“PERFECTION (17-0)”
History was made in the Over-30 league as the Roadrunners accomplished what no other team in the past 31 years has ever done in the league, winning every single game they played in both the regular season and playoffs! Going wire to wire, the Roadrunners will go down in league history as the only “perfect” team which is a record that will probably stand forever. Capping off his individual incredible year as player and team captain, Dominic Defrancisco won his third back-to-back Season MVP awards (the only player in league history to do this; no other player has ever won even one back-to-back Season MVP awards). The Roadrunners had every team component locked in all season, with a powerhouse offense and speed with players having career seasons, a stingy defense led by an aging legend that controlled their own zone and didn’t give up many scoring chances in any game, and a goalie that shutdown the net as the last line of defense with a sub 2 goals against per game, a high save percentage, and posting 5 shutouts (2 of these in the playoffs).
The Roadrunners capped of their amazing season posting a 3-0 shutout of the defending champion Captain’s Mutiny, who were in this game until the last minutes down only a goal, but unable to score that one goal to change the momentum.
Both the Roadrunners and Captain’s Mutiny were missing players for the Finals who could have made a difference. The Roadrunners were missing forward Garvin Chan and defenseman Joe Shannon, while Captain’s Mutiny were missing forward Don Maccini and defenseman Shawn Mulcahy. Coming into the Finals, this matchup was one-sided as the Roadrunners had beaten Captain’s Mutiny all three times they played during the regular season, while outscoring them by more than a 2-to-1 goal differential (19-7). If Captain’s Mutiny had a chance, goalie Dale McIsaac had to stand on his head and be the difference, while the team had to figure out how to contain the speed of the Roadrunners.
The first five minutes of the first period had both teams playing solid defense, while each team generated some scoring chances. However, it was one and done on these scoring chances for both teams, as both goalies made sure not to give up any rebounds. Only 2 ½ minutes into the period, captain Matty Iannello found himself open on the right side of the crease with a defender on him, with the ball on his stick and the goalie out of position, but his shot just missed on the shot side of a wide-open net that could have given his team the early lead and momentum (it was a tough play as the defender was right there forcing Matty to shoot quickly).
At the 5:25 mark of the first period, it was the Roadrunners scoring first, just like they had done for the majority of the season, on a quick counterattack using their speed. Mike Duggan was set up by Dominic Defrancisco to open up the scoring. Both team’s defenses controlled the play even with a heavy forecheck by the forwards on them. Both teams were playing hard, not conservative, to open up the game, while Captain’s Mutiny surprisingly was not sitting back at the blue line. Rather, they chose to attack with two forwards trying to pressure the Roadrunners defense. At the end of the first period, the Roadrunners had the 1-0 lead, while each team generated 9 shots on net.
The second period was played similar to the previous period, with each team matching each other in offense and defense. Thirty seconds into the period, the other captain Dominic had his moment to shine as a defensive turnover gave the ball right to Dominic in the middle of the rink at the white line, and his slapshot missed on the far side. The same pattern was playing out for both teams, as any scoring chances were one and done and stopped by the goalies. Late in the period, Captain’s Mutiny made a push and had a flurry of activity near the crease but was unable to score on the ensuing scrambles out front in the crease, as the goalie and defense made plays keeping this a one-goal game. They came close but couldn’t capitalize. At the end of the second period, the Roadrunners were still holding a 1 – 0 lead, and both teams had 20 shots on net. To say that this was an evenly played game through two periods was an understatement.
Heading into the third period, this was still either team’s game to win. The pace had picked up as the game was played faster with a back-and-forth attack by both teams. Each defense held their ground and were making plays and not turning the ball over. Captain’s Mutiny was negating the speed of the Roadrunners. This game would come down to which team made those “heads up plays” that would prove to be the difference in this game. The Roadrunners were chasing perfection, while Captain’s Mutiny was defending their previous championship. With just under five minutes to play, Doug Morand scored the key goal of the game, as he took a pass from Mike Duggan on a pass by Steve Medeiros, to score off the left wing beating the goalie up high. You could almost feel the sign of relief and momentum swing to the Roadrunners on this goal. As they had done all season long, the Roadrunners took full advantage of this momentum swing to score quickly and add some insurance scoring. A minute later, Dominic was set up in close by Mike Duggan and Dom’s backhand attempt beat the goalie with 3:40 left in the game. All that was left was for the Roadrunners to run out the clock, which they did to achieve perfection. Final score was the Roadrunners winning a close game by the score of 3 – 0, while outshooting Captain’s Mutiny 31 shots to 30.
On the way to the Finals, the Roadrunners atoned from last season’s coming off the playoff bye week loss, with a 5 – 0 shutout of Vulcan Grip. Breaking open a 1 – 0 game after two periods with four unanswered goals in the semifinals. Garvin Chan led the way on offense with 2-goals and 1-assist, while defenseman Steve Silveira had a monster game both defensively and offensively with a huge insurance goal three minutes into the third period while also setting up 2-goals. Naz scored the highlight goal of this game, his first playoff goal in years, with a rocket top corner shot from the left point.
For defending champion Captain’s Mutiny, they stormed back not once but three times against Devil’s Disciples to pull out a 6 – 4 slugfest. Defenseman Elder Lopes was the standout player in this game, scoring 2-goals (including the game winning goal with fifty seconds to play in the game) on a slapshot from the left point, while also setting up two goals. Matty Iannello also had a big game with 1-goal and 3-assists.
As a somewhat surprising pick (but not to the voters), defenseman Steve Silveira earned the Playoff MVP award for his standout defensive play overall and his timely offense. Steve scored a big goal and added 2-assists in the playoffs, but it was his overall play on defense as his team’s quarterback and shot blocker that led his team not giving up any goals against during their playoff run. Congratulations Steve, well earned!
Congratulations to first time winners of the league championship, Mike Duggan, Garvin Chan, Doug Morand, Tony Fosco and goalie Steve Taddonio.
Congratulations to the Roadrunners team on achieving “PERFECTION” as the only team to ever win every game played in a single season as well as the playoffs, winning the Spring 2023 championship of the Over-30 league. Players include: Captain Dominic Defrancisco, Mike Duggan, Gary Goodwin, Garvin Chan, Tony Fosco, Doug Morand, Todd Bryson, Joe Shannon, Steve Silveira, Naz, Steve Medeiros and Steve Taddonio.
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