response between the Giummo goals, briefly leveling things at 5:56 (Jon Zygelman & William Teglia). Josh Tran built Teal’s edge to two at 4:22 in the second (Giummo & Arnold Gonzales), then it was Giummo for the hat trick at 2:34 (LaGrossa), and another for good measure and a four goal lead at 1:07 (LaGrossa). Matt Henderson (17/18) remained sharp from start to finish, and neither he, nor his counterpart, John Kushneryk (15/20), would concede anything in the third, keeping the final score 5-1…Teal’s sixth straight victory on what appears to be a mechanical march to mid-January glory. Copp & Company move on to an intriguing matchup with Captain Boddy’s second-seeded Blue…the team that handed them their last loss back on October 12th (!). Green will look to stay alive on the ‘long road’ to the Final, facing off against a grab bag Gold with both teams on the brink of elimination.

While Captain Luke Wolmer’s Black did not not follow an exact inverse of Teal’s Fall League trajectory, their scalding 6-0-0 start simmered to a 1-2-0 close, leaving their once stark shadow of dominance a bit less daunting going into the ‘anything can happen’ playoff stretch. Captain Ryan Karns’ Purple did not roll into this match with much confidence, either, having very nearly found themselves dead and buried in the regular season graveyard after a narrow escape from their final fight with Red. So…a powerhouse top seed recently exposed as ‘beatable’ versus a barely-in, but battle-tested bottom seed…FIGHT! Darin Cerasuolo showed once again why he is THE top teen in the league, putting Purple in front at 1:42 in the first (Carl Vankoughnett & Geoff Downes), then assisting on Vankoughnett’s strike at 7:50 in the second, then providing the primary on (super sub) Wendy Enright’s goat at 4:02 (Downes with the second), before rattling off his second of the the game at 3:57 (Vankoughnett), and third at 2:13 (Downes). That’s right, folks…if you’re scoring at home that is a 5-0 lead through two for the bottom bunch over the top dogs! The situation did not improve much for Black in the third, though Riley Mann’s first career SDFHL playoff goal at 7:06 (Wasif Hussain) did provide a fleeting glimmer of hope for a rousing comeback. Alas for Wolmer & Company, that would be the only retaliation (on the scoreboard, anyway) that they could muster, as Chuck Bender (7/8) and Purple held on for the stunning 5-1 upset win. Will Heinl (5/10) absorbed the loss in what may well be one of the lowest shot total games in league history, leaving Black looking like a different team after what is now a 1-3-0 recent run. Black will look to bounce back against the author of their first loss of the season back on November 9th…a game in which White took full advantage of the absences of Captain Wolmer and his righthand Mann to the tune of a 4-0 waltz. Purple has found their swagger and their lost slipper, and ready themselves to continue their top bracket dance in an early game showdown with the five seed, Orange.

In theory, the most coin flip contest of the first round would be the four seed versus the five seed. This season, not only did that four seed (Captain Rob Gaudio’s White) and that five seed (Captain Mark Nagy’s Orange) finish with identical 4-3-2 records, but they also tied 2-2 in their Week Seven regular season meeting. It was by virtue of the goal differential tie breaker that White was seeded above Orange, but the matchup would not have changed either way, and the only goal differential of any relevance now would be the final score in the playoff rematch. One of the biggest stories all season has been the absolutely other worldly play of Orange netminder, Nick Meglich. Meglich’s .900 save percentage topped the Fall League charts, and while you might typically regard a 2.67 GAA as ‘meh’, that number is nothing short of a miracle, considering that he faced 241 shots through nine regular season games…nearly 100 more than the only other goalies with perfect attendance (Bender at 151 and Davenport at 155). There’s no doubt that Orange’s defense would need to be tighter in the tournament, as even the best/hottest goalie has a breaking point, but the opening round of the playoffs would prove to be just another point of proof that Meglich is the man. Well…’co-the man’…assistant to the regional man, at the very least, with Kalen Hunter sharing badass billing this time out with a potent POTW performance. Hunter put Orange in front bright and early at 8:44 in the first (Jenna Chercoe), and after a White response off the blade of Ty Pereira at 6:14 (Dan Jurgens & Dorothy Kline), he recorded the primary assist on Eric Willard’s goal at 4:55 (Chercoe with the second assist), then posted an unassisted second of the game at 2:05. Chercoe was ‘the woman’ in this one, adding a goal at 9:19 in the second (Mark Daquipa & Kalen Hunter) to boost the Orange lead to 4-1 and bring her running total to 1 and 2. Jackson Tomaszewski cut the lead back to two at 8:15 in the second (Pereira), but Hunter’s hat trick capper at 2:00 (Captain Nagy) restored the three goal edge heading into the final period of play. Weston Nawrocki added extra insurance with his first of the postseason at 6:16 (from…who else…Hunter and Chercoe), and Pereira’s second of the game with 4:11 to play (Mark Scelfo) was the only answer from White, who fell short, in spite of holding a 35-14 shot advantage at the final whistle. Wait…a 35-14 dominating shot count…in a loss…yes…NICK ‘MF’ING’ MEGLICH, PEOPLE! Meglich (32/35) was once again super human, and once again kept his team comfortable from start to finish in a 6-3 victory. At the other end, Jon Cima (6/14) fell victim to a 3 and 3 super star turn for King Kalen…sometimes you get a great player on the wrong night. The win propels Orange into a surprise standoff with upstart Purple, while White will battle to stay alive in the bottom bracket trenches against another surprise opponent…top-seeded Black.

The Week One nightcap was a rematch of the final game of the regular season…sort of. Captain Hima Joshi’s Gold and Captain John Boddy’s Blue originally met in the early game of Week Six, but after a brush fire postponed the final two periods of play with Gold holding a 1-0 edge, the November 23rd resumption was 4-2 redemption for Boddy’s Brood. With Chris Fiore, Evan Melcher, and Vinny Santora all out, Gold was left scrambling for solutions on defense, and when one of those ‘solutions’ is to have yours truly playing back…let’s just say that Blue were both the logical favorites and the overwhelming betting lock in this one. Lo and behold, it was Gold on the front foot first, with a sure-handed, short-handed, unassisted Owen Perks special serving as a shock to Blue’s system, and a second Perks’ strike with ONE second left in the first (Greg Francisco) making it (miraculously enough) 2-0 Gold going into the first breather. Captain Boddy put his team on his back in the second, cutting the lead in half at 5:30 (Elyse Shattuck), then knotting it at twos at 1:35 (Sean Kelly and Shattuck). A scoreless third ticked past with Gold (shockingly enough) holding a 24-10 edge in shots through regulation. When even the 7-1 OT shot advantage failed to avail Gold, it was on to everyone’s favorite/least favorite playoff piece…the shootout. Gold was first to shoot, and Chris Tran stayed hot and kept his team cool with a big save. Captain Boddy scored, and Steve Goncalo answered for Gold in the second round to make it 1-1, but Eli Schonbrun snatched the lead back for Blue on the very next turn. Mark DeGraffenreid and Sean Kelly were turned aside, as were Vance Morra and Steve Linke, leaving the game on the capable (but surely nervous) shoulders of Shelby Shattuck. Chris Tran went 29/31 in regulation and OT, and after making the final save of the shootout against Shattuck, sealed Blue’s 3-2 win with an enchanting 4/5 encore. Erin Plone breathed a sigh of relief, and celebrated with her teammates in lieu of sweating out her own hot seat shootout shot. So, no Cinderella start for Captain Hima Joshi’s seven seeds, but an encouraging effort, nonetheless. Mason Holcomb 9/11 was his standard steady self, and gave his team every opportunity to post a second first round shocker, but…not to be. Captain Boddy’s final Cup thrust continues this Sunday with Blue battling the now-terrifying Teal, while Gold will look to grind past Green and keep the dream alive one week at a time.