SD Prep Sports: Roller Hockey

www.sdprepsports.com

E-mail us at sdprepsports@cox.net

Home   Swimming/Diving   Cross Country  Track & Field   Roller Hockey   Water Polo   CIF Scorecard

CIF/Metro Conference
2007-08 Feature Stories
College ice hockey: SDSU Aztecs are hot on ice
Breaking news:
UC Irvine snaps Aztecs' 16-game win streak with 5-2 win
Aztecs sweep Northern Arizona University, hike mark to 18-1-0
SDSU finishes 2nd at ACHA Division III nationals

Prep Roller Hockey Statistics (Standings, statistical leaders)

All-CIF/Metro Conference
Broncos reap awards as Kiwanis Cup champions

Posted April 24, 2008
The Rancho Bernardo Broncos captured their second consecutive Kiwanis Cup championship in 2007-08, emblematic of supremacy in CIF roller hockey. The Broncos completed their championship season despite losing their head coach midway through the season because of a job relocation but pulled together through adversity to stake their claim as perhaps the sport's next dynasty in the making.

The hero of it all turned out to be goaltender Alex Miklovic, who earned honors as the 2007-08 CIF/Metro Conference Player of the Year.

The Broncos lost just two games in 23 starts – both in rugged North County League play – and went a perfect 3-0 in postseason play while racking up a prodigious 235-57 goal-differential.

Top-seeded Rancho Bernardo defeated second-seeded Westview, 7-6, in the Kiwanis Cup championship game on Feb. 27.

Miklovic gave up few rebounds and possessed a body seemingly made of armor.

He was the only Bronco named to the all-conference first team. Rancho Bernardo had two players named second team all-conference: forward Kory Grahl and defenseman Tanner Woodbury.

Grahl finished 14th in regular season conference scoring with 30 goals and 31 assists -- trailing teammate Adam Child's 39 goals and 30 assists -- and had three goals in the championship game. Grahl and Woodbury were among five seniors on the Broncos who second-half coach Pat Sagara showed exemplary leadership skills (the other seniors being Child, Mat Kresky and Miklovic).

That the Broncos did not possess a top 10 conference scorer on their roster was a testament to just how important defense was to the team's ultimate success this season.

The Broncos recorded six shutouts, allowed one goal on two other occasions) and held opponents to under two goals or less 11 times.

Offense seemed to be the name of the game where the rest of the all-conference first team was concerned, however.

La Jolla's Johnny Noris won this season's conference scoring title with 114 points (97 goals and 17 assists)`to earn a coveted spot on the all-conference first team. He was joined by North County League scoring champion Garrett Taylor of Westview who helped lead the Wolverines (17-4-2) to a runner-up finish in this year's Kiwanis Cup finals with 60 goals and 24 assists.

Also earning first team all-conference honors were Otay Ranch's Zach Johnson and St. Augustine's Greg Park. Neither ranked among the conference's top five scorers but made their contributions in other valuable ways as consummate playmakers.

Johnson finished regular season play with 36 goals and 45 assists for the Mustangs (16-6-0) while Park collected 35 goals and 18 assists – many of the latter setting up teammate Carter Pool's team-leading 57 goals. Park helped the Saints (15-5-1 overall) capture this season's Mesa League championship with an 11-1-0 league record. He had the knack for scoring the momentum-changing goal in a game, be it the game-tying goal or the game-winning goal. His senior leadership was instrumental on a young squad.

Johnson also had the ability to take the game on his shoulders and make the Mustangs a contender for the Mesa League title until the last week of the season.

Joining RB's Grahl and Woodbury on the all-conference second team were Otay Ranch's Matt Nafarrete, Poway's Ian Wilson and Eastlake goaltender Jason Campbell.

Nafarrete finished second in conference scoring with 94 points (67 goals, 27 assists) while Campbell, a sophomore, help backstop his team to a second place finish in the Mesa League standings with a 10-2 league record (both losses to the Saints) and 17-4 overall record (second in conference wins). Wilson, meanwhile, helped guide a young Poway team to a 16-4-3 season record and berth in the Kiwanis Cup semifinals.

Noris, Park, Nafarrete, Johnson and Campbell all earned first team All-Mesa League recognition while Grahl, Taylor, Woodbury, Wilson and Miklovic comprised the All-North County League first team.

Hilltop, which captured the South Bay League title with a spotless 8-0 league record, had two first team all-league players: forward Ruben Benavides and defenseman Andrew Ries. Benavides led the Lancers (16-6 overall) with 49 goals and 40 assists to rank fourth overall in the conference with 89 points.

La Jolla Country Day had two players land spots on the All-South Bay League first team: forward Camille Corbin and defenseman Ben Sweeney. Corbin finished the regular season third in conference scoring with 68 goals and 22 assists as the highest-ranking female player in the coed sport. Sweeney ranked seventh in conference scoring with 45 goals and 31 assists (third in the South Bay League behind Corbin and Hilltop's Benavides).

Mar Vista's Federico Alcaraz earned recognition as the South Bay League's first team goaltender despite playing his first year at the position.

All-CIF/Metro Conference Team
First team: Garret Taylor (Westview); John Noris (La Jolla); Zach Johnson (Otay Ranch); Greg Park (St. Augustine); Alex Miklovic (Rancho Bernardo).
Second team: F Kory Grahl (Rancho Bernardo); F Matt Nafarrete (Otay Ranch); D Tanner Woodbury (Rancho Bernardo);D Ian Wilson (Poway); G Jason Campbell (Eastlake).
Player of the Year: Alex Miklovic (Rancho Bernardo).
Championship team: Rancho Bernardo.

CIF/Metro Conference All-League Teams
All-North County League
First team: F Kory Grahl (Rancho Bernardo); F Garret Taylor (Westview); D Tanner Woodbury (Rancho Bernardo); D Ian Wilson (Poway); G Alex Miklovic (Rancho Bernardo).
Second team: F Shane Clements (Westview); F Matt Kresky (Rancho Bernardo); D Gerald Leslie (West Hills); D Phil Sansone (Westview); G Mark Wadowski (Poway).
Championship team: Rancho Bernardo.

All-Mesa League
First team: F Johnny Noris (La Jolla); F Matt Nafarrete (Otay Ranch); D Greg Park (St. Augustine); D Zach Johnson (Otay Ranch); G Jason Campbell (Eastlake).
Second team: F Dante Patron (Eastlake); F Eric Sharp (Chula Vista); D Carter Pool (St. Augustine);D Justin White (Eastlake); G Victor Holland (Otay Ranch).
Championship team: St. Augustine.

All-South Bay League
First team: F Ruben Benavides (Hilltop); F Camille Corbin (La Jolla Country Day); D Ben Sweeney (La Jolla Country Day); D Andrew Ries (Hilltop); G Frederico Alcaraz (Mar Vista).
Second team: F Kekoa Latimore (Hilltop); F Austin McDonald (Hilltop); D James Owsiany (La Jolla Country Day);D Andrew Bronkema (Mar Vista); G Skylar Travis (Hilltop).
Championship team: Hiltop.

Kiwanis Cup playoffs
Broncos repeat as Kiwanis Cup champions
Posted March 18, 2008
The top-seeded Rancho Bernardo Broncos erased an early 3-0 Westview lead to claim their second consecutive Kiwanis Cup championship title with a 7-6 come-from-behind victory Feb. 27 over the second-seeded Wolverines.

The Broncos (21-2) netted the game-winning goal with 1:46 to play as Matt Kresky snapped the 6-all tie. Kory Grahl, who drew the assist on Kresky’s game-winner, notched the game-tying marker on a short-handed goal just four minutes earlier.

Grahl led Rancho Bernardo with three goals while Adam Child collected a goal and two assists.

“Ultimately the game was won on the leadership shown by my five seniors on the team -- Tanner Woodbury, Kory Grahl, Matt Kresky, Adam Child and Alex Miklovic,” RB coach Pat Sagara said. “These five set the tone for the team and refused to give in the least bit when they were challenged by going down in the score early in the game then later in third period when they were down again. They kept the team focused on the fact that we had experienced high pressure games and situations and had won those games.”

Sagara said the ability of his team to keep to its game plan while playing catch-up also was a huge factor that helped give his squad the confidence to come back and ultimately win the game.

“There isn't one single player who stood out but really all five seniors stepped up when they needed to -- whether it was a critical save, a short-handed goal or the game-winning goal,” Sagara said. “Westview has an incredible team and were very well coached and prepared to play us. This was one of those games that the winner was in doubt all the way to final buzzer.”

Miklovic, the Broncos goaltender, was named the 2007-08 CIF/Metro Conference Player of the Year,

Rancho Bernardo completed its playoff run with a 3-0 record after first dispatching ninth-seeded West Hills, 13-3, in the quarterfinals and then zooming past fifth-seeded Poway, 5-0, in the semifinals.

Westview finished the season 17-4-2. Garrett Taylor and Greg Hawksworth led the Wolverines with three goals apiece in the championship game.

Taylor finished fifth in the conference scoring race (first among North County League players) with 60 goals and 24 assists for 84 points in 20 regular season games.

Westview finished 2-1 in the playoffs. The Wolverines survived a scare in their first playoff game when the seventh-seeded Otay Ranch Mustangs roared back from a 5-2 deficit to trim Westview's lead to 6-5 with 11 minutes remaining in the third period. The Wolverines, however, managed to hang on for the one-goal quarterfinal-round win and then eliminated third-seeded Hilltop, 10-6, in the semifinals.

Taylor keyed Westview with six goals and one assist in the semifinal victory while Phil Sansone had two goals and two assists and Shane Clements contributed four assists.

Clements paced the Wolverines with two goals and two assists in the quarterfinals while Sansone had two goals. A short-handed Taylor stood up as the difference in the 6-5 win.

Playoff notepad
The Mesa League (St. Augustine), South Bay League (Hilltop) and North County League (Rancho Bernardo) champions all received byes to the quarterfinals along with the best at-large team (Westview). St. Augustine received the No. 4 seed but lost 13-3 to fifth-seeded Poway in its quarterfinal opener. Hilltop turned aside an upset bid by 11th-seeded Vista to claim a 5-3 quarterfinal win.

Vista and West Hills recorded the two upsets in the opening round. Vista, the last-place finisher in the North County League, upended sixth-seeded Eastlake by a score of 8-4 while West Hills edged eighth-seeded Scripps Ranch 3-2 on a dramatic goal by Kellen McManus with 3:10 left.

The Kiwanis Cup title game was the fourth meeting on the season between Rancho Bernardo and Westview after the teams met three times in North County League play. The Broncos won two of the three regular season encounters by scores of 5-1 and 7-4 while the Wolverines prevailed by a 6-3 score in a game played in late January.

Rancho Bernardo finished 13-2 in league play while Westview finished 10-3-2. Poway was the only other team to defeat the Broncos in their championship season, claiming a tight 2-1 decision in the league opener for both teams on Dec. 17.

St. Augustine captured the Mesa League title with an 11-1 league record and finished 15-5-1 overall. Hilltop went undefeated in South Bay League play at 8-0 and finished 16-6 overall. Eastlake finished as the runner-up team in the Mesa League standings while La Jolla Country Day finished second in the South Bay League standings. Otay Ranch finished third in the Mesa League standings while Poway was third in the North County League standings.

La Jolla's Johnny Noris won the individual scoring title with 97 goals and 17 assists, totaling 114 points. Otay Ranch's Matt Nafarrete finished second with 94 points (67 points, 27 assists) while La Jolla Country Day's Camille Corbin was third with 90 points (68 points, 22 assists) and Hilltop's Ruben Benavides was fourth with 89 points (49 goals, 40 assists).

Lancers end season in semifinals

Posted Feb. 27, 2008
Hilltop goaltender Skyler Travis summed up the Lancers’ 10-6 loss to second-seeded Westview in Monday’s Kiwanis Cup championship semifinals in one terse sentence.

“I think we wanted it more but we had some bad bounces,” he said.

He then paused and added a few more telling words. “It was a good game. It was a good season.”

The reigning South Bay League champions carried the torch for the CIF/Metro Conference’s South County-based teams into the Kiwanis Cup Final Four and put up a valiant effort against a superior team. The Wolverines scored 39 seconds into the contest and rolled to a 6-1 lead after the opening period. Westview’s lead grew to 8-1 with 5:08 elapsed in the second period but the Lancers (16-6) were far from declaring it “game over.”

Hilltop stepped up the pace — and the pressure — and gave it a championship-type effort with five goals in the second-half of the game. The Lancers reeled off three consecutive goals in the third period to close the gap to 9-6 on the scoreboard with 9:06 left in the game. But the Wolverines’ early lead proved lethal.

“I think we were well prepared,” said Hilltop assistant coach Darin Ries, who will be taking over head coaching duties next season. “We were ready to play. We had some bad breaks in that first period that took us out of the game. We tried to play catch-up hockey. I’m proud of the boys. They never gave up. We gave them two goals (on unlucky deflections). We outscored them 5-1 late in the game. We just ran out of time. They (the Wolverines) are a very good team. They beat us 15-4 in the first game of the season. We improved a greatdeal since then. I think that Hilltop won some respect.”

Superstar Garrett Taylor led Westview with six goals and one assist while Phil Sansone contributed two goals and two assists and Shane Clements added four assists.

The victory advanced the Wolverines to Wednesday’s Kiwanis Cup championship game against top-seeded Rancho Bernardo. The defending champion Broncos (21-2) erased an early 3-0 Westview lead to claim their second consecutive title with a 7-6 come-from-behind victory.

The Lancers tied Monday’s game at 1-1. Westview seemed to gain momentum when a puck bounced off Travis’ goaltending equipment into the net after an apparent save to push Westview ahead 3-1. The Wolverines scored two minutes later to go up 4-1 when the puck took another fortunate bounce after an apparent Hilltop save.

Austin McDonald led the Lancers with two goals and two assists while Greg Watters scored two goals, Kekoa Latimore had a goal and assist and Andrew Ries scored once.

Rancho Bernardo netted the game-winning goal with 1:46 to play as Matt Kresky snapped a 6-all tie. Kory Grahl, who drew the assist on Kresky’s game-winner, notched the game-tying marker on a short-handed goal with just under six minutes to play. Grahl led the Broncos with three goals while Adam Child collected a goal and two assists.

Westview finished the season 17-4-2. Taylor and Greg Hawksworth led the Wolverines with three goals apiece.

Lancers carry torch for South County teams

Posted Feb. 21, 2008
After a poor showing in Tuesday’s opening round of this year’s CIF/Metro Conference Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs, South County teams had to earn a measure of respect from their North County League foes in the two quarterfinal-round games played Wednesday at Skate San Diego in National City.

It took two tries but the reigning South Bay League champion Hilltop Lancers finally ended the Vista Panthers’ season with a thrilling 5-3 come-from-behind victory to advance to Monday’s semifinals. The third-seeded Lancers (16-6) will play the second-seeded Westview Wolverines (16-3-2) after the Wolverines escaped with a 6-5 win against an Otay Ranch team that midway through the contest decided it was ready to play hockey on the same level as its opponent.

There were cheers for the Mustangs as they rolled off the court for the last time this season after their heroic effort against a team many had pegged as unbeatable by a South Bay squad.

The Lancers, meanwhile, reserved their biggest cheer for themselves after the final buzzer sounded in their game, with players swarming winning goaltender Skyler Travis for his heroic performance.

“It’s taken me 10 years to beat a North County team. This is my last year coaching, so I’m pleased as punch,” Hilltop’s Dan Vaccaro said. “I watched Vista play last night (in eliminating Eastlake 8-4) and knew they would come out flying — attack, attack, attack. In order for us to win, we needed to survive that onslaught and then slow the game down. Our goaltender played a heck of a game. Hilltop played well, especially our defense. The thing that impressed me the most was that Hilltop kept going to the puck.”

What had to impress spectators the most was the Lancers’ storming back from an early 3-1 deficit on the strength of four unanswered goals.

The Panthers, the last-place team from the North County League that had just picked up its first win in 15 games the night before against Eastlake in an opening-round playoff game, fired off three straight goals — all by Ethan Gilchrist — to erase a 1-0 Hilltop lead.

Austin McDonald, however, scored what proved to be a momentum-shifting goal for Hilltop with 2:40 left in the second period to trim the Vista lead to 3-2. The Lancers tied the score on a power play goal by Ruben Benavides 52 seconds into the third period and McDonald scored the 4-3 go-ahead goal two minutes later. Kekoa Latimore then scored a decisive power play goal with 7:39 to play in the game to give Hilltop a critical two-goal lead.

The Panthers operated on a five-on-three power play for a minute and ended the game on another power play. But the extra attacker was to no avail for Vista, which was continually denied by clutch saves by an acrobatically-inclined Travis.

McDonald finished the game with two goals and two assists.

Westview 6, Otay Ranch 5
After his team defeated La Jolla County Day, 7-2, in Tuesday’s opening round, Mustang defenseman Zach Johnson said his team needed to play “a perfect game” if it was to beat No. 2-seeded Westview. Otay Ranch may feel bad about its start but there had to be no complaints about the finish as the Mustangs (16-6) outscored the high-powered Wolverines 3-1 over the final two periods.

Westview went up 1-0 just 30 seconds into the game and led 2-0 on a short-handed goal by superstar Garrett Taylor with just under four minutes elapsed in the game. The Mustangs fought back to tie the game at 2-2 on a pair of goals by team scoring leader Matt Nafarrete, but the Wolvernies quickly jump-started their offense again and reeled off three goals in a 1:20 span to hold a commanding 5-2 lead after the opening period.
Westview would not score again until early in the third period to increase its lead to 6-4. Johnson got Otay Ranch to within a goal at 6-5 with 11:29 to play but the Mustangs could get no closer on the scoreboard despite an inspired effort.

The game ended in frantic fashion in front of the Wolverine net.

Nafarrete finished the game with three goals and one assist while Johnson rang up two goals.

Shane Clements led Westview with two goals and two assists while Phil Sansone also scored two goals. Taylor, whose short-handed goal stood up as the difference, contributed a goal and two assists.

Mustangs evade North County match-up, advance 7-2 past Torreys
West Hills, Vista post upsets in opening round

Posted Feb. 19, 2008
North County vs. South County. In high school roller hockey, that has usually added up to a lethal combination since the CIF/Metro Conference welcomed the North County League into its fold four years ago. But South Bay League vs. Mesa League … we’ll that’s another story entirely.

The opening slate of the four first-round games in this year’s CIF/Metro Conference Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs played Tuesday at Skate San Diego in National City pitted a pair of familiar teams in the seventh-seeded Otay Ranch Mustangs and the 10th-seed La Jolla Country Dat Torreys. The Mustangs finished third in the highly competitive Mesa League standings with a 9-3 league record and 15-5 overall record. The Torreys, meanwhile, made it a highly competitive stab at a South Bay League co-championship before falling, 10-7, to Hilltop in the final week of regular season play.

LJCD coach David Brink came up with some fortuitous game strategy as his underdog team had to give the Mustangs some nervous moments after cutting Otay Ranch’s lead to 4-2 early in the third period of Tuesday’s elimination game.

The Mustangs responded by scoring the game’s final three goals to post a 7-2 win and, in the process, become the only South County team to advance to Wednesday’s quarterfinals (where they joined the idle Hilltop Lancers, seeded third after winning the South Bay League title).

Matt Nafarrete, who finished second in the conference scoring race by 10 points to La Jolla’s Johnny Noris, was on fire throughout the game. Nafarrete racked up five goals to lead all players on the court. He was ably assisted by teammate Zach Johnson with two goals and two assists.

Otay Ranch skated to a 2-0 lead before Ben Sweeney halved the Torreys’ deficit to a goal when he beat Mustang netminder Victor Holland with 38 seconds left in the first period. Nafarrete had both Otay Ranch goals in the opening period, including one short-handed.

LJCD (10-10-1) had three power plays in the game but did not score a man-power goal. Sweeney’s second goal came with 2:39 gone in the final period just after Otay Ranch had successfully killed a Torreys’ power play. Camille Corbin, who finished third in conference scoring with 68 goals and 22 assists, drew the assist on the goal.

Nafarrete closed out scoring in the game, putting the Mustangs ahead 4-3 four minutes after Sweeney gave LJCD some impetus. Nafarrete tacked on goals 46 seconds apart two minutes later to pad the Otay Ranch lead. He scored on a breakaway to make it 6-2 with 6:48 to play.

Titans will have to wait until next year to shine in the playoffs

Vista 8, Eastlake 4
After the Titans took the back set in the race for this year’s Mesa League title following a 6-4 loss to St. Augustine on Feb. 12, Eastlake coach Rone Torres still felt his team – despite its relative youth – could do, as he put it, “some damage” in this year’s playoffs. It appears Eastlake’s roller warriors will have to wait until next year to make some noise in the CIF/Metro Conference Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs after making an unexpectedly swift exit in Tuesday’s opening round.

The Titans, seeded sixth in the 12-team draw, trailed 11th-seeded Vista, 3-1, at the end of the first period but quickly showed some spunk by tying the score at 3-3 with 8:15 remaining in the second period. The rest of the game was not exactly highlight material for Torres’ troops, who just as quickly surrendered three unanswered goals to end the period to trail 6-3.

The Panthers, who finished in last place in the North County League standings, roared on the court with two more goals in the third period before the Titans (17-4) could muster a goal with 1:39 to play to close out their season.

Vista had not won a game in 15 tries after going 0-14-1 in North County League play. The Panthers improved to 5-15-1 overall in advance to Wednesday’s quarterfinal game against third-seeded Hilltop.

“We had lost in overtime, we had lost one-goal games, we had lost two-goal games, we lost games for a lot of reasons,” Panthers coach Tim Barrier said.

In other words, paraphrasing the words of an assistant coach, the North County League is brutal … and the fierce competition can only make you better.

Torres made no excuses for his team. “We played flat. We didn’t share or protect the puck like we had been,” he said. “When you see the level of competition that Vista has been seeing all year and you play sloppy, you’re going to be looking the other way.”

Ethan Gilchrist led Vista with three goals and one assist while Jared Johnson contributed two goals and an assist. Guy Lemieux, Jonathon Brown and Tyler Broc all scored single goals for the victors.

Dante Patron led Eastlake with three goals while Andrew Abuyo scored once and Justin White and Nathan Scharmann both added assists.

The Titans appeared to be gathering momentum after taking the puck on the face off to start the second period and scoring to trim the Panthers’ lead to 3-2. But after knotting the score on Abuyo’s unassisted goal, Eastlake coughed up three goals in the span of 1:31. Lemieux scored a power play goal with 5:54 to play in the middle period and Brown followed with a goal off the ensuing face-off. Gilchrest made it 6-3 on a steal with 4:23 to go in the period.

The Titans hurt their chances of making a third-period comeback by taking a penalty. The Panthers capitalized on the man-power opportunity to go up 7-3. Johnson scored on a breakaway with 3:44 left in the game to hike the Vista lead to 8-3. Panther netminder Tyler Barrier played a solid game despite being the focus of numerous rushes throughout the game by the Mesa League runners-up.

“It was a good season for us looking back,” Torres said. “On a positive note, we’re losing only two seniors.”

Is Eastlake theteam of the future? We’ll see next season.

West Hills 3, Scripps Ranch 2
Spectators got a chance to see the competition level of the North County League at full force in the evening’s third game as ninth-seeded West Hills upset eighth-seeded Scripps Ranch, 3-2, on a goal by Kellen McManus with 3:10 remaining.

The victory by the Wolf Pack was the second straight over the Falcons after topping Scripps Ranch, 7-6, in the third and final round of North County League play on Feb. 4.

Both teams were fielding “rebuilding” squads this season, especially West Hills, which finished 3-11-1 in North County League play, 6-13-1 overall. Scripps Ranch went 6-8-1 in league play, 8-11-1 overall, to close out regular season play.

“We had a tough season up in North County,” Wolf Pack assistant coach Randy Leslie said. “We finally managed to put something together. It took us all season to pick it up. We put it together at the end of the season. We knew we there when we played Scripps Ranch the last time and beat them. We said ‘wow!’ It takes time to jell. But it was finally happening. We started to see it the game before we played Scripps.”

Alex Reed got the only goal of the first period to stake the Falcons to a 1-0 lead. But the Wolf Pack evened the score with 1:26 elapsed in the second period as Donnie Keffer beat SR goaltender Derek Flick.

The Falcons went back in front on a power play goal by Max Balaban midway through the period but West Hills came back to tie the game two-and-a-half minutes later on a goal credited to Keith Gurr.

It appeared the third period would remain scoreless despite the back-and-forth nature of the flow of the game until McManus finally managed to whip one past Flick. Scripps Ranch pulled its goaltender in favor of an extra attacker with 1:10 left but the Wolf Pack missed three open net shots to bring the game down to the last 11 seconds before West Hills could secure the win.

Just prior to the game-winner by McManus, West Hills goaltender Cameron McIntyre made a sensational save to deny the Falcons the potential game-winning goal.

Poway 19, La Jolla 2
Noris, the CIF/Metro Conference’s regular season scoring leader with 114 points on 97 goals and 17 assists, seemed to have the emotional support of the home crowd at Skate San Diego but the fifth-seeded Titans – last year’s Kiwanis Cup finalists – just had too much firepower of their own. Poway reeled off the game’s first four goals before Noris finally found the back of the net with the puck. After that, the Titans’ offense took off, ending the opening period with a 5-1 lead and putting the game on ice with a 12-2 lead at the end of two periods.

Zach Vachris keyed Poway (15-3-3) with four goals and five assists while Darren Barnes and Chase Liebman each racked up three goals and two assists. The Titans received two goals from Ryan Smith and Eric Eyler while Jordan Gallen, J.T. Landon, Nick Maresh, Zach Porter and Luke Richard all scored single goals in support of goaltender Mark Wadolkowski.

La Jolla finished 9-12-0 after a fourth-place finish in the Mesa League.

The puck stops here:
Broncos, Saints, Lancers skate to league titles

Posted Feb. 15, 2008
The CIF/Metro Conference crowned three new league champions to cap 2007-08 regular season play. The Rancho Bernardo Broncos won the rugged North County League with a 13-2-0 league record while the St. Augustine Saints, fielding their first senior class since joining the 18-team circuit last year, captured the Mesa League title with an 11-1-0 record and the Hilltop Lancers won the South Bay League title with a perfect 8-0-0 record.


North County League
The defending Kiwanis Cup champion Broncos did not meet their goal of finishing with a perfect season but did live up to preseason projections by showing they were the undisputed top team in regular season play with an overall 18-2 record. Rancho Bernardo's two losses came against league rivals Poway and Westview. The Broncos jump-started the season 6-0 before suffering their first loss, 2-1, to Poway. The Broncos fell 6-3 to Westview on Jan. 23 to jumble the standings.

But play in the highly competitive North County League quickly unraveled the standings as Poway played to three ties in league play, Westview played to two ties and Scripps Ranch played to a tie to give Rancho Bernardo a final four-point edge in the league standings.

The Broncos were expected to receive the top seed in this year's Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs that were set to face off Feb. 19.

Adam Child scored two goals and two assists to help Rancho Bernardo clinch the league title with a 7-4 victory against Westview on Feb. 12.

Child keyed RB in regular season scoring with 39 goals and 30 assists, followed by Kory Grahl with 31 goals and 30 assists and Matt Kresky with 30 goals and 23 assists.

Westview finished 10-3-2 in North County League play, 15-3-2 overall. Garrett Taylor, who is bound next season for the Western Hockey League, led the Wolverines with 60 goals and 24 assists (fifth in conference scoring). Shane Clements ranked second on the team with 25 goals and 26 assists.

Poway, last year's Kiwanis Cup finalist, finished in third place in the North County League with a 9-3-3 league record. Eric Eyler led the Titans (14-3-3 overall) with 25 goals and 22 assists.

Scripps Ranch – last year's North County League champion -- placed fourth in the league standings this year at 6-8-1while fielding a young team. The Falcons finished 8-11-1 overall, including non-league games. Max Balaban (29 goals, 29 assists) and Christian Chang (30 goals, 15 assists) helped power the Scripps Ranch offense. The Falcons tied Poway, 3-3, in the final week of regular season play to get a confidence boost for the playoffs.

The West Hills Wolf Pack (3-11-1, 6-13-1) and Vista Panthers (0-14-1, 4-15-1) rounded out the standings in the six-team North County League West Hills showed it could be a factor in the playoffs after edging Scripps Ranch, 7-6, on Feb. 4. Both the Wolf Pack and Panthers were in rebuilding seasons.

Keith Gurr and Spencer Gaalas keyed the Wolf Pack with 15 points apiece while Guy Lemieux led the Panthers in team scoring this season with 13 goals and two assists.

Mesa League
Last year's league title was not decided until the final game of the season and the outcome of this year's championship banner race was not known until the second to last game when St. Augustine defeated the defending champion Eastlake Titans in heroic come-from-behind fashion.

The Saints trailed the Titans 4-1 with one minute elapsed in the third period of their fateful Feb. 12 encounter but reeled off the game's final five goals to post an inspirational 6-4 victory. Greg Park keyed St. Augustine with five goals and one assist to cap a remarkable individual performance considering the game was played in a toasty rink because of unseasonably warm weather conditions.

“Greg was tired. It was hot in there,” Saints coach Christian Da Luz said. “But he kept going. Early in the season, he was our go-to guy and then Carter Pool stepped up. It’s nice to have enough depth throughout your lineup that when one guy is having an off game that there is someone else who is on that day. It was a fun game.”

The showdown pitting league co-leaders appeared to belong to the Titans, specifically to speed demon Dante Patron, before the Saints stole the title by scoring five unanswered goals in the last 11 minutes. The physically stronger and faster Titans appeared to have a lock on the championship with a three-goal lead until Saints scored three minutes into the final period to trim the score to 4-2 . From there,the floodgates opened.

“The boys got a glimmer of hope,” Da Luz said. “We’ll take that kind of third period any day of the week.”

Saints goaltender Mick Hammock turned back 25 of 29 Eastlake shots. The defense in front of him blocked half a dozen more excellent scoring chances to round out what Da Luz referred to as a consummate “team victory.”

“In a game like this with a lot of shots, goals can come like lightning,” Da Luz said. “It’s nice to know you can pull one out like this. These guys deserve this title. They’ve worked hard all season. It was a team effort. They really reached down. The guys did what they needed to do. Greg had a great third period and Mick, too.”

Park did not score his first goal until five minutes were left in the second period. Then it only slightly dented a 3-0 Eastlake lead. Park’s second goal came with 11:25 to play in the game. It proved to be a momentum shifter.

Fifty seconds later it was 4-3 Titans. With 8:03 remaining the score was tied. Forty-eight seconds after that, St. Augustine had its first lead of the game at 5-4.

Trent Robinson’s power play goal with 5:02 made it a two-goal Saints advantage.

“Their ’keeper was stopping everything,” Da Luz said. “But we kept on our follow-ups. We missed on a lot of great passes early in the game but they were there late in the game. It was a physical game and we’re not used to playing physical games, They (the Titans) are a great team. Our guys held up pretty well.”

Patron and Justin White led Eastlake each with two goals. White notched the lone goal of the opening period. It came late, with just 2:20 left on the clock. Eastlake doubled its margin just 1:25 into the middle period on the first of Patron’s two goals White made it 3-0 on a goal 1:40 later.

“They had some senior leadership on their team -- our team is still young,” Titans coach Rone Torres said. “We’re clearly a team of the future but could do some damage in this year’s playoffs.”

The Saints (15-4-1 overall) cemented their championship season with a 13-7 victory against La Jolla and conference scoring champion Johnny Noris on Valentine's Day. Pool had five goals while Park contributed three goals and one assist. The win was the sixth consecutive for St. Augustine, which received a bye to the Kiwanis Cup quarterfinals.

Pool finished eighth in conference scoring with 57 goals and 18 assists while Park totaled 35 goals and 18 assists.

Noris finished regular season play with 114 points on 97 goals and 17 assists – 10 points ahead of Matt Nafarrete of the Otay Ranch Mustangs with 68 goals and 27 assists for 94 points. Noris' point title was made amazing in that he missed four games.

Eastlake (17-3 overall) secured second place in the Mesa League standings with a 3-2 victory against Otay Ranch, also on Feb. 14, as Patron scored twice and junior standout Andrew Abuyo notched the game-winning goal in the third period.

Patron and Justin White, both sophomores, produced breakout seasons behind the steady play of sophomore goaltender Jason Campbell and freshman forward Jace White while Nate Scharmann steadied the ship as the team’s senior captain. The team had to deal with the absence of Abuyo for a sizable chunk of the league season due to family emergency, forcing several underclassmen to step up into unexpected leadership roles.

Patron and Justin White each racked up more than 60 points to lead the team in scoring, with White (39) edging Patron (37) by two goals for the team lead. Scharmann contributed 28 goals as the team’s third-leading scorer with more than 40 points. Campbell, an accomplished ice hockey goaltender, logged a 90 percent save percentage while holding opponents to less than three goals per game.

Otay Ranch, which shared last year's Mesa League title with Eastlake, finished third in the league standings this season at 9-3 but tallied a strong 15-5 overall record to rank among the top seven teams in the conference. Zach Johnson had 81 points on 36 goals and 45 assists to rank second in team scoring.

South Bay League
Hilltop (8-0, 15-5) officially claimed this year’s South Bay League title with a 10-7 win against an inspired La Jolla Country Day team on Feb. 12. The Lancers had claimed the teams’ initial league match-up by a 7-2 score but had to work much harder against a Torreys squad that has continued to improve throughout the season.

Austin McDonald keyed Hilltop’s offense with five goals while Ruben Benavides collected two goals and one assist and Kekoa Latimore added a goal and two assists in support of winning goaltender Skyler Travis.

The game was tied 3-3 after the opening period, with the Lancers taking a 7-4 lead heading into the final period.

Ben Sweeney and Camille Corbin each scored three goals in the game to continually revive LJCD (6-2, 10-9-1). Corbin finished the game with six points by adding three assists. She entered the game ranked second in conference scoring with 65 goals and 19 assists.

James Owsiany contributed a goal and assist in another workhorse effort.
Matthew Kuehn and Greg Watters were both credited with single goals for Hilltop, which receives a bye to the Kiwanis Cup quarterfinals. McDonald iced the game with an empty-net goal with five seconds to play after the Torreys had pulled goaltender Eric Williamson after trimming the score to 9-7 with 1:15 to play.

Corbin finished third in conference scoring with 90 points on 68 goals and 22 assists while Benavides was fourth with 89 points (49 goals, 40 assists).Sweeney finished seventh in conference scoring with 76 points (45 goals, 31 assists) while McDonald was ninth with 74 points (44 goals, 30 assists).

Saints are surprise champions!

Posted Feb. 14, 2008
Surprise, surprise … the St. Augustine Saints are 2007-08 Mesa League champions.

In a game that early on seemed to belong to the Eastlake Titans — specifically to Dante Patron and Justin White — the Saints stole the title by scoring five unanswered goals in the last 11 minutes of Tuesday’s league championship game at Skate San Diego in National City. Ahead 4-1 with 1:28 elapsed in the final period, the Titans — physically stronger and faster — appeared to have a lock on the championship.

But then something intangible happened. The Saints scored two minutes later to trim the score to 4-2 and from there the floodgates opened — one measured in a barrage of goals that turned a three-goal deficit into an unbelievable 6-4 victory.

“The boys got a glimmer of hope,” St. Augustine coach Christian Da Luz said flatly. “We’ll take that kind of third period any day of the week.”

Greg Park finished the game with a herculean effort that included five goals and one assist while Saints goaltender Mick Hammock turned back 25 of 29 Eastlake shots. The defense in front of him blocked half a dozen more excellent scoring chances to round out what Da Luz referred to as a consummate “team victory.”

“In a game like this with a lot of shots, goals can come like lightning,” Da Luz said. “It’s nice to know you can pull one out like this. These guys deserve this title. They’ve worked hard all season. It was a team effort. They really reached down. The guys did what they needed to do. Greg had a great third period and Mick, too.”

Park did not score his first goal until five minutes were left in the second period. Then it only slightly dented a 3-0 Eastlake lead. Park’s second goal came with 11:25 to play in the game. It proved to be a momentum shifter.

Fifty seconds later it was 4-3 Titans. With 8:03 remaining the score was tied. Forty-eight seconds after that, St. Augustine had its first lead of the game at 5-4.

Trent Robinson’s power play goal with 5:02 made it a two-goal Saints advantage.
It was a whirlwind finish to what proved to be a championship season.

“Their ’keeper was stopping everything,” Da Luz said. “But we kept on our follow-ups. We missed on a lot of great passes early in the game but they were there late in the game.”

The game was played in a hot rink due to unseasonably warm temperatures. Trailing by three goals, one might have thought that the Saints would be run into the ground trying to catch up.

Surprisingly, that didn’t happen.

Call it resiliency — call it heart.

“It was a physical game and we’re not used to playing physical games,” Da Luz said. “They (the Titans) are a great team. Our guys held up pretty well.”

White notched the lone goal of the opening period. It came late, with just 2:20 left on the clock. Eastlake doubled its margin just 1:25 into the middle period on the first of Patron’s two goals in the match-up. White made it 3-0 on a goal 1:40 later.

Patron’s second goal made it 4-1 as play was just getting under way in the final period.
Titan netminder Jason Campbell has been superb all game long. But something inexplicable happened. St. Augustine began to link up a great passing game, with three touches of the puck from one end of the rink to the other leading to one inspired goal. Almost immediately, players who were supposed to be dead tired suddenly got a second wind — and shots started going in.

“Greg was tired. It was hot in there,” Da Luz said. “But he kept going. Early in the season, he was our go-to guy and then Carter Pool stepped up. It’s nice to have enough depth throughout your lineup that when one guy is having an off game that there is someone else who is on that day. It was a fun game.”

The win secured first place in the league standings for the Saints, who were scheduled to receive a forfeit win from La Jolla in their last regular season game. St. Augustine improved to 10-1-0 in league play, 14-4-1 overall.

Tuesday’s win was the fifth consecutive for the Saints, who defeated Eastlake, 3-1, in the first round of league play.

As league champions, St. Augustine receives a bye to the quarterfinal round of the upcoming Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs.

“I would see us as the second or third seed but not lower that third,” Da Luz said in advance of Saturday’s playoff selection meeting.

Conversely, a win by Eastlake would have given the Titans (9-2-0, 16-3) no worse than a co-championship with one game remaining against arch rival Otay Ranch, which had a chance to forge a tri-championship with a season-ending victory against Eastlake.
The Mustangs (9-2-0, 15-4) stopped La Jolla (6-5, 9-10) by an 18-4 score on Tuesday behind seven goals from Matt Nafarrete.

The Kiwanis Cup playoffs start next week.

Lancers triumph
Hilltop (8-0, 15-5) officially claimed this year’s South Bay League title with a 10-7 win against an inspired La Jolla Country Day team on Tuesday. The Lancers had claimed the teams’ initial league match-up by a 7-2 score but had to work much harder against a Torreys squad that has continued to improve throughout the season.

Austin McDonald keyed Hilltop’s offense with five goals while Ruben Benavides collected two goals and one assist and Kekoa Latimore added a goal and two assists in support of winning goaltender Skyler Travis.

The game was tied 3-3 after the opening period, with the Lancers taking a 7-4 lead heading into the final period.

Ben Sweeney and Camille Corbin each scored three goals in the game to continually revive LJCD (6-2, 10-9-1). Corbin finished the game with six points by adding three assists. She entered the game ranked second in conference scoring with 65 goals and 19 assists.

James Owsiany contributed a goal and assist in another workhorse effort.

Matthew Kuehn and Greg Watters were both credited with single goals for Hilltop, which receives a bye to the Kiwanis Cup quarterfinals. McDonald iced the game with an empty-net goal with five seconds to play after the Torreys had pulled goaltender Eric Williamson after trimming the score to 9-7 with 1:15 to play.

Face-offs
The defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo Broncos (17-2) all but secured this year’s North County League title with Monday’s 7-4 win against Westview. Adam Child had two goals and two assists to lead the Broncos, who entered Wednesday’s regular season finale with a four-point bulge in the standings on the runner-up Wolverines (9-3-2, 14-3-2). Poway and Scripps Ranch played to a 3-3 draw to take each team out of championship contention. The second-place finisher in the North County League is expected to receive one of the top four seeds in the playoffs.

Saints roll past Mustangs into first place

Posted Feb. 7, 2008
The St. Augustine Saints roller hockey team took a bold step toward claiming this year’s Mesa League title by defeating the Otay Ranch Mustangs by a 6-3 score on Monday. When the final whistle blew in a game in which the Saints — just second-year entrants in the 8-year-old CIF-sanctioned Metro Conference —had out-scored the defending league champion Mustangs by a 4-1 margin in the second half of the game, players on the winning St. Augustine team formed a frenzied swarm around goaltender Mick Hammock.

It wasn’t the Stanley Cup but it was new territory the Saints — a team without seniors a year ago. A win on Tuesday against Mesa League co-leader Eastlake will give the Saints (8-1, 12-4-1 overall) sole possession of this year’s league title.
St. Augustine topped Eastlake, 3-1, in first-round league play.

“I think this win meant more to the team than the one against Eastlake because of its significance,” Saints coach Christian Da Luz said. “We played in the league last year and knew just how strong some of these teams were. Our guys played the full rink — forwards skated back to play defense if they had to and defenders skated up if they had a chance to score. If you get enough shots, you’re going to get some goals. We did what we had to. Defenders were sliding blocking shots. Steven Curran had puck marks on his stomach and back. I told the team before the game that we had to beat Otay Ranch and Eastlake if we wanted to win league and that we could make it a moot point if we beat them both.”

The Mustangs (8-2,14-4) rang up the game’s jump goal, scored by Zach Johnson on a power play just 4:30 into the contest, but held a slim 1-0 lead at the end of the opening period despite owning the run of play. St. Augustine then racked up two short-handed goals while killing the same penalty midway though the second period. Greg Park tied the score on an unassisted goal and Carter Pool made it 2-1 Saints just 23 seconds later.

Otay Ranch leveled the score by finally scoring with the man-advantage (giving the teams three goals in one two-minute span), with Matt Nafarrete ramming in a feed from teammate James Dionicio.

The Saints then took a 5-2 lead on three unanswered goals, including one on a power play. Daniel Deiters made it 3-2 with a man-power goal and Pool doubled the St. Augustine lead by scoring with just five seconds left in the middle period. Pool may have scored the back-breaker 2:10 into the third period when he collected a puck that had squirted loose from a scramble involving numerous players along the dasher boards and skated in one-on-one against Otay Ranch netminder Victor Holland.
Park was credited with the assist.

The Mustangs, who topped the Saints by an 8-5 score on Jan. 24, made it a frantic finish by scoring with a two-man advantage with 6:25 left to play, with Carlos Melendez scoring on an assist from Johnson. But the Saints scrambled, hustled and focused on blocking everything thrown toward the net in the closing minutes, with Park finally icing the game on an unassisted goal with 40 seconds left on the clock.

“It took us a while to get going. We didn’t practice last week. We just had one game.” Park said. “If we beat Eastlake, we have first place.”

The Titans (8-1, 15-2) can secure sole possession of the Mesa title by defeating St. Augustine and Otay Ranch this coming week. However, a win by the Mustangs in the regular season finale could scramble the standings, producing either a co- or possibly tri-championship.

“It was a good game. We just got tired at the end,” Johnson said. “Saints played one of the best hockey games I’ve seen this year.”

Power plays
Mar Vista’s Emmanuel Alcaraz likely recorded a first in Mariners history when he scored three short-handed goals on the same penalty in a game against Southwest on Jan. 28. Alcaraz finished the contest – a 6-3 win – with four goals. His last three goals snapped a 3-3 tie between the teams after the Raiders had made an inspired comeback.

Mar Vista is starting nearly from scratch because of key players lost to graduation after a run of several years at the top of the South Bay League. The Mariners improved to 3-3 in league play, 4-14 overall, by defeating Castle Park, 12-2, on Monday and fall 9-0 to La Jolla Country Day on Tuesday. Andrew Bronkema had four goals and Jeff Longley was credited with two goals and two assists in Monday’s win while Robert Doyle was credited with two goals and one assist.

"We have a young team but the good thing about it is that all the kids want to play hockey," seventh-year Mariners coach Ron Cole said. "We’re better than (the 9-0 loss to the Torreys)."

Camille Corbin had eight goals and one assist in Monday’s 17-1 South Bay League victory against Southwest (1-5, 2-15) and tallied four times in Tuesday’s win. She entered the week with 53 goals and 18 assists — fourth overall in the conference scoring race behind La Jolla’s Johnny Noris (69 goals, 14 assists), Otay Ranch’s Nafarrete (53 goals, 21 assists) and Westview’s Garrett Taylor (51 goals, 21 assists).
Nafarrete had three goals and one assist in Tuesday’s 11-1 Otay Ranch win against Sweetwater (1-8, 4-11). Ryan Vazquez and Danielle McAvenia were each credited with two goals … Michael Kelley and Justin White each scored twice in Tuesday’s 6-1 victory against Chula Vista (0-9, 6-11) ... Noris solidified his conference scoring lead on Tuesday with six goals and two assists in La Jolla’s 12-4 win against Bonita Vista (2-7, 6-11). Steven Micallef had three of the Barons’ four goals.

Mesa League: The puck stops where?

Posted Jan. 30, 2008
There are two weeks left in regular season play for the CIF/Metro Conference’s 18 roller hockey teams. While it may seem that Hilltop has a lock on the South Bay League title after Monday’s 7-2 victory against La Jolla Country Day, much intrigue remains as to the outcome of the championship race in both the Mesa League.

Eastlake, Otay Ranch and St. Augustine are all tied with identical 6-1-0 records atop the Mesa League. Eastlake has beaten Otay Ranch but lost to St. Augustine while Otay Ranch scrambled the standings with an 8-5 win against the Saints last week.

Who will win this year’s Mesa League title? At this stage, it remains very much unknown.

After dropping a 3-1 decision to St. Augustine (13-2 overall) on Jan. 17, Eastlake has rebounded with a pair of wins against La Jolla (16-4 on Jan. 24 and 18-0 on Monday) while Otay Ranch skated past Bonita Vista, 12-0, on Tuesday and St. Augustine rolled past Chula Vista 9-1.

“I told the kids that (from now on) all we can do is lose league,” Titan coach Rone Torres said. “We just want to make up for our lousy performance against St. Augustine. We won league last year in the last game of the season and apparently it’s going to be the same way this year. That’s the way I’d like it to be — starting the playoffs early (with meaningful games to end regular season play).”

Torres and the Titans will get their wish: Eastlake will play St. Augustine and Otay Ranch in their final two games of regular season play. The Titans and Mustangs, in fact, will tangle in the league’s regular season finale on Feb. 14. Eastlake will test the Saints’ wheels on Feb. 12.

“All the kids have seen all the teams in the league once, so now there’s no surprises,” Torres said.

Dante Patron led Eastlake with five goals and four assists in the Jan. 24 encounter against the Vikings (4-4-0, 7-7-0) while Nate Scharmann added four goals and two assists and Justin White collected three goals and one assist. Patron registered eight points (five goals, three assists) in Monday’s win while Scharmann had three goals and one assist and Michael Kelley had two goals and two assists and Jace White added a goal and three assists.

Otay Ranch (12-3-0) and St. Augustine (10-4-1) get to set the table for what rates to be a fantastic finish by hooking up Monday, with the winner assured of retaining at least a share of first place. In the Mustangs’ Jan. 24 win against the Saints, Matt Nafarrete (four goals, two assists) and Zach Johnson (two goals, four assists) each spearheaded the offense with six points apiece.

St. Augustine notched the game’s jump goal but Otay Ranch stormed back with three unanswered goals to lead 3-1. Short-handed goals by St. Augustine’s Greg Park and Carter Pool narrowed the Otay Ranch lead to 5-4 heading into the third period. However, the Mustangs responded with three goals in the final period — all by Nafarrete and the first two assisted by Johnson.

Park led the Saints with three goals and one assist while Pool — the conference’s No. 9 scoring leader — had two goals.

Nafarrete entered the week positioned fourth in the conference scoring race with 41 goals and 17 assists.

“It definitely helps out knowing they beat Eastlake and we beat them,” said Johnson, who entered the week with 20 goals and 26 assists. “In the final 10 minutes, no one on our team slowed down,” Johnson said. “We picked it up when it came to crunch time.”
The Mustangs’ lone league loss was 5-4 to Eastlake on Jan. 10.

“We’re not going to put any pressure on ourselves,” Johnson said. “We know where we stand. We can’t lose. We know the little mistakes that will lose a game can’t happen again.”

St. Augustine coach Christian Da Luz termed his team’s impending match-ups against the fellow Mesa League leaders “a battle.”

“We’ve got to figure out some better match-ups against Otay,” Da Luz said. “They have great speed. I think we can adjust. We need to play smart. We didn’t string enough goals together.”

Rolling thunder … Lancers post 14-1 win over Mar Vista

Posted Jan. 23, 2008
The season is ticking down for the Hilltop Lancers roller hockey team … ticking down to perhaps a South Bay League championship.

The Lancers improved to 3-0 in league play (10-5 overall) after demolishing a young Mar Vista team, 14-1, at Skate San Diego in National City. The win raised Hilltop’s league record to a perfect 3-0 with the Lancers’ chief challenger – the La Jolla Country Day Torreys – awaiting in a long-awaited match-up on Monday.

Hilltop entered the week with three of the CIF/Metro Conference’s top eight scorers in with Ruben Benavides (first overall with 34 goals and 27 assists), Austin McDonald (sixth overall with 25 goals and 25 assists) and Kekoa Latimore (eighth overall with 28 goals and 18 assists. The trio combined for 17 points in Tuesday’s win. Latimore (four goals, four assists) led the scoring parade ahead of teammates Benavides (four goals, one assist) and McDonald (two goals, two assists).

“Right now, we have five games left,” said Hilltop coach Dan Vacarro, who previously announced he would be retiring from coaching at the end of this season after more than a decade with the team. “I think looking at the schedule, we could end up 15-5. I know our division (South Bay League) isn’t the strongest but it’s who we play.”

The Lancers would receive a bye to the quarterfinals of the upcoming Kiwanis Cup playoffs by winning the South Bay League title. Depending on the seeding of the 12-team post-season tournament, Hilltop could face rematches with both Eastlake (11-2 overall) or Otay Ranch (10-3), both contending for the Mesa League banner against a maturing St. Augustine team (9-3-1).

Hilltop has met all three Mesa League contenders in non-league play this season, going 1-2. The Lancers edged St. Augustine, 8-6, while dropping an epic 7-5 contest against Eastlake and coming up short by a tight 3-1 score against Otay Ranch.

“I think Otay Ranch, Eastlake and Hilltop are all right there together. They would make a nice round robin,” Vacarro said. “I think we match up well. I’m looking forward to the playoffs.”

The Torreys are 3-0 in South Bay League play, 6-7-1 overall and boast two of the conference’s top 10 scorers in Camille Corbin (fourth overall with 39 goals and 11 assists) and Ben Sweeney (11th overall with 25 goals and 16 assists).

“When we play La Jolla Country Day next week, I think that we’ll have a good game,” Vacarro said. “Our goaltending (starter Skler Travis) is coming along. Fifteen and five would be a nice season. It will be my last.”

Team of the Month
Saints benefit from senior leadership

Posted Jan. 18, 2008
The 2007-08 edition of the St. Augustine High School roller hockey team looked to be good skating out of the gate but just how good? That question has been answered with a 5-0 start in league play in the CIF Mesa League. For good measure, the Saints own a 7-6 come-from-behind non-league victory against perennial San Diego County prep power Scripps Ranch, a team by which the standard has been measured in recent years in the CIF/Metro Conference.

The difference, according to St. Augustine coach Christian Da Luz, is having seniors on the team this season.

Last year, the Saints skated in their first season in the CIF/Metro Conference without any seniors, missing the Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs with an 8-12-0 record.

This year, the St. Augustine line-up boasts four seniors.

Da Luz said the veteran leadership has proven invaluable in his team’s 9-3-1 start to the 2007-08 season.

“It’s nice,” he said. “Everyone seems to have stronger skills. The leadership is noticeably stronger in practice. Our practices have been great this year.”

The Saints hold practices at 4S Ranch in Rancho Bernardo, a 30-minute car ride from the 400-enrollment all-boys parochial school’s North Park campus. “None of the kids complain. They show up at every practice,” Da Luz said.

St. Augustine served notice it would be a contender this season from its very first game – a 6-5 loss to the Poway Titans, a finalist in last year’s Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs. The Saints became the team to beat for this year’s Mesa League title after slipping past the defending league champion Eastlake Titans, 3-1, in a high profile match-up on Jan. 17.

Said Eastlake coach Rone Torres: “They celebrated like they had just won the Stanley Cup.”

In zooming to a 5-0 start, the Saints had outscored league rivals 50-9. They are set to close out first-round league play Jan. 24 against the Otay Ranch Mustangs. Eastlake edged Otay Ranch, 5-4, in an epic battle on Jan. 10 to set the tone for what shapes up to be a dramatic chase for the Mesa League championship and an automatic berth in February’s Kiwanis Cup playoffs.

“A year in, we know what to expect,” Da Luz said. “When the kids lock it down, they can play a real skilled game.”

He added: “The second year in CIF, we definitely want to be a playoff team. We want to be competitive with the stronger, more established teams in the conference.”

The team’s seniors this season include forwards T.J. Acierno and Alex Kraft and forwards Greg Park and Quinn Pendleton.

Park, who is an experienced ice hockey player, led the Saints in scoring last season with 40 goals and 27 assists to rank eighth in the conference with 67 points.

The team’s large junior class includes forwards Carter Pool and Cameron Kayfish, defensemen Trent Robinson and Stephen Curran and goaltender Mick Hammock.

Jordan Jodzio and Daniel Deiters are the team’s two sophomore forwards while defenseman Ian Vedder is the team’s impact freshman this season.

Pool has emerged as one of the conference’s top players, bar none. He had collected 32 goals and 12 assists for 44 points in the Saints’ opening 13 games to rank ninth overall in conference scoring (18 teams). He had all three goals in the titanic victory against Eastlake. Park was the team’s early go-to man, always somehow seeming to score a goal when the team needed it the most. Through 13 games, he ranked second on the team with 31 points (21 goals, 10 assists).

Eastlake, which had just edged Scripps Ranch 3-2 the previous week in another high impact non-league game, out-shot St. Augustine 40-32 but fell behind early 2-0 because of penalty trouble. The Saints’ defense clamped down from there in northing short of an eye-popping performance.

In the prestige victory against Scripps Ranch on Dec. 3, the defending North County League champion Falcons led 6-2 early in the final period before St. Augustine erupted for five goals to skate to the upset victory. Pool led the Saints with four goals and three assists to record a point on every St. Augustine goal while Park scored twice.

Pool led all scorers with five goals and three assists in an 11-4 win against the La Jolla Vikings on Dec. 20 to help his team improve to 2-0 in Mesa League play after facing off league play with an 11-1 victory against the Sweetwater Red Devils the previous day as Pool and Acierno each recorded hat tricks.

The Saints continued with strong start with an 11-1 league win against the Chula Vista Spartans on Jan. 8 as Pool led the way with four goals and one assist and a 14-2 win against the Bonita Vista Barons on Jan. 15 as Pool paced the winners with four goals and Pendleton added a hat trick.

Overall, St. Augustine boasts a 3-2 record against teams from the potent North County League, adding 6-4 and 4-3 victories against the West Hills Wolf Pack and Vista Panthers, respectively. Park scored four goals and added an assist to lead St. Augustine past West Hills on Dec. 5. Park scored three goals in the Dec. 10 encounter against Vista but it was Pool’s goal, assisted by Dieters, that won the game with 18 seconds left.

In one of the team’s more dramatic outings this season, the Saints scored twice in the final 3:10 to force a 6-6 tie game against the La Jolla Country Day Torreys on Dec. 11. Pool led a St. Augustine squad racked by sickness with three goals and an assist while Park had four points on two goals and two assists.

In another show of resiliency by St. Augustine, Poway blitzed to a 5-0 first period lead and then held off a ferocious third-period charge by the Saints to register the 6-5 non-league win in the teams' season opener on Nov. 26. St. Augustine dropped a narrow 6-4 decision against Westview, a playoff semifinalist last season.

Player of the Month
Camille Corbin standing tall for Lady Ducks, LJCD Torreys

Posted Jan. 18, 2008
Camille Corbin has a dream. It is to one day play women’s collegiate ice hockey. She isn’t saying she’s going to play in the Olympics, though that certainly would be a welcome once-in-a-lifetime experience. She just wants to be considered good enough to play at the collegiate level.

For a high school freshman, that seems like a fulfilling goal.

“There’s times I think I’m putting too much pressure on it. But I need to be realistic. It’s something I really want to do,” said Corbin, who is participating in her first year as a left wing on the Lady Ducks AAA 16-and-under team.

Corbin also plays roller hockey during the week for her high school team, the La Jolla Country Day Torreys. She has quickly made a name for herself in a sport that officially brands itself as co-ed but has rosters that are 95 percent male dominated. She could be the second-best female player ever to play CIF high school roller hockey in San Diego County. The best player, of course, would be Kelly Nash, a 2007 graduate of Bonita Vista High School in Chula Vista, who is now playing for the defending NCAA champion University of Wisconsin women's ice hockey team.

Corbin is familiar with Nash from watching games when her older brother Alex played. "She was kind of my idol," Corbin said of Nash.

The La Jolla Country Day frosh wants to follow in Nash's elite footsteps.

Corbin has played ice hockey 10 years and roller hockey two years. Prior to joining the Lady Ducks program, she skated for the Lady Saints team out of the Kroc Center in San Diego. "I wanted to push myself up to a higher level," she said of her decision to switch to the Lady Ducks program. "I want to try to get into a prep school and play hockey and go as far as I can."

Corbin is currently juggling a very busy schedule.

"I go up three times each week (for practices with the Lady Ducks). It takes a while to get there (from San Diego to Anaheim),” she said. “I try to get all my school work done. Whenever I don't have ice hockey, I have roller hockey to work on."

Corbin got into hockey because of family connections. "My Dad is from Ohio and he played (ice hockey) on ponds. My brother played (roller hockey) at La Jolla Country Day two years ago," she said..

Corbin said playing roller hockey has helped her passing game on ice. "You're always moving in roller hockey, there's less stopping. You're always moving your feet. It uses more hand-eye coordination," she said.

The Lady Ducks competed in the 23rd annual Connecticut Polar Bear Christmas tournament over the holiday break, finishing with one tie and three losses while playing up an age division (17-AA). The Lady Ducks tied Syracuse (N.Y.) 1-1 for their only game point but dropped a narrow 3-2 decision against a powerful Assabet Valley (Mass.) team that finished second in the Division 4 standings.

"We were the youngest team there, we're going to be better next year," Corbin promised.

Despite being on a women's team, Corbin said the Lady Ducks play a sizable number of boys teams during the regular season besides selected scrimmage games against other elite women's teams. "We're getting tougher by playing against boys but the boys are getting stronger now at the Midget level," she said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, she has taken her share of punishment on the rink because of her gender in coed game situations.

Case in point: During a recent La Jolla Country Day roller hockey game, she was checked unnecessarily hard into the dasher boards. Right behind the Plexiglas were a group of male players waiting to play in the next game. They cheered when Corbin was driven to the floor. It was a low moment for the sport.

But Corbin handled herself with the utmost sportsmanship. She retrieved her stick, got back into the flow of the game and scored a goal within a minute of the check -- all right in front of her hecklers.

“It gets tough,” Corbin said of playing against physically-stronger boys. “It can be embarrassing totally. But I try to score goals to make up for that. Standing tall and keeping my chin high is about the best I can do. But scoring helps."

Scoring is exactly what Corbin has become quite proficient at with the Torreys. She has passed teammate Ben Sweeney, an all-league player last season, for the team lead and now ranks among the 18-team conference’s top 10 point-scorers. Her 50 points through 13 games ranked fourth best out of more than 200 players in the conference. Her 39 goals stood third best.

Her top attributes include passing and shooting accuracy. She totaled nine goals and three assists in a Jan. 8 CIF South Bay League game against Castle Park High School, collected seven goals in a Jan. 14 CIF league game against Southwest High School and and tacked on six goals and an assist in a Jan. 15 CIF league game against Mar Vista High School.

While Corbin may not possess the "soft hands" that Nash is famous for, she has a decided height advantage. LJCD coach David Brink calls Corbin more or a grinder than a finesse player such as Nash.

"We're happy to have her on the team this year," Brink said. "She may not be the most graceful skater but she's a grinder. She's a team player. She always seems to make the right decisions on when to pass and when to shoot. She complements the play of several other players on the team. She does a nice job of finishing, especially when two of our more experienced players, Ben (Sweeney) and James (Owsiany), are feeding her."

In the meantime, Corbin will continue to do what she does best: pile up goals and points for her team. She definitely stands tall in that department.

Sibling rivalry:
Eastlake’s Justin and Jace White give it their best shot on the hockey court

Posted Jan. 18, 2008
Fierce might be too soft a word to describe Eastlake High School roller hockey standout Justin White when he’s on the playing court. Mean doesn’t fit, nor does wild or reckless.
Hard core might be too cliche.

“I run off intensity,” White said bluntly.

“Playing angry” is simply how his father Jim likes to put it.

“When he puts on that mask, his whole face changes,” the elder White said. “He gets all serious and aggressive.”

White made an impression last season by finishing sixth in team scoring with 12 goals and 17 assists as a freshman. This season he is joined in the Eastlake lineup by his younger brother Jace, a freshman forward. Both have quickly risen to become team leaders to help propel the Titans to a CIF/Metro Conference-best 11-1 record.

“Both have extensive ice hockey and travel team roller hockey experience,” Eastlake coach Rone Torres said. “They’ve definitely made an impact on our team.”
Torres likes to call Justin White the team’s “captain in training.”

“He started as a freshman. He’s the most fundamentally sound player we have on our team,” said Torres of the now sophomore defenseman. “He’s not the fastest player we have on our team and he doesn’t score all the goals but he’s the most complete player we have.”

Jace White, as a member of the team’s No. 2 line, gets just as much playing time as the team’s starters, according to Torres.

“He’s the first substitute when we play big guns,” Torres said of the talented freshman.
Given the brothers’ background, it’s not too surprising they have excelled in hockey — be it the version played on ice or on hardcourt.

Father Jim and mother Marla are what they term “huge” hockey fans. The family has made trips to watch NHL games in Anaheim, Los Angeles and Phoenix and once even took in a Calgary Flames game in the Saddledome in Canada.

Justin’s introduction to the sport began at age 2 by watching two neighbors play pick-up games.

“Justin has always wanted to play hockey. He’s never wanted to play any other sport,” said Jim White, who played football and ran track at Bonita Vista High School.
Jace got hooked on the sport after watching his older brother practice.

“My brother played and I liked it,” Jace said about his introduction to hockey. “I’m used to playing with my brother but it’s nice to do it in high school.”

It might be difficult to find anyone (except perhaps in Canada) more dedicated to the sport than Justin, however. His room is adorned with all sorts of personal hockey memorabilia, including posters of NHL players.

It’s the look of sheer intensity on his face while on the court that commands attention.
He said his motivation is simple.

“I want to be the best and I want to win,” he said. “I want our team to be the best out there. I hate to lose.”

Justin led the Titans in overall scoring with 21 goals and 14 assists for 35 points — two points ahead of teammate Dante Patron (22 goals, 11 assists). Jace ranked sixth in team scoring with six goals and five assists.

Jace set up the game-tying goal in the Titans’ 5-4 victory against Otay Ranch on Jan. 10 that propelled them to the top of the Mesa League standings. Jace also helped set up the game-winning goal in Eastlake’s heroic 3-2 victory against defending North County League champion Scripps Ranch the following day. Torres called the match-up against Scripps Ranch a battle for the second and third seed in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs.

Justin scored two goals in the win against Otay Ranch and supplied the game-tying goal on a blast from half court in the Titans’ win over Scripps Ranch.

The White siblings have played in the North American Roller Hockey Championship series (NARCh), regarded as the top amateur roller hockey championship series in the world, and have three years of ice hockey experience behind them. Roller hockey travel teams have included the Chula Vista Hawks and San Diego Samurai. They currently play ice hockey for the 16-and-under Midget A San Diego Ice Arena Oilers in Mira Mesa. The ice and high school roller hockey seasons run November through March, not leaving much else except hockey.

Which is fine by both brothers.

The more hockey, the better, it seems.

Justin said he feels his best attributes as a player are going one-on-one with the goaltender and one-on-one with a defender.

“It’s the best feeling when you’re out there and score,” Justin said. “It’s the most fun sport in the world.”

Surprisingly, Justin started out his playing career as a goaltender, being tutored in the position by current SDSU netminder Jacob Kalmonson. However, because of the strength of White’s slap shot, he was eventually coaxed from between the pipes to help out his team as a floor player.

Jace is more of a finesse player, according to his coach. His passing accuracy may be his best attribute, placing the puck right to the sticks of teammates. He also has the knack for scoring goals.

Jace recently won a $200 hockey stick by being named his team’s most valuable player in a tournament in Anaheim.

He said starring as a freshman gives him a special feeling of belonging to the team.
“It feels great. I’m the only freshman who gets to play,” he said. “The team counts on me. It’s nice to know my teammates expect something from me.”

He called the Titans’ 5-4 win against the Mustangs “the biggest game I’ve ever played in.”

The chance to play on the same high school team together is a bonus for both brothers, they said.

“We’ve always played on the same teams together (in club), so we know where the other is going to be out there,” Justin said. “I want to help him learn a few new things, get better at hockey.”

That has to be a scary thought for future opponents.

Titanic wins push Eastlake to 11-1

Posted Jan. 17, 2008
Eastlake coach Rone Torres had one sentence that had to adequately sum up the state of his team after the monumental task the Titans accomplished last week, winning four games total and ending with back-to-back victories against Otay Ranch and Scripps Ranch — two of the top teams in the CIF/Metro Conference this season.

“We were probably the most tired team in all of CIF hockey,” said Torres following last Friday’s 3-2 non-league victory against Scripps Ranch at Skate San Diego.

Eastlake’s week of achievement catapulted the Titans to a conference-best 10-1 record.
The Titans started this week on a roll as well, defeating Sweetwater, 7-5, Tuesday at Skate San Diego to up their record to 11-1.

But the wins over Otay Ranch and Scripps Ranch are clearly the ones to be savored, especially since Eastlake was playing without its leading scorer, Andrew Abuyo, because of injuries and a death in the family.

The Jan. 10 encounter between eastside rivals Eastlake and Otay Ranch determined which team would remain undefeated in Mesa League play. The Titans battled constant penalty-killing situations, particularly in the middle period, before pulling out a 5-4 victory by scoring the last two goals of the game.

Nate Scharmann tied the game with 4:30 to play in the final period off a backhand feed from behind the net by freshman Jace White. Patron scored what proved to be the game-winning goal just 45 seconds later after Patron collected a loose puck off the ensuing face-off and charged in on Otay Ranch netminder Victor Holland.

The Mustangs had built a 4-3 lead early in the third period on their fourth power play goal of the game, scored by Matt Nafarrete off a pass from James Dionicio. Otay Ranch led early 2-0 on goals by Carlos Melendez and Nafarrete before the Titans came back to tie the game at two goals apiece by the end of the opening period on tallies by brothers Justin and Jace White.

Eastlake continued its momentum by getting the first goal of the second period, scored by Justin White, to lead 3-2. But the Mustangs’ Zach Johnson tied the contest at 3-3 three minutes later and Nafarrete put his team ahead 4-3 with 3:10 elapsed in the final period.

“It was an up-and-back game. It was difficult to slow it down,” Otay Ranch coach Mark Holland said. “We controlled the game at times but we couldn’t keep it. It was a game of momentum shifts and they had the last momentum shift. It was like one of those old Chargers games where the team with the ball last wins.”

It was a breakout game for the White siblings, who were credited with points on four of their team’s five goals. Justin White had two goals to pace the Titans while younger brother Jace, a freshman, contributed a goal and assist. Patron had a goal and two assists in the game while Scharmann had a goal and assist.

Otay Ranch went 4-for-6 on the power play while Eastlake was 1-for-4. The equalizing force was goaltender Jason Campbell, who finished the game with 21 saves (a number matched by his counterpart in the Mustang net).

“They’re fast and talented,” the elder Holland said. “They got the puck off a face-off and scored with one of their skilled players. I think these two teams are very even.”
Torres said he felt it was his team’s superior depth that won the game.

“I kind of had a feeling they would come out full-go to try to back us into a corner,” Torres said. “My hope going in was that we would be able to survive that wave because of all our your players. We did. Our patience and discipline paid off. I take my hat off to the guys. This was a big win but there’s a lot of hockey left. We’re going as far as our goalie will carry us. He’s only a sophomore but he keeps impressing me for his age.”

Torres called the game against Scripps Ranch — last year’s North County League champion — likely the “battle for the second and third seeds” in next month’s Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs.

The Titans won on a goal by Patron with just 20 seconds left in regulation play after Eastlake had trailed twice trailed by one-goal margins. Campbell finished with 35 saves on 37 shots by Scripps Ranch.

The Falcons controlled much of the opening period, going ahead 1-0 on a breakaway goal by Max Balaban in the final 30 seconds after Campbell had repeatedly denied a swarming at-times Scripps Ranch team.

Scharmann tied the game, 1-1, on a breakaway of his own in the second minute of the middle frame. But the Falcons would take a 2-1 lead on a power play goal with 2:49 left in the period.

Justin White then tied the game with 4:45 left in the third period on a rocket shot from the point — a shot that traveled nearly half the length of the court. Patron went down with an injury just a minute later and things began to suddenly look dour for the Titans.

Torres called out to his team to simply play defense, hoping to carry a tie into an overtime period. But Patron healed enough to take the last shift of the game. He came off the bench as Jace White won a loose puck on a power play and fired a shot on Scripps Ranch netminder Derek Flick. Flick blocked White’s shot but the rebound came straight out to Patron, skating in from the other side. Patron beat Flick five-hole (under his pads) on a shot from five feet out.

The celebration by Eastlake players was, well, quite intense. One excited Titan yelled out, “Dynasty in the making!”

That has yet to be determined but the win has to be a confidence boost, especially after Scripps Ranch topped No. 1-ranked Westview, 7-6, in overtime on Monday.

Torres was simply lost for words after last Friday’s game. “The coaches can motive the players but it takes them to finish it,” he said. “We’ll go as far as our goalie will carry us.”
That looks to be far if last week’s heroics are any indicator.


Rewind/fast forward
The Titans started their hectic week with a 9-3 non-league victory against La Jolla Country Day on Jan. 7 and followed with a 15-1 Mesa League victory against Bonita Vista on Jan. 8.

Justin White and Patron led Eastlake, each with four goals and one assist, in the match-up against La Jolla Country Day while Scharmann and Michael Oleata both scored single goals.

In that game against Bonita Vista, Justin White collected a game-high five goals and two assists while Patron had three goals and two assists, Oleata had two goals and one assist. Michael Kelley, Zach McMahon and Sarah Cloonan each were credited with one goal and one assist while Alex Bule notched the final goal in the second period.

In Tuesday’s Mesa League win against Sweetwater, Scharmann keyed the Titans with five goals while Patron served up a goal and two assists, Justin White scored once and Jace White added an assist.

For the improving Red Devils, Robert Felizardo and Abraham Lopez each scored two goals.

Mustangs skate past Lancers, 3-1, in epic battle
Posted Jan. 10, 2008
Monday’s high profile non-league game between the Otay Ranch Mustangs and Hilltop Lancers proved without a doubt that both teams belong to a very short list of squads that define this season’s South County elite. The Mustangs won, 3-1, but it was the type of game that often features a reverse of fortune come playoff time.

Matt Nafarrete scored on three pin-point shots, including two on breakaways, and the Otay Ranch defense — keyed by Ohio State-bound goaltender Victor Holland — did the rest by repelling 27 Hilltop shots.

The Lancers out-shot the Mustangs 28-15, piling up a 13-3 edge in the second period and 10-2 edge in the third period. However, Hilltop was held off the scoreboard until 1:50 was left to play.

By then, it was much too late to make any type of comeback.

“I’ll say that Hilltop is a very solid team and very well coached. They probably have the best coaching tandem in the South Bay,” Otay Ranch coach Mark Holland said. “We had our hands full.”

The Lancers (6-5) exerted pressure from the opening face-off and it only intensified thereafter. The Mustangs (8-2) scored all their goals against the run of play and were forced to play a defensive game because of continued penalty problems. Hilltop received six power play chances in the contest but only scored on one.
“We were sloppy and undisciplined and that will get you in trouble,” the elder Holland said. “What helped us is that we got off to a lead and I was able to substitute some of the younger kids. We started getting deeper into our bench. We also had Victor.”

Nafarrete scored the game’s jump goal with just 1:15 remaining in the opening period to deflate the Lancers, who had peppered the younger Holland with numerous shots throughout the opening period. Nafarrete struck again, working through a scramble along the side boards and getting a fortunate bounce to again walk in alone on Hilltop netminder Skyler Travis. Nafarrete sealed the the outcome by finishing off a clean breakaway with 8:30 left to play.

Carlos Melendez drew the assist on Nafarrete’s opening breakaway while Zach Johnson fed Nafarrete on the Mustangs’ 3-0 goal.

Kekoa Latimore scored the Lancers’ lone goal, with the assist credited to Adam Wetzel.
Victor Holland finished the game with 27 saves, showing why he was a first team all-league pick last season. Travis stopped 12 of 15 Otay Ranch shots.

Nafarrete upped his team-leading scoring statistics to 29 goals and 13 assists (42 points). Johnson ranks second on the team with 14 goals and 33 points.

Mesa League
Eastlake rolled to a 15-1 victory against Bonita Vista on Tuesday to hike its league record to 2-0 and overall mark to 8-1. Justin White led the Titans with five goals and two assists while Dante Patron racked up three goals and two assists. Michael Oleata was credited with two goals and one assist while second-period goals were also credited to Owen Breedon, Sarah Cloonan and Alex Blue. A total of 10 players picked up either a goal or assist in the game for Eastlake, which built a 9-0 lead.

The Titans opened the week with a 9-3 non-league win against La Jolla Country Day on Monday as White scored four goals and Patron had a hat trick.

St. Augustine (7-3-1) improved to 3-0 in league play following Tuesday's 11-1 victory over Chula Vista (0-3, 2-5). Carter Pool (four goals, one assist) and Trent Robinson (two goals, two assists) led the Saints, who got two goals and one assist from T.J. Acierno in a 7-0 shutout win against Mar Vista (0-9) in non-league play on Monday.

Otay Ranch and Eastlake were scheduled to face off on Thursday for first place bragging rights. The Saints face off against Eastlake this coming Thursday.

South Bay League
LJCD skated past Castle Park, 20-3, in the season's first league match-up. Camille Corbin led the Torreys (1-0, 4-6-1) with nine goals and three assists for a 12-point night while James Owsiany collected five goals and six assists. The Trojans (0-1, 0-9) received single goals from Paul Quinones, Mark Laminato and Raul Medina.

Slap shots
Sweetwater fought back from a 4-3 second-period deficit to register a 7-4 non-league victory against Southwest on Monday. Abraham Lopez was credited with three goals and one assist while teammate Robert Felizardo was credited with two goals and four assists for the victorious Red Devils (2-4). Dewayne Adams had three goals for Southwest (1-9).

La Jolla (1-1, 3-4) clipped Sweetwater, 12-10, when Mesa League play resumed on Tuesday. Johnny Noris led the Vikings with nine goals and one assist while Felizardo had four goals and one assist and Lopez tacked on three goals for Sweetwater (0-2, 2-5).

Mustangs, Saints skate to 2-0 starts in Mesa League play

Posted Dec. 31, 2007
The Otay Ranch Mustangs and St. Augustine Saints are the early leaders in the Mesa League roller hockey standings after each team skated to identical 2-0 starts in games just prior to the holiday break. The Mustangs and Saints are joined in the league unbeaten ranks by the Eastlake Titans at 1-0.

Carlos Melendez scored four goals and added a pair of assists while Matt Nafarrete contributed a goal and assist to get Otay Ranch rolling with a 9-2 victory against Chula Vista on Dec. 19. The Mustangs led just 1-0 after the first period and 4-0 at the end of two periods before out-scoring the Spartans 5-2 in the final period. Otay Ranch led 9-0 before Mike Abas and Daniel Breon took turns scoring (and assisting) on Chula Vista’s two goals. Zach Johnson had a goal and two assists in the game for Otay Ranch.

Carter Pool and T.J. Acierno each recorded hat tricks to lead St. Augustine to its first Mesa League win of the season, 11-1 over Sweetwater, also on Dec. 19. Greg Park had a goal and assist for the Saints, who snapped a mild slump with the victory. St. Augustine blew the game open with six goals in the middle period. Robert Felizardo scored the lone goal for the Red Devils (0-1, 1-4).

Otay Ranch improved to 2-0 in league play with a 15-0 victory against Bonita Vista (0-1, 4-3) the following day. Melendez once again paced the Mustangs (7-2 overall) with three goals and four assists. Nafarrete (three goals, three assists) and Johnson (two goals, four assists) followed on the scoreboard. Otay Ranch broke the contest open with six second-period goals and added five goals in the final period.

St. Augustine (5-3-1 overall) matched the Mustangs’ fast start with an 11-4 win against La Jolla on Dec. 20 as Pool led all scorers with five goals and three assists. Park and Jordan Jodzio both scored twice for the Saints, who rang up five goals in each of the opening two periods. Johnny Noris paced the Vikings (0-1, 2-4) with two goals and two assists.

Eastlake rolled to its first league win by skating past Chula Vista, 8-1, also on Dec. 20. The Titans (1-0, 6-1) received points from seven players, with Justin White and Michael Oleata both scoring twice and Andrew Abuyo picking up a goal and two assists. Breon had the lone goal for the Spartans (0-2, 2-4).

He shoots ... he saves!
Titan netminder is hero in 7-5 win over Hilltop

Posted Dec. 19, 2007
The Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs are not until February but the casual observer likely would not have known that by the high-paced action, grit and occasional flashes of sheer brilliance displayed on the floor Tuesday by the Eastlake and Hilltop high school roller hockey teams. The game was every bit as intense as a playoff game and by the contrast of emotions exhibited after the final buzzer — elation by Eastlake’s players and disappointment by Hilltop’s players — the result will be logged in memory by both teams should an actual post-season paring materialize.

In the meantime, Eastlake’s thrill-seeking 7-5 victory goes a long way in determining bragging rights to the best team in South County this season.

The next challenge for both teams: Otay Ranch, the only other South Bay team to own a victory against a North County League team this season.

“This was a test to find out just how good we are,” Titans head coach Rone Torres said in sizing up the teams’ non-league match-up. “We hadn’t really been tested recently by any other teams.”

Eastlake rolled off the Skate San Diego court with a South County-best 5-0 record but with the knowledge that it still hadn’t faced the best the CIF/Metro Conference has to offer. Hilltop, which saw its record dip to 6-4, has already battled such North County teams as Poway, Westview and Vista and was coming off a scintillating performance against a very good St. Augustine team the previous day.

Hilltop’s 8-6 non-league win against the Saints (3-3-1) easily ranks among the Lancers’ best showings in recent seasons. Eastlake’s showing against Hilltop can only be rated as something potent in the brew.

“It was all about figuring out the match-ups,” said Torres, whose team was coming off one-sided non-league victories against Castle Park (14-0), Southwest (11-1) and Mar Vista (10-0) after facing off the season Dec. 10 with a 6-4 win against West Hills.

Hilltop, keyed by conference scoring leader Ruben Benavides, broke out to early leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 to finish the first period of play. The Lancers penetrated seemingly at will through the Titan defense and swarmed in front of Eastlake netminder Jason Campbell, without whose acrobatic saves the score easily could have gotten out of hand.

Hilltop, however, would not score again until 5:15 remained in the third period. During that 25-minute scoreless stretch, a regrouped and revamped Eastlake squad managed to beat Lancer goaltender Skyler Travis three times to take a 5-3 lead. Hilltop then turned up the pressure, twice pulling to within a goal on the scoreboard, before Dante Patron’s empty net goal with seven seconds left finally sealed the victory for the Titans.

Patron scored Eastlake’s final two goals and finished the game with a hat trick. His first strike with 4:47 left gave his team a 6-4 lead less than 30 seconds after the Lancers had shaved the score to 5-4 on a power play goal by Austin McDonald. Patron took the puck on the ensuing face-off at center court and broke in alone on the Hilltop net.

Patron’s breakaway tally proved well-timed as Benavides made it a one-goal game again at 6-5 when he scored with 3:25 to play. Things got even juicier when the Lancers went on the power play with 2:30 remaining.

That’s when Campbell played his best between the pipes. The sophomore netminder blocked one-on-one shots, deflected rebounds and then simply got the proverbial lucky bounce to figuratively hold his finger in the dike. At least long enough until Patron’s empty netter finally quieted the waves of Hilltop sharp-shooters.

Senior captain Nate Scharmann finished the game with two goals for the Titans, who also benefited hugely from a goal and two assists from junior Andrew Abuyo and Justin White. White’s goal with 5:08 to play in the middle frame gave the Titans their first lead of the contest at 4-3. Scharmann’s second goal of the game — coming just 1:01 after White’s go-ahead tally to increase the lead to 5-3 — seemed to give Eastlake’s players both the emotional lift and confidence boost they needed while tangling with the fast-skating Lancers, who seemed ready to erupt on the scoreboard at any moment.

Campbell finished the game with 38 saves.

“We wouldn’t play into the emotional game they were trying to play by taking retaliation penalties,” Torres said. “They seemed to want to play a physical game. We wanted to play a hockey game.”

Could a rivalry be in the process of being rekindled?

The Lancers, who appeared to take their fair share of knocks and bumps on the court as well, owned the first period of play. Kekoa Latimore scored just 50 seconds into the contest to give Hilltop a pivotal 1-0 lead. The only thing the Titans seemed to have going for them in the early going were a couple of breakaway rushes — both of which they scored on. Benavides gave Hilltop a 2-1 lead with 7:55 to go in the period and McDonald beat Campbell with 30 seconds remaining to push the Lancers ahead by a goal once more at 3-2.

McDonald led Hilltop on the scoreboard with two goals and two assists while Benavides contributed two goals and one assist and Latimore had a goal and assist. Andrew Ries set up McDonald’s second goal on a perfectly executed two-on-one, with McDonald depositing the puck between Campbell’s pad and the post in a one-touch motion.

Campbell was otherwise flawless.

“Our goalie continues to stand on his head,” Torres said. “By the end of the season, he’s going to be one of the top goalies in the conference. He’s only a sophomore.”

Lancers spear Saints
In Monday’s exciting victory against St. Augustine, Hilltop could not have played any better, nor have a better on-court leader than its captain, Benavides. Few players could have played any better than Benavides did against the Saints, assuming the role of superstar on the floor. More of the same will make the Lancers an extremely difficult team to beat as the season wears on.

“Did we look good or what?” exclaimed Hilltop coach Dan Vacarro after the Lancers built an early 4-0 lead over the Saints and then hung on heroically for the victory. “I think these kids realized they can play with the other good teams. There’s no doubt that we came to play. We went ahead 4-0 and hung on. St. Augie is a good team. I’m proud of our team.”

There certainly wasn’t much for Vacarro to dislike in Monday’s affair. Hilltop held St. Augustine off the scoreboard for exactly half the game. By that time, Benavides had racked up points on all four Lancer goals with two goals and two assists. McDonald had a goal and assist and Latimore had one goal.

It would take four more goals before the Saints could finally be sent marching off the floor with a loss. St. Augustine’s offense finally found its groove with four second-period goals to trim the Hilltop lead to 5-4. But the Saints, owners of 7-6, 6-4 and 4-3 non-league wins over Scripps Ranch, West Hills and Vista, respectively, could not manage to close the gap any farther as the Lancers — courtesy of Benavides’ hat trick goal — got the critical first goal of the third period (just 30 seconds in, in fact).

The Saints made it 6-5 on the fifth goal of the game by Carter Pool with 9:25 to play and Jordan Jodzio narrowed the Hilltop lead to 7-6 with 8:46 left. But Hilltop appeared to save its best for last as Greg Watters, set up by Latimore, scored with 1:56 remaining on the clock to give the Lancers an 8-6 lead and what would prove to be the final margin of victory.

“I’m really happy for us,” said Benavides, who finished the game with three goals and three assists to lift his season totals to 23 goals and 19 assists. “In these really intense games, we tend to tire in the third period. I think everyone’s pumped up that we won this. Usually we lose these tight games like that. It was a huge game.”

More appear to be on the horizon before the season is over.

Player of the Month
Westview's Garrett Taylor:
Next stop NHL?

Posted Dec. 15, 2007
Each season brings new challenges as well as a new cadre of players ready to take leadership roles on their respective teams. Thus, when the Westview Wolverines rolled into the Skate San Diego rink on Nov. 27 for their opening game in the 2007-08 CIF/Metro Conference season, it didn’t take long for the word to spread through the ranks that a very special player had just entered the building.

His name is Garrett Taylor and, if he has his way, he’ll be skating one day in the NHL.

“My Dad's from Maine. He played hockey. He got me playing. He put me on skates when I was two,” said Taylor, who has helped key the Wolverines to an undefeated 6-0 start.

This is Taylor’s second year on the Westview High School team but his first as the CIF/Metro Conference's undisputed marquee player. Playing over the summer in the 17-and-under Five Nations Tournament in the Czech Republic does have the tendency to elevate one’s game.

“It was a great experience,” said Taylor, who helped lead Team USA to a silver medal finish in the elite international tournament.

The junior standout appears to have his career all mapped out. After finishing roller hockey games with the Wolverines, he dresses at breakneck speed to make ice hockey practices. If you turn your head and then look back, he’ll likely be gone. Such is the dedication - and insane amount of time -- required to excel at the highest level.

Taylor’s senior year will not be spent at Westview High School but with a guest family in Canada. He’ll be playing next season in the Western Hockey League for the Red Deer Rebels. After further honing his skills in one of North America’s most recognizable Junior A hockey leagues, the next stop could be the NHL Entry Draft and a future in pro hockey.

Taylor plans to try out for a spot on 18-and-under national youth team next season.
.
He went through three rounds of tryouts at the state, regional and national levels before finally landing a spot on the 17-and-under Team USA roster

“They started with about 200 at all the tryouts and then cut it down to 20,” he said.

Taylor started playing roller hockey at four years old with the Rinkside Rockets. He practices four times each week for his current ice hockey team, the 18-and-under L.A. Jr. Kings. Games are played as far away as Michigan and Minnesota. He said he spends any free time studying and working out.

His favorite player remains Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks.

Taylor emerged on the national scene after winning a national title at the 14-AAA level with the L.A. Selects. But it appears that he finally blossomed during the time between his sophomore and junior years in high school.

Taylor was one of two Californians on the 2006-07 U.S. Under-17 select team, joining L.A. Selects teammate Dakota Eveland (Anaheim).

Team USA fell 7-2 to the Czech Republic in the gold medal game in August's Five Nations Tournament. The U.S. Team, which featured many of America's best hockey players born in 1991, finished 3-1-0 in the international showcase event.

He’s easy to spot on the floor. He’s the player with the USA decal on his helmet. That, he said, he wears with pride.

With 19 goals and 14 assists in his team's undefeated start, this season has become his breakout year.

The slick-skating Taylor had five goals and two assists in his team's season opening 15-4 win against the Hilltop Lancers, led Westview with five goals and three assists in an 11-5 non-league victory against defending Mesa League co-champion Otay Ranch and racked up 12 points on four goals and eight assists in a 30-0 non-league win against Castle Park.

Taylor said it was a big deal personally for him to represent his high school this season as next season he is slated to move to Canada.

Referee Dave McLean was so impressed by his play in the Wolverines' season opener that he had to take time to point him out to the press corps. "Unbelievable,” McLean said of Taylor.

Everyone else in the photo well whole-heartedly concurred.

Team of the Month
CIF roller hockey faces off eighth season: Can anyone stop the Rancho Bernardo Broncos?

Posted Dec. 15, 2007
The CIF/Metro Conference faced off its eighth season of CIF-sanctioned play Nov. 26. The high school league's season extends through February. The defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo Broncos are favored to repeat as champions with what may rate as the most potent lineup ever assembled in the conference's history.

"We’re hoping to have a perfect season,” Broncos team captain Kory Grahl said in enumerating the team's goals for this season.

After the team's 6-0 start -- outscoring opponents 116-8 in the process -- few might argue with that assessment. In fact, the question on everyone's mind at this point of the season might be: can anyone stop the RB Broncos?

Rancho Bernardo, keyed by a treasure trove of 14 returning players, is led by Grahl and assistant captains Tanner Woodbury and Matt Kresky. This is Grahl’s fourth year with the team.

The Broncos finished regular season play 16-4 last season before catching fire in the playoffs, defeating North County League rivals Vista (6-2), Westview (8-3) and Poway (6-3) in the championship game en route to a final 19-4 record.

Grahl said the Broncos have responded out of respect for the coaching staff, led by head coach Scott McKay.

“We have a game plan and we stick to it -- that’s the respect we’ve developed for our coaches,” said Grahl, speaking for the team.

Grahl said “determination and hard work” propelled the Broncos to last season’s championship title. He said the team’s goal is to repeat as (Kiwanis Cup) champions.

“A lot of us are coming back. We only lost a couple guys," he said."We play well together - we all know where each other is going to be on the rink.”

Rancho Bernardo topped the Castle Park Trojans, 35-0, in its season opener and proceeded to roll over the the West Hills Wolf Pack and the Southwest Raiders by scores of 11-0 and 26-0, respectively, before finally receiving some resistance in a 25-5 non-league win against the La Jolla Country Day Torreys to hike their record to 4-0.

The Broncos topped defending Mesa League co-champion Otay Ranch, 10-2, in another non-league encounter before rolling past Vista, 9-1, to improve to 2-0 in North County League play.

Grahl and Rob Pegler each scored five goals to lead Rancho Bernardo Broncos in its season opener. Grahl finished the game with three assists for an eight-point debut while Woodbury and Adam Child each collected seven points on four goals and three assists and Chris Clement scored four goals

Grahl (four goals, two assists) and Child (two goals, four assists) led the Broncos with six points apiece in the win against West Hills that served as the teams' North County League opener while Woodbury chipped in with two goals and one assist.

Five players registered hat tricks in the win over Southwest. Kresky (four goals, three assists), Child (three goals, three assists), Bryce Semonian (three goals, one assist), Pegler (three goals) and Woodbury (three goals).

The Broncos continued their undefeated start with the non-league win against La Jolla Country Day. Rancho Bernardo racked up the opening five goals of the game and led 9-1 after the first period and 16-3 entering the final period. Child led the RB scoring parade with 10 points on eight goals and two assists while Woodbury had six points on four goals and two assists and Clement and Pegler each had four points on three goals and one assist.

The Broncos became the first team to roll to a 5-0 start by topping the Otay Ranch Mustangs 10-2. Kresky led the defending Kiwanis Cup champions with three goals and one assist while Grahl had three goals and Ryan Heidrich contributed two goals and one assist.

Rancho Bernardo improved to 2-0 in North County League play as Grahl collected three goals and two assists and Child registered five points on two goals and three assists in the eight-goal victory against Vista.

Best of the rest
The Poway Titans, Scripps Ranch Falcons and Westview Wolverines all look to be able challengers should the Broncos falter in their quest for supremacy in the North County League standings. Poway and Westview both matched the Broncos with 6-0 starts to the season.

Greg Friedman, who is in his 11th season as Scripps Ranch head coach, said his team is in the midst of a rebuilding year by North County standards. The Falcons are carrying three freshmen on the varsity this season and are count two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and two seniors among their top eight players.

Besides C.J. Ruhwedel, a member of the Junior Kings AAA 18-and-under team, and Max Balaban, another ice hockey standout (Junior Gulls 16-AA squad), Scripps Ranch’s top returning players include senior defenseman Brent Friedman, sophomore forward Chang and senior goalie Flick.

“We’ve got a couple good solid defensemen but we’re not as physical as in the past,” Friedman said of his squad. “We’re in a rebuilding year. We had a senior-laden team last year. We graduated six seniors.”

Top newcomers include forward Steve Sherman and defenseman Aaron Peterson, both freshmen. Despite the influx of youth, the Falcons remain potent. Scripps Ranch finished runner-up to Rancho Bernardo in pre-season league competition.

“The last three or four years, I’ve had the luxury of going with three lines but this year we’ll be going with two lines,” the Falcons bench boss said.

Poway coach Dale Ingram agreed with Friedman about the race for this year’s North County League title. “Everyone is about dead even but Rancho Bernardo is heads above everyone else,” he said. "They don't have a weak player on their team."

The Titans paired up against the Broncos for last season’s Kiwanis Cup title but lost five seniors to graduation. Poway has integrated five freshmen into this year’s varsity roster after losing five players to graduation.

"That's about right for us each year," Ingram said. "We have a total of 60 kids in the program, from the feeder teams up, so losing five players every year doesn't hurt us so much."

Darren Barnes, Eric Eyler, Ethan Gormican and Chase Liebman have proven able scorers for the Titans in the early going.

The Eastlake Titans -- off to a 3-0 start -- rate to contend to defend their Mesa League co-championship. The Titans are braced between the pipes by sophomore Jason Campbell, an experienced AAA-level ice hockey netminder with the San Diego Junior Gulls.

“Otay Ranch is right there with us talent-wise, but I think we are the fastest team in the South County this year,” Eastlake head coach Rone Torres said.”Having a legitimate goalie is going to make everything easier for me as a coach, as I work to develop our young talent and bring our leaders along to be ‘the guys’ this year and not just role players ... We're taking it one win at a time."

So, it appears, are the RB Broncos.

Titans face off hockey season on a roll

Posted Dec. 13, 2007
The numbers are up – due mostly to an infusion of youngsters – and spirits are high. What could be in store for this season’s Eastlake High School roller hockey team? A strong chance to successfully defend its Mesa League championship banner, for one, and possibly an excursion deep into the Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs.

“Basically, we have set the bar extremely high this year,” Titans coach Ronald Torres said. “All of our goals are based on being better than last year, which was the best club in school history.”


Eastlake captured a share of last season’s Mesa League title with Otay Ranch as the Titans and Mustangs upended Bonita Vista and La Jolla, respectively, in the last two games of the season. However, Eastlake suffered a disappointing end to an otherwise thrilling season with a loss to West Hills in the opening round of the Kiwanis Cup playoffs.

“With games against West Hills, Rancho Bernardo and Scripps Ranch, we will be tested often,” Torres said of the team’s opening slate of non-league games. “We have our first league championship to defend and I expect us to compete for the title again. Otay Ranch is right there with us talent-wise, but I think we are the fastest team in the South County this year. Having a legitimate goalie is going to make everything easier for me as a coach, as I work to develop our young talent and bring our leaders along to be ‘the guys’ this year and not just role players.”

Top returners include senior Nate Scharmann, sophomore Justin White, senior Michael Kelley and junior Andrew Abuyo.Scharmann finished fourth in team scoring last season with 28 goals and seven assists while White was sixth in team scoring with 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists). Kelley is the team’s top returning defenseman while Abuyo ranked third in team scoring last season with 46 points (including 31 assists) and was, in Torres’ words, the team’s “best all-around player.”

“Andrew Abuyo and Nate Scharmann both have the talent to be top guys in CIF and Justin White was one of the section’s best freshman (last season) and is bigger stronger and in a leadership role this year,” Torres said.

Top newcomers include sophomores Dante Patron and Jason Campbell and freshman Jace White. Patron moved from the Scripps Ranch area. Torres calls him “one of the fastest players I have ever seen.”

Campbell brings ice hockey experience from the AAA-level with the San Diego Junior Gulls. He did not play as a freshman but Torres expects him to be one of the top netminders in CIF play. Torres said Jace White has more skills and talent than his brother Justin did as a freshman.

Other returners include Eric and Derek Tamayo, seniors who both have drastically improved to add depth to the team, and Mike Oleata, who is fine-tuning his game to help on the team’s second line as a sophomore.

The Titans’ youth movement includes a pair of freshmen defenders: Jordan Hines and Sarah Cloonan. Torres believes both are ready to play at the CIF level. “There are five other players I am bringing along to help us out this year,” Torres said.

Because Torres serves as an assistant football coach and several players also play on the football team, the Titans’ roller hockey opener was pushed back until the section football finals were over. Eastlake made its 2007-08 debut Monday, defeating West Hills 5-3.

“We really wanted to get this one because they ended our season last year,” Torres said. “We’re taking it one win at a time.”

The Titans got on the scoreboard first, with Abuyo tallying his first of two goals for the game 2:35 into the contest. The Wolf Pack went up 2-1 on a pair of goals 1:42 apart midway through the period but Eastlake forced a 2-2 standoff when Patron scored the first goal of his eventual hat trick with 4:20 left in the opening stanza.

Campbell held West Hills off the scoreboard until the third period as his team steadily built a 4-2 advantage on goals by Abuyo and Patron. The Wolf Pack pulled to within 4-3 on a goal by Kellen McManus with 9:10 to play in the game but Patron scored his third goal of the non-league match-up with 12 seconds left to cap a dramatic ending.

Scharmann is playing his fourth season with the Titans and appears ready to lead as the team’s designated captain. “I’ve been waiting for this all my career,” he said in reference to the “C” now sewn on his jersey. “I’m going to lead my team as far as I can.”

Torreys face rebuilding season, could finish with more

Posted Dec. 6, 2007
David Brink is in his third year coaching the La Jolla Country Day Torreys. This year he said the Torreys are facing a rebuilding season due to the loss of six seniors. "It's sort of a rebuilding year," said Brink, whose squad improved to 2-4 on the young 2007-08 campaign with a 12-3 non-league victory against La Jolla on Thursday at Skate San Diego. "We got a short bench and a new goalie. We're trying to work on team chemistry. If our new goalie comes along well, I think we could contend for the league title and a good spot in the playoffs."

LJCD returns a pair of top performers in juniors Ben Sweeney and Eric Williamson. Sweeney is an all-league defenseman whose season was cut short last year because of an ice hockey injury; Williamson is being asked to play a new position this season -- that of goaltender. Impact newcomers include freshmen James Owsiany, a defender/forward, and Camille Corbin, a member of the Lady Ducks ice hockey team. Owsiany plays for the San Diego Ice Arena Bantam AA team while Sweeney is a member of the 18AA Junior Gulls ice squad.

The Torreys received points from five players in Thursday's victory against the Vikings (0-2). Owaiany (four goals, three assists) and Sweeney (three goals, four assists) tied for the team lead with seven points each while Sam Brink recorded four points on three goals and one assist, Joey Bryant-Sowka registered a goal and assist and Cameron Eibl had one goal. Corbin did not play due to other commitments but has been an integral part of the teasm's scoring machine thus far this season.

LJCD led 6-1 after the opening period and 7-2 entering the final period. The Vikings were not playing with standout scorer Johnny Noris because of work commitments. He had La Jolla's lone goal in an 18-1 setback the previous night to Poway at the Escondido Sports Center that doubled as the Vikings' delayed season debut. Matt Cox had all three La Jolla goals in Thursday's game.

Lancers continue to roll with the times

Posted Dec. 5, 2007
While the CIF/Metro Conference roller hockey circuit might be celebrating its eighth season of operation in 2007-08, Hilltop High’s program predates that by several years. The Lancers were the pioneering club in the South Bay – and over a decade later continue to remain one of high school roller hockey’s most competitive teams.

“We started this in 1997 and it’s still going today,” Hilltop coach Dan Vacarro said. “We’ve kept the league going. We keep getting new players out each year. I’ve been happy. Every year we’ve had a competitive team.”

It’s no different this season. The Lancers are favored to win the South Bay League title, wrestling it away from a defending league champion Mar Vista team that has entered a rebuilding mode after several seasons at the top of the standings. The La Jolla Country Day Torreys appear game this season but Hilltop stands as the preseason favorite.

“We’re favored to win our division this year,” Vacarro said. “I have an exciting, good first line. After that we have some young kids. There’s a drop in depth. It’s a learning curve issue. The key is to mesh everyone together.”

So far, it’s been feast or famine for the Lancers, who have rolled to a 1-3 start in non-league play. Hilltop has had the luck of the draw to face three of the top teams in the 18-team conference to face off the season. The games have been fiercely competitive, especially Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to Vista. The Lancers trailed by a 2-1 score for the bulk of the contest before the Panthers (3-0) struck for a goal midway through the third period and added another with just 29 seconds left in the game.

Hilltop gave Poway, a finalist in last year’s Kiwanis Cup playoffs, everything it could handle for the first half of the game before losing a step and eventually falling by a misleading 9-1 score.The Lancers jump-started the season Nov. 27 with a 15-4 loss to Westview, possibly the second-best team in the conference this season behind the defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo Broncos, before toppling a rebuilding Bonita Vista team, 16-1, on Nov. 29.

The game Vacarro is really looking forward to is after the holidays against Mesa League preseason favorite Otay Ranch on Jan. 7. The Mustangs lost, 11-5, to Westview on Tuesday to suffer their first loss after three straight wins to face off the season.

“They (the Mustangs) have showed me they’re one of the premier teams this season. It will be a good test for us,” the Hilltop skipper said. “In the game against Westview, that was the first time a lot of our younger kids had seen speed like that. It was like ‘wow!’ – so this is what we’re in for.”

Top returners include Ruben Benavides and Austin McDonald, both fourth-year forwards, second-year forward Kekoa Latimore and third-year defenseman Greg Watters. The recent return of stalwart defenseman Andrew Ries completes Vacarro’s dynamite first line. Benavides, McDonald, Latimore and Ries have extensive travel team experience with the Chula Vista Hawks.

“Ruben is a fabulous skater – just that alone makes him a great player,” Vacarro said. “Austin has grown up. He’s faster, bigger, stronger. If anyone’s come along farther, it’s Greg. He’s 6-2 and grown into his body.”

The team is braced between the pipes by Skylar Travis, whom Vacarro said may be the key to the team’s championship aspirations. “I think Skylar is going to be a key to whether we win it or not,” the Lancer coach said. “When he has his head in the game, he’s as good as any goalie in the South Bay.”

McDonald had two goals and an assist in the season opener against Westview while Benavides collected a goal and two assists and Latimore netted one goal. Nine players picked up points against the Barons, led by McDonald’s six points on three goals and three assists and five points by Bobby Rude (four goals, one assist). Latimore and Benavides each racked up four points on three goals and one assist while Tylor Spacklin contributed a goal and two assists and Watters added a goal and assist.Latimore had the team’s lone goals in the losses to Poway and Vista to start this week.

Westview 11, Otay Ranch 5
Dec. 4 at Skate San Diego: The Wolverines racked up a 3-0 lead and then held off a persistent Mustangs squad in the high profile non-league match-up. Team USA’s Garrett Taylor led Westview with five goals and three assists, though Otay Ranch managed to hold the 17-and-under World Championship participant to two goals through the opening two periods. Westview received goals from seven players in the game.

The Mustangs closed the score to 4-2 late in the first period but trailed 8-3 entering the final period. Matt Nafarrete keyed Otay Ranch with four goals, his last three making the score 9-5 with 2:35 to play. Zach Johnson tallied a goal and two assists while Victor Holland and James Dionicio each were credited with one assist. The Wolverines out-shot the Mustangs 30-20 in the game.

“They have more skilled players farther down the line-up than us. It’s a matter of depth,” Otay Ranch coach Mark Holland said. “To play against a team with speed and depth is always a challenge.”

The Mustangs will get a chance to test themselves against the defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo Broncos in another non-league engagement on Monday. The Broncos have regularly dispatched their opening season opponents in blowout fashion, winning by scores of 35-0 (Castle Park), 26-0 (Southwest), 11-0 (West Hills) and 25-5 (La Jolla Country Day).

Otay Ranch will focus on winning sole possession of this year’s Mesa League title as non-league play wraps up. “We still have two games against Eastlake, St. Augustine and La Jolla. We haven’t seen any of those teams play yet, so we don’t have a clue what to expect.”

St. Augustine, which previously dropped close contests against Poway (6-5) and Westview (6-4), topped Scripps Ranch by a 7-6 score on Monday. The Mustangs faced off the season with a 6-2 win against the perennial North County powerhouse Falcons.

Taylor received support from teammates Shane Clements (one goal, two assists), Ian Rogers (one goal), Ryan Amyot (one goal) and Greg Hawkesworth (one goal), Jason Kurth (one assist) and Greg Kurth (one assist). Westview rolled to a 6-2 first period lead on the strength of three rapid-fire goals in the opening 3:20. TheWolverines responded with a pair of quick strikes in the final 1:18 of the opening frame to regain control of the non-league match-up. Westview outscored the Mustangs 5-3 overt the balance of the final two periods, finally putting the game out of readch with three third-period goals.

Hungry like the wolf
West Hills faces ‘rebuilding season’

Posted Dec. 3, 2007
The West Hills High School roller hockey team embarks on its third season of play in the CIF/Metro Conference in what new head coach Dennis Morris terms “a rebuilding year.”

The Wolf Pack, which advanced as far as the quarterfinal round in last season’s Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs, lost six key players over the course of the off-season – three to graduation and three to East Coast prep schools.

Andrew Delgadillo, Travis Peters and Travis Lopez all left the program due to graduation while Matt Gage, Logan Boehm and Tim Shaw were recruited to play high-level hockey at out-of-state prep schools.

While the three prep school recruits may give the West Hills program a sense of pride, it left the team in a rebuilding mode.The team’s line-up for the 2007-08 campaign is underclassmen-laden with two freshmen, four sophomores and three juniors. The team has two seniors: Jason Addie and Geronld Leslie, the Wolf Pack’s captain.

Goaltender Cameron McIntrye, an all-conference second team selection last season, highlights the returners.

“We’re young this year but are going to be very good next year,” Morris said matter-of-factly.

The West Hills roller hockey program got its start 10 years ago, first gaining club status at the Santee school and then inclusion in the first officially CIF-sanctioned league in the state. The Wolf Pack now awards letters to players at the end of each season just like football, basketball, soccer and other official CIF sports in the San Diego Section.

“The school has been very supportive of the sport and that helps,” West Hills assistant coach Randy Leslie said.

The Wolf Pack looks to be competitive this season after rolling out to a 2-1 start. West Hills topped La Jolla Country Day, 10-3, in its season opener Nov. 26 at the Escondido Sports Complex and roller over defending South Bay League champion Mar Vista, 12-1, in a game played Nov. 29 at Skate San Diego in National City.

Spencer Gaalaas led West Hills with three goals and one assist in the season opener while Leslie and Colton Bohen both scored twice.The Wolf Pack broke open its game against Mar Vista with six third-period goals. Donnie Keffer was credited with four goals while John Gerrard had three goals and one assist.

West Hills faced off North County League play Nov. 28 with an 11-0 loss to defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo. The Broncos are favored to win the conference championship again this season.

North County League games are played at the Escondido Sports Complex. The roller hockey season runs through the end of the traditional winter sports season.

Otay Ranch's Zach Johnson, left, and Victor Holland

Game on! Otay Ranch rolls past Scripps Ranch Falcons in 6-2 stunner
Posted Nov. 28, 2007
The opening two nights of action at Skate San Diego in National City displayed the dichotomy that defines the sport of roller hockey in the CIF/Metro Conference. The scores: 21-2, 35-0, 12-0, 14-1 and 15-4.

South County teams once again took it on the chin from by-and-large superior North County teams. Few South County coaches would argue the gulf in level of competitiveness that separates teams from the two geographic regions.

But then there are the Otay Ranch Mustangs.

These South County skaters apparently can play with the best the 18-team conference has to offer as evidenced by Tuesday’s rather impressive 6-2 victory against the defending North County League champion Scripps Ranch Falcons.

The Falcons have been members of the state’s first CIF-sanctioned league for seven years now and have developed rivalries against the top South County squads. Over the years, Scripps Ranch has come to symbolize the measuring stick for the sport of high school roller hockey in San Diego County.

The Mustangs, in their brief four-year history, look to measure up quite nicely.

“This may be the best team we’ve had,” Otay Ranch coach Mark Holland said succinctly following Tuesday’s heroic victory.

Led by junior Zach Johnson’s two goals and three assists, two goals and two assists from senior captain Matt Nafarette, two goals from young forward Carlos Melendez and the stellar goaltending of senior Victor Holland, the Mustangs topped a fast-skating Falcon squad that looks to contend for a high seed in February’s Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs.

Down twice by one-goal margins, Otay Ranch reeled off the game’s final five goals to post the shocking victory. Holland was particularly effective in the final period when he stopped all six Scripps Ranch shots on net. He finished the game with 19 saves on 21 shots – a .905 save percentage.

Said Johnson: “Our goalie’s good.”

The Mustangs out-shot the Falcons 27-21 in the non-league contest.

The elder Holland said the key to his team’s solid win was to short shift two lines. Otay Ranch skaters proved particularly adept on breakaways against Scripps Ranch senior netminder Derek Flick. Just when it appeared the Falcons were poised to creep closer on the scoreboard, the Mustangs would come up with a timely goal.

Ahead 3-2, Otay Ranch took a momentum-shifting 5-2 advantage on a pair of goals 2:14 apart early in the third period. Melendez scored an unassisted tally while Johnson converted a power play feed from Nafarrete. The Mustang captain scored on a neat breakaway with 2:07 left to punctuate the dramatic win.

“We only had six skaters but the right six skaters,” Mark Holland said. “It was the right game plan. One minute into the game, I changed lines and we changed every two or three minutes after that. We wanted to slow the game down. Carlos is normally a forward but we had to use him on ‘D’ because of the guys who weren’t here. ”

The Falcons were playing without ice hockey standout C.J. Ruhwedel while Otay Ranch was missing three players, including all-league defensemen Josh Donaldson and Angelo Seganti. Ruhwedel had five goals and four assists in Monday’s 21-2 victory against Southwest.

Nafarette, Seganti, Donaldson and the younger Holland are the remaining players from the Mustangs’ first-ever team.Max Balaban keyed Scripps Ranch with a goal and assist while Christian Chang scored once.

“The expectations for the season would be to win our league outright,” the elder Holland said. “We’ve shared league titles with Mar Vista and Eastlake before.”

The Falcons look to be trailing the defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo Broncos for this year’s North County League title. Scripps Ranch looks to match up well against Poway and Westview for the likely No. 2 spot in the league standings, with a Vista Panthers team looking to improve on last year’s last place finish.

Vista defeated defending South Bay League champion Mar Vista, 9-2, on Monday; Poway topped the Mariners, 12-0, on Tuesday.Rancho Bernardo, led by 14 returning players, rolled past Castle Park, 35-0, on Monday while Westview, keyed by junior Garrett Taylor, a member of Team USA’s 17-and-under national ice hockey team, sped past Hilltop 15-4 in Tuesday’s final game at the NC rink.

Greg Friedman, who is in his 11th season as Scripps Ranch head coach, said his team is in the midst of a rebuilding year by North County standards. The Falcons are carrying three freshmen on the varsity this season and are count two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and two seniors among their top eight players.

Besides Ruhwedel, a member of the Junior Kings AAA 18-and-under team, and Balaban, another ice hockey standout (Junior Gulls 16-AA squad), Scripps Ranch’s top returning players include senior defenseman Brent Friedman, sophomore forward Chang and senior goalie Flick.

“We’ve got a couple good solid defensemen but we’re not as physical as in the past,” Friedman said of his squad. “We’re in a rebuilding year. We had a senior-laden team last year. We graduated six seniors.”

Top newcomers include forward Steve Sherman and defenseman Aaron Peterson, both freshmen. Despite the influx of youth, the Falcons remain potent. Scripps Ranch finished runner-up to Rancho Bernardo in a preseason league.

“The last three or four years, I’ve had the luxury of going with three lines but this year we’ll be going with two lines,” the Falcons bench boss said.

Poway coach Dale Ingram agreed with Friedman about the race for this year’s North County League title. “Everyone is about dead even but Rancho Bernardo is heads above everyone else,” he said. "They don't have a weak player on their team."

The Titans paired up against the Broncos for last season’s Kiwanis Cup title but lost five seniors to graduation. Poway has integrated five freshmen into this year’s varsity roster after losing five players to graduation.

"That's about right for us each year," Ingram said. "We have a total of 60 kids in the program, from the feeder teams up, so losing five players every year doesn't hurt us so much."

Darren Barnes had two goals in Monday’s 6-5 victory against a maturing St. Augustine squad. In Tuesday’s shutout win against Mar Vista, Poway received points from 11 players. Eric Eyler led the scoring parade with two goals and two assists while Nick Cochran and J.T. Landon also both had two goals and Barnes, Ethan Gormican, Chase Liebman, Alex Metz, Zach Porter and Ryan Smith each scored one goal. Smith had three points by also contributing a pair of assists.

Rancho Bernardo is led by captain Kory Grahl and assistant captains Tanner Woodbury and Matt Kresky. This is Grahl’s fourth year with the team. He said the team has responded out of respect for the coaching staff, led by head coach Scott McKay.

“We have a game plan and we stick to it – that’s the respect we’ve developed for our coaches,” said Grahl, speaking for the team.

Grahl said “determination and hard work” propelled the Broncos to last season’s championship title. He said the team’s goal is to repeat as (Kiwanis Cup) champions.

“We’re hoping to have a perfect season,” he said. “A lot of us are coming back. We only lost a couple guys. We play well together – we all know where each other is going to be on the rink.”

Westview’s slick-skating Taylor had five goals and two assists in Tuesday’s win against Hilltop. He has been on skates since age two and went through three rounds of tryouts at the state, regional and national levels before finally landing a spot on the Team USA roster

.“They started with about 200 at all the tryouts and then cut it down to 20,” he said.

He won a national title at the 14-AAA level with the L.A. Selects and got the chance to represent his country over the summer at the 17-and-under World Championships in the Czech Republic where the Americans skated to a silver medal finish.

“It was a great experience,” said Taylor, who said it was a big deal personally for him to represent his high school this season as next season he is slated to move to Canada to play for the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League.

Referee Dave McLean was so impressed by his play that he had to take time to point him out to the press corps. “Unbelievable,” McLean said of Taylor.Everyone else in the photo well whole-heartedly concurred.

Slap shots
Adrian Avalos had both of Mar Vista’s goals in Monday’s 9-2 loss to Vista.Hilltop got two goals and one assist from Austin McDonald in Tuesday’s loss to Westview while teammate Ruben Benavides collected a goal and two assists. Keloa Latimore also scored for the Lancers. Westview got three goals and two assists from Shane Clements in the win while Jason Kurth had two goals and three assists, Ryan Amyot had three goals and one assist and Anthony Mata scored twice.

CIF/Metro Conference Preview
Scorer’s touch is in the genes

Noris, the son of former NHL and WHA player Joe Noris, has been shredding the scoring charts the past three seasons as a member of the Vikings’ roller hockey team. He has finished second the past two seasons among scoring leaders in the San Diego County-based Metro Conference, the state’s first CIF-sanctioned high school roller hockey league. He was third as a freshman. He could be the favorite to finally win it his senior season.

But if he doesn’t, well … that’s OK with him.

The younger Noris has developed a keen sense of maturity, both physically and mentally, over the past few seasons. What was once a heated race against rivals with an emphasis on goals and more goals has turned into a remarkable affinity for sportsmanship in a sport that still rewards scoring feats.

“An assist is just as good as a goal to me,” Johnny Noris said. “I see guys out there who are puck hogs and it's not so cool to me anymore. I like to score goals when I have the chance but I’ll also pass the puck to a teammate if I see he has a better chance to score. I like passing the puck as much as shooting it, especially if it's going to help out my team.”

Joe Noris has helped coach the Vikings since their inception, though he has taken on more of an assistant role the past few seasons. He has placed no pressure on his son to follow in his footsteps.

What both share an intense passion for, however, is surfing. The younger Noris was in Hawaii catching big waves over the Thanksgiving school break.

‘He’s loving it over there. He might not even be back for our first game,” the elder Noris said with a good-natured laugh.

The Metro Conference faces off its history-making eighth season on Nov. 26 with 18 teams scheduled to take the court. The Sweetwater Red Devils return to active status this season while the San Diego Jewish Academy has placed its program on hiatus. The conference will once again be split into three competition leagues for regular season play, with teams skating in non-league contests to start the season.The Rancho Bernardo Broncos are the conference’s defending Kiwanis Cup champions. The Scripps Ranch Falcons are the defending North County League champions while the Mar Vista Mariners have won or shared the last three South Bay League championships last season. The Eastlake Titans and Otay Ranch Mustangs shared last season’s Mesa League title.

Graduation will definitely impact the fortunes of many programs in the conference this season. The teams to watch among Mesa and South Bay squads include both Eastlake and Otay Ranch as well as the Hilltop Lancers, who will be out to return to glory. The Lancers were the first league champion in the conference’s inaugural 2000-01 season.Noris and teammate Nick Whaley combined last season to form one of the conference’s more prolific dynamic duos (as juniors).

Last season, Noris finished runner-up in the conference scoring race with 114 points (57 goals, 57 assists) while Whaley finished third with 99 points (70 goals, 29 assists). Noris finished second to Metro Conference Player of the Year Ian Nicklen of Mar Vista in the scoring race, trailing Nicklen by four points. In 2005-06, the pair racked up 137 points between them, with Noris collecting 76 goals and 28 assists and Whaley totaling 33 points on 19 goals and 14 assists. Noris was named the Mesa League Player of the Year during La Jolla league championship season. Noris finished two points behind Nicklen his sophomore year. The chemistry that developed between Noris and Whaley was a prime reason the Vikings battled for the Mesa League title down to the very last game of last season.Both can be terrors on the court, especially in highly competitive games.

Noris started playing roller hockey at age six and later starting playing ice hockey. He discovered surfing at 12 and has since found that he is suited more for roller hockey.

He is also an accomplished sports fisherman and recently hauled in a junior world-record sea bass.“He’s a great kid for being a very competitive athlete,” his father said. “He’s a nice young man. He hasn’t caused a lot of trouble. He’s a great kid and it’s neat that he’s competitive.”

The elder Noris played in 55 NHL games for the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres from 1971-74 (after spending one year on the USA national team) and finished his major league professional playing career in the World Hockey Association with the San Diego Mariners (1975-77) and Birmingham Bulls (1977-78). He discovered surfing when he was sent on assignment to the Penguins’ AAA affiliate in the original Western Hockey League, the San Diego Gulls. After playing one season in Birmingham, he returned to San Diego to play minor pro with the San Diego Hawks of the Pacific Hockey League, recording 27 goals and 77 assists for 104 points in 58 games.

He collected 72 goals and 116 assists for 188 points in 198 WHA games.

Now 56, Joe Noris continues to play roller hockey at the senior level after serving as president of the San Diego Barracudas of Roller Hockey International. He said he was more jealous of his son’s life than his son would have been of his. “We live four to five blocks from one of the best surf breaks in southern California,” Joe Noris said. “He’s developed an appreciation of the things that are afforded to him. He loves it and respects it and feels he’s truly lucky to have what he has.

”The younger Noris started playing hockey on his own. “The only time he had any conflict with it was the last year he played ice hockey,” Joe Noris said. “The season started and he wanted to go surfing. I told him he had committed to the team and that he had to finish the season.”

Noris’ team, the La Jolla Jaguars, were very successful at the state Pee Wee AA level and included a number of players who have since made their mark in roller hockey as well. They include Whaley, Greg Park, C.J. Ruhwedel, Kory Grahl, Max Balaban, John Parker, Garrett Taylor and Rory Hansen.

However, the demands of the sport were too great for a fit alongside roller hockey and surfing for the younger Noris. Noris and Whaley have since developed a unique chemistry on the court as members of their high school team.

“They seem to know where the other is. They’ve both matured in their own ways,” the elder Noris said.

Whaley has since moved to Sacramento, however, to pursue a career in ice hockey at the Junior A level.

In the meantime, Johnny Noris has two words to sum up his ongoing pursuit of the scoring title: “It’s exciting.”