Playoff Recaps!
Toe Dragons Sweep Pinky, Advance to Next Round
Toe Dragons came out flying and never looked back, turning an early 1–1 game into a 9–3 playoff blowout over Pinky and the Fruitcakes.
Jordan Brown opened the scoring for Pinky, but Toe Dragons quickly took control with four unanswered goals in the first. Josh Wright, Derek Kercher, Lee Hirneisen and Nick Santorelli all found the net as the Dragons carried a 4–1 lead into the second.
The Dragons kept pouring it on in the second. Wright, Santorelli and Trevor Lambert extended the lead to 7–2, and although Nate Leaman and Drake Brown added goals for Pinky, Santorelli completed a hat trick before the period ended to make it 8–3.
Santorelli wasn't finished. He added his fourth goal of the night in the third, putting the finishing touch on a dominant 9–3 victory.
With the win, Toe Dragons completed the sweep and officially advanced to the next round of the playoffs.
Outlaws Take 1–0 Series Lead
The Outlaws take a 1–0 series lead after winning Game 1 by forfeit. With no game action played, the result was officially recorded as 1–0, putting the Outlaws one win away from advancing.
Diddy Party Sweep Mercenaries, Advance to Finals
Diddy Party came out flying against the Lebanon Mercenaries, jumping out to a 3–0 lead in the opening period and never giving Lebanon enough room to fully climb back into the game.
Devin Unger opened the scoring at 6:48, and Daymond Hiester doubled the advantage just a few minutes later. Then, with literally one second left on the clock, Eric Refford buried another to send Diddy Party into the break with a commanding three-goal lead.
Lebanon finally got on the board early in the second when Julian Imm cut the deficit to 3–1, but Diddy Party answered right back. Unger scored his second of the night with just over a minute remaining in the period, restoring the three-goal cushion heading into the third.
The third period turned into a scoring frenzy. Anthony Weitzel and Unger scored just seconds apart to push Diddy Party ahead 6–1, with Unger completing his hat trick in the process. Lebanon managed to make the score look much closer with three late goals from Dylan Holst, Chase Schrift and Brett Steffe, but Hiester added his second of the night to keep Diddy Party comfortably ahead.
When the final horn sounded, Diddy Party had secured a 7–4 playoff victory, completing the series sweep over the Lebanon Mercenaries and punching their ticket to the SAHL Finals.
Unger led the way with three goals, while Hiester added two as Diddy Party controlled the game from start to finish. Now, after sweeping their way through the series, Diddy Party is headed to the Finals, just one series away from a championship.
Shit's and Giggles Sweep Tip Ins, Advance to Finals
Shit's and Giggles and Just the Tip Ins gave everyone a playoff game to remember on September 28, trading punches all night before Shit's and Giggles finally escaped with a 7–6 overtime victory and completed the series sweep.
The Tip Ins struck first, with Braden McCloskey opening the scoring early. Shit's and Giggles answered with Bruce Hawthorne and Kyle Beilhart, but the Tip Ins refused to let the lead disappear. Andrew Witman tied things up with just 40 seconds left in the first, sending both teams into the locker room deadlocked at 2–2. Stern kept the Tip Ins in it early, while Weaver answered the challenge at the other end for Shit's and Giggles.
The second period belonged to the Tip Ins. Jayden Witman and Dan Witman scored just five seconds apart, turning a tied game into a 4–2 Tip Ins lead in a matter of moments. Shit's and Giggles answered late in the period when Jason Rozum cut the deficit to one, setting up a huge third period with the Tip Ins holding a 4–3 advantage.
Just when it looked like the Tip Ins might be able to hold on, Shit's and Giggles started their comeback. Andrew Witman pushed the Tip Ins back ahead 5–3, but Hawthorne immediately answered. Then Hawthorne struck again with 5:18 remaining, completing his hat trick and tying the game at 5–5.
The final minutes were absolute chaos. McCloskey scored with 4:38 remaining to put the Tip Ins back on top, but Shit's and Giggles had one more answer. With just 1:26 left in regulation, Hawthorne completed his incredible night with his fourth goal, tying the game at 6–6 and sending it to overtime.
After three periods of back-and-forth hockey, neither team was ready to give an inch. But at 6:09 of overtime, Andy Sowers finally broke through, burying the game-winner off a setup from Hawthorne and sending Shit's and Giggles into celebration.
The comeback was complete, and more importantly, the series was over. Shit's and Giggles swept the Tip Ins with the 7–6 overtime victory, punching their ticket to the SAHL Finals.
After surviving one of the wildest games of the playoffs, Shit's and Giggles are now just one series away from the championship.
Mixed Nutz Force Game 3 After Wild 11–7 Win
After dropping Game 1, Mixed Nutz came into Game 2 knowing they had their backs against the wall, and they wasted absolutely no time making their presence known. The Nutz exploded for five goals in the opening period, with Elliot Repsik and Jeff Bohler leading the charge. Brett Steffe added another as Mixed Nutz jumped out to a 5–3 advantage. The Puppies managed to keep themselves within striking distance, but with Steffens between the pipes for the Nutz and Wilson guarding the net for Sweater Puppies, it was clear this one was going to turn into a battle.
The second period was where the Puppies started to make things interesting. Mixed Nutz continued finding the back of the net, but Sweater Puppies kept answering every time they needed to stay alive. Bohler completed his hat trick and Eric Refford added to the Nutz lead, but the Puppies answered with goals from Reece Wilson and T.J. Sinchak to cut the deficit down to 7–5. Suddenly, what looked like it could turn into a runaway game was right back within reach heading into the final period.
Then came the third.
Mixed Nutz came out looking determined to put the game away, scoring early and often. Steffe added another, followed by Refford and Matt Mariano, as the Nutz stretched their lead all the way out to 10–5. Sweater Puppies refused to completely fold, getting two more goals to bring some life back into the bench, but every time they started to build momentum, Mixed Nutz had an answer.
With just over a minute remaining, Repsik completed his hat trick, putting the finishing touch on an 11-goal night for the Nutz and officially putting the game out of reach. The Puppies had plenty of offense of their own, but the five-goal first period from Mixed Nutz proved to be too much to overcome.
When the final horn sounded, Mixed Nutz walked away with an 11–7 victory, evening the playoff series at 1–1. After splitting the first two games and combining for 18 goals in this one, everything now comes down to one final game.
Game 3 will decide it all.
Shooting Blanks Complete the Sweep in Overtime
Shooting Blanks punched their ticket to the next round in dramatic fashion, coming back from an early deficit and stealing Game 2, 4–3 in overtime to complete the playoff sweep of KeppStiens Island.
KeppStiens Island came out strong once again, with Matt Keppley and Cody Rotiske scoring in the opening period to give them a 2–0 advantage. Shooting Blanks finally cracked the scoreboard in the second when Drake Brown cut the lead to one, but KeppStiens carried a 2–1 advantage into the final frame.
The third period was absolute chaos. Christian Wenger tied the game with just over nine minutes remaining, only for Keppley to answer with his second of the night and put KeppStiens back ahead 3–2. It looked like the series might be headed to another game, but Shooting Blanks had one last trick up their sleeve.
With literally no time left on the clock, Andrew Walter buried the tying goal to make it 3–3 and force overtime.
Then, eight minutes into the extra period, Jordan Brown finished the comeback and sent Shooting Blanks into the next round with a 4–3 overtime win.
After taking Game 1 and now surviving another overtime thriller in Game 2, Shooting Blanks completed the 2–0 series sweep of KeppStiens Island. What looked like a KeppStiens victory for most of the night ended with the Blanks celebrating once again.
Diddy Party Storm Back to Take Down Lebanon Mercenaries
Lebanon Mercenaries looked like they were on their way to a comfortable playoff win Sunday night, jumping out to a 3–0 lead in Game 1 against Diddy Party. Alec Moyer was the man doing the damage early, scoring twice before Chase Schrift added another to put the Mercs firmly in control. Diddy Party finally got on the board late in the period through Daymond Hiester, but still entered the second down 3–1.
With Wagaman holding down the crease for Diddy Party and Pat Noecker between the pipes for Lebanon, the Mercenaries extended their lead back to three early in the second when Moyer completed his hat trick, making it 4–1.
From there, however, everything changed.
Devin Unger and Hiester quickly brought Diddy Party within one, and then Hiester completed his own hat trick with just three seconds left in the period to tie the game at 4–4 heading into the third.
The comeback was only getting started.
Diddy Party came out flying in the final frame, with Unger scoring twice more to complete his four-goal night and Steven Groff adding another to push the lead to 6–4. The Mercenaries, who had controlled the opening half of the game, suddenly found themselves chasing the action.
Unger added his fourth of the night to make it 7–4 before Hiester capped off an incredible night with his fourth goal, sealing an 8–4 Diddy Party victory.
After trailing 4–1, Diddy Party scored seven unanswered goals to completely flip the game on its head and storm out of Game 1 with the win. Hiester and Unger each finished with four goals, accounting for every single Diddy Party goal in the comeback.
Toe Dragons Steal Overtime Thriller in Game 1
The playoffs got their first real thriller as Toe Dragons and Pinky and the Fruitcakes battled all night in a back-and-forth Game 1 that needed overtime to decide a winner. After 40 minutes of momentum swings, the Dragons finally came through in extra time, taking a 5–4 victory.
Pinky struck first when Nate Leaman opened the scoring, but Toe Dragons quickly answered with goals from Derek Kercher and Tom Lambert. With just 30 seconds left in the opening period, Jordan Brown found the back of the net to tie things up at 2–2, giving both Shawn Noecker and Steve Conklin plenty of work to do as the game continued.
Drake Brown put Pinky back in front early in the second, but Kercher answered with his second of the night to make it 3–3. Then, with only 21 seconds left in the period, Tom Lambert scored his second to put the Dragons back on top heading into the third.
Pinky wasn't going away quietly. Leaman scored his second of the night with just over nine minutes remaining in regulation, tying the game at 4–4 and sending Game 1 to overtime. Noecker and Conklin both held their ground as the game remained deadlocked through the opening minutes of the extra period.
Finally, Trevor Lambert ended the marathon, finding the back of the net in overtime to give Toe Dragons the 5–4 win and a victory in Game 1 of the playoff series. After trading leads throughout the night, the Dragons had the final answer when it mattered most.
Shit's and Giggles Crush Just the Tip Ins in Playoff Opener
Shit's and Giggles wasted absolutely no time getting things going in the playoffs, jumping out to a 2–1 lead in the opening period. Just the Tip Ins managed to answer with a goal from Jayden Witman, but Kyle Beilhart quickly put S&G back in front.
The second period was where things really started to get away from the Tip Ins. Brett Steffe extended the lead before Bob Angstadt brought the Tip Ins back within one at 3–2. That was about as close as it would get. Andy Sowers scored twice before the period was over, sending Shit's and Giggles into the third with a 5–2 advantage.
From there, it was all Shit's and Giggles. Konnar Meier added his second of the night early in the third, and Casey Kerschner followed up with two of his own. Beilhart then put the finishing touch on the night with his second goal, giving S&G a 9–2 playoff victory.
What started as a competitive game quickly turned into a statement performance from Shit's and Giggles, who completely took over the final two periods and left the Tip Ins with no answers.