Spritzkrieg

The first of two elimination matches kicked started Week Three playoff action, with Captain Ryan Karns’ Brown squaring off against Captain Nick Meglich’s Green. Brown had staved off a two-and-out elimination in rather surprising fashion with a 2-0 Week Two win over White, while Green’s path to this match was the reverse (narrow opening win over Atomic Blue, then 3-1 loss to Heather Blue). The regular season meeting between the two resulted in a rather convincing 4-1 Green win, but the ‘sense’ (at least, this writer’s sense) at game time was that the rematch would be very close…possibly bleeding into extra time or shootout. A scoreless first was very nearly a shotless first, with the teams combining for THREE shots on goal over the first ten minutes of play. The count remained the same (two) for Green in the second (and indeed the third, for that matter), but Brown found their form to the tune of nine salvos in the middle frame. Statistic are sometimes misleading and meaningless, though, as Brandon Olsen cashed in on one of those two Green shots, converting a bad break Brown bounce into the game’s first goal at 9:47. Mario Peia equalized with a seeing-eye point shot at 6:07 (Andy Strathman), leaving the score knotted at ones going into the third. The same number of shots produced the same number of goals for Green in the third, with Maureen Ruchhoeft tucking home a loose ball in the crease to lift Green back to a lead with 6:50 to play (Josh Wirt & Ramsey Ksar). Brown pressed, and ultimately pulled Mason Holcomb in a desperate flurry to survive, but Captain Meglich (14/15) would not yield, holding his team’s lean edge and securing the 2-1 win for Green. Holcomb (4/6) and Brown were ultimately undone by bad bounces and bad luck, bouncing out of the playoffs in spite of holding their opponent to half a dozen shots. Green will almost certainly need to generate more true offense this Sunday, as they attempt to knock off Lime and earn an instant date with Heather Blue with a ticket to the Final on the line.

The only non-elimination match of the night was an e-ticket encounter between Captain Janet Goins’ second-seeded Orange, and Captain Jon Salt’s top-seeded Heather Blue. All signs pointed to the latter as the favorites in the rematch, not the least of which indicators being the 3-1 win for Salt’s crew back in Week Five. The ‘unbeaten’ term/feat also carries some weight, at least in theory, and Heather Blue came in with the confidence and poise granted by that title. Still, the playoffs are a different dimension, and the prospect of (timely) revenge is also a potential motivator/difference maker. If you happened to scan the front page, you already know that Jackson Tomaszewski stole the show in this one, and his breakout night began with an opening strike at 4:59 in the first (Steve Linke & Brennen Abel). The same duo assisted on Orange’s second of the period, an Alan Razoky missile to boost the underdogs to a 2-0 lead through one. Tomaszewski fired home a second early in the second (Eric Enciso & Abel), leaving the Heather Blue bench stunned and searching for their trademark swagger. For context, this point in the game marked the first time all season that Heather Blue had trailed by more than two goals…and they only trailed by two goals on two occasions, having rallied to tie in both instances. The rally did come, with Alexis DaCosta finally fighting back for Heather Blue at 6:40 in the second (Captain Salt & Bryan Ossa), and Luke Wolmer closing the gap to one at 8:53 in the third (Captain Salt), but Tomaszewski had rally killing plans in store. Jackson completed his hat trick at 8:12 in the third (Enciso), then provided the primary helper on the Abel tally at 2:31 that would restore Orange’s three goal edge and deal a death blow to Heather Blue’s hopes (Old Man Linke with the pity second assist). This game was all but in the books when super sub, Erin Plone, issued one last response, making the final score look a bit less lopsided with nine seconds remaining (DaCosta & Ty Pereira). Chuck Bender (14/17) was steady and solid throughout, combining with JT’s 3 and 1 heroics to anchor Orange to a 5-3 win, hand Heather Blue their FIRST loss of the season, and send Captain Janet’s bunch on to the SDFHL Fall League 2024 Final. Captain Salt & Company will need to navigated the uncharted waters of the Losers’ Bracket, but need just one win over the (presumably-plum-tuckered-out) winner of Lime v Green to earn a shot at avenging this solitary loss on December 8th.

Week One of the regular season seems like a LONG time ago, and both Captain Jeremy Copp’s Grey and Captain Zach Salt’s Lime have undergone some personnel changes since, but the fans in attendance (reportedly approaching double digits) hoped for the same fútbol-esque thrills and chills provided by the 1-1 regular season encounter. Grey would need the rematch to be another low-scoring affair, as Copp & Company had managed more than two goals in a game only ONCE coming in, a 6-1 sneak attack shaming of Atomic Blue back in Week Five. Lime would be looking for more of a run and gun game flow, trusting that their top-ranked offense would account for the lion’s share of scoring if this one somehow turned into a slugfest. If there is one player’s stock that has risen the most this season, that player is Christopher Fiore. The man has been an absolute force at both ends all season, and his third of the playoffs opened the scoring for Lime at 4:05 in the first (Shelby Shattuck). In an eerie parallel to Green’s performance in the night’s opening match, Grey mustered just two shots in the opening ten minutes…then two in the second…then two in the third! Unlike Green, however, not a single one of those six shots would find a way past Jon Cima (6/6). Naturally, this meant that Fiore’s first period strike would hold as the game-winner, and the balance of Lime’s attack was mere gravy. Captain Salt made it 2-0 at 7:48 in the second (Brian Baker), Glenn Pinto tacked one on forty seconds later, and Eric Willard wrapped the scoring with an empty netter in the late going to propel Lime on to another Sunday of playoff play, 4-0 over Grey. On the subject of rising draft stock, Matt Henderson (19/22), was flat out fabulous this season, keeping his offensively-challenged side in every game…even the ones that ultimately looked a bit ‘lopsided’ in the ledger. Grey join the other five castoff teams on the curb outside the CrossBar™, while Lime look to slide past Green and into a Salt Boy Showdown™ with Heather Blue this Sunday.