Successful Detour

Back to back blowout losses to Red to close the regular season and open the post season had Captain Sean Bathgate’s Brown feeling pretty down, but sliding past Grey and Pink to build back some mojo and momentum had them believing they might just be the little six seed engine that could. It would take plenty of chugging for that little engine to puff past the second and first seed in the same night, but a 3-0 regular season win over the former had Brown’s brains trained on at least one upset win. A scoreless first had a ‘feeling each other out’ vibe, with neither team wanting to expose themselves to attack, and neither able to find a successful strike. Then came a four minute span in the second that saw four goals…three of them on Baby Blue’s half of the ledger in the first three minutes of that stretch. Kalen Hunter was the first to convert, depositing a Luke Wolmer feed at 9:32, and goals by Weston Nawrocki at 7:57 (Leah Gonzales & Will Heinl) and Captain Rob LaVigne at 6:48 (Kalen Hunter) had Brown feeling like a speed bag the week before a big fight, and Baby Blue (rightfully) feeling like ruthless assassins. Mark DeGraffenreid tapped home a gorgeous crossing feed from Josh Wirt to stop the bleeding for Brown at 5:37 in the second, but a second Kalen from Luke nuke at 1:08 restored Baby Blue’s three goal edge going into the third. Another stretch of scoreless play ate away the majority of the final frame, but Brown’s second at 1:29 (Wirt from Chris ‘Pretty Awesome’ Tran) sprinkled a dash of hope over the underdogs’ bench. Alas, no heroic comeback, no Cinderella crescendo…just Don Tran (9/11) holding on to secure a win for Baby Blue, and eliminate Chris Tran’s ‘other team’ in the process, 4-2. Matt Henderson (10/14) deserved better in this one…he was great all season, but Brown’s ‘little engine’ finally ran out of steam, and ultimate ‘couldn’t’. In the most deliciously amusing twist, Chris Tran would leave the court, throw on his pads (well…SLOWLY put on his pads), then shuffle back on to the court to rejoin his Baby Blue mates in the Losers’ Bracket Final against a waiting and eager Neon…

So, the aftermath of a dozen playoff games did little more than clip away the lower seeds, leaving #2 Baby Blue to face #1 Neon for the right to face #3 Red for the ultimate prize. Sometimes things just math out more or less as expected, but history has frequently shown that the ‘tired team’ (played by Baby Blue this time around) gets the better of the second game of the night in Week Four. Neon got the better of the Week Seven regular season matchup, but it took a late three goal surge to push Vankoughnett & Company to a 4-2 win on that day, and Baby Blue hoped to turn the tables and deliver the most satisfying of all counterpunches…the knockout blow. Luke Wolmer sustained his game one sizzle, this time serving in the scoring role to put Baby Blue in front at 8:28 in the first (Captain LaVigne & Kalen Hunter). Justin Hepler used his ‘Albatross’™ wing span to wrap home Neon’s response with 2:54 to play in the first (Mark Nagy), leaving the teams on equal footing going into the first break. It was Wolmer again at 7:08 in the second (Kevin Hunter & Rob LaVigne) to put Baby Blue back on top, but Captain Vankoughnett drew Neon even again at 6:15 (Hepler), and Shelby Shattuck struck from the point on the powerplay with just 0:08 to go in the middle stanza (Hepler) to give Neon their first lead of the night. Neither Chris Tran (14/17), nor Chuck Bender (12/14) would allow another ball behind them the rest of the way, as Neon held tight against a late Baby Blue push to preserve the 3-2 win. Congratulations to Captain LaVigne and Baby Blue for a great regular season and a strong playoff push, and congratulations and best of luck to Captain Vankoughnett’s Neon, who will face Captain Enright’s Red for the Cup after the holiday break on September 7th. Neon dealt Red a 5-1 regular season defeat in Week Three, but a fully-staffed Red had the next laugh in a 4-2 playoff plot twist triumph. Neon will now need to beat Red twice to capture the Cup, while Red can complete their impressive march with just one last win…