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WSHL Season Log
Gulls flying high into home opener against Monsters

Posted Oct. 2, 2009
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Gulls of the Western States Hockey League are flying high heading into their three-game series against the undefeated Fresno Monsters Oct. 2-4 at the San Diego Sports Arena.

The series is a big event for the WSHL teams, with the three games at the 13,000-seat Sports Arena serving as the Gulls’ home opening weekend and doubling as a fund-raiser for area military charities. The centerpiece promotion is a prime time game Oct. 3 pitting former San Diego Gulls professional players against a military team.

The Gulls are entering their second season in the WSHL as the namesake of the former pro team that skated 11 seasons in the now defunct West Coast Hockey League and later in the ECHL. The WSHL team has clearly carried the torch for the sport in town with a 3-0-2 record after playing their first five games of the 2009-10 season in foreign arenas.

San Diego dropped its season opener by a 4-3 score in overtime at Valencia, then rebounded with a 10-5 victory in Lakewood against the Long Beach Bombers. The opening weekend split led to a three-game series in Boise against the Idaho Jr. Steelheads in which the Gulls skated to a 2-0-1 advantage, with one win coming in regulation, one win coming in a shootout and one loss coming in a shootout.

“We’re very happy with how we’ve gotten out of the game,” San Diego owner/general manager Bruce Miller said. “We managed to get eight out of a possible 10 points. We haven’t lost in regulation yet, with one loss in overtime and another in a shootout. We’re happy with the results so far but also realize there is room for improvement. There are different areas in which we need to get better.”

The Gulls faced off their three-game series against the Steelheads — reminiscent of former WCHL/ECHL battles between the two namesakes — with a tight 2-1 victory. Idaho got on the scoreboard first courtesy of a goal by Tyson Cox, assisted by Kevin Fraize and Luke Hayes, at 5:10 of the second period. But San Diego scored the final two goals of the game to post the key series opening victory.

Brendon Dyok, set up by passes from teammates Brian Finn and Weston Cydell, evened the score for the Gulls on a power play goal at 11:11 of the middle stanza. San Diego scored the only goal of the third period, with the winner coming off the stick of Christopher Schmidbauer, assisted by Finn and goaltender Alexander Corbin.

Corbin was named the first star of the game by stopping 36 of 37 shots he faced, including all 14 he faced in the final frame. Schmidbauer was tabbed as the game’s second star for notching the game-winner while Dyok received third star billing in an impressive showing for the visitors.

Idaho claimed a 37-25 edge in shots but finished 0-for-3 with the man-advantage. San Diego went 1-for-8 in power play situations. Steelheads netminder Spencer Brown was credited with 23 saves.

While the opening game in the series was low-scoring, the remaining two contests featured plenty of goals — 18 by both teams in regulation play, to be exact.

The second game ended in a 5-5 tie through three periods and overtime before the Steelheads captured the shootout tie-breaker. Multiple-point games were turned in by Schmidbauer (three assists) and Alan Grabowski (one goal, one assist) for San Diego, which received single goals from Dyok, Finn and Mike Spunt. Jason Campbell made his season debut between the pipes for the Gulls, making 30 saves on 36 shots. Schmidbauer also led San Diego with eight penalty minutes.

San Diego rallied with two goals in the third period to erase a 5-3 deficit and send the game into OT. Grabowski scored an unassisted goal to bring the Gulls to within one goal on the scoreboard and Spunt notched the game-tying goal off assists from Schmidbauer and Cydell.

Each team scored one power play goal, with San Diego out-shooting Idaho 41-36. Brown had 36 saves to pick up the win for the Steelheads.

The rubber game was another see-saw affair, with the hosts overcoming a 1-0 disadvantage after the opening period to lead 2-1 heading into the final period. The teams combined for five goals in the final period, with the Gulls claiming a 3-2 advantage as the game once again went into an extra period, and then a shootout.

San Diego led 3-2 on back-to-back goals by Eric Obinger and Grabowski to face off the third period. Idaho evened the score on a goal by Patrick Anderson, but the Gulls went ahead again, 4-3, on a goal by Spunt with 5:30 left in the period. The Steelheads notched the game-tying goal this time to send the game into OT, as Nate Stanley scored for Idaho with 4:00 left in regulation.

San Diego won the shootout 3-1 on goals by Dyok, Schmidbauer and Grabowski. Hayes potted the lone Steelheads goal in the tie-breaker.

Schmidbauer and Grabowski each finished the game with two goals for the Gulls, with Dyok and Obinger both credited with a goal and assist. Other players picking up points in the game for San Diego included Theo Campe, Finn, Curtis Martin (one assist) and Andy Vizenor, all with one assist.

Corbin returned to the cage, making 31 saves on 35 shots, to pick up his second win in the series. Josh Labarge faced 25 shots from the Gulls.

San Diego rallied with three goals in the final period despite being out-shot 14-8 in the period. Both teams were whistled for nine penalties apiece. Idaho scored two power play goals while the Gulls were held scoreless in six man-power situations.

The 2009-10 San Diego roster features 14 returning players (out of a roster of 25) from last year’s playoff team.

However, unexpected injuries from the Idaho series may not place the Gulls at full strength for their home opening series against the undefeated Monsters (4-0-0).

“We picked up some injuries in the Idaho series,” Miller said. “We didn’t expect to have to deal with this so soon in the season but the guys who will be coming in will have to step up.”

Schmidbauer leads the Gulls with four goals and five assists for nine points, followed by Finn with eight points (two goals, six assists) and Dyok with seven points (five goals, two assists). Grabowski (three goals, three assists) and Cydell (six assists) each have six points. Corbin sports a 2.96 goals-against average and .904 save percentage in four games.

Fresno has swept the Bakersfield Jr. Condors in a two-game series to face off the season, winning by scores of 7-0 and 5-1. The Monsters then topped Valencia, 4-3, in a shootout before claiming a 7-3 win against Long Beach.

Tailfeathers
The WSHL Gulls will play Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at noon. The Gulls alumni-military game is scheduled Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit military charities. Cost is $15 and one ticket is good for all four games.

Last year, the Gulls alumni defeated the U.S. Military Sharks by a score of 22-12 in front of 1,500 fans at the San Diego Ice Arena. The alumni team is captained by Martin St. Amour, the former pro team’s first superstar during its salad days in the WCHL.

St. Amour said the Gulls alumni roster will include 14 players. Expected to be back in San Diego sweaters, besides St. Amour, are Stephane St. Amour (Martin’s younger brother), Brad Belland, Jonathan Shockey, Al Murphy, B.J. MacPherson, Jason Courtemanche, Justin Silver, Brian Morrison, Grady Moore and Don Gravelle, among others.

Martin St. Amour and Belland were the first two players signed by then coach Steve Martinson as the Gulls began operations in the WCHL in 1995. Martin St. Amour owned distinction as the WCHL’s career scoring leader until being eclipsed by Keith Street of the Anchorage Aces toward the end of the league’s eight-year run while Belland was the WCHL’s career playoff scoring leader. After retiring as active players, both St. Amour and Belland took jobs in the team’s front office.

The Gulls won five Taylor Cup championships in the WCHL, twice beating Fresno, while also defeating challenges from Anchorage, Idaho and the Tacoma Sabercats. San Diego won the league’s first three championships before being upended by Tacoma. The only other two times the Gulls failed to reach the Taylor Cup finals, they were defeated in earlier playoff rounds by the eventual Taylor Cup champion (Phoenix and Fresno).

A crowd of 5,000 is anticipated for Saturday’s centerpiece game.

“We’re hoping for 5,000 and that would be great but a lot depends on day-of-game walk-up sales,” said Martin St. Amour, now a real estate agent.

For up-to-date standings and schedule information on the WSHL San Diego Gulls, visit the WSHL website at www.wshl.org.

Tickets for the four games at the Sports Arena can be obtained at the Sports Arena box office or through TicketMaster.

At 10-0, Fresno is off to a ‘Monster’ start

Posted Oct. 14, 2009
After a meteoric 10-0 start and, with Halloween rapidly approaching, it might be appropriate to say that the new Fresno Monsters have put a scare into their Western States Hockey League foes. Certainly, the start to the Central Valley team’s inaugural campaign has been something right out of a fairy tale.

“It’s really gone amazingly well,” said Fresno co-coach Eric Ballard. “It’s not so much about the hockey team but about the hockey community.”

The Monsters began start-up operations in the WSHL following the shocking collapse of the Fresno Falcons minor professional team less than two months into the 2008-09 ECHL season. When the Falcons folded in late December, it ended more than 60 years of hockey tradition in Fresno. There were many factors involved, but lack of fan support wasn’t one of them.

A pair of former Falcons, Brandy Semchuk and Jay Johnson, cobbled a group of 24 investors together to keep competitive hockey alive in the region following the ECHL team’s abrupt disbanding. Thus the Monsters were born, playing in the more economical Tier III Junior A level. Semchuk joined Ballard as the team’s co-coaches.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Monsters have been greeted with open arms by the city’s rabid hockey fans. The Monsters attracted 4,600 fans to their opening game at Selland Arena against the Bakersfield Jr. Condors on Sept. 19 and entertained 2,891 fans the following day despite playing opposite Sunday NFL telecasts. The two-game series ended with a pair of Fresno victories -- 7-0 and 5-1 -- and record-shattering attendance figures.

According to Monster officials, the opening night draw of 4,600 set a new single-game WSHL attendance record and rivaled the Junior A Tier III record for top honors as well. The opening weekend 3,700-plus average ranked the team among the top five junior hockey markets in the entire United States.

“It was a great opening for us,” Ballard said.

The team’s on-ice product has soared in the rankings as well. After engineering a three-game sweep of the fellow first-year Arizona Redhawks Oct. 9-11 in Fresno, the Monsters remained the only undefeated team in the WSHL and were ranked 13th among the 73 teams in the USA Junior A Tier III level, as rated by myhockeyrankings.com.

The lofty numbers haven’t come by accident. Johnson predicted the team would come out of the chute as a championship contender in its first year based on the organization’s infrastructure, starting with its coaching brain trust.

Ballard and Semchuk both have pro hockey playing backgrounds in the former West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) in which the ECHL Falcons had originally experienced their birth. A Minnesota native, Ballard played for the Anchorage Aces while Semchuk, a second-round pick of the L.A. Kings in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, skated two seasons for the Falcons.

A 6-1, 215-pound right wing, Semchuk suited up 25 games for Fresno in the 1997-98 season, collecting 20 goals and 18 assists for 38 points. The Calgary appeared in 39 games for the Falcons the following season, scoring 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists.

Ballard’s experience goes beyond the skating rink. He has owned and operated Junior A and Junior B teams in Minnesota and Thunder Bay, Ontario, and has coached hockey in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Alaska, Canada and California. He has also scouted in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and North American Hockey League (NAHL), developing extensive contacts with junior and college coaches and recruiters.

The backgrounds of both men have been instrumental in building Fresno’s monster squad.

Monster mash
According to the Fresno coaches, 75 players recruited from all across the country attended a camp in May and the selection process went from there. One of the topics addressed in player advertisements was that the team would be playing the majority of its home games at recently renovated Selland Arena (7,500 seating capacity for hockey). The Monsters’ inaugural 23-game WSHL home schedule will feature 18 games at Selland Arena and five games at the much smaller Gateway Ice Center.

“We used the fact that we were going to play in a professional-style arena and would likely have a very large fan base following,” Semchuk said. “With the hockey tradition we have here in Fresno, we were able to generate a lot of excitement. We had a lot of California kids. We narrowed it down from there.”

WSHL rosters are limited to 25 active players but that can vary due to injuries. Of the 29 players the team listed on its roster a month into the season, 16 were from California, including three from the Fresno area.

“California has started to produce some talented hockey kids,” Semchuk said.

The three players from the Fresno area include Fresnans Kyle Lenhof and Vinnie Smith and Nick Goodenough, who hails from nearby Visalia. Lenhof is a 5-foot-9, 170-pound defenseman while 5-foot-10, 210-pound forward. Goodenough towers over his teammates at 6 feet, 5 inches and 215 pounds.

Rounding out the team’s Golden State connection are forwards Zach Alvarez (Sacramento), Ben Conroy (San Jose), Don Coyle (Belmont), Thomas Freeman (Rancho Cucamonga), James McGuirk (Newberry Park), Ryan Parkhouse (Rancho Cucamonga), Garrett Trummer (San Diego), Justin Wilmers (Valencia) and defensemen Jimmy Bashara (Valencia), Brent Blomgren (Frazier Park), Mike Richmond (San Jose), Ryan Patrick (Laguna Nigel) and goaltender Peter Megariotis (Anaheim Hills).

The remainder of the Monsters come from far flung places such as Michigan (goaltender Matt Anderson, defensemen Don Barlow and Brent Putney and forwards Rob Kolender and Chad Lowell), Texas (forward Coleman Ashworth), Nevada (defenseman Vinnie Ciaglo), Minnesota (goaltender Brent Hollerud), New Jersey (defenseman J.R. Lafferty), Colorado (forward Brenden McCarthy), Illinois (forward Chase Sisk), Finland (forward Jouni Elo) and Sweden (forward Alex Johansson).

Players either are housed by local families or room together in apartments. With the league’s age range from 17 to 21, players will either attend area high schools, community colleges or work at part-time jobs.

Ice chips
The team’s robust attendance revenue should allow the Monsters, with an operating budget of $500,000, to fund other vital areas outside of everyday expenses such as ongoing recruitment — a key to keep the team on top of the competition.

“The fan base is there,” Ballard said. “It generates revenue for the organization. If we continue like this, we’ll be in good shape. That’s what you need in this business — staying power.”

As for the future, both Ballard and Semchuk believe the team’s glowing Cinderella phase will last only so long but do believe they have put together something special on ice. In the team’s first 10 games, the team has recorded a maximum of 20 standings points while out-scoring opponents 62-15 with a dominating +47 plus-minus ratio. The team’s 292 penalty minutes led the division.

“One of our team goals was to put a competitive team on the ice and we feel we have done that,” Ballard said. “We feel we have put a team together that our fans in Fresno can come out and watch and be proud of.”

“I think we’ve done a great job in the short term,” Semchuk said. “I think as coaches we’re both surprised how good some of these other teams are in the division. I think there’s going to be a lot of parity. I know we're going to run into some obstacles because of injuries and such at some point down the road and it's going to be a battle. We’d obviously like to come out on top.”

After his team saw its five-game unbeaten streak ended in a three-game series sweep by Fresno the first weekend of October at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego Gulls coach Patrick O’Connell had seen enough of the Monsters.

“Fresno is going to be the team to beat in the division,” O’Connell said succinctly. “We just have to measure up against them.”

Groovy ghoulies
Laferty scored the first goal in Monsters history while Lowell recorded the team’s first hat trick during Opening Weekend. Hollerud turned in the team’s first goaltender shutout victory.

Following the opening two games in Fresno, the Monsters defeated the Valencia Flyers, 4-3, in a shootout on Sept. 25 in Valencia and topped the Long Beach Bombers, 7-3, in a game Sept. 26 in Lakewood. Three wins in San Diego ensued to push Fresno’s road record to a sterling 5-0-0.

Ello, Lowell and Richmond (game-winner) each scored goals in the Monsters’ 3-2 in over the Gulls on Oct. 2 – the first hockey game in the Sports Arena since the ECHL Gulls suspended operations following the 2005-06 season. The game attracted 852 fans. The next night, playing in front of about 2,000 fans, the Monsters turned a tight 2-1 lead after the second period into a 5-2 victory on two goals by Parkhouse and single goals by Freeman, Kolander and Johansson. Anderson stopped all 30 shots he faced in Fresno’s 5-0 victory in the series finale, played in front of 415 fans at the Sports Arena. The Monsters picked up goals from five players in the win: Kolander, Parkhouse, Barlow, Conroy and Sisk. Anderson earned two wins in the series, allowing just two goals on 53 shots, while Hollerud took the win in the middle game, stopping 21 of 23 shots as Fresno claimed a 34-23 edge in shots on foreign ice.

The Monsters swept the visiting Arizona Redhawks by scores of 9-2, 11-1 and 6-1 in a three-game series pitting first-year clubs Oct. 9-11.

Fourteen players picked up either a goal or assist in Fresno’s 9-2 series opening win over the Redhawks, led by Conroy with two goals and one assist. The Monsters out-Tshot the Arizona visitors 62-13. Thirteen Fresno players picked up points in the middle game of the series, with Freeman (two goals, two assists) and Kolander (one goal, three assists) leading the way with four points each and Putney (two goals, one assist) collecting three points. Eleven Monsters earned points in the series finale, keyed by Elo (two goals, one assist) and Freeman (one goal, two assists) with three points each. Wins were divided among three goaltenders: Megaritis (fist game, two goals allowed), Anderson (second game, one goal allowed) and Hollerud (third game, one goal allowed).

Anderson ranks second among WSHL goaltenders with a 1.45 goals-against average and 0.945 save percentage in seven games. Elo (seven goals and seven assists in 10 games) and Freeman (five goals and nine assists in seven games) led the Monsters with 14 points each.

Fresno returns to action for an Oct. 18 game in Bakersfield before hosting the Phoenix Polar Bears, last year’s division champion, Oct. 23-24 at Selland Arena and Oct. 25 at the Gateway Ice Center. For more information on the Fresno Monsters, visit the team’s official website at www.fresnomonsters.com or call (559) 375-7684. For standings and statistical information, visit the WSHL’s website at www.wshl.org.

Fresno stretches unbeaten mark to 11-0 with 11-0 win over Condors
BAKERSFIELD, Oct. 18, 2009 -- The Fresno Monsters continued their mastery of the WSHL's Western Division with a commanding 11-0 victory over the host Bakersfield Jr. Condors to extend their season-opening winning streak to 11-0. Thirteen players scored at least one point in the game and seven players scored goals for the Monsters.

Rob Kolander led Fresno with three goals and one assist while Don Coyle and Justin Wilmers each scored twice. J.R. Lafferty had a goal and two assists while teammate Ryan Parkhouse contributed three assists. Other players with multiple points included Brett Blomgren (two assists), Jouni Elo (one goal, one assist), Thomas Freeman (two assists), James McGuirk (two assists) and Brent Putney (two assists). Alex Johansson and Mike Richmond each scored one goal while Brenden McCarthy had one assist.

Matt Anderson (four saves) and Petter Megaritis (17 saves) combined to post the shutout victory.

Fresno out-shot Bakersfield 42-21. Jeffery Duggan of the Condors made 20 saves on 25 while Michael Pittman had 11 saves on 17 shots.

Four players are now tied for the team lead in scoring with 16 points each: Parkhouse (nine goals, seven assists), Elo (eight goals, eight assists), Kolander (eight goals, eight assists) and Freeman (five goals, 11 assists). In eight game appearances, Anderson sports a scintillating 1.35 GAA and .947 save percentage.

Kolander, by virtue of his four-point game against Bakersfield, earned American Junior Hockey's National Player of the Week honors while leading Fresno to its 11-0 start. He is the franchise's first player to earn such an honor.

The Monsters now gear up for what is expected to be their toughest challenge to date when they host the defending WSHL Western Division champion Phoenix Polar Bears in a three-game series this weekend. The opening two games Oct. 23 and 24 are both at Selland Arena with 7:30 p.m. starts while the series finale on Oct. 25 is scheduled at the Gateway Ice Center.

Phoenix is off to a 4-1-1 start in six games. The Polar Bears are led in scoring by Rick Wozniak with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) and Anthony Brennan (five goals, four assists). Goaltender Casey O'Conner has a 3-1-0 record with a 2.00 GAA and .937 save percentage

Jason Campbell: Eastlake High School's Mr. San Diego Gull
Posted Oct. 22, 2009

Imagine being 16 years old and living hundreds of miles from family and friends, taking online courses to keep up on your schoolwork and learning how to juggle finances in order to get enough to eat. Eastlake High School’s Jason Campbell did just that last season while playing for the Nevada Stars under-16 AAA hockey team in Las Vegas.

“It gave me a lot of responsibility since my parents weren’t there,” Campbell said. “It taught me how to budget my time more effectively because I wasn’t in a model high school setting.”
Once the August-to-March hockey season was over, Campbell returned to Chula Vista and re-enrolled at Eastlake High School to complete his junior year.

For many talented hockey players who live in the western United States, living far from home during the hockey season is a necessity in order to be seen by high-level college and professional scouts. Campbell’s goal is to play collegiate ice hockey.

He is once again lacing up his skates and donning his goaltender’s mask and blocker glove this hockey season but is able to live at home and attend classes at EHS after earning a roster spot on the Junior A Tier III San Diego Gulls of the Western States Hockey League. The Gulls play their home games at the Iceoplex in Escondido. It’s an hour commute either way for Campbell to practices and games but the mileage is worth it if it leads to a college scholarship somewhere.

That the Gulls are one of the better teams in the WSHL's Western Division certainly hasn't dampened his enthusiasm any.

“We’d like to continue to do well and win our league,” he said.

Despite his hockey travels, Campbell has more than managed to keep up his grades and, in fact, rates as one of the top students academically at EHS. Fending for himself might have something to do with that.

While playing in Las Vegas last season, Campbell lived with other players in a townhouse owned by the parents of one of the players. He said being responsible for himself was an invaluable experience. “It was a maturing process — it helped me grow as a person,” he said.

It’s that maturity that is starting to show in his game on the ice.

Before moving to Las Vegas, Campbell played for Eastlake’s roller hockey team his sophomore year. He helped lead the Titans to a 17-4-0 record while earning First Team All-Mesa League honors and second team all-conference recognition.

“I'm really proud of him,” EHS roller hockey coach Rone Torres said of Campbell. “To be a 17-year-old high school senior doing what he’s doing, it’s fantastic. He’s pretty amazing. As good as he is in roller hockey, he’s even better in ice hockey.”

Campbell said movement and speed are the two big differences between roller hockey and ice hockey.

“Ice hockey is much faster than roller hockey,” Campbell said. “You move faster on the ice but the puck moves faster, too.”

Campbell made his Gulls debut in a Sept. 26 game in Boise, Idaho. He made 30 saves in an eventual 6-5 shootout loss. The Gulls, however, left Idaho — a 16-and-a-half-hour bus ride from San Diego — with two wins in the three-game series.

“It was exciting,” the EHS senior said. “It was nerve-racking. We lost in a shootout my first game.”

Campbell’s second start did not go exactly as he may have wanted it, either. After returning from Idaho, the Gulls hosted the Fresno Monsters in a three-game series at the San Diego Sports Arena, playing in front of crowds of 842, 2,000 and 415 in dropping all three games to the Monsters. The Gulls fell, 5-0, in the series finale in which Campbell played. He had 18 saves.

Undaunted by his 0-1-1 start to the 2009-10 WSHL season, Campbell won both his starts in the Gulls’ three-game series sweep in Bakersfield Oct. 9-11 and picked up another win in the Gulls’ three-game sweep of the visiting Arizona Redhawks Oct. 16-18. Campbell made 42 saves in a 7-2 San Diego win over the Junior Condors on Oct. 10 and came back the next day to make 41 saves in a 4-3 Gulls win over the same Bakersfield club. The Eastlake senior stopped all 22 shots he faced in a 10-0 win over Arizona on Oct. 17.

Through their first 14 games of the 48-game WSHL season, the Gulls had built a 9-3-2 record, with Campbell contributing a 3-1-1 record, 3.02 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.

He is vying for playing time with fellow netminders Alex Corbin and Andy Salazar.

Campbell said his goal for the current WSHL season is to develop as a goaltender. “I want to get more starts than I was supped to be getting and work my way up the system,” he said.
Gulls coach Patrick O’Connell called Campbell “a solid goalie.”

“We’re working on getting his confidence up,” O’Connell said. “It’s his first year at this level and we’re working on getting him feeling more confident out there.”

The WSHL is comprised of players aged 17-21. Many players jump from the league to higher-caliber Junior A circuits across the North American continent or get recruited by college ice hockey programs.

Campbell has his stick firmly planted in the ice in the present but also is looking toward the future.

“I want to play one or two more years of junior hockey and hopefully get a college scholarship,” he said. “Anything after that would be a bonus.”