This Week in SCOHA – April 9th, 2026

Well folks, After a brief pause for Easter, we will wrap up another SCOHA season this weekend as all three divisions hold their championship games. United semi-finals were pretty damn close games, could’ve been anyone heading to the dance but the Flyers and Bruins survived scares from the Hawks and Leafs. Masters has the Senators and Bruins locking horns for the cup while Grand Masters has the Cinderella story Sharks facing the Blackhawks in what should be a spirited game to wrap up the season. In general, playoff ticket sales were up 32% and merchandise purchases (through Guy Shaver’s garage) were steady compared to last year. SCOHA no longer gets a concession stand commision so no one really bothered with the flat pop and stale popcorn all season.

United Division:

Flyers 4 Blackhawks 3: Dylan McInerney’s goal with 6:17 left turned out to be the game winner as the Flyers edged the Hawks 4-3. This game a constant parade to the penalty box but the guys in orange, as they always find a way to do, were the winners at the final buzzer. Give stick-taps to this Hawk team who dealt with adversity all year and almost pulled off a huge upset. Quite a few free agents that hope to re-sign but we will see what unfolds in the summer. Flyers realize they need to stay out of the box against the Bruins or it will be game over.

Bruins 4 Leafs 3 (OT) What a game! Joe Shulist scored his 2nd of the game in overtime as the Bruins got past the Leafs 4-3 and will face the fellas in orange for the cup tomorrow night. Leafs gave it all they had despite missing Rob Stewarts unwavering hustle and Peter Tompkins grinding along the dasher boards but they fell a bit short. Imagine a 3 game series against these 2 teams! Pretty even if you ask me. John Carvalho, Nick Grivich and Jake Alexander scored the Leaf goals and all said they will sit down with their families to discuss plans for next season.

Masters Division:

Bruins 3 Sharks 0: Steve Cuthbert turned aside 28 shots while Al Herron potted a pair of snipes as the Bruins blanked the Sharks 3-0. Wayne Sliwinski also scored for the winner who killed 2 penalties to lead their way to victory. They will now face a determined Senator team looking to raise the cup for their fans this Sunday.

Senators 4 Leafs 1: Paul McGraw scored the eventual game-winner as the Sens beat the Leafs 4-1. Parc Poulin, Henry Marfisi and Steve “killa” Watt also scored for the winners while Marc Ayotte replied for the Leafs. Both goalies played real well but the Senators had an answer to Sandro Morrone’s strong play in net. Much respect for Morrone who shook each Senator player’s hand up at the bar afterwards and wished them well.

Grand Masters:

“Wannabe Consolation Game”

Stars 7 Flyers 0: “Was tough to get up for this game”, one of the Flyers said after the game. Stars came ready to still give it their all despite being out of championship contention. In the end, Steve MacDonald had a hatty and Mike Archer had a pair as the Stars folded up the Flyers like a Nunavut street map. Feel bad for the Flyers who didn’t dee this result coming but they have the summer to build a good roster and take another run at it.

Semi Finals:

Blackhawks 6 Bruins 2: 5 first period goals were all the Hawks needed as they coasted to a 6-2 whitewash over the Bruins. Missing Terry “hitman” Hughes and John Bearisto, the Bruins appeared to have run out of gas which will make for a real long summer planning for next year. Nathan Seepersaud scored a pair for the winners while 4 others evened out the goals for the Hawks.

Sharks 3 Kraken 2: Fred Doucette scored a pair including the game winner with 17 seconds left as the Cinderella story Sharks edged the 1st place Kraken 3-2 and will move on to face the Hawks in the final. Guy “you look pretty scruffy today, did you lose your” Shaver also replied for the Sharks who will have busloads of fans coming to the cup deciding game Sunday. Kelly Rintjema and Bruce MacDonald had the lone Kraken goals. Kraken GM Terry Gudgeon said he needs a few weeks before he talks to the media after this disappointment. We hope to get some comments from Terry soon.

So that’s that, one more weekend of games until we put a lid on the season. Good luck to all 6 teams vying for the ultimate prize, lifting the cup and putting on that championship jacket!

PREMIUM PLUS TOOL WORKHORSES OF THE WEEK:

UNITED: DYLAN MCINERNEY (FLYERS)

MASTERS: AL HERRON (BRUINS)

GRAND MASTERS: FRED DOUCETTE (SHARKS)

Have a great rest of the week,

Chris Marttila

SCOHA Reporter-in-Chief