Legends vs Winter Soldiers
Soldiers sweep semis, advance to final
In what was billed as a matchup of youth vs veterans, the result favored the youth. Both teams made sure they came with stacked benches, as they obviously knew the implications at stake. Winter Soldiers have a few players who can do some damage and they came out firing in game 1, with a triumphant 5-1 victory and with 4 different goalscorers lighting the lamp. The Legends retreated to their dressing room, knowing that they had to play a solid perimeter game, relying on their neutral zone strengths and absolutely avoid the penalty box, in order to level the series at 1 game apiece. Game 2 saw the goalies extremely busy as both teams decided to open the flood gates by going on the offensive. Unfortunately for the Legends, they trailed throughout the game and were unable to gain any kind of momentum and ultimately lost by a 7-4 scoreline. J.Mckenzie & C.Kakivelis took care of the offense combining for an incredible 12 points in both games. Credit goes to the Winter Soldiers, who used their overall team speed, ball possession and timely scoring to secure a place in the final. Hats off to the Legends, who battled hard till the last buzzer and made it to the final four in a very competitive division.
Legacy vs Bramabulls
Series goes the distance, Legacy prevail
This match-up featured 2 teams who are battle tested and have championship pedigree and are strong throughout their respective line-ups. They’re all too familiar with each other, having had numerous battles over the years and so it was only fitting that it went the distance, with yet another classic. Game 1 started like your typical playoff game, with both teams feeling each other out. Then within the span of 11 minutes in the 2nd period everything changed, as Legacy scored an incredible 6 goals and proceeded to rout the Bulls 6-1, with J.Rochon’s hat trick leading the way. Game 2 saw the Bramabulls have a much better start leading 4-0 after the 2nd period. Incredibly enough, Legacy stormed back to tie it at 4, with little time left, sending it to shootouts where sniper J.Mandracchia was the lone shootout marker extending the Bulls season and forcing a deciding mini-game. The mini-game was fast and furious, with both teams trading punches and going toe to toe with each other in the back and forth affair. Trailing by 1 with less than 10 seconds remaining, the Bramabulls tied it up, forcing overtime where the drama continued. In what may probably be the biggest goal of his ball hockey career, S.Athanasopoulos delivered in overtime with the goal that sent Legacy off to the finals. Credit both teams with providing fans with an entertaining spectacle from start to finish.
The Salumi Vino player of the night goes to S. Athanasopoulos of Legacy.
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