Wednesday December 20(F2 & F3 Semi finals)

(1)Bramabulls vs Venom(8) F2 Game 2

Venom furious response levels series

Venom got their swagger back in time to save their season. M.Trivissono defended his team after last week's collapse, and backed it up with 24 saves to hand the Bramabulls a humbling 8-1 loss. It was a complete effort-from a team that was clearly energized. After grabbing a 2-0 first period lead, the snow ball effect was in motion as Venom cranked it up adding three more goals by the second and third periods. J.Parisella struck three consecutive times while five other players scored to beat a defenceless G.Follano. With this kind of result, Venom showed plenty of life and felt confident entering a game three mini game.

(2)Venom vs Bramabulls(0) F2 Game 3

Venom's pedal to the medal keeps Bulls in rear view mirror

There was almost no way that Venom would let this opportunity slip away. And they realised it when J.Courteau found the back of the net only 90 seconds into the contest. Venom was intent on continuing from-where they left off and got there by applying the same focus and determination. M.Trivissono was stellar once more denying all 9 shots his way. After setting up the first goal, B.Deslauriers fed another perfect ball to J.Quesnel-Vinet, who secured the series with a two goal cushion. It was a night that the Bramabulls had nothing working for them up front. Apart from J.DeSua's lone tally, no one else was able to score in back to back games.

(4)Horsemen vs Armadillos(3) F2 Game 2

Armadillos, no solutions for T.Mader

The Armadillos seemingly relentless push to the final hit a speed bump on Wednesday night as they suffered their first loss all year. Surely it takes many things to go right for winning this game for the Horsemen, but they can thank T.Mader, who absolutely brilliant riffling all four goals. The Horsemen took control as of the second period where they doubled their lead 4-2.Despite being down, the Armadillos saw this story all over again and played with fire once more only to get burned this time. D.Andrade sparked some life to cut the lead by one, and with still over nine minutes remaining, the division leaders finally hit a wall. M.Vinciguerra appeared to be very ready on this night facing 28 shots and wasn't done yet as a big game three ensued.

(2)Armadillos vs Horsemen(3) F2 Game 3

Horsemen stun division with upset win over Armadillos

Doing it once is quite a feat, but repeating it f or second time is quite remarkable. Unless the Horsemen were playing possum with the Armadillos, this result shocked many including the Horsemen. But regardless what was in front of them, the Horsemen knew they could have done it, especially after coming off the win only moments ago. They jumped off to a 3-0 lead getting goals from S.Zermalias, V.Pandza and G.Giannakis. That surge appeared to be more than enough considering there was only five minutes left over, but it wasn't the case. The Armadillos put a quick scare by striking twice in only a minute. However, that was a close as it got and the Horsemen pulled it off handing the heavy favourites two consecutive losses.

The F2 Wednesday division is now down to only two teams. Venom will take on the Horsemen in what will be a heated battle. With Venom rolling on all cylinders with their explosive offense, the Horsemen will need to repeat what they did versus the Armadillos in order to have a chance.

(5)Primetime vs Fat Cats(6) F3 Game 2

Déjà vu only a week later, Primetime seek therapy

How did Primetime blow two major leads only a week apart is a question that will haunt them for a while? For most of the match, just like in the previous encounter, Primetime looked like the better club, defending well, making the right plays and scoring when it counts. Tonight they carried a 4-1 lead at one point and a 5-3 lead with less than four minutes remaining. Then, in the blink of an eye, the nightmare returned. The Fat Cats rose-from the dead posting two very quick goals courtesy of J.Guerriero and S.Hrivnak to send the series in a shootout. By that point, it seemed that the script was already written for J.Scalia. The Fat Cats anomaly keeps defying the odds. After scoring twice in regulations time, J.Scalia once again provided a huge goal in the shootout that ultimately broke the tie. As harmful as both results were for Primetime, Armen Kavaldjian and the rest of his club did a fantastic job pushing the Fat Cats to the limit.

(2)Hellfish vs Deadlast(6) F3 Game 2

Deadlast roll past Hellfish to hit familiar territory

There wasn't much more the Hellfish could have done in this series. Deadlast was clearly the better of the two sides and it showed in both games. The contest was however close for well over two full periods up until the last five minutes where N.Gikas and J.Pantelis collected their second to secure the result. K.Fiore may have netted the key goal of the night. With the score tied 2-2, the solid defenseman snapped the tie and Deadlast never looked back. B.Makris faced 26 shots allowing only two goals and was flawless by the third where the Hellfish attempted a comeback.

The F3 division final will feature the Fat Cats taking on Deadlast. Both sides came off different scenarios in the semi finals. The Fat Cats relied on late moment dramatics while Deadlast had control of their situation. The Fat Cats will need to be very attentive to Deadlast's quick forwards. If they figure out a way to contain that part of the game their chances will be good, if not, look for Deadlast to prevail.

The SalumiVino player of the night goes to Trevor Mader of the Horsemen. Sometimes it takes a memorable performance to help shift the tides. The Horsemen were able to oust the Armadillos in part because T.Mader scored all four goals in game two to help set up a do or die deciding match.