Good afternoon SSBHL Community!

With week 10 now officially concluded, we now head into the highly anticipated Playoffs!!!! This season is bound to be an exciting and fun run to the championship, and I look forward to seeing who and what teams come out on top! Now, Lets finish off the last regular season week of top performances of Fall 2024!

Point Producing Forwards

1st) Our Top slot of the week is secured and belongs to Joe Mackenzie aka J-Mac! All season long, J-Mac has been a crucial pillar in the Spiders organization regarding producing multiple point game after game. His steady contributions to the team’s scoring are a monumental reason for the success the Spiders managed to achieve this season. J-Mac had 3 goals and 2 assists, one of which was the overtime game winning goal which secured the Spiders to the 1^st place spot. He produced all season long, and now the Spiders will look to him again come Sunday in a highly anticipated game against the Stone Hands. Nice work!

2nd) The 2^nd place slot is claimed and owned by Smokey Joes Ringer, Aidan Lovett! Aidan this season was an absolute force all season long, whether it was dishing the ball to his linemates for beautiful assists, or slamming home disgusting goals with force, Aidan answered the call as an elite player in the league quickly. Netting 5 points as well last week, Aidan had 2 goals and 3 assists which was a massive contribution to the Joes Win last Sunday. With the Playoffs now here, the combo of Aidan and Matty will look to shine Sunday against a dangerous Hooligans team that is not to be underestimated. Excellent work though last Sunday Aidan!

3rd) This week’s 3^rd place I have decided to make it a double! We have both Matt Swan of Smokey Joes and Matt Leary of the Spiders! Both Captains played a solid game last week and managed to rack up 4 points! Matty with 3 goals and 1 assist and Leary with 2 goals and 2 assists. Both Captains have been the definition of leaders in their teams, by keeping their squads organized, in line, and on track. There must be a reason both teams have the same record in 1^st and 2^nd place, and it starts with their grandiose leadership skills. The level and skill both players have produced all season is nothing short of excellence and both captains will look to go full steam ahead into the playoffs, congratulations on a great season to both of you and keep it up into the playoffs!

All-encompassing Defensemen

1st) Our Top Defensive player last week without any doubt belongs to the Pitbull’s own, Sean Pyne! Pyne was an important player last Sunday and honestly all season long. Not only was he making it difficult to establish plays in the offensive zone for the Spiders, but Sean also got involved in the scoring end of it, getting two crucial goals which helped force his team to overtime and got 1 assist, in total gaining 3 points! Sean had a great season all around and did his job helping his team stay in playoff contention, and although they came up just short, he gave them a chance and he all the time he stepped foot on time. Hats off to you Sir Pyne and Great season man!

2nd) In 2^nd place. I was torn but I had to award it to the Hooligans Blue line laser beam cannon killer, Stephen Ritz! Ritz took awhile to find his game and his place on the Hooligans and was bounced around for a bit on different lines but has seemed to have found a spot on the blue line, helping out during the powerplay and penalty kill! Hes become a very important player in B-Macs Defense scheme and has paid off greatly! Ritz was blocking shots of the Stone Hands and Scored a very important goal! All in all, Ritz has come to life in his new role and has embraced it with open arms! A healthy stick tap to your success and good luck in the playoffs Ritz! Heart of a champion!

3rd) storming and rushing in at 3^rd place is the Smokey Joes Tallest Defender, Max Schraut! Max’s name also dictates his play style, Maximum effort! This guy might just be a terminator sent from the future with his freakish athleticism and speed! There is no escaping the Clamp on the rink, if you have the ball and are the opponent, I can promise you Max is right on your tail making your life a living hell! Max was beating out icing calls, blocking shots, and keeping play alive within the offensive zone the entire game and the entire season! Max is a huge part of the Smokey Joes Defensive play and a big reason why teams struggle on offense playing them. Swan will look to Max for the same play he gave all season long in hopes of reclaiming the cup. Nice season Max!

Tantalizing Goaltending

1st) Our Top Goaltender of the week was without any question, the Hooligans Stalworth goalie, Nick Bonofiglio! The Hooligans NEEDED the win last week to advance into the playoffs, it was a must-win game where a big game was required out of Nick, and my oh my he did not disappoint his team! Nick Came in with a big-time performance, Facing 60 Shots! And stopped 57 of them, and managed to hold an incredible .950 save percentage!!! Nick was tested all game long and held his ground incredibly well and got the 6-3 win. He gave the Hooligans life with that win. Nick did his job in style and will look to his teammates to help him in the next game with much needed offensive and defensive support in his playoff match against the High Scoring Smokey Joes!

2nd) This week’s 2^nd place tendy is none other than the Spiders’ own, Dan Harding! Harding was looking for a bounce back performance from the last two weeks after struggling a bit and did manage to have a decent performance, facing in total 52 shots and stopping 47 of them, managed to hold a .904 save percentage. It’s been a good year of solid success and performance from Harding but will need to step up his game next week against the 4^th seed and high scoring and aggressive Stone Hands.

3rd) Our 3^rd place goalie was a flex for Smokey Joes, Andy Godfrey! Andy had an ok game and was serviceable in the win against the Hawks. Andy faced 43 shots on net and mange to stop 38 of them, acquiring a save percentage of .883 Overall was good to see Andy back in the pipes but will be interesting to see if he has a return to net next season full time. Good Job in the Win Andy!

Additional Performers

Seeing as it’s the last week, why not distribute some more love, right?

1st) This top spot Belongs to Thomas Schindler Who has been extremely productive this season all around! Thomas was looking like an all star forward last week with his incredible backhand top shelf goal and his breakaway goal! With 2 goals, last Sunday alone, Thomas is seeing a lot of success this season having the most points so far in his SSBHL Career! With 7 goals and 2 assists at 9 points in the season! Great work this season man!

2nd) In 2^nd I’m awarding the additional credit to Jeff Beattie! Jeff had a great game Last Sunday and Did everything he could to try to get his team the two points needed to advance to playoffs! With 2 goals and 1 assist, Jeff was involved in the defensive play as well. All in all, Jeff had a stellar season with 9 goals and 14 assists, totaling in at 23 Points. Excellent season Jeff!

3rd) In 3^rd place we have Pitbull’s Captain Pat Schultz! Schultz, in his 1^st season as a captain did a great job with his team in general down the stretch and learned the way of what it takes to be a SSBHL captain. Schultz was also battling ankle injury all season long but played strong though it and was a force all season long. Schultz finished with 3 goals and 6 assists and led his team to a commendable starting record of 3-5-2 with 8 points. Hold your head up high good sir, great season!

Final Standings!!!

1st) Spiders: 8-2-0 / Points 16 / GF 58 / GA 34 / GD +24 (1^st Seed)

2nd) Smokey Joes: 8-2-0 / Points 16 / GF 67 / GA 41 / GD +26 (2^nd Seed)

3rd) Hooligans: 4-5-1 / Points 9 / GF 57 / GA 56 / GD +1 (3^rd Seed)

4th) Stone Hands: 3-4-3 / Points 9 / GF 62 / GA 66 / GD -4 (4^th Seed)

5th) Hawks: 4-6-0: Points 8 / GF 47 / GA 69 / GD -22 (Eliminated)

6th) Pitbull’s: 3-5-2: Points 8 / GF 40 / GA 65 / GD -25 (Eliminated)

Playoff Bracket: See Below…

Upcoming Playoff Games…

11/10/24 - Smokey Joes Vs Hooligans 9:30am (SF#1, Marshfield)

11/10/24 – Spiders Vs Stone Hands 11:00am (SF#2, Marshfield)

Key Playoff Matchups…

Spiders Vs Stone hands Key’s

Joe Mackenzie with 22 Goals 15 Assists (37 PTS) Vs Matt Avenia with 7 Goals and 10 Assists (17 PTS)

Steve Wilde with 14 Goals and 11 Assists (25 PTS) Vs Matt Leary with 8 Goals and 7 Assists (15 Points)

Dan Harding with 3.41 GAA and a .922 Save percentage VS Kevin Sawyer with 6.40 GAA and a .809 Save percentage.

Smokey Joes Vs Hooligans Key’s

Matt Swan with 30 Goals and 11 Assists (41 PTS) Vs B-Mac with 23 Goals and 12 Assists (35 PTS)

Aidan Lovett with 18 Goals and 18 Assists (36 PTS) Vs Cam Mackenzie with 7 Goals and 6 Assists (13 PTS)

Paul Mendonca with a GAA of 3.87 and a .884 save percentage VS Nick Bonofiglio with 4.60 GAA and a .891 save percentage.

Now I know this is a very lengthy write up, so if you have read to the end thank you! Now, I know people want to win and are going to play hard this weekend, that’s fine but please keep in mind, it is a fun league, and I don’t want to see anyone get hurt or go too hard during the game. Please remember to be respectful of every player this week and take it easy on the refs. They are going to have a great game, and I know they will be respectful of them and respect them. The Awards will be given out this Sunday after game 1 so please, even if your team didn’t make the playoffs, you may have won an award! Its always great to have more people present to cheer or jeer the other teams in a fun manner haha.

Let’s congratulate the teams moving on and shoutouts to the two teams who battled valiantly till the end! It was a tight race, and I love that it came down to the very last game, everyone always had a chance and that’s great to see.

Thank you all!

-DJH