The championship match is set and we’ll see Direwolves vs Lightning next Wednesday.  Direwolves needed a penalty shootout to get past Emeralds in an intense encounter.  It was Alex Salcedo who scored for Direwolves while Sam Modarresi netted for Emeralds.  At the end of regular time there was no winner so on to the shootout.  Everyone crowded around the west side net of the mighty Hangar.

First up was Ozan Durukan who has a strong fan following and they were in the crowd cheering him on.  He did not let them down as he scored to make it 1-0.  Kevin Bonner’s attitude has always been that if you take a great penalty, he’ll make a great save and that’s just what he did. The advantage was with Direwolves after round 1.

Bad News Hughes is no stranger to mind games and he messed with the mind of Dale Burgess who was next up to the spot.  The pressure of the moment didn’t get to Burgess though, who scored to make it 2-0.  Up stepped Ronalduy who needed to score to keep Emeralds alive.  Currently tied with John Altinian as the all-time leading goal scorer, few would bet against Ronalduy in the moment.  Bonner’s not a gambling man but if he was he’d bet on himself, stop the penalty and be the hero….and that’s what happened!  Direwolves move on.

The second semi-final was a very different affair.  It didn’t take Lightning long as Seamus made a great run, beat 3 players and then beat the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.  A few minutes later Seamus scored again, this time a powerful shot from distance.  It might have been the shock of being down 2-0 or maybe it was adrenaline dump but Nightmares didn’t recover and Lightning went on to win 7-1.  It’s a tough way to end the season for Nightmares but it’s not reflective of their quality.  They had a great season with more highs than lows.

This sets up a glamorous final in which the top 2 teams from the regular season will battle it out.  Direwolves & Lightning will kick-off at 7 pm and a full preview will come next week.  At 6 pm, Emeralds and Nightmares will play for third place while Vaders and Red Bulls will once again do their thing.