Finishing first in the regular season was no guarantee of playoff success in the Floral Park Screaming Eagles roller hockey league. In fact, all three regular-season division winners came up empty in the playoffs.

In the Junior Division, the V&A Gourmet Deli Monarchs wound up coasting to the regular-season title with a 10-4-1 record. But they didn't make it out of the semifinals against the fired-up Green Gardens Phantoms.

The Phantoms stunned the Monarchs in the series opener, winning 5-4 on Michael Creighton's tie-breaking goal with 1:55 remaining in regulation time. The Monarchs fought back, evening the series with a 6-4 victory. Kevin Dunbar broke a 4-4 tie when he beat goaltender David Siebold for a shorthanded goal with 38 seconds left. Anthony Zlata added an insurance tally with 3 seconds remaining.

The Monarchs started Game 3 as if they would breeze to victory, racing to a 3-0 lead on two goals by Andrew Gateson and one by Jamie Gateson. But the Phantoms wouldn't quit, getting goals by Henry Hughes, Mike Watts and Ryan Oswald in a 2:05 span to pull even. Jamie Gateson put the Monarchs up 4-3, but Oswald tied the game late in the second. Joey Chalmers gave the Phantoms their first lead with 13:22 remaining in regulation. Justin Franklin forced the overtime when he scored an unassisted goal with 8:23 remaining.

The Phantoms killed off a pair of penalties late in the third period, then sent the Monarchs home at 1:19 of the overtime period when Matt Brzoza beat goaltender Joe Tholl, the regular-season leader with a 4.00 goals-against average, on assists from Hughes and Oswald.

The other semifinal series also went to the limit, with the Floral Park Motor Lodge Americans rallying from a shootout loss in the series opener to beat the Ciro's Pizzeria Sound Tigers in three games.

The Sound Tigers took the opener, 7-6, by winning the shootout, 2-1, after blowing a 6-4 lead in the third period. Joe Penteck had a pair of goals to help the Sound Tigers rally from a 2-0 deficit, but Tim McQuade and league scoring leader Bryan Collins (33 goals, 56 points) scored midway through the period to even the score. Sound Tigers goalie Desmond Zantua, tops during the regular season with a .866 save percentage, survived an eight-shot barrage in the overtime to send the game to a shootout. Matt Watts and Penteck scored in the shootout for the Sound Tigers, while Ricky Sharkey had the lone goal for the Americans. Zantua stopped Matt Vota on the fifth round of the shootout for the victory.

The Americans got their act together in the third period of Game 2, turning a 2-2 tie into a 6-2 victory. Collins had a hat trick in the third period, and goaltender Kyle Christian made 32 saves, allowing only goals by Penteck and Watts.

That set up the third and deciding game, and like the other semifinal series, this one also went to overtime. The Sound Tigers led 5-3 with less than five minutes to play, but Collins scored with 4:54 remaining to make it a one-goal game and McQuade connected with just 18 seconds to play in regulation to tie the game. Collins got the series winner with 1:17 remaining in overtime, converting a feed from McQuade, tops during the regular season with 26 assists, on the 92nd shot of the game. Christian finished with 42 saves.

The Phantoms continued their overtime success by winning Game 1 of the finals, 6-5, on Mike Watts' goal 1:01 into the extra period. Watts' goal late in the second period gave the Phantoms a 5-3 lead, but the Americans rallied on third-period goals by McQuade and Alex Korol, both set up by Bobby Pizzuro, to tie the game early in the third period. The Americans had a power play late in regulation, but were unable to beat Siebold. Oswald then won the game with an unassisted goal.

The Phantoms rode the momentum of their Game 1 win by rolling to an 8-3 victory in Game 2 to wrap up the title. Brzoza scored a pair of goals and Creighton added another for a 3-0 lead after one period. Watts added a goal in the second and two more in the third as the Phantoms overcame a two-goal performance by Collins, thanks to a 32-save effort by Christian.

In the Bantam Division, the Long Island Checker Cab Pirates, who fell out of first place by losing their last four regular-season games and ended up second, swept their way to the championship without losing a game. In fact, they became the first team in the league's nine-year history to go through the finals without allowing a goal.

The Pirates routed the Floral Park PBA Wolfpack, 7-2, in their series opener, as Patrick O'Grady scored six times and Andrew Setaro made 21 saves. The Wolfpack looked like it was about to even the series, carrying a 3-2 lead into the final 15 seconds, thanks to two goals by Michael Tangredi and one by Ryan Grant. But O'Grady, the division leader with 33 goals and 46 points, scored on a breakaway with just 10 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. After a scoreless five-minute extra period, the teams went to a shootout. John Groshans put the Wolfpack ahead by beating Setaro in the second round, but Kevin McCarthy tied it by scoring in Round 3. Grant scored in Round 4, but O'Grady kept his team alive by connecting in Round 5. Neither team scored in the sixth round, but in the seventh, defenseman Matt Kreiser, who hadn't scored a goal all season, beat Conor Doyle to put his team ahead. Grace Mulhall appeared to have Setaro beaten, but her shot hit the post and stayed out, triggering a celebration by the victorious Pirates.

In the other semifinal series, The Equipment Room Flames, the regular-season champions, survived a first-game loss to the Con-Kel Landscaping Hawks to make the finals.

The last-place Hawks got the jump on the first-place Flames by stealing the opener, 1-0. Michael Carleo's goal with 15:46 remaining in regulation time, set up by Thomas Monahan and Kate Sweeney, proved to be the game's only tally. David Siebold stopped 19 shots to win a goaltending duel with Michael Ost, the regular-season leader with a 2.73 goals-against average and .867 save percentage.

The Hawks, who had perked up with a pair of season-closing wins, jumped out to a lead in Game 2 when Carleo scored 30 seconds into the game. But the Flames regrouped and tied the game late in the second period on a goal by James D'Amico. With the Flames' defense tightening the noose, the game remained tied until Jake Seide, who scored only twice during the regular season, converted a feed from Brandon Franklin, the regular-season leader with 18 assists, with 7:15 remaining to put his team ahead. Danny Anacrelico gave the Flames some insurance by connecting for a power-play goal with 2:16 remaining.

Rejuvenated by the win, the Flames coasted to victory in the deciding game, winning 9-2. Garrett Conti, who tied O'Grady for the goal-scoring lead with 33, scored four times for the Flames and Andrew Viscusi connected for a pair of tallies. The highlight for the disappointed Hawks was a penalty-shot goal by Thomas Monahan.

The Pirates dominated the opening game of the finals, shutting out the Flames, 4-0, behind a near-perfect defensive effort. McCarthy had a pair of goals in the first period, both set up by Max Devane, and O'Grady added two more in the third. The defensive trio of Kreiser, Joe Setaro and Kyle Brzoza limited the high scoring Flames to just 17 shots on goal.

Game 2 was a goaltending duel between Ost and Andrew Setaro, who exchanged save after save in the tight-checking contest. Ost's best save came early in the third period when he robbed Gregory Geisperger from the slot, while Setaro foiled breakaway chances by Brandon Franklin and Conti and great defensive plays by Kreiser and Devane in overtime broke up what looked like sure goals. With the Flames pressing in the final minute of overtime, McCarthy picked up an errant pass near his own blue line, raced down the right wing and fired a shot from the top of the right circle that beat Ost, setting off a celebration by the Pirates.

In the PeeWee Division, the DePhillips Sports Mighty Ducks, who finished a close third in the regular season, captured the title by sweeping the finals from the regular-season champion North Fork Bank Bulldogs.

The Mighty Ducks captured the opener, 2-1. Second-period goals by regular-season scoring leader Timmy Conway (55 points) and Logan Pietroforte put the Mighty Ducks ahead by two. Alex Meisel, set up by assists leader Jocelyn Penteck (43), cut the margin in half with 7:13 remaining in regulation time. But the Ducks limited the Bulldogs to just shots in the final period and 12 for the game.

Game 2 belonged to the combination of goaltender Patrick Lynn and Conway. Lynn stopped all 20 shots he faced and Conway scored three times as the Mighty Ducks won the title with a 3-0 victory. Conway opened the scoring midway through the second period, on an assist from Logan Pietroforte. Lynn preserved the lead with 6:25 remaining in the middle period when he stopped Penteck on a penalty shot (the first taken by a girl in the league's nine seasons).

Conway gave his team some breathing room with 11:14 remaining in the third period by scoring an unassisted goal, then put the game away with 2:11 remaining, converting a feed by Andrew Prizzi.

Both of the semifinal series went three games. The Bulldogs split a pair of shootouts with the Red Door Real Estate Barons, dropping the opener, 7-6, before winning the second game, 7-5. The Barons captured the opener when Ryan Perge scored an unassisted goal 2:41 in regulation time, capping a seesaw game in which they twice trailed by two goals. Adam Cieslewicz and Timmy Drake sparked the comeback with two goals each. Matt Szala, the regular-season leader with 45 goals, had three tallies, Penteck added two, and Paul Doherty added one for the Bulldogs. Doherty's goal with 7:05 to play had tied the game at 6-6.

Szala took matters into his own hands in Game 2, scoring six times. Doherty's power-play goal with 10:57 remaining broke a 4-4 tie. The Barons got goals by Perge, Cieslewicz, Patrick Scott, Mike Meegan and Gerard Farrell.

But after two high-scoring games, the third and deciding contest belonged to Bulldog goaltender Dominic Roberge, the regular-season leader with a 3.73 goals-against average and .831 save percentage. He stopped all 17 shots he faced in a 4-0 victory. Penteck, Szala, Doherty and Meisel all scored goals, and Penteck added a pair of assists.

The other semifinal series looked like it might be a runaway when the Mighty Ducks blasted the Carriage Trade Insurance Agency River Rats in the opener, winning 7-2. Conway had five goals and an assist for the Mighty Ducks, and Terence Guidal added a pair of goals. Dylan King and Conall Ryan had the goals for the River Rats.

But the Rats refused to quit. They trailed 4-2 midway through the second period of Game 2 but scored three unanswered goals to skate off with a 5-4 victory. Ryan, who set up early goals by Scott Naab and Matt Sweeney, started the comeback in the second period. After Naab tied the score with 9:30 remaining in the third period, Ryan scored again with 2:41 remaining to win it.

The third game was a much tighter-checking contest. Pietroforte gave the Mighty Ducks a quick lead, but Zach Chilleli tied the game just 1:13 later. The game remained tied at 1-1 until midway through the final period, when goals by Pietroforte and Guidal provided the final margin. Lynn made the lead stand up, stopping all six shots he faced in the final period and 16 of 17 overall.

The Barons had to outlast the Gebhardt's Restaurant Bandits in the qualifying game to advance to the semifinals. Perge scored twice in a four-goal burst after Chris St. Clair had given the Bandits an early 1-0 lead. However, the Bandits wouldn't go quietly. Connor Vidasolo scored with 5:02 remaining and St. Clair connected again with 10 seconds left. But the Barons hung on for the 4-3 victory.

In the Squirt Division, the Associated Foods Wolves wrapped up the regular-season title by beating the TNT Liquidators Falcons 6-2 in their season finale. The Wolves ended up with an 8-4-3 record and 19 points. Adam Su led the Wolves with four second-period goals after Matt Sweeney had given the Falcons an early lead. Thomas Connors had two goals for the Wolves, while Conor Doxey, the regular-season leader in assists with 13, had four more. Vincenzo Capezza set up both goals for the Falcons. Wolves' goaltender Nicholas Felicetti topped the division with a 2.86 goals-against average and .807 save percentage.

The Commerce Bank Robins ended their season on a positive note by beating the Falcons, 8-1. Logan Pietroforte, tops in the regular season with 42 goals and 52 points, had five goals for the Robins and Connor Quail added three. Sweeney, set up by Capezza, had the lone goal for the Falcons. The victory lifted the Robins to a second-place finish, two points ahead of the Falcons.

Earlier, the Wolves wound up having to settle for 4-4 ties against both the Commerce Bank Robins and the Allstate Insurance Crunch. In each case, they were unable to hold late leads. Su had four goals in the game against the Crunch, with Chris Giancola and Andrew Braun each picking up a pair of assists. But Jason Reed notched his fourth of the game with 2:10 remaining in regulation to give the Crunch a point. Joseph Buonocore and Shannon McLaughlin added two assists each.

The Wolves had a 4-2 lead midway through the final period of their meeting with the Robins, but a pair of goals by Pietroforte gave the Robins a draw. Timothy Cleere and William Ost set up the goal that made it 4-3, and Pietroforte scored unassisted with 1:44 remaining to tie the game.

Reed had a pair of late goals in the Crunch's match with the Falcons to earn his team a 5-5 tie. He finished the game with five goals. John Ryan set up three of the five goals. Sweeney had four goals and Scheer added one for the Falcons.

Pietroforte dominated in the Robins' 6-1 victory over the Crunch, scoring five goals and setting up one by Anthony Calo, while Thomas Sullivan made 13 saves. Reed and Buonocore scored for the Crunch.

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