Souptember

Captain Josh Tran’s Orange had already squeezed themselves back into the playoff picture with back to back 5-2 wins over Black and Olive, and a win over Grey in Week Nine would all but complete their transition from dead and gone to alive and kicking in the playoff mix. Grey entered Week Nine heading the opposite direction, having dropped their previous two games to Blue and Yellow, and finding themselves way too close to the cut line for comfort. So…high stakes in this penultimate fixture for both sides, but as is often the case in this league when two teams REALLY want a win…neither of them gets it. Eric Willard put Grey on top with just 0:34 remaining in the first, with the lone assist coming from Captain Zach Siemer, and Andrew Jacobsen responded early in the second for Orange (from Jackson Tomaszewski) to keep the tension on ten going into the third. Willard’s second of the night (from Rob LaVigne and Tom Darlington) put Grey back on top with 7:27 to play, but Captain Tran had an answer on the power play at 3:12 (from Justin Stege) to knot the score for good at 2-2, and send both teams home with a point, a half-consoling-half-congratulatory pat on the back, and a slightly improved chance to persevere to playoff pastures. Matt Henderson (25/27) faced nearly twice the heat at his end, with his mates mustering just fourteen shots against Jimm Reifsnyder in the absence of the vital likes of Kalen Hunter and Dan Soar. Grey find themselves at 2-3-3 (seven points), and Orange now sit at 2-4-2 (six points). While I have not run all of the possibilities through our SDFHL super computer, I believe that both teams can still miss the playoffs, depending on how the final four games of the season pan out. Of particular importance, of course, is how the two fare in their respective finales, with both teams controlling their own destiny (win, and most definitely in…tie, and almost assuredly in…loss…start hoping). The rub, both teams face hungry/desperate five point teams, with Grey facing off against Black, and Orange capping the season slate against suddenly-wakened White.

The ‘big hurricane’ was something of a fizzle for most of San Diego county, but there was definitely enough rain to wash the Week Eight slate to the end of the regular season schedule. For Captain Ian Crooks’ Black, this meant that their not-at-all-anticipated meeting with Olive would not be one last chance to salvage their sinking season, but rather a ‘let’s hope for a miracle win to ease our minds going into a finale against Grey’ foray. Captain Crooks & Company came out frenetic (yet focused), but ultimately fizzled, and had to take the ‘whip’ in lieu of the ‘miracle’ (I have officially resorted to mayonnaise puns, ladies and gents). Kyle Snyder tucked home a juicy rebound to make it 1-0 Olive late in the first (from Nick Vacchio), and Vacchio cashed in on the power play at 3:19 in the second to make it 2-0 (from Shelby Shattuck and Greg Wirth). Mark Nagy cut that lead in half, and gave the Black bench a big boost with just ten ticks remaining in the middle period, but Vacchio (from Snyder) quickly snuffed that spark, restoring Olive’s two goal edge just over a minute into the third. A pair of goals for Alexis DaCosta (the first from Vacchio and Wendy Enright, and the second from Snyder and Captain Tyler Winstead) put any hopes of a comeback coup out of the question for Black. Don Tran (33/34) continued to crush Olive opponents’ hopes and dreams, keeping Black’s desperate attack at bay throughout, while Chuck Bender (13/18) could only hope for more ‘run support’ while facing nearly half the shot volume at the other end. The 5-1 Olive win was far more lopsided than the run of play would have predicted, but Captain Winstead’s side now find themselves deadlocked at 6-1-1 with Teal, whom the scheduling (and weather) fates would (of course) find a way to match up in the final week of play (surreal). What precious little margin for error Black had coming into Week Nine is out the window now. They must prevail over Grey in their finale, and even then will need some help to find their way into mid-September play.

Yellow and Red met in the middle of the Week Nine set for the only game in which both teams had already clinched a playoff berth. Both Captain Carl Vankoughnett’s ‘Yelloooow, Newman’ and Captain Geoff Downes’ ‘Little Cherry Seinfeld’ found bounce back wins in Week Seven, giving them eight and nine points, respectively, so this game provided a lull in the tension and desperation of the surrounding games. Jon Salt made his triumphant return to Red’s lineup, and made his presence felt with a solo strike just three minutes in. Brennan Abel saw that solo strike, and raised with two of his own to turn the tables in Yellow’s favor, 2-1 through one. Christopher Fiore brought Red back level (from Salt and Kevin Dinino), and both Silas’ sub, Chris Tran (20/22), and Jon Cima (7/9) would hold the line from there to lock in a 2-2 deadlock. Now at ten points (3-1-4), Red cannot improve from their current three seed position, and can only move down to fourth if they fail to beat Blue and Yellow beats Purple. Yellow (4-3-1) can only move up to the three seed (by way of the very scenario I just laid out), but cannot move down even if Blue or Grey tie them in points, as they would still have a higher win total. So, it will be another rather meaningless game for both teams next week from their perspective, but both teams are being counted on by the likes of Black, White, and Purple to play spoiler to their desperate rivals. As such, most of the interest in these games will be coming from the unfortunate teams around or below the cut line…I personally have my Red and Yellow fight flags ready to fly…

The sunset brought a shift back to serious second season striving, as two five point teams battled to find a backdoor out of the basement. Captain Rob Gaudio’s Blue had tight tussles with even the two top teams over the previous four games, but did not quite have enough, losing 1-0 to both Olive and Teal. Wedged between those results were a disappointing 1-1 tie with White, and a much-needed 3-1 win over Grey. Captain Sev Brown’s Purple really hadn’t found their footing yet in a mainly down, sometimes up 2-4-1 coming in. Two points could not put the worries away for either team, but the winner of this game would find themselves very much in the driver’s seat going into the final week of play. Tim Hamon put Blue in that seat four and a half minutes in (from John Gamm), Zach Salt pumped Blue’s brakes with an unassisted effort at 1:48, and Josh Wirt (from Shawna Hamon) revved Blue back to a one goal lead with just 0:37 to play in the first. Captain Gaudio built Blue’s lead to two at 2:43 in the second (from Wirt and Tim Hamon), and that would hold on as the game-winner, with Salt (from Captain Brown and Luke Wolmer) and Gaudio (from Wirt) cancelling each other’s output in the third. Chris Tran (15/17) backstopped the big Blue 4-2 win, while Chuck Bender (7/11) could not find enough stopping power to prevent a loss in the absence of Syd Costello. As noted (ad nauseam) in the earlier recaps, the Week Eight makeup games on September 10th are massive for both of these teams. A single point against Red for Blue will guarantee them a playoff perch, and even a loss might not spell disaster. Purple will need a win and a dash of help to guarantee a spot, but one point would be big, and they can even get in with a loss, provided both Black and White lose. It’s going to be a CRAZY, convoluted Sunday for all but the top four teams…buckle up!

It really pains me when the play in this league devolves into chirpy, chippy, cheap shot chicanery. We have had a good run of good play, featuring good sportsmanship and good will of late, but…then came the Teal v White Week Nine nightcap. Teal came in with very little to prove, undefeated at 6-0-1, and primed to claim the top playoff seed with a win against woeful White, and anything but a loss to Olive in their finale. Captain Sean Bathgate’s team, by contrast, entered at 1-5-1, dripping with desperation, and needing a minor miracle against Teal and a good result in their finale against Orange to have any hope of staying off the playoff scrap heap. So, some ‘heat’ was to be expected in this one, but all accounts have this game slathered in shame, with possible suspensions looming, and a ‘Spirit Of The League’ refresher clearly required. Some actual hockey events took place between the wrestling and whining, as Mostafa Azab put the underdogs on top at 7:43 (from Will Heinl and Sally Jackson). Joe Nguyen evened the score just twenty-nine ticks later (from Joel Gattey), but Joe Malki put White back on top, then padded that lead with a pair of late period strikes (one from Papa Malki, and the other from Azab and Papa Malki). David Schlatter cut the lead back to one with the only goal of the second period (from Nguyen), but that was as close as the heavy favorites would get to maintaining their L-less season. Emily Bennington (from Chris Malki and Brandon Olsen) had White breathing easy again with her third of the season in the third, and the ‘minor miracle’ was realized, 4-2 woeful White over titan Teal. The shocking result keeps White alive to the bitter end, but they will need to take at least a point from Orange, and get some help elsewhere, or that bitter end will merely have been delayed. Teal will no doubt recover just fine from this flesh wound, and it may provide a little extra motivation for Captain Ryan Karns & Company in their final showdown with Olive.