Two of the four lossless teams coming into Week Three left lossless, and remained in the lead pack after a tight, thrilling tilt that ended in a 2-2 tie. Carl Vankoughnett remained the top story for Black, having scored all of his team’s goals coming in. He got his team on the board first in the first (with the assist to his right hand man, Brennan Abel). Captain Tomáš Jankovic responded for White with just 0:21 to play in the period (from Steve Linke and Zach Salt), and Rich Shane flipped the lead in White’s favor with his first career goal (from Sally Jackson and Linke). Chris Tran (21/23) would batten down the hatches for Black from there, while Matt Henderson (16/18) ultimately ceded the equalizer to…Sadie Hellstrom (NOT Vankoughnett!) midway through the third. Of course, Hellstrom was assisted by Vankoughnett and Abel (those two just HAVE to be involved), but it is a positive sign for Captain Ian Crooks & Company that somebody…ANYBODY else on the team is capable of scoring a goal. As noted, both teams entered and left the meeting without a loss, though Black still find themselves on top of the pile at 2-0-1, while White have proven to be competitive, but not quite closers at 1-0-2.
Purple entered Week Three still in search of their first win, while Neon looked to double their double-U’s coming off a 4-0 romp over a short-benched Grey. Both benches were lacking in this match, with Cooney, Northrup, and Winstead out for Purple, and Captain Wolmer and Nik Thompson out of the lineup for Neon. The biggest guns were geared up, though, and this one was a battle from start to finish. Chuck Russell kicked off the scoring with 3:27 remaining in the first, then, less than a minute later, THREE more goals were scored in the span of FOURTEEN seconds! First came an answer from Neon’s David Schlatter, a Purple pushback from Kalen Hunter, and yet another response from Schlatter. The 2-2 tie held until midway through the second, when Joe Malki put Purple on top, but Tom Darlington (from Schlatter) equalized again at 6:48 in the third. Captain Will Heinl gave Neon their first lead of the game at 2:23, and it looked like Captain Rogers & Company would surely suffer their second loss in three tries. It was Joe Malki to the rescue, tucking home the game-saving goal at 0:49 to knot the score for good at 4-4. Chris Malki (15/19) moved his personal record to 0-0-2, with special thanks to his boy for bailing him out, while Sean Kelly (23/27) hit a rare rough patch in allowing more than a goal or two in the draw.
Grey and Green both entered their match with 1-1-0 records, looking to take a turn for the better it what was expected to be a close contest. It was close, but no cigar for Captain Brandon Olsen and his crew, who have been bitten by the poor attendance bug so far this season. Jon Salt was in attendance for Green, and he had the first and last laugh for Green. The first came at 9:19 in the second, with assists to Josh Tran and John Hwang. Captain Olsen would even the score himself later in the first, and both Silas Perks (10/11), and Nick Meglich (20/22) remained sharp and stingy through two. It was Salt again early in the third, this time from Captain Jon Champine and Eric Willard to boost Green to a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. The win has Green one of (surprisingly) only two team with two wins over the first third of the season. Grey will look for better attendance, and better results going forward, starting with a showdown with a tough, and tenacious Red side this Sunday.
Sometimes, you make the paper for all the wrong reasons. Such is the case with our cover team, Gold. Captain Parsa Mostafavi and ‘My Harsh Will Gold On’ have struggled to score, and struggled to prevent scoring to this point, with a 2 GF/11 GA/ -9…not a winning string of numbers. Add to it the fact that Mostafavi is now injured, and you’re looking at an uphill climb every week. That climb looked to be reaching a promising peak in Week Three, as Silas Perks (12/13) held the fort against the Naval attack, and Mark Ennsmann finally struck Gold against Alex Theis midway through the second. Theis (25/26) was otherworldly in this one, but the hockey gods seemed to have other plans for him and Navy…or maybe not. A frantic and furious final frame reached a crescendo, with Nick Vacchio found a will and a way to put one past Perks to even at 1-1 with just 0:17 left on the clock. Gold, who would have been the ones to win, settled for a woeful 1-1 waffle, and have to be wondering what, when, and how they are ever going to overcome. They now sit at 0-2-1, sharing basement floor space with the beleaguered Blue, and running (captain-less, again) toward a Black brick wall. Navy, meanwhile, continue to compete (to the bitter end, clearly). finishing the first third of the season without a loss, and looking to improve their standing in the…standings in a marquee matchup with Green in Week Four.
Did someone say (write) ‘woeful waffle’? Blue began their season-long deflated death march with a 7-3 Week One thrashing, could not stick the comeback landing in a 4-4 Week Two tie with Purple, and…thrashed again in Week Three, this time at the hands of Captain Rob Gaudio’s Red. It was the captain himself opening the scoring (with the assist in the form of his brother, Joe). It was Joe’s turn in the second (from Sheptycki…who of course made his season debut in time to face Blue), then Dan Jurgens to make it 3-0 at just over the half way point. Vance Morra deflected home a Kyle Prior shot/pass to account for Blue’s token tally late in the second, but any hope of a comeback was snuffed out just fourteen seconds later with another Rob-from-Joe production. Red’s captain would complete the hat trick in the third (this time from Andy Strathman), and Don Tran (15/16) stood tall to the end to preserve the 5-1 win. The win is Red’s first, after opening the season two hard-fought ties. Blue…they will need to figure something out if they hope to save their season. The scoring is there (eight goals in three games), but they have surrendered a league-leading sixteen…math is a cruel mistress…