Hello and good afternoon SSBHL Community!
Good afternoon all!
Good afternoon SSBHL Community!

We had some great games last week that went very well! Some really cool overtime and shootout drama between the Joes and the Stick Figures, refs falling over the dasher boards, all sorts of good stuff that can be watched over on our YouTube channel if you’re ever bored.

With the regular season winding down, I just wanted to reiterate a few things to think about! The yearly award votes will be going out after this Sunday, so please think about who you want to award credit to for the categories of MVP (Most Valuable Player), Best Defensive Player, Best Goalie, the Joe Godfrey Award, which is the best defensive forward aka the Selke Award, and the 6th Man of the Year Award, which is awarded to a player who was primarily not a starting-line player, someone who comes off the bench and was fantastic. And finally, the Arthur Reynolds Award, which is for best sportsmanship.

Please note: Brad Wall cannot win this award this year lol. I’m pretty sure he has won this like 5 seasons in a row, so it’s time to pick someone new haha. Sorry Brad, love you, but we need to spread the love.

We also will be hosting a small tournament in honor of our beloved Ronnie Price, who recently passed away. Steve Wilde was kind enough to take the reins and organize it. He sent out an email with the dates and the signup list, so please jump on that if you are interested. Details are in the email, so check your inbox.

Point Generating Players

#1 Offensive Player of the Week – Ryan “Dragon” Doherty and Matt “Swan Song” Swan (Smokey Joes Star Forward and Captain) – Each with 2 Goals and 2 Assists – 4 Points

Ryan and Swan of the Smokey Joes were both engines of offensive production when it mattered most in a massive matchup against the Stick Figures. This match was pivotal in either narrowing or increasing the gap for 4th place between the Joes and Sticks, and when a win was absolutely needed, the Joes got it done like they usually do.

Starting us off in the 1st period, Swan would get the opening goal within the first few minutes off an assist from Ryan! Swan, from a sharp angle with seemingly nothing to shoot at, batted it in out of midair and into the top corner of the goal to get the 1st goal of the game. Both players registered a point with that start.

Later into the 2nd period, with the last 54 seconds left and down by a goal, Swan would then return the favor and chip a pass up to linemate Ryan, who would come in from the left side of the goal and snipe home a shot past the goalie to even the game at 2-2.

Heading into the 3rd period is when all hell broke loose and the scoring opened up, with Ryan leading the charge and once again getting an assist from his Captain Matt Swan, where both players would register another point. Swan would come in from the right side, and Ryan would sprint into the play, get wide open, and outwait the goalie for him to move slightly out of the way before throwing a wrist shot past him to take the lead 3-2.

Fast forward to the later stages of the 3rd, the game is tied at 4-4 and the Joes are on the power play and had just given up a shorthanded goal… with momentum down, once again Ryan would set up Swan in the slot after drawing in a few defenders, and Swan would creep into open space in the slot and blast home a slapshot to reclaim the lead!

Both Swan and Doherty ended the day with 4 points each, with 2 goals and 2 assists. Overall, the dynamic duo did their part to ensure they moved into 3rd place and out of danger territory in the standings.

#2 Offensive Player of the Week – Aiden “Nighthawk” Lovett (Spiders) – 2 Goals, 2 Assists – 4 Points

To no one’s surprise, once again we have Aiden Lovett in the top 3. This guy seems like he can’t avoid making the top 3 every week and has to actively try not to make it haha.

Aiden was once again a big reason for the Spiders’ tight victory against the Mothmen, who were playing for their lives.

Aiden started off the scoring in the 2nd period for the Spiders with a perfect bar-down wrist shot that tied up the game at 1 apiece.

Later into the 3rd period, Lovett would score once again, set up from linemate Jordan Cookson. Aiden would come in from the slot and pick the blocker side of the goalie with such little space, an absolute snipe to take back the lead at 3-2.

At one point in the 3rd, the Moths would actually storm back with 2 quick goals to go up 4-3 with only 2 minutes and 30 seconds remaining. Aiden would leave his mark on the game once again by setting up Ryan Gurley point-blank in front of the Moths’ netminder, who would score to tie up the game.

Again, like he always does in clutch moments, Aiden would follow up on a shot from the slot, collect the rebound, and feed over a perfect pass to Captain Leary for the game-winning goal and complete the comeback.

Aiden ended the day with 2 goals and 2 assists for a total of 4 points. He’s been on a heater all season long, and nothing seems to be slowing him down.

#3 Offensive Player of the Week – Joe “J-Mac” Mackenzie (Captain of Mustangs) – 2 Goals, 2 Assists – 4 Points

J-Mac will always be a threat on the rink, whether he’s rushing the offensive zone, getting back on the forecheck, or setting up a perfect passing play to his linemates, he just gets it done.

In Week 7, J-Mac returns to the top 3 list with a solid overall performance to elevate his team to victory.

J-Mac started out his point production in the 1st period at 2:45 with an absolutely filthy goal. He received a pass from Novo, got a partial breakaway, brought the ball from his forehand to the backhand, and threw it in with accuracy. A highlight-reel goal!

His next point would come in the 3rd when he received a pass from defenseman Gianni, shot it towards the net, and it deflected off his linemate Chris Novo, who registered his 1st goal of the season.

His next point would be a wicked wrister from the dot after he broke up the play. Joey came bombing into the attacking zone and fired home a bullet blocker side. Joey would not be denied.

His final point of the night would come from an assist. J-Mac came into the attacking zone and point-blank got a good look off that the goalie denied. However, his brother and linemate B-Mack would follow up the rebound and pot it home.

Joey ended the day with 2 goals and 2 assists and registered 4 points on the day.

Damaging Defenders

#1 Defensive Player of the Week – Jeff Beattie (Captain of Sticks) – 2 Goals, 0 Assists – 2 Points

In a crucial game of importance to the Stick Figures where every goal and point was needed to stay alive in the playoff race, Jeff dropped back to the defensive line and did what he could to limit the Joes’ high-octane offensive pressure.

He was not only good in a defensive regard, but also logged 2 imperative goals to help propel the Sticks to overtime and the shootout.

Although they came up short in the shootout, Jeff’s effort did at least yield some fruit with a point in the shootout loss.

Jeff’s 1st goal came in the 1st period where his shot seemed to trick the goalie, who did not notice it come in at the corner of the net as it slid down and tied up the game late in the 1st period.

However, his most crucial goal came with only 23 seconds left in the 3rd when down by a goal. Jeff curled into the attacking zone, wrapped around onto the forehand, and shot one through traffic, and the seeing-eye shot somehow found a hole through the defense and goalie and tied the game up, which forced overtime.

Not only that, but Jeff had multiple shots on goal throughout the game, plenty of blocked shots, and relentless forechecking in his zone to break up plays time and time again.

His team has a lot of work ahead of them heading into Week 8 and is desperate for points. They will look to get back into the winning column in the standings and narrow the gap between the Stick Figures and the Marshfield Gators.

#2 Defensive Player of the Week – Jordan Cookson & Ryan Gurley (Spiders) – 2 Goals for Gurley, 2 Assists for Jordan – 4 Points Between Them Both

Because of the new implementation of switching forwards and defensemen, I’m combining this one between Jordan and Ryan.

Both were switching with each other back and forth all game long from defensive player on the blue line to transitioning into the zone while the other would simultaneously drop back to defend. This strategy and synergy between these two was apparent throughout the game, and each fed off it very well.

Both players combined for 4 points, Jordan with 2 perfect assists and Gurley with 2 powerful goals.

Jordan started off getting points with a slot-feed pass to Aiden Lovett, who crept into the Moths’ zone undetected and scored a top-shelf wrister to even the game up.

The next point between the pair came from a breakaway goal from Ryan Gurley, who grabbed an opportunistic mispass from the opposing team, sprinted into the zone, went forehand-backhand, and buried the goal to take the 1st lead of the day for the Spiders at 2-1.

The next point would come off another pass from Jordan to Aiden again in the slot, who labeled the top blocker side of the net with a blistering wrist shot!

The last point was on a goal from Gurley point-blank in front off an assist from Lovett, which tied the game at 4-4 in the late stages of the 3rd.

The two players were also clutch multiple times. Both Gurley and Cookson were breaking up high-danger plays in front, keeping the front of the net cleared from danger, and cleaning up any rebounds left from the keeper.

Overall, a great performance from the duo, and they will look to keep the momentum going into Week 8.

Top Tier Tending

#1 Goalie of the Week – Andy “The Pickle” Godfrey (Smokey Joes)

It’s everyone’s favorite menace to society, good ol’ Andy Godfrey, back between the pipes today for this beloved Smokey Joes squad, much to the dismay of his defensive linemate Max Schraut lol.

However, despite some shaky goals, Andy performed pretty decently for the most part and managed to hold onto a GAA of 4.55 while facing a total of 48 shots on net and stopping 43 of them to hang onto a respectable .896 save percentage.

However, this was an odd match with highs and lows for the young goaltender, who in the 3rd period only faced 8 shots and gave up 3 goals.

He would, however, redeem himself by giving up nothing in overtime and having a perfect shootout as well.

Overall, it was a relatively quiet week in the goaltending column, but Andy stayed true and got the win in an important game, which was essentially a must-win.

They don’t call him “Big Game Andy” for nothing, or in this case… The Pickle 😉

#2 Goalie of the Week – Brad “The Flow” Wall (Stick Figures)

Despite the outcome not going in his preferred direction, Brad still played a respectable game against the talented Smokey Joes offensive roster of Swan, Doherty, and Rinaldi.

Brad faced a total of 42 shots on net and saved 37 of them, which locked him in at a save percentage of .881, which was the 2nd-best save percentage of the day.

Brad was solid in the 1st and 2nd periods. However, the same issue Andy had, Brad faced as well, giving up 3 goals in the 3rd, although he did face more shots than Andy in that period.

Brad wasn’t very tested in the overtime period as the ball was mostly stuck in the Joes’ zone with their tired players hemmed in.

Brad was also very good in the shootout and only gave up 1 goal, but stopped Swan on the 2nd attempt.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad game by the goalie, but he did have a significant cool-off from his last perfect performance. You can’t expect that every time. You just need to give your team a chance, and Brad absolutely did and helped secure at least the point with the shootout loss.

Standings so far…

1st Place – Spiders: 5-2-0 / Points 10 / GF 43 / GA 28 / GD +15 (1st Seed)
2nd Place – Mustangs: 5-2-0 / Points 10 / GF 37 / GA 33 / GD +4 (2nd Seed)
3rd Place – Smokey Joes: 4-2-1 / Points 9 / GF 33 / GA 36 / GD -3 (3rd Seed)
4th Place – Gators: 4-3-0 / Points 8 / GF 29 / GA 35 / GD -6 (4th Seed)
5th Place – Stick Figures: 2-4-1 / Points 5 / GF 33 / GA 36 / GD -3 (3 Points Behind 4th)
6th Place – Mothmen: 1-5-1 / Points 3 / GF 30 / GA 37 / GD -7 (5 Points Behind 4th)

Upcoming Games…

(5/17/26) 9:00AM – Marshfield Gators @ Mothmen (Key Matchup: Pat Sullivan vs Tim Shyshpar)

(5/17/26) 10:30AM – Mustangs @ Stick Figures [BIG MATCH] (Key Matchup: Manny DeBettencourt vs Brad Wall)

(5/17/26) 12:00PM – Smokey Joes @ Spiders (Key Matchup: Matt Swan vs Aiden Lovett)

-Dan H