Good afternoon, my beautiful SSBHL Community.

We have finally arrived at the end of the line for the SSBHL Spring 2026 season. It was a great ride to the finish line. We had so many great games and fun battles to watch and play through throughout the season.

I want to extend a thank you to all the players who sincerely make this such a special league to play in and manage. You made my job relatively easy this year with minimal behavioral issues, especially lol. I don’t think I had to send out a single email this season to scold bad attitudes or behavior, so I am genuinely happy to see everyone getting along and simply playing the game.

A very big thank you to every Captain this season for their hard work and sacrifice. Taking time to round up their players each week, acquiring flex players when needed, setting lineups, keeping their squads in check, and everything else that comes with the role. It isn’t always easy work, but without that effort, this league doesn’t exist.

A big thank you as well to Karri Cookson for supplying the award cookies this season and the Finals cake, which was incredible! If you're in Foxborough, please check out her bakery, Sweetness Honey & Bakery!

And last but certainly not least, thank you to our league admins who supply help whenever needed, provide insights in Discord, and get to the rink early to do chores like sweeping the rink and clearing sand off the playing surface to make it safer for everyone.

AKA Brendan O’Brien!

Please give him a thank you when you see him. He is an absolute angel of a person.

One final thank you goes out to our beloved and dearly departed Ronald Prince. He would be proud of everyone this season and all of their efforts.

Anyway, enough with the hearts and flowers. Let’s jump into the Prince Cup wrap-up.

PRINCE CUP FINALS
Spiders (1) vs Mustangs (2)

Mustangs Win Spring 2026 SSBHL Prince Cup
Final Score: 10-1

In a matchup featuring arguably the two best teams in the league all season long, it was a game many people had been looking forward to watching.

What was expected to be a battle of giants featured the number-one seeded Spiders, owners of the league’s best goal differential, taking on the number-two seeded Mustangs, a team loaded with multi-faceted scorers and relentless hustlers.

The Spiders, who finished in 6th place last season, had risen from those depths to become the best regular-season team in the league.

Standing opposite them were the Mustangs, whose Fall season ended in a brutally disappointing semifinal exit against the 4th-seeded Smokey Joes, who had barely scraped into a playoff spot. Ironically, the Mustangs had been the number-one seed with the best goal differential that season.

A tale of two teams battling for the ultimate prize.

Only one could take home the Prince Cup, while the other would leave with nothing but shattered dreams.

1st Period

The match started with both teams testing the waters, neither side really gaining an edge early.

There were a few low-danger shots from the point, plenty of missed attempts wide of the net, and both teams appeared to be feeling each other out.

However, the Mustangs would draw first blood.

Defenseman Gianni fed a pass over to Captain J-Mac, who entered the zone near the blue line and fired a quick wrist shot that caught goaltender Dan Harding off guard, giving the Mustangs a lead they would never relinquish.

Only a few minutes later, J-Mac would set up defenseman Cullen Crocker, who threw a wrist shot toward the net from the point. The shot deflected in front and found an opening to increase the lead to 2-0.

Trying to change the momentum of the game, the Spiders increased their forechecking pressure but accidentally got caught with a tripping penalty on forward Jordan Cookson.

The penalty gave the Mustangs another scoring opportunity and a chance to extend the lead even further.

And that's exactly what happened.

After a deflected shot created a loose ball in front, it landed directly on B-Mack’s stick in the slot, and he buried it to extend the lead to 3-0.

That would be the score heading into the 2nd period.

2nd Period

Going into the 2nd period, more of the same continued.

The Spiders missed several quality opportunities, while the Mustangs continued generating dangerous chances.

The Spiders even received two power-play opportunities and failed to convert on either one. In fact, the Mustangs generated several quality scoring chances while shorthanded.

The Mustangs were the best special-teams squad in the league this season, and it was on full display in this game.

Later in the period, the Spiders once again found themselves needing to kill a penalty and once again failed to do so.

J-Mac scored on the power play, assisted by Gianni yet again, to extend the lead to 4-0.

The Spiders would finally get on the board thanks to a wild deflection in front of the Mustangs net from Tim Aktas-Osburg, assisted by Brian McDermott, making the score 4-1 and potentially giving the Spiders some life.

Unfortunately for the Spiders, that momentum lasted only moments.

Once again, the Mustangs rushed into the offensive zone, and once again J-Mac found himself point-blank in front of the net. Off another feed from Gianni, he scored to make it 5-1 and immediately crush any momentum the Spiders had generated.

It simply seemed like goaltender Dan Harding couldn’t stop a beach ball in this matchup.

Easily one of the toughest outings of his season.

The Mustangs continued applying pressure throughout the period and never let up.

J-Mac would strike yet again, sneaking in on a breakaway and scoring off a feed from Bronson Zawaduk to close the period at 6-1.

A very difficult deficit to overcome.

3rd Period

The 3rd period offered no relief for the Spiders.

The onslaught continued.

On a 2-on-1 rush, J-Mac and B-Mack entered the zone together. Joey slid a cross-crease pass over to Brendan, who fired it toward the net.

In a desperate attempt to make the save, Harding dove across and got a piece of it with the glove, but the ball still found a way in.

7-1.

The Spiders would receive another power-play opportunity, but once again it was neutralized by the outstanding defensive awareness and structure of the Mustangs.

Later in the game, B-Mack threw a sharp-angle shot toward the net, and somehow it found a hole and slipped through to make it 8-1.

Apparently, the Mustangs still didn’t feel safe with a seven-goal lead.

With roughly four minutes remaining, they attacked once again.

B-Mack led the rush, with his defensive partner joining the play. A shot off the boards created a loose ball, and Cullen Crocker found it first and buried it to make the score 9-1.

With only three minutes remaining and an eight-goal lead, the Mustangs wanted to complete the double-digit dismantling of the Spiders.

And they did.

J-Mac found a wide-open Gianni late in the game, and Gianni blasted home one final goal to make it 10-1, which is where the score would remain.

Top Players of the Finals

Joe MacKenzie (J-Mac)
4 Goals / 3 Assists / 4 PIM / 1 Power-Play Goal
7 Points

The Prince Cup MVP and the driving force behind the Mustangs' championship victory.

Brendan MacKenzie (B-Mack)
3 Goals / 1 Assist / 2 PIM / 1 Power-Play Goal
4 Points

An absolute workhorse all game long and a constant threat every shift.

Gianni Sciola (G)
1 Goal / 3 Assists
4 Points

Outstanding from the back end and instrumental in driving offense while maintaining strong defensive play.

Cullen Crocker
2 Goals / 1 Assist
3 Points

Made the most of every opportunity and delivered a huge Finals performance.

Manny DeBettencourt
1.00 GAA / .963 Save Percentage
27 Shots Against / 26 Saves

A rock in net and a massive reason the Mustangs were able to slam the door on the Spiders.

That wraps up our Spring 2026 Finals!

A huge congratulations to the Mustangs on a dominant performance and a well-earned Prince Cup Championship.

Great work by the entire squad.

They were by far the best team throughout the playoffs and absolutely earned the right to lift the Prince Cup.

I’m looking forward to a little offseason rest, but prepare yourselves...

Next season is right around the corner.

Rest up, recharge, and I’ll see you all soon.

Signing off for Spring 2026,

Dan Harding

Thank you.