Sting and Dirty Dawgs Set the Pace as Minor Finals Field Takes Shape

Friday afternoon at the PIHA Finals delivered the first eight Minor Division games—the opening two rounds of the three-game round robin that will determine Saturday’s elimination seeding.

All eight division winners will play three round robin games before being seeded for the quarterfinals and semifinals later Saturday afternoon. After two rounds, two teams have emerged with perfect starts—Suffolk Sting (2–0) and Motor City Dirty Dawgs (2–0)—while the rest of the field is already packed into a tight race where Saturday morning’s final round robin games will carry major bracket implications.

Friday Results (First Two Round Robin Rounds)

12:30pm — Suffolk Sting 2, Marple Gladiators 1

Suffolk opened its Finals campaign with a tight, playoff-style win, edging Marple by one to start the day 1–0 and immediately put itself in a strong seeding position.

1:10pm — Asheville Aces 6, New Jersey Jagaloons 5

The wildest game of the opening round saw Asheville survive a one-goal shootout. The Aces’ offense held up under pressure, and the Jagaloons proved they can score with anyone—despite falling to 0–1.

1:50pm — Motor City Dirty Dawgs 3, Steel City Shockwave 0

Motor City made an early statement with a shutout win over Steel City. In a round robin where goal differential can matter, a clean 3–0 result is a massive start.

2:30pm — Gainesville Crocodiles 8, Mavin Tugboats 2

Gainesville announced its presence in emphatic fashion, lighting up the scoreboard with eight goals to move to 1–0 while handing the Tugboats an early hole.

3:10pm — Suffolk Sting 7, New Jersey Jagaloons 3

Suffolk doubled down. The Sting followed their one-goal opener with a dominant 7–3 win, improving to 2–0 and becoming one of the early favorites for the top seed.

3:50pm — Marple Gladiators 6, Asheville Aces 5

Marple bounced back in a thriller, outlasting Asheville in another one-goal track meet. The result pushes both teams to 1–1 and keeps the middle of the standings extremely tight.

4:30pm — Steel City Shockwave 11, Mavin Tugboats 2

After being shut out in their opener, Steel City responded with the offensive explosion of the day—11 goals—to even their record at 1–1 and dramatically swing their goal differential in the right direction.

5:10pm — Motor City Dirty Dawgs 4, Gainesville Crocodiles 3

The finale was the most competitive game of the second round. Motor City edged Gainesville 4–3 to improve to 2–0, while the Crocodiles—after an 8-goal opener—drop to 1–1.

Where Things Stand After Two Rounds

• 2–0: Suffolk Sting, Motor City Dirty Dawgs
• 1–1: Marple Gladiators, Asheville Aces, Gainesville Crocodiles, Steel City Shockwave
• 0–2: New Jersey Jagaloons, Mavin Tugboats

With one round robin game left for every team, Saturday morning becomes a seeding sprint. A 2–1 finish can push a team into a favorable quarterfinal, while a 1–2 (or worse) can flip the bracket into a brutal path.

What’s Next

The final Minor round robin games will be played early Saturday morning, setting the seeds before the quarterfinals and semifinals begin later in the afternoon.

If Friday was any indication, Saturday is going to be chaos—in the best possible way.