Orange 3 Black 2
Orange picked up its 2nd straight one goal victory to start out the double elimination playoffs and will have a chance to play on the final night of the season (December 23rd) if they can beat Red next Monday. No one scored in the first 15 minutes of last nights game. Unfortunately for black, they had trouble getting a consistent lineup throughout the season with last night being no exception. Corey Bassett only played a couple games while Josh Clontz and Phil Pompeii missed some games as well. Phil Pompeii was not present last night which gave Peach the opportunity to fill in. He was originally scheduled to ref with Steve Hetrick but Steve was unable to stay and Adam and Braxton preferred to ref as a combo deal. Orange scored the first 2 goals of the 2nd period (Rob/Wadds) before Black closed the gap to 2-1 (Andy). The game remained 2-1 going into the 3rd period before Zach Foradori scored for orange to give them a 2 goal lead. Normally, a 2 goal lead isn’t a big deal in rec hockey, but it was last night, especially the way that Clint has been playing. Foradori normally fills in for black but orange needed him to play last night to try to make up for John Matchocks role as a skater and Zac Grays void. His role was filled perfectly as he scored the most important goal of the game for orange. Andy Calvert scored a short handed goal for black with around 5 minutes to go in the 3rd period but they were unable to score the tying goal late in the game. Both goalies, Clint and Match, played very well in net for their respective teams and both teams played good defense throughout. If orange loses to red next week, they will be stuck playing again at 820. A win will give them 2 chances of winning a championship on December 23rd. Zac Gray is out for the season but they may try to recruit Justis Reed to take his place next week to make up for the loss.
Red 8 Gray 6
The playoffs is a whole new season and team red is making the most of the opportunity. Their biggest problem throughout the season was getting people to show up but they are now getting people to show up and Henry is saving his best for the playoffs. Once again, he played a big role in his team’s win last night. Sky Blue had trouble getting shots past him last week and gray had trouble finding the net against him last night. Jeremy Johnson has been filling in for red as much as he can throughout the season and he played a part in last nights win by scoring twice (peach may have knocked in the goal that made it 2-0 but Jeremy is the one that created the chance with gray goalie Tony Dodd not being able to gain full control of the ball). Noah made a nice pass to Jeremy in the 3rd period that could have given him a potential hatrick but Jeremy just missed on the pass. Zach Foradori was supposed to take Jeff Wehners place last night but he changed his mind on playing 3 games in a row opening up the door for Jake Kline to play. Jake said he would limit his time on the court considering they had 3 subs but he made the most of his time by scoring their first goal and later added a big insurance goal. Red never trailed in this game but Bob Anderson and gray kept getting shots off and got to within a goal on numerous occasions after finding themselves down by 3 on multiple occasions. Anderson was the only one who appeared to solve Henry by scoring at least 3 times. Zach Smith and Cory would eventually score on him as well and Zach set Brian up for a nice goal at the end but they never found a way to get a tying goal. Troy Gaydosh scored an empty netter for Red late in the 3rd period with Noah, Jake and Jeremy doing most of the damage with goal scoring. Morgan, Peach and Steve Pompeii all blocked their share of shots and played good roles defensively for Red. It was a complete team effort for red. We will see what Henry says in his interview below for his take on the game. Team gray will look to bounce back against sky blue next Monday and could get a potential rematch with red depending on how things turn out.
Sky Blue 7 Yellow 5
Yellow did not go away quietly these last 2 weeks, but their playoffs ended the way their regular season did, with more close losses. Anthony Schuckers led sky blue with 6 goals on the night. Sky Blue only led 2-0 at the end of the first period but found a way to increase that lead to 5-0 as the 2nd period went on. Bubba was sick last night which opened up the door for John Matchock to fill in. Jerred Amick was also not available for blue which opened the door for Laken to fill in. Ben Rossi and Tony Benanti were not available for Yellow last night which opened the door for Zach Foradori to fill in. He contributed a goal but the damage had been done by then. Fred Terwilliger led the way offensively in goals for yellow. The colonials may need some of his offense in the xhl this season with Kevin not returning. Larry also contributed a 2nd period goal for yellow as they tried to chip away at the deficit. Yellow closed a 7-2 3rd period deficit to 7-5 late in the game but time ran out on their season. Adam McKinley was a part of 3 championship teams in 2024 (XHL, SRHL and the Brockway draft league) but could not find the win column in this league. He will look to get back when XHL begins. Jake Kline added the other goal for sky blue last night. They will need to beat gray and orange or red next week to have a chance to play on December 23rd. Cody would be available for blue if they can get to that night.
Henry Sutter (Red)
1. 8-6 win over Gray last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? I couldn’t be happier with how we’re playing right now. We had our ups and downs all season, but we felt confident coming into the postseason. It’s good to see everyone clicking and playing to the potential we knew we had.
2. You appeared to be in a good groove last night. As a goalie, how important is it to get off to a good start and make a few good saves to start a game? It’s always a mental battle between the pipes, and a good start goes a long way to get the right mindset. A few early goals can crash your confidence if you let it, and a few saves can set you on the right track.
3. This team has had some different faces all season. How do you think Steve and Jeremy have fit in since they started playing on the team from time to time? We’ve had very little consistency with our lineups, but we’re starting to build some chemistry with our fill-in players. They’ve played enough with us now that we know how to set them up for success, and they know how to mesh with what we’re doing.
4. Noah has come a long way in such a short time period. What have you noticed with him that stands out over some of the other players in the league? Everyone knows how great Noah is at this point. If you don’t know it, it’s time to open your eyes. He’s a game changer every night. One thing I’ve noticed this season is his ability to adapt and grow into what’s needed of him. From what I’ve seen this season, he’s become a phenomenal defender, and he’s quietly becoming one of the best face off men in the league.
5. Gray pulled to within a goal on different occasions but you guys kept answering. How much nicer is it playing with a 2 goal lead instead of a 1 goal lead? Goal support means everything to me as a goalie. Every time Gray struck, we had an answer. They’ve been awesome in front of me all season, and they’re playing their best right now. It’s been a lot of fun.
Josh Clontz (Black)
1. 3-2 loss to orange last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the loss? I think both teams really pushed, the goalies were hard to beat at both ends and it was intense on the boards.
2. The game was tight and low scoring throughout. Do you like playing in those kind of games or do you like the high flying, high scoring games? When there is a lot of goals being scored it is exciting, the back and forth is great. But the tension of low scoring game is just as fun. I don't really have a preference as long as its a close game.
3. The team had trouble getting a consistent lineup (Corey hardly came and Phil was only present a few times. You missed a couple weeks to start out the season). What positives can you take out of the season? We all got plenty of minutes!
4. What can you say about the season in Brockway this past summer and were you pleased with how things went? We had another great year in Brockway. We draw some great players from multiple leagues for the competitive league. And the non comp is a great way for new players to get a start, as well as some of us older players to still get out there. We are looking forward to another great season.
5. Some of the older guys are talking about retiring in the near future. How long do you plan/hope to keep going for? Retirement? I have said I would like to play until I am at least 50, but really, as long as I am still putting up some points and feeling good I will keep playing.
John Matchock (Goalie for black, skater for orange, this was after his games on Monday, December 2nd).
1.You were a part of a 5-4 win and a 9-5 loss last night. Did you have happy thoughts or upset thoughts as you left the rink last night? I don’t like losing. So the second game bothered me
2. You had a big goal in the game against yellow. How would you describe the team effort for orange in that game?I thought we played pretty well. We played good defensively. Plus Clint made some nice saves when we broke down in a few cases
3. Yellow almost pulled off an upset. Were you worried at all as that game went on? Oh yeah. They kept it close. Anytime Adam is in net, you’re going to have to work for your goals.
4. Gray got ahead of you guys early against black last night. What do you think went wrong for your team in that game? All well when you give up a goal on the first shot, that’s not a good feeling. I should have made a few more saves to give the team a chance.
5. You are always full of positives. What positives can team black take out of last nights loss? I thought we the offense pressure up in spurts. Not like in previous weeks though. I think we played much better in the third. Some momentum to carry over to next game
Rob Reed (Orange)
1. 3-2 win over black last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? We were a little slow in the first period, Black had the puck more than we did, we were lucky to come through still tied. We definitely played better in the 2nd and 3rd.
2. The game was tight and low scoring throughout. Do you like those type of games better than the high flying, high scoring games? Generally yes, especially as a D-man. But to be honest, when it's playoffs I'd like us to be high scoring and them to be low scoring
3. What can you say about Clint’s play last night and throughout the season? Clint is really big, that's a good thing for a goalie.
4. Red next week. What kind of game are you expecting from them? They outplayed us last time. Week 3 I think, seems like a long time ago. All the teams have been meshing better lately, hopefully we are up to the challenge.
5. No Zac Gray last night. How do you think Zach Foradori did in his fill in role? Zach has filled in several games for us, I feel like he fits in very well with us. Orange has been a really great group of guys, one of the things I love about the draft setup is getting to know different players better.
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