Monday December 12( Semi finals, division 2)

Degenerates knock out Country Club with series ending shootout win

After taking a much needed game one, the Degenerates knew the second encounter would come with a lot more resistance. The Country Club went scoreless in their loss, but immediately found the back of the net in game two courtesy of J-S Lowe to gain some confidence. Goals weren’t going to come easy as both sides upped their level of play with so much on the line. Luckily enough for the Degenerates, S.Marricco  and A.Lamont were in top form controlling much of the play that resulted in Marricco tying the game on two occasions. With just over three minutes remaining, neither side could find a goal ,and the Degenerates won the battle of nerves in the shootout. C.Stavriadis saved three Country Club breakaways, and P.Stroubakis stroked home the decisive winner.

(2)Degenerates vs Country Club(0) Game 1

(2)Country Club vs Degenerates(3) S.O Game 2

(Semi finals, division 1)

A.Kakivelis unleashes a nasty seeing-eye shot to end an epic series

They needed a game three sudden death overtime, but the Classics were able to defeat the Assadi Consulting inc in a thriller. Its tough to be put in a spot when you play a ton of good hockey that can go either way decided on one play. When teams are evenly matched, its usually the last play that counts. In this case, a simple shot on net-from mid court decided the outcome thanks to A.Kakivelis sending the ball to the net in hopes of it going through. Despite what the regular season standings look like, there really wasn’t much separating these two teams when flooring a complete line up. The Assadi Consulting inc looked at times like the better of the two sides making plenty of nice plays that kept the Classics on its heels. Even though they dropped the opener it didn’t stop them form crawling back into this series. They used a strong first period to take a commanding 4-2 lead, and tightened the bolts knowing that the Classics were going to push back. Finally, the series needed another period to see who would come out on top. As expected, regulation time solved nothing with the score all tied up at one goal apiece. Once you reach this stage of a back and forth battle knowing that the next play will decide your fate, any shot toward the net can ultimately make the difference. It took only a few seconds into the sudden death frame for A.Kakivelis to throw the ball on net and catch the Assadi Consulting defense and goaltender off guard. It may not have been the prettiest goal considering the circumstances, but it counts nevertheless.

(6)Classics vs Assadi Consulting inc(3) Game 1

(5)Assadi Consulting inc vs Classics(3) Game 2

(2)Classics vs Assadi Consulting inc(1) O.T Game 3

(Semi finals, division 2)

M.Alfieri heroic shootout goal lifts ETNA past Snipers in thrilling series

It was a series that every ball hockey fan can appreciate. From-highlight reel goals to strong goaltending, it definitely lived up to the pre series hype. Both teams went toe to toe with neither backing down. After finding themselves trailing 1-0 in the series, the Snipers took a big game two thanks to a very late power play goal by Ali Sayed. Now that everything was all tied up, it was a given that both teams would give everything they’ve got. It was ETNA’s early power play goal by M.Calabrice that got the ball rolling. When playing in these types of games, players sometimes tend to give a little to much when battling for the ball. On two occasions, ETNA took a pair of unnecessary penalties. They did manage to kill one off, but couldn’t do it for a second straight time. Finding himself very comfortable in his office, F.Nasser used his patented wrist shot to get the better of M.Stoico to tie the game up 1-1. That tally left four minutes on the clock, and considering the way the series was going ,the two sides understood the importance of the next goal. Since regulation time solved nothing, an ensuing five minute sudden death period stood in the way to see who would come out on top. Still, neither side seized the moment with both M.St-Laurent and M.Stoico stealing the show. The two net minders were at their absolute best giving their side every chance possible to take the series. However, things couldn’t get decided in time which left a dreaded shootout. Out of the combined six players sent to try and be the hero, M.Alfieri was the only successful shooter. The skilled player came down very patiently while using a nifty move to get the better of ST.Laurent .While his tally proved to be huge, M.Stoico was just as significant for the result as the net minder stood firm denying all three shot attempts.

(2)ETNA vs Snipers(1) Game 1

(3)Snipers vs ETNA(2) Game 2

(2)ETNA vs Snipers(1) S.O Game 3

(Semi finals, division 1)

C.Ekonomakis puts on goaltending clinic for Brodie Boys, Dragons go the distance to punch ticket in final

No matter how good the Brodie Boys are, and they definitely are a strong, smart hockey team, it was almost irrelevant who was in front of C.Ekonomakis. The net minder turned aside 27 shots, many with highlight reel flair  to record a shutout and an important win to kick start the series. No matter what, the Brodie Boys will get their goals which was the case in game one’s 3-0 win. Entering the second encounter, everything appeared to be repeating itself with the Brodie Boys scoring twice on goals by M.Koutavas and A.Pietracuppa while C.Ekonomakis remained brilliant keeping the Dragons off the score sheet. It was now three straight periods of hockey that the Dragons have yet to figure out the goaltender. In many cases, teams will feel discouraged being snake bitten for that long , especially in a playoff series. That being said, the Dragons isn’t your ordinary team as they have the pedigree to overcome adversity due to their talent and years of experience. All they needed was for one to go in, and the rest would follow.  Eventually they finally got to C.Ekonomakis, and only because the scoring chances were nearly impossible to stop. Two out of the four goals came-from P.Musto’s precise bullets. The Dragons struck four times during that final period to overcome their deficit and force a third and deciding mini game. Since both teams were playing at the top of their game, the chances were good that this series was also going the distance. The two sides couldn’t get it done in regulation time along with the five minute overtime period where P.Delli Colli and C.Ekonomakis kept their clubs in it making spectacular saves. Unfortunately, another good series with two deserving teams needed to be resolved in a breakaway competition. This time, the Dragons got the edge thanks to A.Mirolla and J.Mandracchia getting the better of Ekonomakis while P.Delli Colli denied two very skilled players to capture a nail biting series.

(3)Brodie Boys vs Dragons(0) Game 1

(4)Dragons vs Brodie Boys(3) Game 2

(2)Brodie Boys vs Dragons(4) S.O Game 3

The SalumiVino player of the game for division 1 goes to Chris Ekonomakis of the Brodie Boys. What more can you ask-from your net minder, who kept the Dragons off the score sheet for three entire periods.

The SalumiVino player of the game for division 2 goes to Massimo Alfieri of ETNA. When a series goes this far, you look for your gamers to show up. M.Alfieri brought it on Monday night collecting a pair of important assists in a very low scoring affair while netting ETNA’s most important goal in the shootout to send his club through to the final.

The Classics and the Dragons are left to battle it out in the first division. It goes without saying that the Dragons will need to floor a complete line up. With all their elements in play, the Dragons will give the Classics a serious run. Nothing comes easy at this stage of the season as both sides are built to go all the way. There is just too much talent on both sides to predict any winner. Maybe the simple formula of limiting mistakes while avoiding penalties is what it will take.

As for the second division, the Degenerates will have to go up against a deep ETNA side. Expect a sort of chess match as the two teams wont be giving up much room. Players will need to work hard and be creative sometimes with the ball in order to generate some scoring chances. Goaltending is strong with M.Stoico and C.Stavriadis guarding the cage. This series should go far which is expected-from two teams that have shown plenty till this point.