9 bubblers made it out for the April 1, 2010 Playoff Tournament to crown the winners of the 2010 Winter/Spring South Jersey Bubble Hockey League (S.J.B.H.L.).  Read on for all the details and to see who came out on top...

The Playoff Tournament format was as follows:

The 9 players who showed (#4 seed Scott Storck did not make the event) were seeded #1-#9.  Players played a 3 game playoff series while in the A bracket.  Winners advanced until only 1 player was undefeated, Losers dropped to B bracket and played each other in 3 game series until only 1 player remained in the B bracket.  These 2 players would battle for the 1st Place Crystal Cup trophy, with the loser earning the 2nd Place Crystal Cup.  The other 7 players would be sent to "the Ladder" to battle in a single elimination format for the 3rd Place Crystal Cup.

#8 seed Chris Shannon opened with #9 John DelVacchio, and after a terrific 3 game series (each player won 4-1 in the first 2 games), Chris advanced 2 games to 1, winning 3-1 in game #3.  Chris next took on #1 seeded JG, where he fell in 2 straight (4-0 and 7-1).  #2 seeded Brian "B-Dawg/DJ Wheels" Nelson toppled #7 Joe "the painter" Tornotore in 2 games (2-0 and 8-4).  #3 seed Bill Brooks whipped up on #6 seeded Lib "the white russian" Spector, 8-2 and 8-0, some revenge for Bill after Lib took him to the limit at the tournament 03/20/10.  #4 Jimmy "thefuture" Schwartz had a tussle with #5 seed Larry "Jesus" Jefford, but won out in 2 straight close games (3-1 and 7-5).  That meant that all 4 top seeds moved on in the A flight, with the other 5 dropping to the B flight.  #1 JG dispatched Jimmy to the B flight with a 2 game sweep (5-2 and 6-2).  In a bit of a surprise, #2 Brian overwhelmed #3 Bill in 2 straight - 6-1 and 3-1.  Bill is a multi-time SJBHL champion and was coming off an impressive tournament win 03/20/10, but Brian was flat out the better player in this series.   That left JG and B-Dawg in the A finals.  This was a great series, with lots of emotion, chills, spills, and thrills, going right down to a 3rd and final game.  JG won convincingly in game #1, 8-3, but Brian battled back for an impressive 5-4 win in game #2.  In game #3, Brian controlled the pace of play, but JG's goalie was standing on his head making save after save to keep hope alive.  Brian was up 3-1 in the 3rd, but JG scraped together some cheap goals to battle back and force O/T.  Tied at 3, JG kicked home the winner in O/T and advanced to the finals...

Down in B flight, Lib and Chris waged war over 3 games - Chris won game #2, 4-1, and should have won game #1 but fell 5-4.  In game #3 Lib was too much, cruising to a 7-2 "w" in the finale.  Joe took on John and won out in a sweep in 2 close contests - 3-2 and 4-2.  Chris and John fell to the bottom rungs on "the Ladder."  Lib advanced to meet Jimmy, with Jimmy advancing easily in 2 games, 6-1 and 6-3.  Joe met up with Larry in B flight and this, too, was an epic series.  Joe won game #1 3-1, and had control for most of game #2 before falling in O/T 6-5.  Game #3 was a war, but Larry squeaked out a 6-4 win to advance on in B flight with Jimmy.  Lib and Joe tumbled to "the Ladder."  Larry took on Bill and put in a solid effort, but solid isn't enough against "the Master" - Bill in 2 games (5-2 and 4-2).  Bill then had to deal with Jimmy, his protoge - Bill taught Jimmy everything he knows about bubble hockey, and on this night that was a thing or two too much.  Jimmy sent Bill to "the Ladder" in a scintillating 3 game series - 4-5, 4-3, and 6-5.  All three games decided by 1 goal, all in O/T.  The action was intense and crisp in each game - Jimmy was just a little bit better.  The victory over Bill earned Jimmy a match-up with Brian for the right to battle JG for the championship.  In a bit of a surprise, Jimmy won out in 2 games - 6-5 and 4-2.  That sent Brian down to the top rung of "the Ladder," and left Jimmy and JG to duke it out for 1st and 2nd Place; the survivor of "the Ladder" would earn 3rd Place.   

JG and Jimmy took 3 games to decide the championship, with Jimmy jumping all over JG on game # 1 with a 4-1 whitewashing.  JG changed tactics and went on the offensive in game #2, whalloping the youngster 7-2 to set up a game #3.  In game #3, "thefuture" was no match for the old-timer - JG won 6-3 to claim back-to-back S.J.B.H.L. league titles for the first time ever.  Congrats to JG!!!  And congrats to young Jimmy for his 2nd Place finish - he continues his journey to the top of the bubble hockey world, and no one would be surprised to see him take that next leap and win a league title in the not too distant "future."

Down on "the Ladder," players were assigned rung positions based on their order of defeat in B flight - the earlier a player was defeated in B flight, the more rungs they would need to climb to reach the top and gain the 3rd Place trophy.  Chris and John met in game #1 on "the Ladder," with Chris posting a nice 3-1 win.  Chris then took an unexpected step up another rung when he upset Lib in a great game, 4-3.  Chris almost pulled another upset, but he fell in O/T to Joe 3-2.  Joe climbed another rung when he defeated Larry in another classic contest, 4-3.  Joe almost pulled off a tremendous upset, giivng Bill all he could handle in their game before falling 5-3.  Great job by both Chris and Joe on the Ladder - nice going guys!!!  That left Bill and Brian in a duel for the 3rd Place Crystal Cup.  Brian was the hotter player and seemed to have Bill's number the past few weeks in league play, but Bill had revenge on his mind - he crushed B-Dawg 7-2 to capture the 3rd Place trophy,

Congrtats again to JG (1st), Jimmy (2nd), and Bill (3rd) for their league trophies - check out the picture under the  PICTURES link of the 3 winners and their trophies, as well as other snapshots from the playoffs.  Thanks to all who participated in the league this year, and as always all are welcome to come check out the league.  We start up game play again in August 2010 = hope to see you then.  Thanks again everybody!!!

JG (2-time defending S.J.B.H.L. champion)