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2009-10 Prep/College Ice Hockey

Winter sports face-off

Breaking News:
Westview Wolverines earn honors as next CIF dynasty

Updated April 17, 2010

Over the course of a grueling 20-game regular season, there was little surprise which two teams would receive the top two seeds for the 2010 CIF/Metro Conference Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs: the Westview Wolverines and Rancho Bernardo Broncos. The teams finished first and second, respectively, in the conference’s talent-rich North County League and combined for 30 wins between them in regular season play.

It was perhaps no big surprise when both teams successfully fought off lower-seeded challengers in two playoff rounds to advance to the Kiwanis Cup championship game March 3 at the Escondido Sports Center. Westview won, 7-2, to claim its third conference championship in five years and second consecutive. Rancho Bernardo, meanwhile, had been gunning for its third Kiwanis Cup title in four years after previously winning back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008.

Westview matched the three conference championships turned in by the Scripps Ranch Falcons from 2003-05, so one might suppose to call the Westview High School Wolverines the CIF/Metro Conference’s second great inline hockey dynasty.

The Falcons, however, remain the only team in conference history to post an undefeated season – 22-0-0 in 2003-04.

Senior Anthony Mata led Westview (19-3-1) with three goals in the championship game while teammates Kyle Clements, Adam Durkee, Willi Morrison and Cory Wodstrom each scored one goal. Durkee and Morrison finished the game with two points by each adding an assist. Dyon Dixon contributed a pair of assists in support of winning goaltender Greg Kurth, the son of head coach Mike Kurth and this year's CIF/Metro Player of the Year.

The Wolverines opened up a 4-0 lead, limiting the Broncos (16-6-1) to a pair of goals in the final 2:42 of the middle period. Westview tacked on the only two goals of third period to expand on a 5-2 lead entering the final period. Mata scored a huge goal to give the Wolverines back the momentum with just nine seconds left in the second period after RB had closed to within 4-2 on the scoreboard.

Westview coach Mike Kurth, named the North County League,s Coach of the Year, said both the 2009-10 season and his team’s championship run was “all about learning and leadership.”

“We carry 10 skaters plus goalies on our varsity team,” the Wolverines coach said. “Last year we graduated five skaters and one of our goalies. That left quite a vacuum of experience and knowledge in our system. With half our team being new to the varsity level, we had work to do. We were extremely fortunate in our ability to bring up some very talented players from our JV program. However, JV hockey is very different from varsity in speed and complexity.  Talent alone would not carry the day.”

The elder Kurth, who teaches science at Westview, said dedication from his players ultimately did carry the day – and hoist the Kiwanis Cup championship trophy for a second consecutive year.

“This year our players made a big commitment and met twice a week during lunch in my classroom,” the Westview bench boss said. “We reviewed film of our games, critiquing each other, developing and refining our team systems of play. On additional days of the week, I met with individual players discussing their areas of needed improvement and further instruction on our system.  This coupled with our practice time allowed for the steep learning curve our players had to ride.”

The elder Kurth said leadership from the team’s captains -- goaltender Greg Kurth (CIF/Metro Conference Player of the Year) and defenseman Clements (First Team All-Conference) -- along with seniors Mata and Stephen McDowell was crucial.  Scoring phenom Durkee (First Team All-Conference) rounded out the team’s experienced core of returning players.
 
“Skating out to face programs such as Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Scripps on a regular basis can be a bit daunting to any novice varsity player, let along five rookies,” the Wolverines coach said. “Our experienced leadership group above was a rock that often in the opening games of the season put the team on their collective shoulders and carried us to victory.”

Westview won the 2009-10 North County League title with a 12-3-1 league record, won all four of its non-league games against the conference’s southern complement of teams and tacked on three more playoff wins.
 
“In terms of the playoffs, I told the players to look forward to and cherish an opposing team that will demand from us the best we have,” the elder Kurth continued “Those type of games are not to be dreaded but embraced as a rare opportunity to get a true measure of our skills and growth. The games against Poway in the semis (a 5-2 Westview victory) and RB in the finals gave us all we could handle and more. By the playoffs our team chemistry was built and it came down to execution.  It has been a great run.”

Rancho Bernardo, meanwhile, was competing for its third championship in four years after previously capturing back-to-back Kiwanis Cup titles in 2007-08 to place the Broncos not far behind the Wolverines and Falcons in terms of dynastic status. Cruz Major led RB with a goal and assist in the final while teammate Kyle Shafer had one goal.

“First and foremost, Westview had a great game plan for the championship game and was able to implement it and stick to it throughout most of the game,” RB coach Pat Sagara said. “They have a very talented team and are coached very well in the system they run by their coach Mike Kurth. I thought that both teams competed very hard and showcased how good the level of play can be in our local high schools. Unfortunately, we came up on the short end in the biggest game of the year, but we were still pleased with our season.”

The Broncos appeared to be the team early on to beat but finished second to Westview in the final league standings at 10-5-1, just one point ahead of third place Scripps Ranch (10-6-0).

“We had several new players on the varsity team this year mixed in with some returning players from our last championship team from two years ago and we were pleased with how well they jelled together as a team and competed hard in every game,” Sagara said.

Sagara noted with the graduation of senior captains Roman Mendoza (Second Team All-Conference), Chris Clement and Brett Ross, that next year’s Broncos squad will be looking for current juniors Major, Shafer and goaltender Ryan Hicks (Second Team All-Conference) to, in his words, “elevate their play and leadership roles for us.”

The challenge has thus been issued.

Semifinals
Westview advanced to the championship game after recording a come-from-behind 5-2 semifinal victory against the fourth-seeded Poway Titans (11-11) in a rematch of last year’s finals. The Titans held a 2-1 first period advantage but succumbed to four unanswered third period goals by the Wolverines. Durkee led Westview with a hat trick.

Rancho Bernardo defeated third-seeded Scripps Ranch (15-7-0), 7-3, in the semifinals behind a hat trick by Major.

Slapshots
Ten teams qualified for the Kiwanis Cup playoffs. First-round winners included eighth-seeded Otay Ranch (14-8-0) over ninth-seeded Hilltop (11-9-0), 8-5, on the strength of five goals by Mesa League Player of the Year Danny Pacheco, and seventh-seeded La Jolla Country Day (18-4-0), 9-2, over 10th-seeded St. Augustine (14-7-0) as conference scoring champion James Owsiany led the two-time defending South Bay League champion Torreys with three goals and three assists.

In the quarterfinals, Westview eliminated Otay Ranch, 13-3, as the Wolverines’ Dixon racked up three goals and two assists while Rancho Bernardo ousted LJCD, 12-1, paced by four goals and two assists from the Broncos’ Shafer. In other quarterfinal matchups, Poway eliminated Mesa League champion Eastlake (16-5-0), 5-0, behind three goals and one assist by Ryan Smith while Scripps Ranch stopped sixth-seeded West Hills (4-16-0) also by a 5-0 score as Steve Sherman collected two goals and one assist.

LJCD finished with the top three conference scorers this season. Junior James Owsiany tallied 123 points on 73 goals and 50 assists while younger brother Ryan, a freshman, finished second with 95 points (56 goals, 39 assists). Zach Feldman was third with 79 points (43goals, 36 assists). The Torreys ran their league winning streak to 30 consecutive games with another 15-0-0 showing in league play this season.

Eastlake, powered by Dante Patron’s 49 goals, won the Mesa League title with a 12-0-0 record.

Congrats
Jay Piz, board president of the 42-team Orange County-based Interscholastic Hockey Federation, sent a congratulatory note to both Westview coach Mike Kurth and Rancho Bernardo coach Pat Sagara after the CIF/Metro Conference championship game that, in effect, serves as a definitive statement on the current state of affairs of scholastic hockey in the Golden State.

“ While some may be easily distracted and focus to the topside of the pyramid, the importance of the scholastic level of our sport can not be understated ,” Piz wrote. “These times are trying and the scholastic (high school and middle school) programs struggle with waning volunteerism, the economic impacts of state budget cuts on student athletics, the economy and increasing costs onto families many who are facing unemployment/ underemployment, changing academic curricula, influences of other sports competing for players (i.e. lacrosse), players aging up and out, and much, much more. To have a leading example such as the San Diego Metro Conference forging their way forward, in this observer’s opinion, gives us hope for our sport's longevity and stands as a beacon for others.”

San Pasqual rolls to SD club title
After making a name for themselves by capturing the 2009 NARCh Winternationals title, the San Pasqual High School Golden Eagles continue to roll along as one of the standard-bearers in the state. The Eagles put a wrap on the 2009-10 San Diego County High School Roller Hockey Conference season by defeating the third-seeded Cathedral Catholic Dons, 4-1, March 3 at the Escondido Sports Center.

Top-seeded San Pasqual overcame a 1-0 Cathedral Catholic lead by tying the game with 6:50 left in the second period and finishing the contest with three unanswered goals in the third period.

Four players scored goals for the 2010 champions: Chris Boyne, Tyler Hatch, Tanner Nare and Thompson Teague. Boyne and Teague each finished the game with one goal and one assist while Mark Burchill and Ryan Mowry each picked up assists in the game.

Chris Gallagher scored the Dons’ lone goal.

Four teams qualified for this year’s playoff field. Cathedral Catholic upset the second-seeded Mt. Carmel Sundevils while the Eagles eliminated fourth-seeded Temecula Valley in semifinal games played Feb. 24.

The 2009-10 season was the 15th for the SDCHSRHC. The Valhalla Norsemen defeated the Monte Vista Monarchs to win the first playoff title in 1996, followed by three consecutive championships by the Monarchs.

2009-10 Inline Hockey
Scholastic Champions

San Diego Section
CIF/Metro Conference
Varsity champion: Westview Wolverines
Runner-up: Rancho Bernardo Broncos
League membership: 16 high schools
League founded: 2000-01, 10th season

San Diego County High School
Roller Hockey Conference
Varsity champion: San Pasqual Golden Eagles
Runner-up: Cathedral Catholic Dons
League membership: six high schools
League founded: 1995-96, 15th season

Interscholastic Hockey Federation
(Orange County)
Varsity champion: Edison Chargers
Runner-up: Santiago Sharks
Junior varsity champions: Newport Harbor (JV-A), Tesoro (JV-B), Santiago (JV-C)
League membership: 42 teams, 26 high schools
League founded: 1998
Website: www.ihf-hockey.org

Shasta Roller Hockey League
(Redding)
Website: http://reddinghockey.com

Central Coast High School Hockey League
(San Luis Obispo)
Varsity champion: San Luis Obispo
Runner-up: Paso Robles
Junior varsity champion: San Luis Obispo
League membership: 12 teams, eight high schools
League founded: 1998

Scholastic Inline Hockey
Parade of Champions

NARCh Varsity Cup
1997: Mira Costa
1999: Cimarron-Memorial (Nev.)
2000: Redlands (AAA), Del Mar (AA)
2001: Santiago (AAA), Capo Valley (AA)
2002: Varsity Blues (Mich.)

NARCh Finals
2003: El Dorado
2004: Parkway South (Mo.)
2005: MV Diablos
2006: Nelson Remax
2007: Centennial (Ariz.)
2008: Centennial (Ariz.)
2009: San Clemente

NARCh Winternationals
2003: Intelli-Tubbies
2004: Marina
2005: Los Osos
2006: Damien
2008: Centennial (Ariz.)
2009: San Pasqual

Kiwanis Cup quarterfinals
Broncos start playoffs fast and furious

Posted Feb. 25, 2010
The Rancho Bernardo Broncos appear to have found their groove again and it couldn’t have come at the right time: the Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs. The second-seeded Broncos scored six goals in the first period of Wednesday’s quarterfinal-round game against the South Bay League champion La Jolla Country Day Torreys en route to claiming an emphatic 12-1 victory.

Rancho Bernardo (15-5-1) advances to Monday’s semifinals against third-seeded Scripps Ranch (15-6), which eliminated sixth-seeded West Hills (4-16) by a 5-0 shutout score in another quarterfinal game played Wednesday at the Escondido Sports Center.

Monday’s other semifinal will pit top-seeded Westview (17-3-1) against fourth-seeded Poway (11-10) after the Wolverines dispatched eighth-seeded Otay Ranch (14-8) by a score of 13-3 and Poway shut out Mesa League champion Eastlake (16-5) by a 5-0 score.

The Broncos and Torreys (18-4) were tied 1-1 after RB’s Kyle Shaefer, assitedby Chris Clement, scored the game’s jump goal with 3:22 elapsed and CIF/Metro Conference scoring leader James Owsiany counted with a goal 49 seconds later.

The North County League runners-up then proceeded to score the final 11 goals of the game.

Shaefer led the Broncos with four goals and two assists while Scott Leyland had a breakout game with three goals and one assist and Cruz Major tacked on two goals and two assists.

Seven players picked up points in the game for the victors. Bryce Semonian had two goals, Brian Gravelle scored one goal, Clement had two assists and Brett Ross and Roman Mendoza were credited with one assist each.

Sam Brink drew the assist on Owsiany’s goal for LJCD.

Westview 13, Otay Ranch 3
The Wolverines reeled off the game’s opening 12 goals before the Mustangs, runners-up in the Mesa League standings, could finally get on the scoreboard. Westview led 5-0 after the first period and 11-0 after the second period.

Nine players recorded either a goal or assist for Westview. Dylon Dixon led the Wolverines with three goals and two assists while Adam Durkee and Cory Wodstrom each collected two goals and two assists. Hunter Weinstein had two goals while Willi Mornson contributed a goal and two assists. Kyle Clements and Stephen McDowell each had one goal and one assist while Anthony Mata scored once.

Mesa League Player of the Year Danny Pacheco scored all three of Otay Ranch’s goals, with Ryan Trego drawing assists on two of them.

Scripps Ranch 5, West Hills 0
The Falcons have designs on returning to the championship arena after a rebuilding phase and Wednesday’s shutout victory over a much-improved Wolf Pack squad certainly has to bolster the team’s confidence in its finals quest. Steve Sherman led Scripps Ranch with two goals and one assist while Aaron Peterson scored twice, Quintin Petty had one goal and Christian Chang and Tyler Moy each had one assist.

The Falcons held a tenuous 1-0 lead after the first period and tripled their lead with two goals in the middle period.

Poway 5, Eastlake 0
Both teams appeared to be peaking at the right time of the season and it’s a shame that the seedings threw both together a round too early. Poway defeated Eastlake by six goals earlier this season and the Mesa League Titans went down by five goals this time, but in begrudging fashion. Poway led 1-0 at the close of the first period but Eastlake could not get the goal production it wanted in the middle period, while instead going down 3-0 on the scoreboard.

Ryan Smith led Poway with three goals and one assist while Eric Eyler, the North County League’s top scored the last two seasons, contributed one goal and one assist. Ryan Hockett scored one goal (the game-opener) while Connor Liebman was credited with one assist.

Each team took three penalties, with Eastlake allowing one power play goal.

It's time to 'beast' for Mustangs, Torreys

NATIONAL CITY, Feb. 22, 2010 -- The HIlltop Lancers and St. Augustine Saints had the same agenda entering Monday's opening round of the  Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs: to find a way to somehow top the team directly ahead of them in their respective league standings. Hilltop went 0-3 against Otay Ranch in regular season play while St. Augusitne was 0-3 against LJCD. Neither the Lancers or Saints could find the magic number to avoid a fourth loss in as many games this season against their league rival.

Hilltop came the closest to breaking through after Jeremiah Schultz scored his fourth goal of the game to put the ninth-seeded Lancers (11-9) ahead 5-3 on the scoreboard with two minutes elapsed in the third period. But an avalanche of five goals by eighth-seeded Otay Ranch (14-7) followed, including an empty netter by Jon Managbang with 10 seconds to play.

Danny Pacheco led the victorious Mustangs with five goals while Ryan Trego and Danielle McAvewnia both came up with strong games with one goals and two assists each.

"We were worried but then we got a couple of quick goals," said Pacheco of his team's clutch come-from-behind 8-5 v ictory.

Otay Ranch got right back in the game when Trego fed Pacheco for a goal just 39 seconds after the Lancers went up by a pair. Down 5-4, the Mustangs tied the game with 9:22 to play on an unassisted goal by Pacheco and then pulled ahead, 6-5, when McAvenia passed to Pacheco with 8:04 to play.

The Lancers skated hard until the end, absorbing back-to-back penalties to slow their momentum as the clocked ticked under 3:00 remaining. Otay Ranch scored a power play goal with 1:41 left to go up 7-5 and put Hilltop on its heels.

"We're a third period team," Pacheco said. "We work on conditioning so much in practice so we can bed fresher than the other team in the end. Our goal was to get to the third period and play our hardest the rest of the game. I know ikt's a bad habit but it works for us."

Michael Mendez played the opening two periods between the pipes for the Mustangs and Maddy Melendez took over in the final period to collect the playoff victory as Otay Ranch out-scored Hilltop 5-1 in the deciding period.

Schultz finished the game with four goals and one assist. Matt Kuehn scored one goal while Alphonso Arregum and Kyle Heiskala each were credited with assists.

"I have to give a lot of credit to the Hilltop goalie (Josh Evangelist)," Mustang coach Adrian Rodriguez said. "We out-shot them something like 40-15 and he kept them in the game. He deserves a lot of credit for doing that."

Seventh-seeded LJCD, meanwhile, recorded its 31st consecutive victory against a South Bay League opponent after its 9-2 victory against the 10th-seeded Saints in the twin-bill nightcap at Skate San Diego. Conference scoring leader James Owsiany led the attack with three goals and three assists while freshman sensation Ryan Owsiany contributed a hat trick. Zach Feldman scored three goals and added two assists for five points.

All three players finished atop the conference scoring chart and combined for all ine goals in the playoff win. Nick Georgino had one assist to round out the LJCD scoring.

The Torreys (18-3) trailed 1-0 on the game's jump goal by St. Augustine's Chris Dante but finished the first period with a 3-1 lead. LCJD nursed a 7-2 edge into the final period before sealing the victory with two more goals. The Saints made it a 5-2 contest late in the second period but the Torreys closed out the match-up with four unanswered goals.

Daniel Deiters scored the second goal for St. Augusitne (14-7) after drawing an assist on the team's first goal. Kurt Kerner had the assist on the last goal.

Otay Ranch advances to play top-seeded Westview (16-3-1) on Wednesday while LJCD draws seconbd-seeded Rancho Bernardo (14-5-1) in the quarterfinals. Both games are scheduled at the Escondido Sports Center.

Kiwanis Cup playoffs ready to roll
Kiwanis Cup Playoff Bracket
Final Points Leaders

Updated Feb. 21, 2010
The CIF/Metro Conference’s Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs face off Feb. 22 and conclude March 3. At this stage of the season, there suddenly doesn’t appear to be any one favored team to claim the high school circuit’s 2009-10 championship. That all came about in the final week of regular season play when the Scripps Ranch Falcons and the Poway Titans knocked off the defending Kiwanis Cup champion Westview Wolverines in back-to-back games at the Escondido Sports Center to close out North County League play.

The Wolverines entered the week holding the torch for the 16-team conference with a 16-1-1 record. Westview had already clinched this season’s North County League title and was looking to solidify its likely No. 1 seeding for the upcoming playoffs.

But other teams obviously had other ideas and the Falcons and Titans now have to be considered as legitimate playoff championship contenders along with the Rancho Bernardo Broncos, which secured second place in the NCL standings with a 10-5-1 league record and boast a fine 14-5-1overall record.

Seeding for the 10-team playoff tournament was conducted Feb. 20 and there were few surprises, based on the course of the overall season.

Westview (16-3-1) received the No. 1, Rancho Bernardo received the No. 2 seed, Scripps Ranch (14-6) received the No. 3 seed and Poway (10-10) received the No. 4 seed to demonstrate the strength of the North County League. The Mesa League champion Eastlake Titans (16-4) drew the No. 5 seed, followed by the sixth-seeded West Hills Wolf Pack (4-15). The South Bay League champion La Jolla Country Day Torreys (17-3) received the No. 7 seed, followed by the eighth-seeded Otay Ranch Mustangs (13-7), ninth-seeded Hilltop Lancers (11-8) and 10th-seeded St. Augustine Saints (14-6).

The bottom four seeded teams will play in the first round, with the two winners advancing to join the remaining six teams to fill out an eight-team quarterfinal-round bracket. Quarterfinal games are scheduled Feb. 24, followed by semifinals on March 1 and the championship game on March 3.

A senior all-Star Game and a coaches game are scheduled to close out the 2009-10 season on March 5.

Leaders of the pack
Rancho Bernardo and Westview stood head and shoulders atop the conference leader board all season long before the Broncos took a bit of a tumble in the final two weeks of the season to finish just a point ahead of Scripps Ranch in the NCL standings. A key 6-3 win by RB over the Falcons on Feb. 8 stood up as the difference between second and third place.

The Wolverines will be out to snare their third Kiwanis Cup title in three years and, despite the recent setbacks to Scripps Ranch and Poway, still have to be considered the proverbial team to beat in the upcoming playoffs.

Westview is carrying 10 skaters and one goaltender on this year’s roster, with six returning players from last year’s championship teamand five newcomers. Head coach Mike Kurth said the key to his team’s ability to successfully defend its conference championship will be how well the squad’s newcomers have been able to mesh with the team’s returning core talent.

“The thing is the inexperience — good or bad — we can develop it,” Kurth said earlier in the season. “This year, the rest of the league has made a big jump. The goaltending is getting better. The league has improved. With our inexperience, it makes it more exciting.”

It’s hard to single out any one dominant player on Westview but Greg Kurth has stood out as perhaps the best netminder in the conference this season. Firepower comes from Kyle Clements, Adam Durkee, Anthony Mata, Dylon Dixon and Will Mornson. Durkee led the Wolverines in regular season scoring with 42 goals and 16 assists, followed by Mornson with 25 goals and 16 assists, Mata with 21 goals and nine assists, Dixon with 18 goals and eight assists and Clements with 15 goals and 10 assists.

Westview won this year’s NCL title with a 12-3-1 league record.

The Broncos are led by Kyle Schaefer, Cruz Major, Chris Clement and goaltender Ryan Hicks. Major led the team with 31 goals while Schaefer had collected 24 goals and 15 assists to pace RB in overall scoring. Clement tacked on 14 goals and 14 assists while Bryce Semonian reached the 20-point mark with nine goals and 11 assists.

Scripps Ranch finished third in NCL play with a 10-6-0 record while Poway finished fourth in the NCL standings with a 6-10-0 record.

Why the sudden turnaround for the Falcons and Titans? It could be the long 20-game regular season, with certain players having honed their skills to the point of taking greater roles in games. The Falcons possess an abundance of young talent that seems to be maturing at the right time. Scripps Ranch is keyed by Steven Sherman, Christian Chang and Aaron Peterson on the floor and Jonathan Chang between the pipes.

Some are calling Peterson the best overall player in the conference. At the least, he’s likely one of the top three players in the 16-team loop. He ended the regular season with 30 goals and 14 assists to top Scripps Ranch in scoring — 12 points ahead of Christian Chang (22 goals, 10 assists). Brandon Lopez (16 goals, 15 assists) finished one point behind Chang in team scoring. Jonathan Gauthier (17 goals, eight assists) and Sherman (15 goals, eight assists) rounded out the Falcons’ potent top five scorers.

A future player to watch ion Scripps Ranch s freshman Tyler Moy, an AAA ice hockey player whose roller hockey commitments were limited this season because of ice time.

A key statistic: The Falcons defeated Westview and Poway in the final round of NCL league play and also own an early season win over Rancho Bernardo.

In Poway’s case, the missing piece to the puzzle seems to finally have fallen into place with the re-emergence of all-conference goaltender Reid Kinsey, who had been ineligible for the bulk of the season. The Titans jump-started the season 2-0 but then went into a tailspin that at one point dropped the team’s league record to 4-10. But Poway has returned to its former winning ways in recent weeks and ended the season at the .500 mark.

Players to watch on Poway include Luke Richard, Ryan Smith and, of course, Kinsey. Eric Eyler led the North County League in scoring last season and hasn’t lost his touch in 2009-10 by once again leading the NCL in scoring with 64 points (44 goals, 20 assists). Smith racked up 35 goals and 17 assists. Ryan Hockett turned in a 20-point season with 16 goals and four assists.

Poway head coach Dale Ingram cautioned his team remains young despite its recent success against the two NCL front runners. “We will have some challenges,” he said. “We have a lot of upperclassmen but not as experienced in terms of team years.”

West Hills took up the rear in the conference’s most intensely competitive league with a 1-15-0 mark but the team’s 4-15-0 overall record is quite deceiving. The Wolf Pack has played the frontrunners close in several games and is likely better than almost every other team from the Mesa and South Bay leagues combined.

Case in point: West Hills demolished Otay Ranch, 17-2, in a non-league match-up on Feb. 11.

Erik Baldwin ranks among the fastest skaters in the conference and defenseman Don Keffer brings a ton of ice hockey experience onto the floor while simultaneously skating for the San Diego Gulls of the Tier III Junior A Western States Hockey League.

Baldwin led the Wolf Pack in scoring with 11 goals and eight assists while Keffer (six goals, 11 assists) tied teammate Alex Wallace (nine goals, eight assists) for second in team scoring with 17 points each.

Cody Boyer is one of five freshmen on this year’s West Hills team who also play ice hockey. All have been instant contributors, according to head coach Dennis Morris.

Besides Boyer, the three strongest freshmen of the bunch also includes Zach Peters and goaltender Kanoa Cook.

Cook looks to be team’s goaltender for the next four years.

The Wolf Pack is keyed this season by three impact seniors: forwards Wallace and Hillary Baxter and Keffer. They are among five returners overall.

Baxter ranks among the top female players in the coed sport. “She can play on defense – I have no hesitation to put her anywhere on the field,” Morris said.

Shining stars
The Eastlake Titans finished as this season’s Mesa League champions with a 12-0 league record and likely rate as the top squad from the conference’s southern complement of teams. Eastlake is 16-4 overall with all four of its losses to North County League teams: Westview (11-2), Scripps Ranch (7-5), Poway (11-5) and Rancho Bernardo (5-2). The Titans completed a team first with its 10-3 victory against Otay Ranch to close out regular season play on Feb. 18: the team’s first-ever undefeated season (16-0) against rivals from the Mesa/South Bay leagues.

Top players for the Mesa League champs include speedster Dante Patron, the sibling tandem of Justin and Jace White, and sophomore goaltender Darius Newhall. Patron may be the conference’s top sniper, finishing regular season play with 49 goals and 10 assists. He totaled 13 points in Eastlake’s four games against NCL opponents. He had both goals in the loss to RB on Feb. 17, four goals in the setback to Poway and scored three goals in the loss to Scripps Ranch. In the latter game, Eastlake and Scripps Ranch were knotted in a 5-5 tie before the Falcons came up with a pair of late goals to claim the non-league win.

Both White brothers are well-rounded players with ice hockey experience (as with Patron) and are a steadying influence on the team, ranking among the top defensive tandems in the conference when paired together. Michael Oleata and Zach McMahon each have carved out their own niche on the floor. Justin White has one of the hardest shots in the conference. But it is the Titans’ complement of mid-level talent that makes them a formidable foe. Players who have shown great improvement include Jordan Hines and Alex Bule. Oleata is a four-year varsity performer. Another contributer is Zach White. Eastlake coach Rone Torres attributed an upturn in goaltending as one of the team’s success points this season. The team can skate with the best in the conference but matching up at the defensive end and staying out of the penalty box will be prime factors in determining whether it can duplicate last year’s trip to the Kiwanis Cup semifinals.

The Titans boast a pair of 40-goal scorers in Patron and Justin White (40 goals, 19 assists) while Jace White (26 goals, 17 assists) is the third player on the team to turn in a 40-point season. McMahon (15 goals, 19 assists) and Hines (14 goals, 16 assists) give Eastlake five players to register 30 points.

“I think we’re peaking at the right time of the season,” Torres said. “We’re fore-checking and back-checking, which isn’t easy to do in roller hockey. We’re a complete team. We have put a string of consistent victories together now that we hadn’t been able to do so far. It's a tribute to the hard work of the players on the team. But the kids know they’re going to have to show an even better effort than they have so far if we are to go far in the playoffs.”

The La Jolla Country Day Torreys are riding a 30-game unbeaten streak in South Bay League play after turning in their second consecutive 15-0-0 SBL showing with a 19-2 win against Castle Park on Feb. 18. The Torreys are 17-3-0 overall and might have something to say about which team is actually the best from the Mesa/South Bay, as a quirk in the schedule did not pit LJCD and Eastlake against the other this season. Certainly, the Torreys have had a fine season and are 17-0-0 against southern squads.

LJCD is led by the dynamic sibling duo of James and Ryan Owsiany. James Owsiany, a junior, captured the conference’s individual scoring title with 123 points on 73 goals and 50 assists. Ryan, a freshman, is easily the SBL’s top newcomer with 95 points on 56 goals and 39 assists (ranking second to his older brother in the scoring table).

Like Eastlake, the Torreys are braced by a complement of players who have risen to the occasion to fill vital roles as the season has progressed. Those players include Zach Feldman (43 goals), Scott Ibsen (39 goals), Sam Brink (36 goals) and Nick Georgino (27 goals). Feldman finished third in conference scoring – giving LJCD a clean top three sweep – with 79 points.

The Torreys are supported in the net by Cameron Bryant-Sowka, an ice hockey veteran who plays with quiet resolve and makes difficult saves look easy. Coach David Brink said his team, numbering seven players overall, does not have any weak links and that seems to be an accurate statement. The short bench clearly has not hindered the team’s on court success. In fact, LJCD seems to be getting the most out of all its players.

LJCD’s three losses have been to Rancho Bernardo (7-2), West Hills (7-4) and Scripps Ranch (by forfeit).

As with last season, 10 of the conference’s 16 teams qualify for the Kiwanis Cup playoffs. Otay Ranch (13-7), Hilltop (11-8) and St. Augustine (14-6) rounded out the final three seeds.

Otay Ranch secured second place in the Mesa League standings with a 7-6 win against Hilltop on Feb. 16 as Danny Pacheco snapped a tie with the game-winning goal with just 41 seconds to play, Pacheco also supplied the game-winning goal for the Mustangs in a previous match-up against the Lancers with just one second left in regulation. Jeremiah Jodzio complements Pacheco’s speed and offensive skills on the floor while goaltender Maddy Melendez and defenseman Danielle McAvenia are unquestionably the conference’s top two female players (who likely exceed the playing ability of many of their male counterparts on the floor).

The Mustangs have lost to Scripps Ranch, Poway and Westview in non-league match-ups.

Pacheco locked up the Mesa League scoring title with 51 goals and 13 assists while Jodzio had 37 goals and 15 assists.

Hilltop lost three times to Eastlake and three times to Otay Ranch in league play and surrendered blowout losses to Rancho Bernardo (9-0) and Poway (16-0) in non-league games. Such might be expected from a team with just one senior. Sophomore Jeremiah Schultz is be the team’s top playmaker while Tylor Spracklin ranks among the league’s top stay-at-home defensemen. Freshman goaltender Josh Evengelist has had his ups and downs but mostly ups and there’s plenty of room for improvement. Matt Kuehn wears the captain’s letter on the team.

The Lancers date their origin to 1997 at the club level. Dan Vaccaro has coached the team in every season, including 10 at the CIF level.

There still appears to be some gas left in Hilltop's tank after the Lancers recovered from a 4-0 deficit against Bonita Vista in its league finale on Feb. 18 to out-score the Barons 8-1 over the last 18:28 of the game to claim a wild 8-5 win. Alphonso Arregum had a breakout game for Hilltop with the game's last three goals, including the game-winner.

Schultz led Hilltop with 34 goals and 12 assists while Spracklin ranked runner-up with 11 goals and 13 assists, followed by Kuehn with 10 goals and 11 assists and Arregum with 11 goals and nine assists.

St. Augustine finished second in the South Bay League standings with a 12-3 league record and finished regular season play 14-6 overall. The Saints dropped two one-goal decisions to league champion LJCD, including one in overtime. Head coach Christian DaLuz’s team remains on the young side and the future looks bright. Top skaters include Daniel Deiters and Kurt Kerner, the team’s top puck-handler, along with Chris Dante. Jordan Jodzio displays the best rink vision on the team from his defensive spot while Nick Spardy earns honors as the team's top newcomer. Kerner (40) captured the team goal-scoring lead while Jodzio (33) finished second and Deiters (31) third. Kerner and Deiters tied for the team scoring lead with 55 points each.

Good showing
Two teams chasing the aforementioned 10 teams for playoff berths included the Mar Vista Mariners (10-10) and Southwest Raiders (9-11).

Mar Vista dropped all three of its league games to LJCD and St. Augustine to finish third in the South Bay League standings. But the Mariners have to win the award for team spirit — coach Rion Cole’s players had a lot of it and played with emotion on the floor. If the team had a little more up front talent, it would be a contender for the league championship. Emmanuel Alcaraz scored nearly all of Mar Vista’s goals this season – part of the reason the Mariners went 0-6 against the Torreys and Saints. Senior Nelson Hoffman showed leadership and feistiness and Dylan Taylor and James Moeller both showed improvement as the season went along. Bobby Doyle needs to receive some type of post-season award after shedding his defenseman role to take over goaltending duties. Once between the pipes, Doyle made the position his own. Unfortunately for Cole and Co., Doyle is a senior.

Alcaraz paced the team with 58 goals and 13 assists to rank fifth overall in conference scoring.

Southwest topped Mar Vista, 6-5, in overtime on Feb. 10 to score a breakthrough victory against its neighborhood rival. Michael Farrell scored the game-winner in OT and finished the game with five goals overall. The standout play of Farrell has been the key to the Raiders’ unparalleled success this season. He finished fourth in conference scoring with 78 points on 63 goals and 15 assists.

The nine wins for Southwest are a school record.

CIF/Metro Conference
2009-10 Scoring Leaders
Final Regular Season
•James Owsiany (LJCD) 73 goals, 50 assists, 123 points
•Ryan Owsiany (LJCD) 56 goals, 39 assists, 95 points
•Zach Feldman (LJCD) 43 goals, 36 assists, 79 points
•Michael Farrell (Southwest) 63 goals, 15 assists, 78 points
•Emmanuel Alcaraz (Mar Vista) 58 goals, 13 assists, 71 points
•Scott Ibsen (LJCD) 39 goals, 28 assists, 67 points
•Daniel Pacheco (Otay Ranch) 51 goals, 13 assists, 64 points
•Eric Eyler (Poway) 44 goals, 20 assists, 64 points
•Dante Patron (Eastlake) 49 goals, 10 assists, 59 points
•Justin White (Eastlake) 40 goals, 19 assists, 59 points
•Adam Durkee (Westview) 42 goals, 16 assists, 58 points
•Sam Brink (LJCD) 36 goals, 22 assists, 58 points
•Kurt Kerner (St. Augustine) 40 goals, 15 assists, 55 points
•Daniel Deiters (St. Augustine) 31 goals, 24 assists, 55 points
•Jeremiah Jodzio (Otay Ranch) 37 goals, 15 assists, 52 points
•Ryan Smith (Poway) 35 goals, 17 assists, 52 points
•Jordan Jodzio (St. Augustine) 33 goals, 16 assists, 49 points
•Jeremiah Schultz (Hilltop) 34 goals, 12 assists, 46 points
•Aaron Peterson (Scripps Ranch) 30 goals, 14 assists, 44 points
•Jace White (Eastlake) 26 goals, 17 assists, 43 points
•Will Morrison (Westview) 25 goals, 16 assists, 41 points
•Nick Georgino (LJCD 27 goals, 12 assists, 39 points
•Kyle Schafer (Rancho Bernardo) 24 goals, 15 assists, 37 points
•Cruz Major (Rancho Bernardo) 31goals, 6 assists, 37 points
•Ryan Kean (Bonita Vista) 28 goals, 8 assists, 36 points
•Zach McMahon (Eastlake) 15 goals,19 assists, 34 points
•Ryan Micallef (Bonita Vista) 26 goals, 7 assists, 33 points
•Christian Chang (Scripps Ranch) 22 goals, 10 assists, 32 points
•Brandon Lopez (Scripps Ranch) 16 goals, 15 assists, 31 points
•Dylan Taylor (Mar Vista) 16 goals, 15 assists, 31 points
•Anthony Mata (Westview) 21 goals, 9 assists, 30 points
•Jordan Hines (Eastlake) 14 goals, 16 assists, 30 points
•Nick Spardy (St. Augustine) 18 goals, 11 assists, 29 points
•Zach White (Eastlake) 15 goals, 14 assists, 29 points
•Chris Clement (Rancho Bernardo) 14 goals, 14 assists, 28 points
•Dylon Dixon (Westview) 18 goals, 8 assists, 26 points
•Ryan Trego (Otay Ranch) 18 goals, 8 assists, 26 points
•Jonathan Gauthier (Scripps Ranch) 17 goals, 8 assists, 25 points
•Kyle Clements (Westview) 15 goals, 10 assists, 25 points
•Nelson Hoffman (Mar Vista) 15 goals,10 assists, 25 points
•Chris Dante (St. Augustine) 11 goals, 14 assists, 25 points
•Tylor Spracklin (Hilltop) 11 goals, 13 assists, 24 points
•Steven Sherman (Scripps Ranch) 15 goals, 8 assists, 23 points
•James Moeller (Mar Vista) 11 goals, 11 assists, 22 points
•Ismael Guerrero (Southwest) 11 goals, 10 assists, 21 points
•Matt Kuehn (Hilltop) 10 goals, 11 assists, 21 points
•Ryan Hockett (Poway) 16 goals, 4 assists, 20 points
•Alphonso Arregum (Hilltop) 11goals, 9 assists, 20 points
•Luke Richard (Poway) 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points
•Bryce Semonian (Rancho Bernardo) 9 goals, 11 assists, 20 points

Metro Conference Scoring Leaders
(Through Feb. 12)
James Owsiany (LJCD) 60 goals, 39 assists - 99 points
Ryan Owsiany (LJCD) 48 goals, 31 assists - 79 points
Emmanuel Alcaraz (Mar Vista) 58 goals, 12 assists - 70 points
Micahel Farrell (Southwest) 56 goals, 12 assists - 68 points
Eric Eyler (Poway) 41 goals, 18 assists - 59 points
Adam Durkee (Westview) 40 goals, 16 assists - 56 points
Daniel Pacheco (Otay Ranch) 42 goals, 12 assists - 54 points
Zach Feldman (LJCD) 29 goals, 25 assists - 54 points
Jeremiah Jodzio (Otay Ranch) 36 goals, 14 assists - 50 points
Ryan Smith (Poway) 30 goals, 17 assists - 47 points
Dante Patron (Eastlake) 38 goals, 6 assists - 44 points
Scott Ibsen (LJCD) 29 goals, 15 assists - 44 points
Kurt Kerner (St. Augustine) 29 goals, 12 assists – 41 points
Sam Brink (LJCD) 25 goals, 16 assists - 41 points
Daniel Deiters (St. Augustine) 22 goals, 19 assists - 41 points
Justin White (Eastlake) 28 goals, 12 assists - 40 points
Will Mornson (Westview) 24 goals, 16 assists - 40 points
Aaron Peterson (Scripps Ranch) 25 goals, 14 assists - 39 points
Kyle Shaefer (Rancho Bernardo) 24 goals, 15 assists - 39 points
Jeremiah Shultz (Hilltop) 29 goals, 9 assists - 38 points
Cruz Major (Rancho Bernardo) 31 goals, 6 assists - 37 points
Jordan Jodzio (St. Augustine) 28 goals, 9 assists - 37 points
Nick Georgino (LJCD) 23 goals, 10 assists - 33 points
Jace White (Eastlake) 17 goals, 15 assists - 32 points
Anthony Mata (Westview) 21 goals, 9 assists - 30 points
Dylan Taylor (Mar Vista) 16 goals, 14 assists - 30 points
Brandon Lopez (Scripps Ranch) 15 goals, 14 assists - 29 points
Ryan Micallef (Bonita Vista) 23 goals, 5 assists - 28 points
Ryan Kean (Bonita Vista) 21 goals, 7 assists - 28 points
Jordan Hines (Eastlake) 12 goals, 15 assists - 27 points
Dylon Dixon (Westview) 18 goals, 8 assists - 26 points
Ryan Trego (Otay Ranch) 18 goals, 8 assists - 26 points
Christian Chang (Scripps Ranch) 18 goals, 7 assists - 25 points
Jonathan Gauthier (Scripps Ranch) 17goals, 8 assists - 25 points
Nelson Hoffman (Mar Vista) 15 goals, 10 assists - 25 points
Chris Clement (Rancho Bernardo) 12 goals, 13 assists - 25 points
Zach McMahon (Eastlake) 10 goals, 15 assists - 25 points
Kyle Clements (Westview) 13 goals, 10 assists, 23 points
ZachWhite (Eastlake) 12 goals, 10 assists, 22 points
James Moeller (Mar Vista) 11 goals, 11 asssits, 22 points
Nick Spardy (St. Augustine) 13 goals, 8 assists, 21 points
Ryan Hockett (Poway) 16 goals, 4 assists, 20 points
Luke Richard (Poway) 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points
Chris Dante (St. Augustine) 7 goals, 13 assists, 20 points
Steven Sherman (Scripps Ranch) 14 goals, 4 assists, 18 points
Bryce Semonian (RanchoBernardo) 8 goals, 10 assists, 18 points
Ismale Guerrero (Southwest) 9 goals, 8 assists, 17 points
Tylor Spracklin (Hilltop) 8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points
Felix Garcia (Bonita Vista) 7 goals, 10 assists, 17 points
Johnny Heid (St. Augustine) 13 goals, 3 assists, 16 points
Kekoa Latimore (Hilltop) 10 goals, 6 assists, 16 points
Scott Leyland (Rancho Bernardo) 8 goals, 8 assists, 16 points
Matt Kuehn (Hilltop) 8 goals, 8 assists, 16 points
Donnie Keffer (West Hills) 5 goals, 11 assists, 16 points
Cory Wodstrom (Westview) 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points
Zack Tupaz (Sweetwater) 13 goals, 1 assist, 14 points
Erik Baldwin (West Hills) 9 goals, 5 assists, 14 points
Robby Linnett (Poway) 7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points
Alphonso Arregum (Hilltop) 6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points
Roman Mendoza (Rancho Bernardo) 5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points
George Godinez (Hilltop) 7 goals, 6 assists, 13 points
Enrique Merino (Southwest) 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points
Decker Sielhan (Westview) 8 goals, 4 assists, 12 points
Cody Boyer (West Hills) 8 goals, 4 assists, 12 points
Eric Kolar (Castle Park) 8 goals, 4 assists, 12 points
Sean Garrett (Scripps Ranch) 7 goals, 5 assists, 12 points
Danielle McAvenia (Otay Ranch) 6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points
Rey Guerrero (Otay Ranch) 6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points
Alex Bule (Eastlake) 8 goals, 3 assists, 11 points
Glen McDonald (St. Augustine) 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points
Nathan Fisher (Bonita Vista) 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points
Stephen McDowell (Westview) 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points

Eastlake officially clinches Mesa League championship
NATIONAL CITY, Feb. 12, 2010 – The Eastlake Titans joined the Westview Wolverines (North County League champions) and La Jolla Country Day Torreys (South Bay League champions) as the CIF/Metro Conference's third automatic league champion entrants into the upcoming Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs by defeating the Hilltop Lancers, 10-0, Friday at Skate San Diego to officially lay claim to this season's Mesa League title.

Hilltop was the defending Mesa League champion.

Eastlake rolled to a 4-0 first period lead and doubled its advantage to 8-0 heading into the final period.

The Titans improved to 11-0 in league play, 14-3 overall. The Lancers dropped to 5-5 in league play, 10-7 overall.

Justin White led the Eastlake attrack with four goals and one assist. Teammate Dante Patron had a hat trick while Jordan Hines had two goals and one assist. Zach Bannon had one goal while Zach White had two assists. Alex Bule also picked up one assist. Goaltender Darius Newhall notched his fourth shutout victory of the season.

The Titans completed a busy week with three victories. Prior to topping Hilltop, Eastlake defeated Chula Vista, 22-2, on Tuesday and Bonita Vista, 23-2, on Thursday, both league games.

The Titans racked up 55 goals while allowing five in the three games.

"All our seniors who came in as underclassmen three years ago to start rebuilding the program deserve the credit," EHS coach Rone Torres said. "It's got to be pretty sweet for them."

The team's fouthr-year senior players include Justin White and Michael Oleata. Third-year senior players include Zack White and Dante Patron.

Jace White racked up eight goals and one assist in the win against Bonita Vista while older brother Justin White collected six goals and three assists. Zach White had two goals and three assists while Zach McMahon had two goals and two assists. Patron notched a hat trick.

Eastlake has three games remaining in regular season play: non-league games against Southwest (Feb. 15) and Rancho Bernardo (Feb. 17) and one last league encounter against Otay Ranch (Feb. 18).

"We're really coming together at the right time of the season," Torres said. "But the kids know they're going to have to show an even better effort than they have so far if we are to go far in the playoffs."

Torreys having ‘fun’ season at 10-0 in league, 12-2 overall

NATIONAL CITY, Feb. 5, 2010 – The La Jolla Country Day Torreys have a team unlike any other in either the Mesa League or South Bay League. The Torreys might be mistaken for a team from the rugged North County League if they had about three times more players.

“We don’t have any weak links,” LJCD coach David Brink said. “We’re just a small team.”

The Torreys’ rosters numbers seven players. The short bench, however, has not hindered the team’s on court success. In fact, LJCD seems to be getting the most out of all its players.

That is evidenced in the team’s 12-2 overall record.

The Torreys are currently working on a 25-game South Bay League winning streak dating back to last season.

LJCD showcased its “small team” in Friday’s 16-0 non-league victory against the Bonita Vista Barons at Skate San Diego. All six field players recorded multiple points while goaltender Cameron Bryant-Sowka recorded the shutout win.

Roller hockey is designed to be an offensive sport and the Torreys attack in waves. Team captain James Owsiany, a junior, entered the week four points off the CIF/Metro Conference scoring lead. He collected six points in Friday’s victory over the Barons with three goals and three assists. Younger brother Ryan Owsiany, a freshman, had two goals and two assists.

But it is how the rest of the team has blossomed over the course of the season that makes LJCD a wary opponent in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup playoffs. Zach Feldman led the Torreys in Friday’s game with seven points on four goals and three assists. Other contributors included Sam Brink with three goals and Nick Georgino and Scott Ibsen each with two goals and one assist.

LJCD led 3-0 after the first period. Bonita Vista has a tendency to play opponents strong through the opening parts of the game and did so once again. But three goals in the opening four minutes of the second period by the Torreys turned a close game into a comfortable 6-0 lead. LJCD skaters swarmed inside the Baron end for the remainder of the game. The Torreys led 12-0 entering the final period.

One thing that also strikes an observer about the LJCD team is that it skates with class. The elder Brink has his team well disciplined and respect of both teammates and opponents appears to be the team’s mantra. The Torreys win quietly.

LJCD has yet to defeat a team from the North County League, with losses to West Hills and Rancho Bernardo. The Torreys have six games remaining on their regular season schedule: a make-up game against Scripps Ranch, plus league contests against Castle Park (twice), Sweetwater (twice) and Mar Vista.

Brink’s squad skated past the St. Augustine Saints in a pair of recent games to effectively lay claim to their second consecutive South Bay League title. LJCD edged St. Augustine, 7-6, in a contest played Jan. 27 at the Escondido Sports Center and topped the Saints by a 10-3 score Feb. 3, also in Escondido. The Torreys swept the team’s three-game series – two of which turned out to be one-goal nail-biters.

In the teams’ final match-up on the season, the Saints led 2-0 through the opening period before the Torreys went on a goal-scoring rampage in the second period, scoring seven goals in the middle frame to take a comfortable 7-2 lead into the final period. St. Augustine got the first goal of the third period to cut the deficit to four goals but LJCD countered with three goals to end the game.

James Owsiany led the attack with four goals and two assists while Nick Georgino was credited with a hat trick and Ryan Owsiany had two goals and one assist. Ibsen chipped in with a goal and assist while Bryant-Sowka also recorded one assist in the game.

Kurt Kerner and Johnny Heid each scored goals to power the Saints to their first-period lead. Heid finished the game with two goals while Daniel Deiters and Jordan Jodzio each picked up assists.

Friday’s game closed out a busy week for the Torreys, which defeated Southwest, 13-3, in a league game on Monday and Chula Vista, 21-2, in a non-league encounter on Tuesday.

In the game against Southwest, LJCD built a 7-0 lead into the second period and out-scored the Raiders 5-2 in the final period. Ryan Owsiany was the Torreys’ high point man with three goals and two assists while Nick Georgino racked up three goals and one assist, James Owsiany and Feldman each had two goals and two assists and Sam Brink and Ibsen each scored two goals.

Michael Farrell led Southwest with two goals and one assist. Jacob Lopez was credited with the Raiders’ opening goal.

In the game against Chula Vista, LJCD piled up 17 goals through the opening two periods, including nine first-period goals. James Owsiany opened the game with three goals and five assists while Ryan Owsiany had five goals and one assist heading into the final period. Ibsen and Georgino each had three goals and two assists.

If you ask any of the Torreys about how the 2009-10 campaign has turned out, they’ll say it’s been a fun season.

And it’s not over yet.

Metro Conference Scoring Leaders
(Through Feb. 5)
•James Oswiany (La Jolla Country Day) 45 goals, 21 assists, 66 points
•Emmanuel Alcaraz (Mar Vista) 51 goals, 11 assists, 62 points
•Ryan Oswsiany (La Jolla Country Day) 35 goals, 18 assists, 53 points
•Michael Farrell (Southwest) 44 goals, 8 assists, 52 points
•Daniel Pacheco (Otay Ranch) 37 goals, 10 assists, 47 points
•Eric Eyler (Poway) 26 goals, 14 assists, 40 points
•Jeremiah Jodzio (Otay Ranch) 25 goals, 12 assists, 37 points
•Kurt Kerner (St. Augustine) 26 goals, 10 assists, 36 points
•Will Mornson (Westview) 22 goals, 14 assists, 36 points
•Zach Feldman (La Jolla Country Day) 18 goals, 18 assists, 36 points
•Ryan Smith (Poway) 21 goals, 13 assists, 34 points
•Sam Brink (La Jolla Country Day) 19 goals, 15 assists, 34 points
•Adam Durkee (Westview) 24 goals, 8 assists, 32 points
•Scott Ibsen (La Jolla Country Day) 21 goals, 11 assists, 32 points
•Aaron Peterson (Scripps Ranch) 20 goals, 12 assists, 32 points
•Dante Patron (Eastlake) 29 goals, 2 assist, 31 points
•Justin White (Eastlake) 21 goals, 10 assists, 31 points
•Cruz Major (Rancho Bernardo) 24 goals, 6 assists, 30 points
•Daniel Deiters (St. Augustine) 16 goals, 14 assists, 30 points
•Jeremiah Schultz (Hilltop) 20 goals, 9 assists, 29 points
•Kyle Shaefer (Rancho Bernardo) 17 goals, 12 assists, 29 points
•Jordan Jodzio (St. Augustine) 22 goals, 6 assists, 28 points
•Dylan Taylor (Mar Vista) 14 goals, 13 assists, 27 points
•Ryan Trego (Otay Ranch) 18 goals, 8 assists, 26 points
•Brandon Lopez (Scripps Ranch) 14 goals, 12 assists, 26 points
•Anthony Mata (Westview) 17 goals, 8 assists, 25 points
•Jace White (Eastlake) 14 goals, 11 assists, 25 points
•Ryan Micallef (Bonita Vista) 19 goals, 5 assists, 24 points
•Christian Chang (Scripps Ranch) 16 goals, 7 assists, 23 points
•Dylon Dixon (Westview) 16 goals, 7 assists, 23 points
•Jon Gauthier (Scripps Ranch) 15 goals, 8 assists, 23 points
•Nelson Hoffman (Mar Vista) 13 goals, 10 assists, 23 points
•Nick Georgino (La Jolla Country Day) 13 goals, 9 assists, 21 points
•Ryan Kean (Bonita Vista) 16 goals, 5 assists, 21 points
•James Moeller (Mar Vista) 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points
•Zach McMahon (Eastlake) 7 goals, 13 assists, 20 points
•Chris Clement (Rancho Bernardo) 10 goals, 9 assists, 19 points
•Jordan Hines (Eastlake) 8 goals, 11 assists, 19 points
•Nick Spardy (St. Augustine) 11 goals, 6 assists, 17 points
•Tylor Spracklin (Hilltop) 8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points
•Steven Sherman (Scripps Ranch) 13 goals, 3 assists, 16 points
•Kekoa Latimore (Hilltop) 10 goals, 6 assists, 16 points
•Zach White (Eastlake) 8 goals, 8 assists, 16 points
•Felix Garcia (Bonita Vista) 7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points
•Ryan Hockett (Poway) 11 goals, 4 assists, 15 points
•Kyle Clements (Westview) 10 goals, 5 assists, 15 points
•Chris Dante (St. Augustine) 6 goals, 9 assists, 15 points
•Cory Wodstrom (Westview) 7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points
•Luke Richard (Poway) 7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points
•Bryce Semonian (Rancho Bernardo) 7 goals, 6 assists, 13 points
•Scott Leyland (Rancho Bernardo) 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points
•Decker Sielhan (Westview) 8 goals, 4 assists, 12 points
•Cody Boyer (West Hills) 8 goals, 4 assists, 12 points
•Erik Baldwin (West Hills) 7 goals, 5 assists, 12 points
•Danielle McAvenia (Otay Ranch) 6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points
•Donnie Keffer (West Hills) 2 goal, 10 assists, 12 points
•Zack Tupaz (Sweetwater) 10 goals, 1 assist, 11 points
•Alex Bule (Eastlake) 8 goals, 3 assists, 11 points
•Eric Kolar (Castle Park) 8 goals, 3 assists, 11 points
•Glen MacDonald (St. Augustine) 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points
•Ismael Guerrero (Southwest) 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points
•Sean Garrett (Scripps Ranch) 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points
•Robby Linnett (Poway) 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points
•Rey Guerrero (Otay Ranch) 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points
•Alphonso Arregum (Hilltop) 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points
•Matt Kuehn (Hilltop) 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points
•Nathan Fisher (Bonita Vista) 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points
•George Godinez (Hilltop) 6 goals, 4 assists, 10 points
•Roman Mendoza (Hilltop) 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points
•Johnny Heid (St. Augusitne) 6 goals, 3 assists, 9 points
•Fernando Soto (Southwest) 5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points

Titans top Mustangs, 11-5, take control of Mesa League race
Posted Feb. 3, 2010
The Eastlake high School roller hockey team is overdue to win a league championship, according to head coach Rone Torres.

“We have a group of guys who have never won a championship but who have had incredible success the last three years,” Torres said.

The Titans may finally have something to show for their hard work this season.

Braced by seven goals from Dante Patron, Eastlake went up two games in the Mesa League loss column on Otay Ranch via Tuesday’s 11-5 victory at Skate San Diego in National City.

Patron, who entered the game with 22 goals and two assists on the season, scored his team’s first five goals — the first three of which staked the Titans (7-0-0 in league play, 10-2-0 overall) to a 3-2 first period lead.

Eastlake went up 2-0 on goals by Patron with 2:17 and 4:31 elapsed in the game. The Mustangs (6-2, 10-4) countered with goals by Danny Pacheco and Jeremiah Jodzio in a 1:07 span later in the period to tie the score. But Patron came up big again with a goal with 3:21 left in the period to put his team back on top.

The teams traded goals in the second period before the Titans could finally manage to pull away on the scoreboard.

Pacheco scored his second goal of the game with 2:15 remaining in the second period to draw Otay Ranch closer to its east side rival at 5-3. But by the time Pacheco completed his hat trick with 3:51 left in the game, Eastlake had added three more goals to lead 8-3.

The teams combined for four goals in the final 2:47, with the Titans collecting three of them to roll to the comfortable win.

Eastlake’s specialty teams excelled with one power play goal (Zach McMahon) and one short-handed goal (Patron).

J.D. Mayer scored twice in support of winning netminder Darius Newhall while Zach White added one goal. Jace White dished out three assists while brother Justin White collected one helper.

Pacheco led the Mustangs with three goals and one assist; Jodzio had two goals for Otay Ranch.

The Titans previously defeated the Mustangs, 10-3, on Jan. 14 to break a deadlock for first place in the league standings. Torres called Tuesday’s win “huge.”

“This group is determined to win a championship,” the EHS coach said. “As good as the seniors are, it’s our juniors who have really helped make the team as good as it is. Also, add an upgrade in goaltending.”

Eastlake, which shared the 2006-07 Mesa League title with Otay Ranch, could be in for more than just a league championship this season judging from the Titans’ wild 7-5 non-league loss to Scripps Ranch on Jan. 28. Eastlake roared to an early 2-0 lead on the North County powerhouse, fell behind 5-2, then tied the game at 5-all in the third period. But two late goals carried the Falcons to the win and brought the upcoming seeding for the Kiwanis Cup playoffs into sharper focus. The Titans aren’t that far back from the bulk of the top teams from North County.

Patron led Eastlake with three goals and an assist while Jon Gauthier keyed the Falcons with four goals and three assists. Scripps finished the game with four power play goals while the Titans scored two man-advantage goals.

Otay Ranch topped defending Mesa League champion Hilltop, 8-5, on Jan. 26 to move into position as the prime challenger to Eastlake for this year’s league banner. Jodzio and Pacheco spear-headed the Mustang attack with four goals each.

Metro Conference Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 29)
•Emmanuel Alcaraz (Mar Vista) 47 goals, 11 assists, 58 points
•James Oswiany (La Jolla Country Day) 40 goals, 14 assists, 54 points
•Michael Farrell (Southwest) 42 goals, 7 assists, 49 points
•Daniel Pacheco (Otay Ranch) 34 goals, 9 assists, 43 points
•Ryan Oswsiany (La Jolla Country Day) 27 goals, 14 assists, 41 points
•Eric Eyler (Poway) 26 goals, 14 assists, 40 points
•Kurt Kerner (St. Augustine) 26 goals, 10 assists, 36 points
•Jeremiah Jodzio (Otay Ranch) 23 goals, 12 assists, 35 points
•Will Mornson (Westview) 21 goals, 14 assists, 35 points
•Ryan Smith (Poway) 21 goals, 12 assists, 33 points
•Zach Feldman (La Jolla Country Day) 16 goals, 16 assists, 32 points
•Adam Durkee (Westview) 24 goals, 6 assists, 30 points
•Justin White (Eastlake) 21 goals, 9 assists, 30 points
•Daniel Deiters (St. Augustine) 16 goals, 14 assists, 30 points
•Jeremiah Schultz (Hilltop) 20 goals, 9 assists, 29 points
•Jordan Jodzio (St. Augustine) 22 goals, 6 assists, 28 points
•Ryan Trego (Otay Ranch) 18 goals, 8 assists, 26 points
•Aaron Peterson (Scripps Ranch) 17 goals, 9 assists, 26 points
•Cruz Major (Rancho Bernardo) 19 goals, 6 assists, 25 points
•Anthony Mata (Westview) 17 goals, 8 assists, 25 points
•Scott Ibsen (La Jolla Country Day) 16 goals, 9 assists, 25 points
•Dante Patron (Eastlake) 22 goals, 2 assist, 24 points
•Ryan Micallef (Bonita Vista) 19 goals, 5 assists, 24 points
•Sam Brink (La Jolla Country Day) 12 goals, 12 assists, 24 points
•Jace White (Eastlake) 14 goals, 9 assists, 23 points
•Nelson Hoffman (Mar Vista) 13 goals, 10 assists, 23 points
•Brandon Lopez (Scripps Ranch) 12 goals, 10 assists, 22 points
•Dylan Taylor (Mar Vista) 11 goals, 11 assists, 22 points
•Dylon Dixon (Westview) 16 goals, 5 assists, 21 points
•Ryan Kean (Bonita Vista) 16 goals, 5 assists, 21 points
•Christian Chang (Scripps Ranch) 14 goals, 7 assists, 21 points
•Kyle Shaefer (Rancho Bernardo) 12 goals, 9 assists, 21 points
•Jon Gauthier (Scripps Ranch) 13 goals, 6 assists, 19 points
•James Moeller (Mar Vista) 9 goals, 10 assists, 19 points
•Jordan Hines (Eastlake) 8 goals, 11 assists, 19 points
•Zach McMahon (Eastlake) 6 goals, 13 assists, 19 points
•Nick Spardy (St. Augustine) 11 goals, 6 assists, 17 points
•Tylor Spracklin (Hilltop) 8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points
•Steven Sherman (Scripps Ranch) 13 goals, 3 assists, 16 points
•Kekoa Latimore (Hilltop) 10 goals, 6 assists, 16 points
•Nick Georgino (La Jolla Country Day) 9 goals, 7 assists, 16 points
•Felix Garcia (Bonita Vista) 7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points
•Ryan Hockett (Poway) 11 goals, 4 assists, 15 points
•Chris Clement (Rancho Bernardo) 8 goals, 7 assists, 15 points
•Zach White (Eastlake) 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points
•Chris Dante (St. Augustine) 6 goals, 9 assists, 15 points
•Kyle Clements (Westview) 8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points
•Cory Wodstrom (Westview) 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points
•Luke Richard (Poway) 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points
•Decker Sielhan (Westview) 8 goals, 4 assists, 12 points
•Danielle McAvenia (Otay Ranch) 6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points
•Zack Tupaz (Sweetwater) 10 goals, 1 assist, 11 points
•Alex Bule (Eastlake) 8 goals, 3 assists, 11 points
•Erik Baldwin (West Hills) 7 goals, 4 assists, 11 points
•Glen MacDonald (St. Augustine) 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points
•Ismael Guerrero (Southwest) 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points
•Robby Linnett (Poway) 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points
•Rey Guerrero (Otay Ranch) 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points
•Alphonso Arregum (Hilltop) 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points
•Cody Boyer (West Hills) 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points
•Bryce Semonian (Rancho Bernardo) 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points
•Matt Kuehn (Hilltop) 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points
•Nathan Fisher (Bonita Vista) 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points
•George Godinez (Hilltop) 6 goals, 4 assists, 10 points
•Donnie Keffer (West Hills) 1 goal, 9 assists, 10 points

Castle Park Trojans pick up first win of 2009-10
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 28, 2010 – Each of the 16 teams in the CIF/Metro Conference will finish the 2009-10 season with at least one victory after the Castle Park Trojans recorded a 5-4 come-from-behind South Bay League victory over the Sweetwater Red Devils Thursday at Skate San Diego. Eric Kolar was credited with a goal and assist to lead previously winless Castle Park in its crusade to pick up its first win in three years. The Trojans finished 0-20 in each of the last two seasons.

Sweetwater opened up a seemingly comfortable 3-1 lead as Emilio Gonzales recorded a goal and two assists. But Castle Park got back in the game on a goal scored with just two seconds left in the opening period to trim the Red Devil lead to one goal. Ivan Moran, who assisted on the Trojans’ first goal, scored the team’s second. Castle Park was able to sustain its momentum with the only two goals of the second period to take a 4-3 lead on Sweetwater. Jimmy Hoover scored the game-tying goal with four minutes gone in the period and Kolar set up the go-ahead goal with 3:15 left in the period.

But the Devils weren’t quite ready to concede the game as Zachery Valdez scored his second goal of the game with 4:55 elapsed in the third period to draw Sweetwater into a 4-4 standoff. But the deadlock on the scoreboard lasted only 42 seconds as Kolar put in what proved to be the game-winner. The Devils had plenty of time to regroup but could not further dent the CP defense.

The Trojans improve to 1-12 with the win while Sweetwater’s record fell to 2-11. The Red Devils remain ahead of Castle Park in the league standings, however, by virtue of a 1-7 league record to 1-8 for the Trojans. Sweetwater's lone league win was picked up by forfeit against Castle Park earlier this month, making revenge sweet for the winners.

Lancers quiet Spartans in 8-2 Mesa League victory
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 28, 2010 – The up and down season for the Hilltop Lancers continued on an up swing Thursday as the Lancers recorded an 8-2 Mesa League win against the Chula Vista Spartans. Jeremiah Schultz continued a standout season with two goals and three assists while Tylor Spracklin contributed two goals and one assist, Alphonso Arregum scored twice, George Godinez registered a goal and assist, Brian Heckel scored once and Kyle Heiskala and Joey Parisi each were credited with one assist. Hilltop led 5-1 after the first period and added two more goals over the balance of the game before the Spartans could score their second goal.

The Lancers improved to 7-4 overall and 3-3 in league play. Chula Vista saw its league record fall to 0-8 and overall record drop to 1-13. With three league losses, defending Mesa League champion Hilltop is not eliminated from a championship repeat but will need to regroup in upcoming games against first place Eastlake and second place Otay Ranch, and get some help along the way from other teams, if it stands a chance of retaining the league title. Another league loss for the Lancers, however, would not bode well for a championship repeat.

Saints hold off Mariners to claim 9-7 South Bay League win
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 28, 2010 – The St. Augustine Saints opened up a 2-0 lead on the Mar Vista Mariners in the teams’ showdown for second place in the South Bay League standings and the early advantage proved fortuitous in the Saints’ eventual 9-7 victory. Daniel Deiters and Kurt Kerner helped St. Augustine grab the early edge. Deiters scored with just 18 seconds expired in the game, assisted by Kerner, who then scored an unassisted goal 2:21 later to make the score 2-0. Mar Vista got on the scoreboard with 4:18 left in the opening period as Emmanuel Alcaraz scored, assisted by Nelson Hoffman. The goal was the first of six Alcaraz would pick up in the game. But the Saints regained their two-goal lead as Jordan Jodzio scored with one minute left in the period.

Mar Vista made things exciting once again as Dylon Taylor, on another Hoffman assist, closed the gap to 3-1 with one minute gone in the second period. But once again St. Augusitne had the remedy for the situation: three goals to go out in front 6-2. Kerner, Glen MacDonald and Jodzio got the goals to put the Saints in front by four goals for the first time in the game. The Mariners closed out the middle period with a goal, the second of the game by Alcaraz, to trim the St. Augustine lead to 6-3.

Kerner completed his hat trick with 34 seconds elapsed in the third period to seemingly put a seal on the victory with a 7-3 lead. But two goals – both by Alcaraz – brought the pesky Mariners back to within striking distance while trailing 7-5. Once again, the Saints showed some resolve as Deiters notched his second goal of the contest to put St. Augustine in front 8-5. The teams then traded goals for the balance of the game. Nick Spardy scored the ninth goal for the Saints with 6:58 left in the contest. Alcaraz notched his sixth and final goal of the game with 1:29 left on the clock.

Kerner led St. Augustine on the scoreboard with five points (three goals, two assists) while Jodzio collected four points (two goals, two assists). Hoffman had two assists for Mar Vista while Taylor had a goal and assist. With six points, Alcaraz remained in the hunt for the conference scoring title. The Saints improved to 7-2 in league play, 8-5 overall, while the Mariners dropped to 6-4 in league play, 8-7 overall. The teams are likely battling for the final berth in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs.

Playoff seeding coming into sharper focus after wild 7-5 Falcon win
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 28, 2010 – Scripps Ranch held off an upset bid by Eastlake to further entrench itself as one of the top three seeds in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup playoffs while the Titans showed they have the potential to be taken seriously as a semifinalist contender. Eastlake held a 2-0 first period lead on a pair of goals by former Falcon Dante Patron, the second coming with just 15 seconds left on the scoreboard clock. But the Titans would not score again until the third period. By that time, the Falcons owned a 4-2 lead on the strength of four unanswered goals in the second period. Jonathan Gauthier scored a natural trick to give Scripps Ranch a 3-2 lead and assisted on Christian Chang’s 4-2 marker to close out the period.

Eastlake cut the Falcon lead to one goal as Jace White scored the first goal of the third period on a power play but Scripps Ranch extended its lead to 5-3 on a goal by Taylor Dains, assisted by Gauthier. The Titans then put momentum of their side with two unanswered goals to tie the game at 5-5. Patron completed his hat trick with 6:50 remaining in the period, assisted by Jace White, while Justin White earned his second point of the game with a power play goal with 3:48 left.

That left the game to be decided by the Falcons’ dynamic duo on the night, Gauthier and Chang. Gauthier notched the 6-5 go-ahead goal for Scripps Ranch with 2:58 to play and Chang potted an insurance goal on a power play with 1:14 remaining. The Falcons finished the game with four power play goals while the Titans scored two man-power goals.

The loss diminished a 9-1 start for Mesa League leader Eastlake while the win boosted Scripps Ranch’s overall record to 9-4.

Prep Sports Q & A with ...
Eastlake’s Dante Patron

Whether it's roller hockey or ice hockey, this Titan excels on the rink

In two short years, Eastlake High School senior Dante Patron has established himself as one of the CIF/Metro Conference’s marquee players. His speed and hockey savvy are devastating to opponents. When opposing coaches size up Eastlake, they clue their defensemen in on No. 11.

Patron played his freshman season at Scripps Ranch High School before transferring to Eastlake. He became an immediate star attraction his sophomore season, leading the Titans in scoring with 40 goals and 64 points. A broken leg suffered in an ice hockey game in the final week of regular season roller hockey play negated Eastlake’s championship hopes. Despite the shortened season, Patron still managed to put up 38 goals and 49 points.

In the Titans’ on-court debut this season, Patron scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in a dramatic come-from-behind victory against defending Mesa League champion Hilltop.

Patron is also a gifted ice hockey player, having competed for teams at the San Diego Ice Arena for 10 years. He is now competing in the Midget 18 division. EHS roller hockey coach Rone Torres calls Patron one of the "most complete" players in the CIF/Metro Conference.

We had a chance to talk with Dante:

How did you get involved in hockey?
“I gave my mom a flyer from school when I was 8 years old and it said ‘play ice hockey season discount.’”

What are some of the things that playing hockey demands as opposed to playing other sports such as football or basketball?
“In hockey, there is no rest from shift to shift. You have to be able to skate, change directions, play offense, stick handle, play defense, give a check, receive a check, shoot, and block shots — all in a 45-second shift. No other sport compares to that type of play in 45 seconds.”

What are some of your best hockey-playing memories so far?
“In 2004, the Colorado Pikes Peak Tournament played at Colorado College. In the Pee Wee Division, I had the winning assist in double overtime against the defending champs, the Colorado Junior Tigers.

How does hockey in North County differ from that in South County?
“A lot more ice players, experience, and speed.”

Was there a big adjustment going from playing in the Scripps Ranch program to playing for Eastlake?
“I was the only freshman to make an all-senior team at the time I tried out because the coaches kind of knew what I could do. But I still had to sit and learn from the upper- classmen. At Eastlake not too many people knew me, so I had to show what I had, and from there my playing time increased.”

Was it important for you to beat Scripps Ranch in each of the last two years?
“Very important. It was my number one goal in both seasons. I wanted to show them that they should of played me more. To make it even sweeter, I got the winning goals in both games with under one minute remaining.”

Where would you like hockey to take you?
“To a Division I college and play for a title while earning a degree. From there, it’s what every hockey player dreams of: the big time.”

Whom do you most admire?
“My mom. While my dad worked, she would carry my bags and we would walk to the ice arena every Saturday morning for developmental classes. No matter if it was raining or the hot sun outside, she would make sure we got there.”

Do you play any other high school sports?
“I was planning on playing lacrosse until my leg injury put me out for the season. I was hit with an illegal check from behind (in an ice hockey game) that drove me into the boards knee first and broke my femur.

How much time/effort does playing hockey place on you in terms of your weekly schedule with homework?
“Homework is priority and my mom will not let me go to practice until all my homework is done. Ice practice is twice a week and I get home around 11 p.m. Ice games are Sundays and roller games are twice a week. I work at the San Diego Ice Arena on Saturdays, so doing homework before ice is the only way.”

Barons top Spartans, 9-5, for second time in league play
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 27, 2010 – The Bonita Vista Barons made sure they captured the season series from the Mesa League rival Chula Vista Spartans by recording a 9-5 victory Wednesday at Skate San Diego. BV head coach Keith Quigley wasn’t particularly inspired by his team’s play in the game but lauded the win for a win’s sake. The Barons broke out to a 6-2 lead after the first period and upped that margin to 8-2 with two more goals in the second period but coasted through much of the final period as the Spartans racked up a 3-1 scoring edge. Ryan Micallef led Bonita Vista (4-8 overall) with a four points on two goals and two assists while Ryan Kean recorded a hat trick, Felix Garcia scored twice , Mason Stroberg added a goal and Nathan Fisher collected one assist. The victory was the third in seven games for Barons netminder Julian Mariano.

Fast and furious: Titans skate to 9-1 midseason record
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 27. 2010 – The Eastlake Titans have been playing in fast and furious mode the past three weeks as the team makes up games it lost because of scheduling conflicts with the San Diego Section football playoffs. The Titans powered to two more wins this week to finally reach the midpoint of their schedule with what has to be a generally satisfying 9-1 record — tops among all the CIF/Metro Conference’s South County-based teams.

Eastlake defeated Castle Park, 19-0, in non-league play Wednesday at Skate San Diego after topping Bonita Vista, 11-1, in a Mesa League encounter on Tuesday.

Justin White earned top point-getting honors in Wednesday’s affair with eight goals and one assist while Zach McMahon collected six points on two goals and four assists. Alex Bule and Zach White each registered hat tricks while Jordan Hines recorded a goal and assist. A total of 12 Titans collected points in the game, with Michael Oleata and Zach Zastuetas each netting a pair of assists, Marshall Bawden and Jace White each scoring one goal and Zach Bannon, J.D. Mayer and goaltender Darius Newhall all recording one assist. Eastlake led 9-0 after the first period and 16-0 heading into the final frame.

In Tuesday’s Mesa League match-up, the Barons once again played the Titans tough through the opening half of the game before tiring and being overwhelmed by Eastlake’s superior talent and depth. The game was tied 1-1 early on before the league leaders took a 3-1 lead to close the opening period. The Titans tacked on two more goals in the middle period to open up a comfortable 5-1 margin on the scoreboard.

Justin White led Eastlake with four goals and one assist while Jace White scored three goals and Zach McMahon beat BV goaltender Julian Mariano twice. Jordan Hines was credited with two assists. Felipe Ramirez scored an emotional goal with 6:28 left in the contest – his first of the season.

Ryan Micallef notched the Barons’ lone goal with 11:02 left in the first period to counter a goal scored by Jace White 2:12 into the contest.

Mustangs tame Lancers, hike Mesa League record to 6-1
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 26, 2010 – A rapid-fire goal by each team started off Tuesday’s key Mesa League match-up between the Otay Ranch Mustangs and Hilltop Lancers but it was the Mustangs who proved they had the vital staying power to capture a key 8-5 victory. The win was the second in two meetings against the defending Mesa League champion Lancers. The loss was the third in league play for Hilltop, which now sees its title hopes slip further. Jeremiah Jodzio gave Otay Ranch a 1-0 lead just 42 seconds into the game but Jeremiah Schultz countered with a goal for the Lancers with 2:36 gone in the period to tie the score. The Mustangs scored three more goals to lead 4-1 but another goal by Schultz, this time with 10 seconds left in the period, brought the score to 4-2. Otay Ranch took control of the scoreboard by out-scoring Hilltop 4-1 in the second period to lead 8-3.

Jodzio spear-headed the furious Mustang attack with four goals and two assists while Danny Pacheco added four goals. Danielle McAvenia notched a pair of assists.

Tylor Spracklin’s goal 2:33 into the third period halved the Otay Ranch lead to 8-4 and Matt Kuehn’s goal with 1:12 left in the game provided an interesting finish. But the Lancers could not score another goal to keep their comeback going and fell by three goals.

Otay Ranch took the team’s first encounter on a goal with one second to play.

“We knew what they were going to do because we played them before,” Pacheco said. “We knew who their key players were.”

The order of finish in the Mesa League is still far from determined, with the Eastlake Titans currently holding onto first place with a 6-0 league record. But Hilltop and Eastlake meet twice more and the Mustangs and Lancers have one more league match-up before the dust finally settles.

“The top three teams in the league are Hilltop, Eastlake and us,” Pacheco said. “I think for five core players that we have a good team.”

Spracklin led the Lancers with two goals and two assists while Schultz scored the team’s opening two goals. Besides Kuehn’s goal, George Godinez and Brian Heckel each were credited with assists.

Mariners claim 7-0 shutout win over Devils
NATIONAL CITY, Jan, 26, 2010 – The Mar Vista Mariners are that close to scoring a breakthrough win this season in South Bay League play. In the meantime, they will accept blowout-margin victories against their lesser rivals. The latter was the case Tuesday at Skate San Diego as the Mariners collected three first period goals and added a pair in each of the final two periods to skate to a 7-0 league win against the Sweetwater Red Devils. Dylan Taylor led Mar Vista with two goals and one assist while James Moeller scored two goals and Rafael Lazcano and Emmanuel Alcaraz each contributed a goal and assist. A total of nine players earned either a goal or assist in the game.

West Hills roller hockey team making a statement

Posted Jan. 26, 2010
This is the fifth season of CIF/Metro Conference roller hockey play for the West Hills Wolf Pack and the 16-team conference’s lone East County representative appears ready to make a statement in 2009-10.

“I think what separates this year’s team from previous teams is that we have the ability to shock some teams,” said fourth-year coach Dennis Morris.

The Wolf Pack competes in the conference’s rugged North County League alongside such teams as the Westview Wolverines, Rancho Bernardo Broncos, Scripps Ranch Falcons and Poway Titans. Scripps Ranch has won three Kiwanis Cup championship titles while Westview and Rancho Bernardo each have won two.

But this season’s West Hills team appears to have grown up.

“We’ve been in every game up there,” Morris said.

True. The Wolf Pack sported a 3-6 record at the midpoint of the season and was 1-6 in league play. But the record is somewhat misleading. Case in point: West Hills dropped a 6-3 decision to first place Rancho Bernardo on Jan. 6.

After falling behind the Broncos 5-0, the Wolf Pack rallied to trail 5-3 on a pair of goals by freshman Cody Boyer before Rancho Bernardo added an insurance goal.

Boyer is one of five freshmen on this year’s West Hills team who also play ice hockey. All have been instant contributors, according to Morris.

Besides Boyer, the three strongest freshmen of the bunch also includes Zach Peters and goaltender Kanoa Cook.

Cook looks to be team’s goaltender for the next four years.

The Wolf Pack is keyed this season by three impact seniors: forwards Alex Wallace and Hillary Baxter and defenseman Donnie Keffer. They are among five returners overall.

Keffer earned all-league and all-conference honors last season while Baxter ranks among the top female players in the coed sport.

“She can play on defense – I have no hesitation to put her anywhere on the field,” Morris said.

Through the first half of the season, Erik Baldwin (six goals, four assists) and Keffer (one goal, nine assists) were tied for the team lead in scoring.

That the Wolf Pack meant business this season was made apparent in a 6-5 North County League victory against Poway on Dec. 16. The win made amends for a 7-4 season opening loss to the Titans.

Baldwin and Boyer each scored twice and Ricky Aylesworth, Joe Swanson and Wallace each scored once to lead West Hills. The second period belonged all to the Wolf Pack, which reeled off four uncontested goals to take a 5-2 lead into the final period.

West Hills subsequently made a statement with a 10-1 non-league victory against St. Augustine on Jan 7.

Boyer led the offensive assault with two goals and two assists while Aylesworth and Peters each contributed two goals and one assist, Wallace scored two goals and Jon Girard and Baxter each chipped in with one goal. Baldwin was the game’s pass master with five assists.

Cook let in just one goal – that coming with five second left in the game to spoil a shutout bid.

West Hills claimed its first win of the season with a 7-4 decision against defending South Bay League champion La Jolla Country Day in a non-league encounter on Dec. 9. The Wolf Pack received goals from six players and built a 6-2 advantage. Keffer led the Wolf Pack with three points while Wallace scored twice.

Ten of the 16 teams in the conference qualify for the Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs. The Wolf Pack is a strong candidate to be one of those 10 teams but where the team will be seeded is unclear. Should the East County team compile a strong second half of the season, West Hills conceivably be seeded in the top half of the playoff field.

The Wolf Pack defeated Bonita Vista, 13-1, in the opening round last year’s playoffs.

“We’d like to get a couple more wins and then advance in the playoffs,” Morris said. “One of our goals is to get roller hockey going back strong again in East County. We look to be in pretty good shape for the years to come because we also have a strong junior varsity team. It would be nice to have some East County rivals to play.”

Broncos retain hold on North County League lead
ESCONDIDO, Jan. 25, 2010 – The Rancho Bernardo Broncos retained their hold on sole possession of first place in the North County League standings by rolling past West Hills, 7-2, in a game played Monday at the Escondido Sports Center. Kyle Shaefer had the big game for the Broncos with three goals and two assists while teammate Chris Clement contributed two goals and one assist. Evan Lomnitzer collected two assists in the game for the winners while Roman Mendoza scored one goal and Bryce Semonian was credited with one assist. The Broncos built a 5-1 first period lead on the Wolf Pack and added two third period goals after West Hills scored the only goal of the second period to trim the RB lead to 5-2. Cody Boyer got the Wolf Pack going with its first goal to take a bite into an early 3-0 deficit.

Falcons turn back upset bid by Poway
ESCONDIDO, Jan. 25, 2010 – The Poway Titans would like to think they rank among the top five teams in the CIF/Metro Conference but when the top five teams are currently residing in the rugged North County League, that puts the Titans into catch-up mode. That’s something the team in green has been doing all season and it continued in Monday’s 11-8 loss to the Scripps Ranch Falcons. Scripps Ranch zoomed to a 6-1 lead after the first period before Poway raised a challenge with three goals in the second period to trim the Falcon lead to 6-4. The Titans continued their comeback to narrow the score to 9-8 with 6:34 left in the game. But Scripps Ranch rallied with a pair of goals to turn back the upset bid. Aaron Peterson scored what might have been the Falcons’ biggest goal of the game with 4:49 left to make it a 10-8 contest and added a goal with 24 seconds to play to seal the win. Brandon Lopez drew the assists on both goals.

Scripps Ranch is not out of the chase for a league title yet but needs every victory it can manage as it plays a game of catch-up of its own against current NCL front runners Rancho Bernardo and Westview. Lopez led the Falcons with two goals and three assists against the Titans while Christian Chang matched Peterson with a pair of goals, Jonathan Gauthier registered two goals and one assist and Sean Garrett added a goal and assist.

Eric Eyler led Poway with four goals and one assist while Ryan Smith collected three goals and two assists and teammate Luke Richard dished out a goal and assist. Mike Godwin and Ryan Hockett each were credited with an assist. Eyler scored three goals in succession for the Titans to jump-start their second period rally.

Heroines and hotshots:
Girls can play hockey just as well as boys

Posted Jan. 25, 2010
Former Bonita Vista High School standout Kelly Nash remains the standard by which all female roller hockey players are measured in the CIF/Metro Conference. Coaches called her better than 90 perceent of her male counterparts. The 2007 Baron graduate has gone on to find greater success at the University of Wisconsin where she won an NCAA women’s ice hockey championship last year.

A junior, Nash is still hopeful of landing a berth on the next U.S. Olympic team in 2014.

Nash was not the first female roller hockey player in the South Bay but merely its greatest. Her legacy opened the door for those to come after her and girls skating alongside boys on the playing court is no longer considered an oddity.

In fact, it appears that the Metro’s complement of girls players are not only holding their own but helping raise the gender standard Nash helped establish.

Otay Ranch’s Danielle McAvenia and Maddy Melendez currently carry the torch for girls in the sport of roller hockey locally. They aren’t the only females on the court this season among the conference’s 16 teams but clearly the best of the present crop. They are joined in their prowess by West Hills’ Hillary Baxter, another female to excel in a sport otherwise dominated by boys.

“I think girls can do it (play hockey) just as good as guys can,” McAvenia said.

After watching the Mustang senior in recent games, it’s hard to argue with that statement.

Her play in Otay Ranch’s first-round Mesa League match-up against the Eastlake Titans particularly stood out. She wasn’t afraid to go into corners to pry away a loose puck nor did she shirk from getting a little physical when such was required. In fact, she appeared to be dishing out more than she received. If a bit of long dark hair didn’t protrude from beneath her helmet, it’s likely any spectator wouldn’t even think that she was any different from any of the boys on the court.

“My goal is to win -- I play to my fullest,” McAvenia said succinctly.

The ORHS senior has seen her play on the court progress each season – just as with any other player. In fact, Mustang coach Adrian Rodriguez said one of the keys to the success of this year’s team was moving McAvenia from a forward to a defensive position because of her game experience.

“Girls have to work twice as hard to compete with boys and both Danielle and Maddy have worked harder than a lot of players and it shows,” said Rodriguez, a former star player at ORHS and a member of the United States youth national team. “In my opinion Danielle can play with anybody. She’s one of the best players out there, period. I honestly think Maddy is the best goalie in the league.”

McAvenia tallied 12 goals and seven assists last season, earning honors as the player to score the first goal of the season. In a defensive posture this season, she had registered three goals and two assists in the Mustangs’ opening 10 games. She had a goal and assist in a 10-9 league victory against Hilltop on Jan. 12, drawing the assist on the game-winning goal scored by teammate Daniel Pacheco with one second left. She also had a goal and assist in a 19-0 non-league win against Castle Park on Dec. 17, scored a goal in a 9-3 league victory against Bonita Vista on Jan. 5 and had an assist in a 12-0 league win against Chula Vista on Jan. 19.

McAvenia’s success stems from her ability to adapt. Otay Ranch assistant coach Zach Johnson called her one of the most “coachable” players around. That has allowed her to make an easy transition from three years of playing offense to suddenly reading the game from a defensive posture, the former Mustang standout said.

“She picks up things very quickly,” Johnson said.

That her older brother, Joshua Santos, played goaltender for Otay Ranch during her freshman year helped tremendously in the support factor. Joshua graduated in 2007. Now McAvenia draws support from Melendez.

There is a special bond between Melendez and McAvenia on the team. “We’re almost like sisters,” McAvenia said. “We’re both sporty individuals.”

Melendez concurs. “It’s nice having her as one of the captains on the team,” Melendez said in regard to McAvenia. “She shows a lot of leadership. It’s nice having a girl be one of the leaders.”

McAvenia got her start in the sport in the second grade. She was attending an after school program at the Boys and Girls Club of Chula Vista and her Gulls jersey caught the eye of a Kekoa Latimore, who was also enrolled in the program.

“I found out she like hockey and I told her I played hockey and said she should come out and watch me play sometime at Chula Vista Roller Skate Land,” Latimore said.

McAvenia did just that and fell in love with the sport almost immediately. “I signed up at Roller Skate Land the same day I went to watch him,” she said.

Both later played together as members of the Chula Vista Hawks travel team.

Latimore is now a standout player on Hilltop’s team and the pair of former teammates now are now matched on the opposite side of the floor in high school.

Inline hockey is not the only sport that McAvenia has played. She has also donned uniforms in basketball, soccer and tennis. She played her first year of high school tennis in the fall at ORHS.

The team chemistry and camaraderie on the Mustangs are what McAvenia finds the most enjoyable about playing roller hockey.

“My teammates are like my brothers and sisters,” she said. “I know a lot of the players on other teams because we played at Roller Skate Land together.”

Melendez had the support of an older brother as well when first donning a Mustangs jersey. Carlos Melendez was one of the team’s standout defensemen and was always near the net to offer advice and a verbal arm to lean on. It paid off as Maddy earned second team all-league honors.

Carlos is now playing goaltender for SDSU.

“That was a lot of fun,” Maddy said. “He was the reason why I joined the team.”

Johnson termed Maddy’s positioning as her goaltending strength. That has come through constant challenges from the best out there. The younger Melendez currently plays ice hockey for the L.A. Selects 16-under AAA team and she has competed in far flung tournaments in Canada, Minnesota, Michigan and San Jose. Next up is a regional qualifier in Washington, D.C.

“She’s as good as any goalie her age,” Johnson said.

Like McAvenia, Melendez also is a multi-sport athlete. She started out playing roller hockey, then progressed to ice hockey, lacrosse and field hockey. She calls the Mustangs her hockey family.

“What I like about roller hockey is the atmosphere,” she said. “I really like playing the sport for my school.”

LJCD Torreys on way to posting fine season

NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 25, 2010 – The La Jolla Country Day Torreys appear destined to claim their second consecutive South Bay League championship. The Torreys, for those who haven’t seen them play this season, have a very fine team. Their 7-2 overall record is a testament to that.

“I don’t know if we have anyone good as Ben (Sweeney, the 2008-09 South Bay League Player of the Year) was last year but we’re more balanced this season,” LJCD coach David Brink said.

The Torreys put their balanced game to good use in Monday’s 13-1 victory over the Mar Vista Mariners to improve to 7-0 in league play. The teams were fairly evenly matched on the floor but it was the Torrey’s execution at both ends of the playing court that proved to be the deciding factor. LJCD capitalized on its excellent team speed as well as deadly accuracy in shooting the puck against MV netminder Bobby Doyle, who turned in a standout performance despite allowing 13 goals.

“I thought the Mar Vista goalie played well,” Brink said.

The Torreys played one of their best games as a team, however.

James Owsiany paced the winners with five goals and two assists while Zach Feldman contributed four goals and two assists. Nick Georgino had a goal and two assists while Sam Brink and Ryan Owsiany each added a goal and assist. Scott Ibsen scored once in support of goaltender Cameron Bryant-Sowka.

James Owsiany ranks near the top of the CIF/Metro Conference scoring table and out-pointed leader Emmanuel Alcaraz of Mar Vista by six points in Monday’s match-up to climb further toward the top. In games through Jan. 14, Owsiany had collected 24 goals and 30 points – six points behind Alcaraz.

“James hit the ground running,” the LJCD coach said.

Younger brother Ryan also ranks among the conference’s top scorers with 18 goals and 26 points and the elder Brink feels it only a matter of time before the frosh standout enhances his game at both ends of the floor.

Feldman has been the pleasant surprise thus far, David Brink said.

“Zach Feldman is a really good ice hockey player but had never been on roller blades until our first practice this season,” the Torreys bench boss said. “But he’s really come on.”

Feldman had totaled six goals and 13 points to rank fourth in team scoring behind Ibsen (12 goals and 18 points).

LJCD has routinely beaten its South Bay League opponents by lopsided scores this season. But one wonders just how good this team really is and exactly where it fits into the playoff seeding picture.

The Torreys have played two North County League teams this season, dropping a 7-4 match-up against West Hills prior to the winter break and a falling by a more recent 7-2 score against two-time Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo.

“We felt very good about the Rancho Bernardo game,” David Brink said. “We had three very good scoring opportunities. They got out to a 3-0 lead and the score could easily have been 4-3 at one point. They definitely beat us but it showed we can play with the North County teams.”

Part of the reason for the success of this season’s LJCD squad is the play of Bryant-Sowka. Sowka earned all-league honors as a floor player last season but is back in his natural position this season. He was fluid, making difficult saves look easy in Monday’s win. His shutout was broken with 6:45 to play in the third period on a goal by James Moeller, assisted by Alcaraz.

“This is the first year since I’ve been coaching the team they we’ve had a strong goalie,” David Brink said.

The Torreys led 4-0 at the end of the first period and 10-0 after two periods.

“The score is somewhat misleading as to how the game actually went,” David Brink said. “They tested us. It was a fun win.”

The 2009-10 schedule has not allowed LJCD the chance to play any of the better teams in the Mesa League yet, so just where the Torreys are seeded in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs remains somewhat of a mystery.

Does LJCD possess a better team than say, Otay Ranch, Hilltop or Eastlake? It’s up for debate. In the meantime, the Torreys will continue to work on what has become a 22-game South Bay League unbeaten streak.

In a pair of non-league games Monday at Skate San Diego:

Hilltop 10, Castle Park 0
A trio of young Lancers had breakout games against the Trojans. George Godinez and Kyle Heiskala each scored four goals ande teammate Alphonso Arregum added three goals and one assist. Hilltop led 7-0 after the first period and 12-0 after the second period. Jeremiah Schultz contributed two goals and one assist while Joey Parisi had one goal and one assist and Nicholas Tesner had two assists. Tylor Spracklin scored one goal for the winners. The Lancers improved to 6-3 on the season while Castle Park fell to 0-11.

Otay Ranch 18, Sweetwater 2
The Mustangs upped their record to 9-3 after turning back the Red Devils, who fell to 2-9 on the season. Daniel Pacheco, who is quickly emerging as one of the top players in the conference, led the way for the victors with six goals and two assists while Jeremiah Jodzio recorded six goals and one assist. Danielle McAvenia had her highest-scoring game of the season with two goals and three assists while Erik Boco contributed two goals and two assists, Rey Guerrero scored two goals and goaltender Maddy Melendez had two assists. Sweetwater scored both its goals in the opening period. Emilio Gonzales cut into an early 3-0 Otay Ranch lead while Miguel Victoria made the score 5-2.

Mariano has Barons braced between the pipes
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 21, 2010 – When the Bonita Vista Barons returned to the roller hockey rink from the winter break, they did so without their two goaltenders, both lost to ineligibility. Someone had to step in to fill the void and that player turned out to be Julian Mariano. Baron coach Keith Quigley knew it was a gamble but he had little choice in placing one of his top field players between the pipes. But what the Barons lost in point production on the floor, they gained in Mariano’s standout play between the pipes.

In short, Mariano has excelled in his new position.

If there is some type of unsung hero award, he should receive it.

Mariano picked up his second win in 2010 Thursday as Bonita Vista skated past Sweetwater, 10-2, in a non-league contest to reach the midpoint of their season schedule 3-7. The Barons previously defeated Chula Vista, 11-2, on Jan. 13.

Mariano was literally thrown into the fire. His first two games in the net were against Otay Ranch on Jan. 5 and Eastlake on Jan. 7.

Quigley had to be scratching his head — of all the teams that Mariano had to draw in his debut, it would have to be against the two undefeated teams in Mesa League play.

But Maraino went out with his head up and kept it up while making several brilliant saves. He looked like he was meant to play the position.

Otay Ranch won by a score of 9-3 and Eastlake snared a 14-4 victory. But Mariano held his own between the pipes. The Barons and Mustangs were knotted at 3-3 through the first period and Otay Ranch was only able to punch in two second-period goals before taking advantage of a less experienced as less deep bench in adding four more goals in the final period. The Titans led 3-1 after the first period before the Barons were eventually out-matched in the talent and depth department.

Mariano (now 2-3 in the net) seems to have gained confidence with each start. He has taken his new assignment quite seriously and it’s obvious he has placed a great deal of pride in his accomplishments. The defending Mesa League champion Hilltop Lancers could only manage six goals against the BV netminder in a 6-2 win on Jan. 14.

In Thursday’s match-up of 2-7 teams, Felix Garcia led Bonita Vista in the scoring department with two goals and three assists while Ryan Micallef chipped in with four points on three goals and an assist and Ryan Kean also notched four points on two goals and two assists. Elizabeth Fulton scored two goals while Nathan Fisher was credited with one goal. Tae Kim had one assist.

Both Red Devil goals came in the third period after the Barons had built a 10-0 lead. Miguel Victoria led Sweetwater with a goal and assist.

In the win against Chula Vista, Bonita Vista was led on the court by Kean with four goals and one assist while Micallef contributed four goals and Fisher had two goals and three assists. Jonathan Moreno was credited with one goal while Garcia was credited with one assist.

Titans grab sole possession of first place in Mesa League
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 14, 2010 – With each team having recorded a one-goal victory against defending Mesa League champion Hilltop, the Eastlake Titans and Otay Ranch Mustangs met at Skate San Diego to determine sole possession of first place in the league standings. The Titans went down early on a goal by Ryan Trego with four minutes gone in the opening period but ended the period with a 2-1 lead on ensuing goals by Dante Patron and Jordan Hines, the latter short-handed with an assist from Jace White. Eastlake added one goal in the second period to lead 3-1 – that scored by White, assisted by Hines.

But the roof caved in on Otay Ranch in the third period as the Mustangs, according to coach Adrian Gonzalez, “started to get tired” from the frantic pace in which the game was being played. The Titans ballooned their lead to 6-2 on three goals by Patron before Jeremiah Jodzio beat EHS goaltender Darius Newhall. But the Titans made the score 7-2 just 41 seconds after Jodzio’s goal as White tallied his second goal of the game, this time while short-handed. Just over a minute later, Daniel Pacheco made it 7-3 but 42 seconds later the score was 8-3 in Eastlake’s favor after Patron scored his fifth goal of the game.

Patron finished the contest with six goals and one assist to highlight a spectacular showing on the court while Justin White collected a goal and three assists. Jace White had two goals and one assist while Hines contributed one goal and one assist and J.D. Mayer, Zach McMahon and Zach White each added an assist.

EHS coach Rone Torres called the game a “measuring stick” for his squad.

“Both teams have a lot of respect for each other,” Torres said. “This was a big win for us because it was against one of our rivals. It was a confidence-builder for the kids. I just want the kids to maintain their momentum for big games we have upcoming against Hilltop and Poway. I think Dante Patron is one of the most complete players in CIF.”

Photo: Hilltop High School roller hockey. From left, Jeremiah Schultz, Matt Kuehn, Josh Evangelist, Tylor Spracklin and Kekoa Latimore

In another Mesa League clash on Jan. 14:

Hilltop 6, Bonita Vista 2
Alphonoso Arregum was credited with two goals and two assists to lead the Lancers, who also received two goals from Tylor Spracklin, one goal and one assist from Matt Kuehn, a goal from Joey Parisi and an assist from Kekoa Latimore. Hilltop trailed 1-0 on a goal by Bonita Vista’s Mason Stroberg just 56 seconds into the contest but assumed a 2-1 lead by the end of the opening period. The Lancers zoomed in front 5-1 after tacking on three more unanswered goals in the second period. Nathan Fisher scored with seven seconds left for the Barons to end a spurt of six consecutive Hilltop goals.


In a South Bay League game on Jan. 14:

Southwest 9, Sweetwater 1
The Raiders topped the Red Devils for the second time this season in league play behind three goals and one assist from Michael Farrell and two goals and an assist by Maria Bojorquez. Ennrique Merino had two points on a pair of assists. Southwest built a 4-0 first period lead after opening the game with two quick goals. But Sweetwater played a tough defensive-minded second period, allowing just one goal before the Raiders put the victory away with four goals in the final period. The Devils got their goal with 8:44 to play from Earvin Buan to make the score 5-1.

In a non-league game on Jan. 14:

Chula Vista 7, Castle Park 3
Bradley Bonney got the puck rolling and the Spartans raced out to a 5-0 lead through two periods in a game pitting the two winless teams in CIF/Metro Conference play. Matt Diaz led Chula Vista with a hat trick. Eric Kolar scored Castle Park’s final goal.

Metro Conference Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 14)
•Emmanuel Alcaraz (Mar Vista) 27 goals, 9 assists, 36 points
•Michael Farrell (Southwest) 27 goals, 6 assists, 33 points
•James Oswiany (La Jolla Country Day) 24 goals, 6 assists, 30 points
•Will Mornson (Westview) 19 goals, 10 assists, 29 points
•Daniel Pacheco (Otay Ranch) 21 goals, 7 assists, 28 points
•Ryan Trego (Otay Ranch) 18 goals, 8 assists, 26 points
•Ryan Oswsiany (La Jolla Country Day) 18 goals, 8 assists, 26 points
•Eric Eyler (Poway) 15 goals, 10 assists, 25 points
•Jeremiah Jodzio (Otay Ranch) 15 goals, 10 assists, 25 points
•Adam Durkee (Westview) 17 goals, 5 assists, 22 points
•Ryan Smith (Poway) 13 goals, 8 assists, 21 points
•Anthony Mata (Westview) 12 goals, 8 assists, 20 points
•Daniel Deiters (St. Augustine) 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points
•Jordan Jodzio (St. Augustine) 15 goals, 3 assists, 18 points
•Cruz Major (Rancho Bernardo) 15 goals, 5 assists, 18 points
•Scott Ibsen (La Jolla Country Day) 12 goals, 6 assists, 18 points
•Dylon Dixon (Westview) 15 goals, 2 assists, 17 points
•Kurt Kerner (St. Augustine) 14 goals, 3 assists, 17 points
•Aaron Peterson (Scripps Ranch) 12 goals, 4 assists, 16 points
•Nelson Hoffman (Mar Vista) 10 goals, 6 assists, 16 points
•Christian Chang (Scripps Ranch) 10 goals, 5 assists, 15 points
•Jeremiah Schultz (Hilltop) 11 goals, 3 assists, 14 points
•Nick Spardy (St. Augustine) 8 goals, 6 assists, 14 points
•Brandon Lopez (Scripps Ranch) 7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points
•Steven Sherman (Scripps Ranch) 11 goals, 2 assists, 13 points
•Ryan Hockett (Poway) 10 goals, 3 assists, 13 points
•Kyle Shaefer (Rancho Bernardo) 7 goals, 6 assists, 13 points
•Zach Feldman (La Jolla Country Day) 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points
•Dylan Taylor (Mar Vista) 7 goals, 5 asissts, 12 points
•Cory Wodstrom (Westview) 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points
•Chris Dante (St. Augustine) 4 goals, 8 assists, 12 points
•Zack Tupaz (Sweetwater) 10 goals, 1 assist, 11 points
•Dante Patron (Eastlake) 10 goals, 1 assist, 11 points
•Ryan Micallef (Bonita Vista) 9 goals, 2 assists, 11 points
•Decker Sielhan (Westview) 7 goals, 4 assists, 11 points
•Kekoa Latimore (Hilltop) 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points
•Robby Linnett (Poway) 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points
•Kyle Clements (Westview) 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points
•Erik Baldwin (West Hills) 6 goals, 4 assists, 10 points
•James Moeller (Mar Vista) 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points
•Nick Georgino (La Jolla Country Day) 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points
•Sam Brink (La Jolla Country Day) 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points
•Donnie Keffer (West Hills) 1 goal, 9 assists, 10 points

Titans start slow, finish fast in 4-3 season debut victory
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 13, 2010 -- The Eastlake High School roller hockey team had to postpone several of its early season games because of a conflict with the San Diego Section football playoffs as the Titans went all the way to Qualcomm Stadium to win the Division I title. Eastlake roller hockey coach Rone Torres serves as an assistant coach on the football team, thus necessitating the team pushing back its season opener to Dec. 17 — the final day before winter break.

The Titans may have started out slow in that game against defending Mesa League champion Hilltop but finished with a bang to pull out a dramatic 4-3 victory.

Torres was apologetic after the victory.

“I’d like to blame our lack of game condition because of football,” the Titan bench boss said. “That’s not how I wanted us to start the season. But the kids didn’t give up. They kept their composure and pulled it out. I’d love to see where we’re at when we’re in game condition a month from now.”

That could be a scary thought for Eastlake’s opponents.

The Lancers reeled off three first period goals to shock the Titans, a semifinalist in last year’s Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs. Kekoa Latimore scored an unassisted goal 7:07 into the game and Jeremiah Schultz followed less than two minutes later with a goal set up by teammate Rey Cordero to double the early Hilltop advantage. Cordero made the score 3-0 when he converted a pass from Matt Kuehn with just 1:55 showing on the clock.

The score remained 3-0 in the Lancers’ favor all through the middle period and Hilltop clearly looked the better team. But a goal by Eastlake’s Justin White with 1:50 elapsed in the final period provided the crack in the Lancers’ armor that the Titans needed to fuel their whirlwind comeback. The fortunes of the game turned in a matter of 2:32. White notched his second goal of the contest with 5:26 to play to trim the Hilltop lead to one goal at 3-2. Dante Patron, the Metro Conference’s speed demon, then completed what White started by scoring the game-tying goal with 3:47 to play and then notching the game-winning goal with 2:54 remaining. Both of Patron’s goals were unassisted.

Torres has high hopes for this season’s Titan squad and putting the Lancers one game down in the league loss column to start the season had to lift his spirits.

The 2009-10 Eastlake team is filled with veteran talent, led by Justin and Jace White, Patron, Zach McMahon, Zack White, Michael Oleata, Jordan Hines and goaltender Darius Newhall.

Newhall and the Titan defense came up big by shutting out Hilltop in the final two periods. Newhall finished the game with 24 saves.

Oleata set up Justin White’s second goal to get the momentum rolling for the Titans.

“He started it,” Torres said of Oleata, one of the team’s unsung heroes.

Zack White drew the assist on the Titans' opening goal.

Eastlake has yet to lose its momentum in Mesa League play after starting up the 2010 portion of the season schedule with dominating victories against Chula Vista (13-0 on Jan. 5) and Bonita Vista (14-4 on Jan. 7). The Titans tacked on a 10-3 non-league win over Mar Vista on Jan. 12 and routed Sweetwater by a 19-0 score on Jan. 13.

Patron led the Titans with four goals in the win over Chula Vista while Zack White collected two goals and one assist. Eastlake skated to a 6-0 first period lead and owned n 11-0 advantage on the scoreboard heading into the final period.

McMahon proved to be the play-maker in the victory over Bonita Vista with one goal and four assists while Patron and Zach Bannon each scored three goals. Alex Bule had a breakout game with two goals while Hines and Zach White each contributed a goal and two assists. The Titans built on a 3-1 first period lead with seven unanswered second period goals to lead 10-1 entering the third period. The Barons notched three goals in the final stanza but gave up four more goals to Eastlake to lose by a 10-goal margin. Ryan Kean paced Bonita Vista with a pair of goals.

Patron led the way against the Mariners with four goals while Jordan Hines notched a breakout effort with a hat trick and Bule contributed two goals and an assist. Bannon rounded out the winner's goal-scoring while Jace White had two assists and Zack White and Oleata each drew one assist. Emmanuel Alcaraz scored all three Mar Vista goals. The game was tied 1-1 through the opening period before Eastlake went on a goal-scoring tear with eight unanswered goals to lead 9-1 early in the third period.

The Titans rolled to a 9-0 first period lead against Sweetwater and led 16-0 entering the final period. Zach McMahon (four goals, three assists) and Justin White (two goals, five assists) led Eastlake with seven points each while Patron had five goals, Jace White contributed two goals and two assists, J.D. Mayer had two goals and one assist, Marshall Bawden scored two goals and Michael Oleata added a goal and assist.

The lone blemish on the Titans' 5-1 overall record thus far has been an 11-2 setback to defending Kiwanis Cup champion Westview in a non-league game played Jan. 6 at the Escondido Sports Center. Eastlake trailed 5-0 before Jace White, assisted by Patron, notched the first goal for the South County visitors. Patron later dented what had become an 8-1 Wolverines advantage with a goal in the latter half of the third period. Dylon Dixon and Adam Durkee each registered hat tricks for Westview while Cody Wodstrom racked up two goals and two assists, Anthony Mata scored twice and Willi Mornson collected a goal and two assists.

"Our goal is to win our league and shoot for the top," Torres said. "We'll keep plugging away until we get there."

Mustangs tip Lancers with :01 left to cap epic 10-9 win

NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 12, 2010 – Tuesday’s Mesa League clash between the Hilltop Lancers and Otay Ranch Mustangs at Skate San Diego had an ending unlike any CIF/Metro Conference game before it … one that was downright unfortunate for the Lancers and a divine gift for the Mustangs.

Otay Ranch pulled out a dramatic 10-9 victory on a goal with one second left in regulation play by Danny Pacheco, his seventh goal of the game. But it wasn’t so much when the goal was scored that made the ending of the game so unusual but the manner in which the game-winning goal was scored.

Defending league champion Hilltop twice built three-goal leads in the opening period only to have a very persistent Otay Ranch squad sneak back in the game. The Lancers reeled off three consecutive goals to jump-start the contest. Jeremiah Schultz netted the first two markers for Hilltop 53 seconds apart in the first four minutes of the game and then set up teammate Kekoa Latimore for a stunning 3-0 advantage with 5:34 elapsed in the game. But almost as quickly that once comfortable lead became quite uncomfortable after Pacheco notched rapid-fire goals just 20 seconds apart with just over six minutes to play in the period. But no matter, the Lancer lead ballooned to 5-2 on goals 1:23 apart by Schultz and Matt Kuehn in the final two minutes of the period. But Pacheco wasn’t finished quite yet as he completed a first period hat trick on a goal with 32 seconds to play in the stanza.

It was evident this was going to be a wild one – one of epic proportion, as it turned out.

Pacheco’s fourth goal narrowed the Lancer lead to 5-4 with just 16 seconds gone in the second period. Latimore put his team back in front by two goals on a goal with 5:11 left in the period. But once again, the Mustangs refused to roll over when Pacheco scored his fifth goal of the game to trim the Hilltop lead to one goal again, this time 6-5.

Kuehn scored his second goal with 2:20 expired in the third period to put the Lancers out in front 7-5. But Hilltop never could quite shake its pesky opponent. Jeremiah Jodzio, who had previously drawn assists on two of Pacheco’s tallies, scored with 8:26 left in the game to pull Otay Ranch closer at 7-6. Latimore completed his hat trick with 7:49 to play and the Lancers led 8-6 while taking advantage of a defensive turnover in front of the net.

The Mustangs were not disheartened, however. They finished the final 4:37 of regulation play with four of the game’s final five goals.

Jodzio narrowed the Hilltop lead to 8-7 and Pacheco scored just 25 seconds later to tie the game at 8-all with 4:12 to play. Danielle McAvenia was credited with a goal with 2:48 to play as the Mustangs took an improbable 9-8 lead.

But Latimore’s fourth goal of the game, this time short-handed, seemed to save grace for the defending Mesa League champions as they pulled into a 9-9 tie with their adversary with just 52 ticks left on the clock.

Otay Ranch’s 8-8 game-tying goal came on a rather innocent-looking play as the puck squirted through a maze of legs at the near post and somehow continued to roll past the Hilltop netminder.

Latimore’s short-hander appeared to make up for the defensive lapse but the Mustangs continued on the power play. Each team had one good chance to score as the puck whizzed up and down the floor and bodies flew around trying to stop it.

Jodzio dumped the puck in the Hilltop zone as the Otay Ranch power play was set to expire. Pacheco got a hold of it and took on a trio of Lancers, coming around as if to play a wraparound shot. But the puck continued to bounce off a frenzy of sticks and suddenly it was laying right at the skates of the Hilltop goaltender.

Pacheco fills in the rest. “The goalie was on his knees and I tapped it on the other side of him,” the Otay Ranch sniper said.

As the puck was clanging off sticks behind the net, with just seconds left on the clock, the Lancer netminder began having some difficulty.

He became sick to his stomach.

It would have been a simple matter to simply drop on the puck to preserve the tie game through regulation play. But the suddenly incapacitated Hilltop goalie had to be excused at that precise moment.

Pacheco was alert enough to seize the opportunity and tucked the puck into the net with one second left in the game – the exact moment the Mustang power play ended. Somehow McAvenia was credited with an assist.

It was an amazing ending for all concerned.

“I did that once in an ice hockey game,” Pacheco said.

The rather unconventional loss had to sting for Hilltop. After taking a 5-2 lead in the latter stages of the first period, the Lancers were out-scored 8-4 over the balance of the game.

Otay Ranch coach Adrian Rodriguez had one word to sum it up: “Unbelievable.”

With the win, the Mustangs (7-2 overall) remained undefeated in league play in advance of Thursday’s high profile encounter with likewise league unbeaten Eastlake (4-1 overall). The loss was the second for Hilltop (4-3 overall) in league play.

Jodzio was credited with two goals and two assists while Pacheco had a game to remember with seven goals and one assist. McAvenia was credited with a goal and assist.

At the other end, Latimore turned in a standout game with four goals and one assist while Schultz racked up five points on three goals and two assists. Kuehn had two goals and one assist while George Godinez was credited with two assists and Tylor Spracklin and Alphonso Arregum were credited with one assist each.

Torreys remain undefeated in league play
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 12, 2010 – The La Jolla Country Day Torreys broke a 2-2 first period standoff with nine goals in the final two periods to remain undefeated on the season in South Bay League play with an 11-2 victory over the Southwest Raiders. Sam Brink led LJCD with six points on two goals and four assists while James Owsiany recorded four goals and one assist and Zach Feldman notched two goals and three assists to contribute to the winning effort. Ryan Owsiany had two goals while Scott Ibsen had one goal and one assist.

The teams traded goals in the first period. Michael Farrell scored both Southwest goals, with one assist going to Martin Winfield.

The Torreys faced off 2010 on a note of promise with a 15-1 victory against Mar Vista on Jan. 6 to make a statement of just who was on top of the league standings. Zach Feldman made a personal statement with four goals and five assists for nine points. James Owsiany racked up eight points on six goals and two assists while Ryan Owsiany collected two goals, Scott Ibsen and Sam Brink each had one goal and one assist and Nick Georgino scored once. Emmanuel Alcarez scored the Mariners' lone goal to cut into an 8-0 LJCD lead. The Torreys finished the game with seven more unanswered goals.

Falcons fly past Mustangs, claim 8-2 non-league win
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 7, 2010– Jonathon Gauthier racked up four goals and two assists and Sean Garrett contributed two goals and two assists and Christian Chang added two goals and one assist to lead Scripps Ranch to an 8-2 non-league victory against Otay Ranch at Skate San Diego. The Falcons built an 8-0 advantage in the game, leading just 2-0 after the opening period before pouring in four second-period goals. The teams skated to a 2-2 draw in the final period. Daniel Pacheco scored both Otay Ranch goals off assists from Rey Guerrero and Jeremiah Jodzio.

West Hills makes statement with 10-1 win over Saints
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 7, 2010 – This is the fifth season of CIF/Metro Conference play for the West Hills Wolf Pack and the conference’s lone East County representative appears ready to make a statement in 2009-10. The Wolf Pack thoroughly dominated the St. Augustine Saints in every aspect of the game while claiming a 10-1 non-league victory at Skate San Diego. Cody Boyer led the West Hills offensive assault with two goals and two assists while Ricky Aylesworth and Zach Peters each contributed two goals and one assist, Alex Wallace scored two goals and Jon Girard and Hillary Baxter each chipped in with one goal. Erick Baldwin was the game’s pass master with five assists. Kanoa Cook let in just one goal – that coming with five second left in the game to spoil a shutout bid. The Wolf Pack led 3-0 after the first period and doubled that lead to 6-0 at the end of another period. Nick Spardy scored the lone St. Augustine goal.

Falcons fly past Poway in high-scoring 13-6 affair
ESCONDIDO, Jan. 6, 2010 – The sudden turnaround in fortunes for the Poway Titans continued in a 13-6 setback to the Scripps Ranch Falcons in a North County League encounter at the Escondido Sports Center. The Titans faced off the season in grand style as one of the top teams in the CIF/Metro Conference but a personnel shortage in the net has led to a downturn since then. Poway built a 4-0 first period lead on Scripps Ranch, only to have the Falcons rip open the game with seven goals in the second period and add six more goals in the third period. Eric Eyler completed a hat trick in the first period for the Titans, who still led 6-3 midway through the second period before the Falcons went on a 10-goal scoring binge. Aaron Peterson led Scripps Ranch with four goals and one assist while Steven Sherman racked up four goals and Brandon Lopez registered two goals and one assist. Peterson scored three consecutive goals in a 1:52 span in the second period to bring the Falcons into a 6-6 tie on the scoreboard. Taylor Davis followed with a goal with 2:37 left in the period that proved to stand up as the game-winner. Eyler finished the game with four goals and one assist for the Titans, who also received a goal and two assists from Ryan Smith and a goal from Luke Richard.

Broncos hold off Wolf Pack to claim 6-3 win
ESCONDIDO, Jan. 6, 2010 – Rancho Bernardo whipped out to a 5-0 lead than then weathered a third-period rally by West Hills to hold on for a 6-3 North County League victory in a game played at the Escondido Sports Center. Cruz Major keyed the Broncos with three goals and one assist while teammate Kyle Schaefer pitched in with one goal and one assist. The Wolf Pack narrowed the RB lead to 5-3 on two goals by Cody Boyers. But the Broncos got one of those goals back 1:29 later as Major tallied his fourth goal of the game.

Saints turn back challenge from Raiders, win 8-4
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 6, 2010 – Michael Farrell gave Southwest a quick 1-0 lead just 20 seconds into the game but St. Augustine quickly regroup with four unanswered goals, including three in less than three minutes, to gather the momentum to go on to capture an 8-4 victory in the teams’ South Bay League match-up at Skate San Diego. Farrell finished the game with four goals to lead the Raiders but Jordan Jodzio turned in the showcase performance for the victorious Saints with seven goals and one assist. St. Augustine teammate Chris Dante dished out four assists – all to Jodzio – while Glen MacDonald chipped in with a goal and assist. The Saints led 4-2 after the first period and 6-3 heading into the final period.

Lancers face off 2010 with 10-0 win over Mar Vista
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 5, 2010 -- The Hilltop Lancers got the second half of the season rolling by blasting open a tight 1-0 game through the first period with seven second-half goals en route to claiming a 10-0 non-league victory against Mar Vista. Matt Kuehn scored the lone goal in the opening period and that came with 4:16 left to snap a scoreless deadlock. But the goals came fast after that. Hilltop owned a 5-0 lead just 3:45 into the second period. Kekoa Latimore placed the Lancers with three goals and two assists while Jeremiah Schultz contributed two goals and one assist, Kuehn scored twice and Gio Rude had a goal and assist.

Mustangs gallop past Barons in Mesa League match-up
NATIONAL CITY, Jan. 5, 2010 – Daniel Pacheco tallied five goals and two assists, Jeremiah Jodzio racked up three goals and two assists and Danielle McAvenia tacked on one goal to lead Otay Ranch to a 9-3 Mesa League victory against the Bonita Vista Barons in a 2010 kick-off game at Skate San Diego. The Mustangs broke a 3-3 deadlock on the scoreboard with two goals in the second half to go on top 5-3 and added four goals in the final period to win by a comfortable margin. Pacheco had a hand in the first six goals for Otay Ranch. He scored the Mustangs’ first four goals and then drew assists on back-to-back goals scored by Jodzio. Ryan Micaellef tallied twice for the Barons, who also received a goal from Nathan Fisher and an assist from Felix Garcia.

Broncos avenge opening-round loss to Falcons
ESCONDIDO, Jan. 4, 2010 – The Scripps Ranch Falcons handed the Rancho Bernardo Broncos a 4-2 setback in the teams’opening-round North County League match-up. Turnabout seemed to be fair play as the Broncos erased a 2-0 first-period Falcon lead to claim the rematch by a two-goal margin at 5-3. Rancho Bernardo countered Scripps Ranch with the first two goals of the middle period to tie the score at 2-2. Chris Clement scored with 9:28 left in the period and the assisted on Cruz Major’s game-tying goal. But the Falcons regained the upper hand on Aaron Peterson’s second goal of the game with 1:16 left in the frame. The Broncos sealed the win with three unanswered goals in the final period. Clement tied the score at 3-3 with his second goal of the game with 2:05 elapsed in the final period. Bryce Semonian then put Rancho Bernardo on top for the first time in the game on a goal with 8:17 left in the game. The score stood as was – 4-3 in the Broncos’ favor – until Brian Gravelle added a goal with 15 seconds left to give RB some much needed breathing room.

Westview rolls to 7-1 victory over West Hills
ESCONDIDO, Jan. 4, 2010 – Adam Durkee scored the first goal of 2010 in CIF/Metro Conference play and the defending Kiwanis Cup champion Westview Wolverines added two more first-period goals en route to claiming a 7-1 victory against the West Hills Wolf Pack in a North County League game played at the Escondido Sports Center. The Wolverines picked right up where they left off at the winter break when they topped Bonita Vista, 24-2, in a non-league game. Dylon Dixon led Westview against West Hills with four goals while Durkee finished the game with two goals and one assist, Willi Mornson dished out two assists and Hunter Weinsten added one goal. The Wolverines built a 4-0 lead in the game before Donnie Keffer managed to put the Wolf Pack on the scoreboard with a goal scored with 9:15 to play in the second period. Westview resumed its domination with three more unanswered goals.

Westview closes out 2009 with 24-2 win over Barons
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 17, 2009 -- Willi Mornson scored nine goals and added three assists while Anthony Mata recorded five goals and four assists to lead the Westview Wolverines to a 24-2 non-league victory against the Bonita Vista Barons in a game played at Skate San Diego to close out play for the winter break. Decker Sielhan had five goals and one assist while Chad Bemis andf Hunter Weinstein each collected two goals and four assists for the Wolverines. Ryan Kean and Nathan Fisher each scored goals for Bonita Vista. Westview opened up a 6-0 edge and led 7-1 after the first period. The Wolverines owned a comfortable 15-2 lead heading into the final period.

Mustangs score 19-0 victory against winless Castle Park
CHULA VISTA, Dec. 17, 2009 - Daniel Pacheco racked up eight goals and three assists and Ricky Trego recorded five goals and two assists to lead Otay Ranch to a 19-0 non-league victory over the Castle Park Trojans in a game played at CPHS. The Mustangs led 6-0 after the opening period and built a 13-0 advantage heading into the final period. Rey Guerrero and Jamie Houston each scored two goals and two assists while Danielle McAvenia was credited with a goal and assist.

Saints roll to 18-0 shutout win over Trojans
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 16, 2009 - St. Augustine received goals from eight players and eiyther a goal or assist from 11 players in an 18-0 South Bay League victory over the Castle Park Trojans at Skate San Diego. Daniel Deiters led St. Augustine with two goals and three assists while Nick Spardy and Johnny Heid each finished with hat tricks and Chris Dante and Trevor Hopkins each scored two goals and two assists. Kurt Kerner contributed three goals and one assist while Glen MacDonald scored two goals and Robbie Kielty had a goal and assist. The Saints led 8-0 after the first period and 14-0 after two periods en route to scoring their fourth consecutive victory..

Mustangs corral Spartans in 8-1 Mesa League win
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 16, 2009 - Ryan Trego scored five goals and one assist to lead Otay Ranch to a Mesa League victory over the Chula Vista Spartans in a game played at Skate San Diego. The game was close early on, with the Mustangs holding a 1-0 lead after the opening period and a 2-1 edge after Bradley Bonney, assisted by Daniel Lopez, scored the Spartans’ lone goal with 4:22 left in the second period. But Trego quickly responded for Otay Ranch with a pair of tgoasls in the final 2:07 of the period to put the Mustangs in front by a 4-1 score. Otay Ranch kept Chula Vista off the scoreboard the rest of the game while continuing to build on its lead.

Mariners win wild one from Southwest 10-8
National City, Dec. 16, 2009 - The South Bay League battle between the Mar Vista Mariners and Southwest Raiders turned out to be just that, with the Mariners holding off a late rally to go up in the teams’ three-game series. The Raiders held an early 3-2 lead before the Mariners took control of the scoreboard, only to have Southwest resurrect its hopes of an upset win by knotting the score at 5-5 with 11:26 left in the game. Mar Vista collected four unanswered goals to lead 9-5 before the pesky Raiders began an exciting comeback via the puck-handling skills of Michael Farrell.

Mar Vista took a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Emmanuel Alcaraz and Dylan Taylor but found itself starting at a one-goal deficit before the period was over. Farrell and Ismael Guerrero scored the game-tying and go-ahead goals for the Raiders in the opening period. However, the Mariners took control of the game’s momentum in the middle portion of the contest, leading 5-4 after the second period and later building a 10-6 advantage with just over minutes to play. But then it was Southwest’s turn to carry the play. Two unassisted goals by Farrell closed the game to 10-8 with 2:44 left in regulation play, and Farrell was buzzing around the net looking for more as the final seconds counted down.

The teams play twice more in league play.

Alcaraz keyed Mar Vista with five goals and two assists while Taylor racked up three goals and three assists. Farrell paced Southwest with five goals and two assists while Guerrero contributed two goals and one assist and Fernando Soto was credited with a goal and assist.

West Hills tops Poway for first North County League win
ESCONDIDO, Dec. 16, 2009 -- Erik Baldwin and Cody Boyer each scored twice and Ricky Aylesworth, Joe Swanson and Alex Wallace each scored once to lead the West Hills Wolf Pack to a 7-4 North County League victory in a game played at the Escondido Sports Center. The win was the first for the Wolf Pack in league play this season and made amends for a first-round league loss to the Titans.

Baldwin gave West Hills an early 1-0 lead with 8:30 left in the opening period. Poway retaliated with goals by Kyle Ingram and Jesse Staebler to lead 2-1 after the first stanza. But the second period belonged all to the Wolf Pack, which reeled off four uncontested goals to take a 5-2 lead into the final period. Boyers scored twice in the period while Wallace jump-started the rally with the game-tying goal.

The Titans closed the gap to 5-3 when Ryan Smith scored just 48 seconds into the third period but West Hills got that goal back when Ayleworth notched the Wolf Pack’s sisxth goal of the game with 2:48 elapsed in the period. Poway narrowed the West Hills lead to 6-4 on a goal by Eric Eyler with 10:16 left in the game. But the game remained scoreless until the final 31 seconds when Baldwin scored an insurance goal for West Hills.

Westview, Rancho Bernardo skate to 3-3 deadlock
ESCONDIDO, Dec. 16, 2009 -- Cruz Major scored with 2:15 left to play to lift the Rancho Bernardo Broncos into a 3-3 North County League tie with the defending Kiwanis Cup champion Westview Wolverines in a game played at the Escondido Sports Center. The Wolverines led 3-0 before the Broncos rallied with three goals in the third period.

Decker Sielhan was credited with the lone goal in the first period and Westview added a pair of goals by Willi Mornson in the second period. Mornson’s second goal in the middle period came with just 19 seconds remaining to break open a close 2-0 game.

RB began its rally when Bryce Semonian scored with 4:40 expired in the third period to make the score 3-1 in the Wolverines’ favor. Just over three minutes later4, a goal by Brian Gravelle made things very interesting as the Broncos pulled to within 3-2 on the scoreboard. Westview continued to hold its lead for another 4:50 before RB finally was able to knot the score.

The Broncos hold a 1-0-1 edge in the teams’ four-game NCL series.

Saints collect third straight, beat Mariners in 11-1 rout
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 14, 2009 -- Annually one of the CIF/Metro Conference's top tier teams, the St. Augustine Saints faced off the season 0-3. The Saints are no longer winless, in fact, they are on a torrid winning streak that has now seen them grab their third straight victory after downing the Mar Vista Mariners, 11-1, in South Bay League play Monday at Skate San Diego. The game rated to be fairly even and was tied 1-1 midway through the opening period when St. Augustine took firm control of the floor action. The Saints led 4-1 by the end of the period and wound up scoring the last 10 goals in the game.

"We've been watching them practice and knew they had a good team," St. Augustine head coach Christian DaLuz said in regard to the Mariners, who had their four-game winning streak ended. "We played our most complete game so far. A lot of guys contributed. Our goalie (Logal McConnell) has made strides. He played his best game so far. It was our most complete team game."

The Saints feature four four-year players: Daniel Deiters, Chris Dante, Jordan Jodzio and Glen MacDonald. "That's our first line," DaLuz said.

The foursome led by example against Mar Vista. Deiters had four goals, Dante had a goal and assist, Jodzio had two assists and MacDonald picked up one assist. Other contributers includeed Kurt Kerner, who anchors the team's second line, and linemate Nick Spardy. Kerner, who is one of the team's top skaters, led St. Augusitne in the game with four goals and one assist while Spardy had a goal and two assists. Greg Heid also scored one goal in the game.

Mar Vista got its lone goal from Emmanuel Alcaraz, assisted by Eduardo Sanchez, with 8:09 left in the first period. The Saints tacked on three unanswered goals, including a pair in the final 1:03 of the period, to move out to a three-goal lead heading into the middle period. St. Augustine led 9-1 heading into the final period.

Raiders whip Red Devils, move above .500 mark
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 14, 2009 - From the first puck drop of the season, it’s been evident that the Southwest Raiders are fielding one of their strongest teams in recent years. The Raiders are no longer the doormat of the South Bay League but have become highly competitive in games against teams in their skill range. That was amply put on display Monday at Skate San Diego as Southwest (3-2) defeated Sweetwater, 11-5, in a SBL game. “We’ve been gunning for them the last couple years and finally beat them,” Raiders coach Jerry Nestlerode said.

Michael Farrell had a big part to do with the victory by collecting eight goals while teammate Fernando Soto contributed three goals and one assist. Ismael Guerrero had one assist for Southwest, which built a 4-1 lead in the first period and carried a 6-2 scoring edge into the final period. Zachary Tupaz had a hand in all five SuHi goals with four goals and one assist. Zachery Valdez got the Red Devils (1-4) on the scoreboard, tying the game at 1-1 midway through the opening period before the raiders finished off the period with three goals in the final six minutes. Tupaz scored Sweetwater’s final four goals in succession.

Mariners keep on winning, down Trojans for 4th straight victory
CHULA VISTA, Dec. 10, 2009 – The wins keep piling up for the Mar Vista Mariners in the early part of the season. Mar Vista hiked its record to 4-1 by skating to its fourth consecutive victory Thursday, defeating Castle Park, 17-0, in a South Bay League game at Castle Park High School. Nelson Hoffman led the Mariners with six goals and two assists while Emmanuel Alcaraz registered five goals and two assists. James Moeller had two goals and two assists while Eduardo Sanchez had two goals and one assist. Joey Sherman and Juan Castillo each had one goal and one assist while Alex Vaughn collected two assists. Mar Vista led 8-0 after the first period and 12-0 after two periods.

The Mariners rolled to their third straight win the day before with an 8-1 non-league victory over Chula Vista in a game played at Skate San Diego. Alcaraz had four goals and two assists in the game as Mar Vista’s top play-maker. Bradley Bonney had the Spartans’ lone goal. The Mariners put the game away with five goals in the third period after leading just 1-0 over Chula Vista after the first period and 3-1 after two periods.

Mar Vista opened the week with a 5-0 South Bay League victory over Sweetwater in National City. Alcaraz led the Mariners with three goals while Moeller and Dylan Taylor each scored once. Mar Vista built a 3-0 first-period lead and added single goals in the second and third periods. The shutout win was the first-ever for senior goaltender Bobby Doyle, who suited up for the team as a defenseman last season.

Saints collect back-to-back wins, top Devils, Barons
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 10, 2009 -- It was a rough start for the St. Augustine to the 2009-10 high school roller hockey season but the Saints have to be feeling better about their prospects after claiming a pair of lop-sided victories in back-to-back fashion. St. Augustine stretch its modest winning streak to two games after downing the Bonita Vista Barons, 8-0, in a non-league game Dec. 10 at Skate San Diego. Daniel Deiters led the Saints with one goal and three asissts while Jordan Jodzio and Kurt Kerner each collected two goals. Johnny Heid and Glen MacDonald each had one goal and one assist while Robbie Kielty scored one goal and Nick Spardy dished out a pair of assists. St. Augustine led 2-0 after the first period but turned on the scoring jets with four second-period goals to build a comforable 6-0 lead.

The previous evening, St. Augustine zoomed in front 9-0 in their South Bay League enounter against the Sweetwater Red Devils en route to settling for a 14-2 victory. The Saints spread around their scoring, led by Nick Spardy (three goals, one assist) and Daniel Deiters (two goals, two assists) each with four points. Three players contribued three points toward the victory: Jordan Jodzio (two goals, one assist), Kurt Kerner (two goals, one assist) and Johnny Heid (one goal, two assists). Glen MacDonald had two goals while Chris Dante picked up one goal and one assist and Greg Heid had two assists. Robbie Kielty scored one goal for St. Augustine, which led 10-1 heading into the final period. Zachery Tupaz scored both Sweetwater goals while Miguel Victoria had one assist for the Red Devils.

Broncos shut out Lancers 9-0 in non-league battlel
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 10, 2009 -- The Rancho Bernardo Broncos showd why they have to be considered among the favorites to capture the 2010 Kiwanis Cup championship after recording a 9-0 shutout victory over the previously undefeated Hilltop Lancers in a high-profile non-league encounter at Skate San Diego. At 4-1, the Broncos share the best record in the 16-team CIF/Metro Conference with the Mar Vista Mariners through two weeks of play. Cruz Major led Rancho Bernardo with four goals while Oliver Murch collected two goals and Scott Leyland contributed a goal and two assists. Luke Ostrand and Brian Gravelle each scored one goal while Chris Clement had two assists.Neal Dugan, Roman Mendoza and Brett Ross each were credited with one assist. The Broncos led 3-0 after the first period and added four goals in the second period to lead 7-0 heading into the final 15 minues of play. Hilltop's record dropped to 3-1.

South Bay League: Raiders top Trojans 11-3
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 9, 2009 -- Southwest received goals from nine players -- including three goals and two assists from Michael Farrell -- to roll to an 11-3 South Bay League win against Castle Park. The Raiders scored 49 seconds into the game and led 7-0 before the Trojans could find the scoreboard. Andrew Martinez and Fernando Soto each collected one goal and two assists for Southwest, which received single goals from Nia Adams, Maria Bojorquez, Jacob Lopez, Enrique Merino, Trevoer Pierce and Sergio Sanchez. Martin Whitfield was credited with one assist for the victors, who lead 6-0 after the first period. Ivan Moran led Castle Park with two goals while Esael Arambula contributed two assists. Eric Kolar's goal with 1:30 gone in the third period trimmed the Raiders' lead to 7-2.

As the puck turns: Westview back on top
ESCONDIDO, Dec. 9, 2009 – Westview, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, Poway … or Westview? The roller hockey soap opera otherwise known as the CIF/Metro Conference’s North County League keeps everyone guessing the latest plot change. Westview entered the season as the defending Kiwanis Cup champions but sans fiour key grads dropped its opening game this season to Rancho Bernardo, which then became the proverbial “team to beat.” Then the Broncos lost to Scripps Ranch, handing the torch to the Falcons. Undefeated Scripps Ranch and Poway teams then met, with the Falcons retaining bragging rights for another game. But all that ended Wednesday as the Wolverines recorded a 3-0 shutout win over Scripps Ranch to move back on top.

Westview got two goals from Adam Durkee and an insurance marker in the last five seconds of the game from Willi Mornson to clip the Falcons’ wings. The goals didn’t come easy, though. Durkee scored the game’s jump goal with 35 seconds left in the second period and notched his second goal with 1:25 left in the game. Kyle Clements drew the assist on the Wolverines’ first goal while Durkee reaped a three-point night with an assist on Westview’s final tally.

The Wolverines improved to 3-1 on the season, including Monday’s 22-0 non-league win against Chula Vista, while Scripps Ranch dropped to 3-1. The Falcons had solidified their top perch on Monday with an 8-4 victory over Poway after the Titans had skated to a 3-0 start.

In Wednesday’s other North County League match-up, Rancho Bernardo handed Poway a 5-2 defeat to push the Titans further down the rankings. Chris Clement paced the Broncos with two goals while Kyle Shafer contributed a goal and assist. Bryce Semonian and Cruz Major also scored single goals for Rancho Bernardo, which built a 2-0 lead before being caught on the scoreboard for a 2-2 standoff through the opening two periods. Poway’s two goals in the game both came in the second period, both off the stick of Eric Eyler.

Rancho Bernardo improved to 3-1 while Poway dropped to 3-2.

Westview is carrying 10 skaters and one goaltender on this year’s roster, with six returning players and five newcomers. Head coach Mike Kurth said the key to his team’s ability to successfully defending its conference championship will be how well the squad’s newcomers are able to mesh with the team’s returning core talent.

“The thing is the inexperience -- good or bad -- we can develop it,” Kurth said. “This year, the rest of the league has made a big jump. The goaltending is getting better. The league has improved. With our inexperience, it makes it more exciting."

Durkee had six goals and one assist in Monday’s non-league win while Anthony Mata also had seven points on four goals and three assists. Clements racked up five goals and one assist while Dylon Dixon had three goals and two assists, Willi Mornson had two goals and three assists, Cory Wodstrom had one goal and four assists, Steven McDowell had one goal and three assists.

Scripps Ranch rolled to its 3-0 start as Steve Sherman netted a hat trick, Christian Chang collected three assists, Brandon Lopez registered a goal and assist and Jonathan Gauthier and Morgan Robutta each scored single goals in Monday’s win over Poway. The game was close throughout the opening two periods, with the Falcons holding leads of 2-1 and 4-3 at both junctures before capping a roaring finish in the third period by out-scoring the Titans 4-1. Eric Eyler and Ryan Smith each had a goal and assist for Poway, which also received goals from Robby Linnett and Ryan Hockett.

Rancho Bernardo picked up an 8-3 North County League win against West Hills on Monday as Roman Mendoza (two goals, two assists) and Shafer (one goal, three assists) each picked up four points and Clement scored two goals.

Scripps Ranch displayed its team depth in an 11-0 non-league win over St. Augustine on Dec. 3 at Skate San Diego in National City. The Falcons were missing four key players for assorted reasons (ice hockey commitments, injury) but easily sailed past the Saints. Scripps Ranch displayed its superior speed throughout the contest, playing havoc with the St. Augustine defense. Chang racked up a hat trick in playing a leadership role on the court.

The Titans, meanwhile, concluded their first week of season play with three wins in as many trips to the rink with a commanding 12-0 non-league victory over Otay Ranch, also Dec. 3 at Skate San Diego. Smith had six goals while Eyler had four assists to pace the Titan offense. Luke Richard contributed a goal and three assists while Hockett had three goals and one assist. The loss was the first setback for the Mustangs, one of the stronger teams from the conference’s southern region, after a 2-0 start to the season.

West Hills Wolf Pack howls to first win of season
ESCONDIDO, Dec. 9, 2009 – West Hills received goals from sixplayers and built a 6-2 advantage over the La Jolla Country Day through two periods to hand the Torreys their first loss of the season. Donnie Keffer led the Wolf Pack with three points, dishing out two assists to go with his jump-goal, while teammate Alex Wallace scored twice. West Hills, which started the season 0-3 in North County League play, jumped out to a 3-1 first period lead and out-scored the Torreys by another 3-1 margin in the second period. Erik Baldwin, Hillary Baxter, Joe Swanson and David Baldwin each scored single goals for the Wolf Pack. LJCD attempted a rally in the third period with two goals. James Owsiany led the Torreys with two goals while younger brother Ryan Owsiany scored one goal and Zach Feldman also scored once.

Mustangs face off Mesa League play with 18-2 win over Barons
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 8, 2009 -- Daniel Pacheco tallied six goals and three assists, Jeremiah Jodzio collected four goals and one assist, Ryan Trego had two goals and four assists and Jonathan Managbang had three goqals and three assists to lead the Mustangs to an 18-2 victory over the Bonita Vista Barons in the Mesa League opener for both teams. Otay Ranch built a 5-1 first-period lead and added seven second-period goals to lead 12-2 heading into the final period. Rey Guerrero had three points on one goal and two assists while Danielle McAvenia contributed a goal and assist. Ryan Micallef scored both goals for the Barons.

Lancers rally past spunky Saints 4-2
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 8, 2009 -- St. Augustine put up a challenge but the defending Mesa League champion Lancers were up to the task in capturing a come-from-behin 4-2 non-league victory to highlight the evening's slate at Skate San Diego. Kurt Kerner scored 1:30 into the contest to give the Saints a quick 1-0 lead. Hilltop answered back on a goal by Tylor Spracklin 4:51 into the game to tie the score at 1-1. Kerner then gave St. Augustine a 2-1 lead 39 seconds later, once again assisted by Nick Spardy. The Lancers answered with a pair of goals to close out the opening period with a 3-2 lead and added a second-period goal for a 4-2 final in a close checking and back-and-forth skating exhibition between the teams. Jeremiah Schultz leveled the score at two-all, assisted by Kekoa Latimore, with 7:02 left in the opening period. Latimore then set up Matt Kuehn for the go-ahead goal with 3:27 left in the period. Latimore finished the night with three points when he scored the final goal of the game with 3:56 to play in the middle period, assisted by Schultz. Kuehn and Schultz finished the contest each with one goal and one assist.

La Jolla Country Day leads South Bay League at 3-0
NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 7, 2009 – The schedule-maker was kind to the La Jolla Country Day with three games against South Bay League foes in the opening two weeks of play as the Torreys begin defense of their league title. Ryan Owsiany led LJCD to its third victory in as many starts with seven goals and four assists while older brother James Owsiany collected four goals and three assists in a 19-4 win against Southwest. Scott Ibsen had another big night in the scoring column with six goals and two assists while Zach Feldman contributed two goals and two assists and Nick Georgino had four assists.

The Torreys opened a 3-2 lead on the pesky Raiders before blowing the game open with eight second-period goals. Southwest build an early 2-1 lead on goals by Ismael Guerrero and Michael Farrell (who would finish with three goals and one assist in the game to lead the Raiders).

LJCD scored its second win of the season – a 6-5 overtime win over St. Augustine on Dec. 2 – while playing without substitutes. In that game, James Owsiany netted the game-winner in OT to finally allow the Torreys to take a much-needed rest.

“It felt good,” Owsiany said. “We had only four players (skaters). It was like … it’s finally over.”

LJCD coach David Brink was concerned the Torreys might not have enough players to field a team this season but the defending South Bay League champions, infused by four freshmen, have the same number of players on their roster as last season: seven.

“We didn’t know we’d have a team until about two weeks before school started,” Brink said. We’ve got four freshmen. All have hockey experience but many of them have never played roller hockey. We’re looking for them to make a smooth transition. We’re looking to build on this year. We have no seniors, so everyone is coming back.”

The Owsiany siblings could lead the CIF/Metro Conference in scoring with the early pace they’ve set, possibly with freshman Ryan even winning the scoring title.

James Owsiany plays ice hockey for the San Diego Junior Gulls U16-AA team while Ryan Owsiany plays for the San Diego Saints Bantam-A team.

Their experience and knowledge of the game shows on the roller hockey floor. Both like finally being able to play alongside one another.

“The last time we were on the same team, I think he was 6 and I was 8,” James Owsiany said. “It’s fun — he’s easy to pass to. I play forward in ice hockey but I play defense in roller hockey and he plays forward. He gets to score all the goals.”

While the youthful Torreys are looking to collect their second consecutive league title, competing against stronger teams from the North County League and Mesa League will present a challenge. “We pay the price in the third period against the North County teams,” the LJCD coach said. “We seem to be able to skate with them for the first period, period-and-a-half to two periods. But they have so much depth, it makes it difficult to stay with them.”

But that hasn’t set up a permanent roadblock in the minds of the Torreys players.

“We’d like to make it past the second round of the playoffs,” James Owsiany said.

Game on for San Diego County prep roller hockey circuit
CIF/Metro Conference celebrates 10th anniversary season

Posted Dec. 2, 2009
Nine years after its ground-breaking debut in November 2000, the CIF/Metro Conference remains the state’s only officially-sanctioned high school roller hockey league. There are many club-based high school playing circuits throughout the state, most notably the 27-school-strong Interscholastic Hockey Federation in Orange County, but the 16-school-strong Metro Conference is the only prep inline hockey league to carry the official CIF branding.

It’s a distinction that area coaches and players wear with a well-won sense of pride.

That the conference is still rolling along in its 10th season is a tribute to its many long-term coaches, school administrators, playing talent and supporters.

“I would put a lot of weight on the coaches who have kept their programs going,” said Jerry Nestlerode, who is entering his ninth season as coach of the Southwest Raiders and also serves as league liaison to Sweetwater district athletic coordinator Jerry Schniepp. “I think the coaches do a great job of teaching the game and making the games fun even for teams that don’t make the playoffs.”

The conference’s longest tenured coaches include Bonita Vista’s Keith Quigley and Hilltop’s Dan Vaccaro, both of whom have taken their teams through the transition from the club-based San Diego County High School Roller Hockey Conference to CIF/Metro Conference play. Quigley coached in the conference’s first-ever CIF-sanctioned game — a 4-4 tie against Eastlake.

Vaccaro attributed roller hockey’s staying power to its ability to mesh on area campuses along with more traditional sports.
That roller hockey has opened the door for hundreds of local student-athletes who otherwise might not have had the chance to to take part in the overall high school sports experience has to be viewed positively.

“Even when new to the game, when kids put on skates they fall in love with the sport,” Quigley said. “Roller hockey stands out from the other sports because the players wear skates. It’s different from any other sport and that’s what draws kids to it.”

Nestlerode stressed a positive atmosphere as one of the key elements for keeping the sport alive during the recent economic downturn. The Raider bench boss also credited Skate San Diego operator Joe Noris, a former major leaguer with the San Diego Mariners in the 1970s and current gold-medal winning coach of the United States men’s national inline hockey team, for his support of the sport locally.
The Metro’s cadre of coaches would like to see the sport expand and offer more student-athletes the opportunity to enjoy it.

Currently, nine of the district’s 12 high schools field roller hockey programs: Bonita Vista, Castle Park, Chula Vista, Eastlake, Hilltop, Otay Ranch, Mar Vista, Southwest and Sweetwater. Only Montgomery’s program has gone dark since Bonita Vista and Eastlake faced off in the first conference match-up at Chula Vista RollerSkateLand.

The CIF/Metro Conference includes teams from seven non-district schools: La Jolla Country Day, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, St. Augustine, Scripps Ranch, West Hills and Westview. Non-district schools that no longer field teams in the conference include La Jolla, SD Jewish Academy and Vista.

For scheduling purposes, the conference is divided into three leagues: Mesa League, South Bay League and North County League. The Mesa League includes Bonita Vista, Chula Vista, Eastlake, Hilltop and Otay Ranch while the South Bay League includes four district teams (Castle Park, Mar Vista, Southwest and Sweetwater) along with LJCD and St. Augustine. The remainder of the teams compete in the North County League (Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, West Hills and Westview).

Regular season play runs through mid-February.

Ten of the 16 CIF/Metro Conference teams qualify for the Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs that end the first week in March.
Westview has won two Kiwanis Cup titles and is the reigning conference playoff champion. Other teams with multiple CIF/Metro Conference championships include Scripps Ranch (2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05) and Rancho Bernardo (2006-07 and 2007-08). Hilltop (2000-01) and Bonita Vista (2001-02) also have won conference championships over the past nine seasons. Westview won its first CIF/Metro title in 2005-06.

Teams cannot currently play for an official San Diego Section championship. The Kiwanis Cup playoffs determine the official CIF/Metro Conference champion. League champions can hang banners in their school gymnasium alongside those of other sports while players are eligible to receive championship patches for their letter jackets — just like traditional high school sports.


Season firsts
The conference's 10th anniversary season faced off Monday at Skate San Diego in National City with three games. In the 2009-10 season opener, Sweetwater overcame a 2-1 Chula Vista lead after two periods to claim the first victory of the newest campaign as Zachery Tupaz ran off a third-period hat trick to boost the Red Devils to a 4-2 win. SuHi's Miguel Victoria scored the first goal of the season with 1:29 left in the opening period.

In other games on Monday, Otay Ranch defeated Southwest, 12-2, behind an eight-point (five goals, three assists) showing by junior Jeremiah Jodzio while La Jolla Country Day earned top offensive honors in its 27-0 victory over Castle Park. The sibling tandem of Ryan Owsiany (seven goals, three assists) and James Owsiany (eight goals, one assist) combined to score 19 goals to lead the defending South Bay League champion Torreys to their season-opening victory. LJCD goaltender Cameron Bryant-Sowka earned credit for the first shutout of the season.

Photo: Miguel Victoria, SuHi coach Marvey Ferrer, Zachery Tupaz

SuHi skaters claim 4-2 comeback win in season opener

NATIONAL CITY, Nov. 30, 2009 -- Marvy Ferrer suited up for the Sweetwater High School roller hockey team from 2000-04. He returned to help coach his alma mater last season and has taken over sole coaching reins of the Red Devils this season.

Ferrer was a top-notch player during SuHi’s “glory” days on the playing court and school pride still very much burns through his veins. He’d like to instill that in his current crop of players.

But with only three returners off last year’s squad, Ferrer knows he will have his hands full in practice this season.

But so far, so good.

The pesky Devils made the most of their opportunities to score a 4-2 come-from-behind victory over the Chula Vista Spartans in Monday’s CIF/Metro Conference season opening game at Skate San Diego in National City.

Credit two of the team’s returners with leading the charge.

Miguel Victoria earned honors of scoring the 2009-10 season’s first goal when he stole the puck in the Chula Vista defensive end and scored on an ensuing breakaway with 1:29 left in the first period to give Sweetwater a 1-0 lead. Though the Spartans scored the only two goals of the second period — singletons by Ivan Diaz and Matt Diaz —to take a 2-1 lead, the game was decided on a third-period hat trick by SuHi’s Zachery Tupaz and the standout play of Devil netminder Emilio Gonzales.
Two of the goals scored by Tupaz came on breakaways.

Ferrer was obviously excited to see his team score a win in its season opener.

“For me, it's fun and exciting since I did play for Sweetwater,” he said. “I had that Sweetwater pride in myself. I just expect all our players to develop as the season goes on and get better. Since we have only three returning players, I was pretty impressed with their performance in their first game. They didn’t get caught up following the puck and get bunched up on defense.”

Victoria’s jump goal came on a takeaway after it looked as if both goaltenders would escape the first period with being scored upon. “Once I got the puck, I just wanted to wait for the right time to shoot,” Victoria said. “I just wanted to help out the team. To score that first goal feels great.”

Tupaz said “consistency” was the key to the Sweetwater victory.

“I just wanted to be consistent in what I did the whole game,” he said. “Consistency was the word for the whole team. If it wasn’t for support from my teammates and our coach, we wouldn’t have been able to win the game. We worked together as a team — our goalie did a great job.”

Gonzales, who was not originally earmarked to play between the pipes this season, made several spectacular diving saves to keep the Devils in position to eventually claim the comeback victory.

In other season openers on Monday:

Otay Ranch 12, Southwest 2
The Mustangs, braced by seven returners, raced to a 4-0 lead and out-scored the Raiders 6-1 in the middle period to capture the non-league victory. Jeremiah Jodzio showed why he was the best player on the floor with five goals and three assists while teammate Ryan Trego also starred in the offensive column with five goals and one assist. Jamie Houston contributed one goal and one assist while Daniella McAvenia scored once and Rey Guerrero chipped in with one assist in support of winning goaltender Michael Mendez.

"We still have a lot to do — we lost a lot on offense," Otay Ranch coach Adrian Rodriguez said. "Moving Danielle to defense has helped a lot. Our goal is to get better by one percent each day. If we can do that, we'll be 100 percent better by the end of the season."

Michael Farrell was credited with Southwest's two goals.

LJCD 27, Castle Park 0
The Torreys led 10-0 after the first period and 20-0 after two periods. Newcomer Ryan Owsiany made a splash with seven goals and three assists while older brother James Owsiany contributed eight goals and one assist. Sam Brink and Nick Gregorio each had four goals and three assists while Scott Ibsen had four goals and two assists.

Photo: James and Ryan Owsiany, La Jolla Country Day

Lancers power past Red Devils 10-1

NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 1, 2009 -- The defending Mesa League champion Hilltop Lancers are back for more it seems after facing off their 2009-10 roller hockey campaign with a 10-1 non-league victory against Sweetwater Tuesday at Skate San Diego in National City. Kekoa Latimore and George Godinez each registered hat tricks while also contributing an assist to lead the Lancers, who were braced between the pipes by freshman goaltender Josh Evangelist.

Hilltop returns six players from last year's league championship squad and will be looking toward the future with six freshman recruits this season.

"We've got a good group of kids this season," said veteran coach Dan Vaccaro, who has been helping guide the team since its formation at the club level in 1997. "If we can meld all the new players into the team, we have the makings of a fine team this season."

Top returners include Latimore, Tylor Spracklin and Jeremiah Schultz. Schultz was the third player to collect a hat trick in Tuesday's contest while Spracklin dished out a couple assists.

Kyle Heiskala contributed a goal and assist while Alphonso Arregum had two assists and Joey Parisi recorded one assist.

Evangelist was credited with two saves in the game. SuHi's Zachery Tupaz broke up the Lancers' shutout bid on a breakaway goal with 3:36 left in the second period with Hilltop holding a 7-0 lead.

The Lancers led 3-0 at the end of the first period. Latimore opened scoring 1:53 into the game but Hilltop found the going tough in front of the Red Devil net for the better part of the opening stanza thanks to the standout play of SuHi netminder Emilio Gonzales. Latimore made it 2-0 on a goal with 5:30 to play in the first period and Godinez scored the first goal of his hat trick just over two minutes later.

Gonzales put forth a heroic effort. Though statistics were not available, he must have made at least 30 saves in the game.

Sweetwater, which saw its record drop to 1-1, buzzed two more shots just wide of the post to keep the Hilltop defense alert.

Poway faces off 2009-10 season with 2-0 mark

NATIONAL CITY, Dec. 1, 2009 -- The Poway Titans, runners-up in last season's Kiwanis Cup finals by a 5-3 score to Westview, received either a goal or assist from 12 players in upping their early season mark to 2-0 with a 24-0 non-league victory over Chula Vista Tuesday at Skate San Diego. Eric Eyler paced the Titans with five goals and three asissts while goaltender Kevin Burgan recorded the team's first shutout victory of the season. Poway built an 8-0 lead after the first period and led 16-0 after two periods. Ryan Smith, a fourth-year varsity player like Eyler, contributed three goals and three assists.

Robby Linnett helped fuel the Titans' offense with seven points on three goals and four assists while teammate Ryan Hockett had four goals. Mike Bush collected two goals and four assists for six points while Jordan Gallen and Peter Crofts each had two goals and one assist. Junior forward Luke Richard, another key returning player, had three assists in the victory.

Of the 17 players on Poway's roster, nine are seniors, six are juniors and two are sophomores.

Eyler finished second in league scoring last season with 35 goals and 32 assists.

Titan head coach Dale Ingram, now in his seventh year behind the bench, said his team will have its work cut out for itself in the North County League championship race this season.

"That's a tough league up there," said Ingram, whose team faced off league play with a 7-4 win against West Hills on Monday at the Escondido Sports Center. "It's a young team. We will have some challenges this year. We have a lot of upperclassmen but not as experienced in terms of team years."

In Monday's victory over the Wolf Pack, scoring was spread among seven players. Mike Godwin led the Titans with two goals and one assist while Willis Lade-Miller was credited with two goals and Hocket and Crofts each recorded one goal and one assist. Bush also potted one goal while Linnett and Jesse Staebler eached picked up one assist.

Poway led 3-0 after the first period and 4-1 after two periods. Both teams scored three goals in the final period.

Who's on top? Make it RB after 4-2 win over Wolverines

ESCONDIDO, Nov. 30, 2009 -- The defending Kiwanis Cup champion Westview Wolverines entered the season as the "team to watch," according to an unofficial coaches poll. While the 2009-10 CIF/Metro Conference season is just two days old and plenty of roller hockey remains to be played before the playoff face off, the Rancho Bernardo Broncos have certainly put their name in the watch list as well after skating past the Wolverines, 4-2, in the North County League opener for both squads Monday at the Escondido Sports Center.

Westview (2005-06 and 2008-09) and Rancho Bernardo (2006-07 and 2007-08) each have won two Kiwanis Cup titles. The Wolverines and Broncos will be bidding to join the fabled Dan Comrie-led Scripps Ranch Falcons teams (2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05) as the only other team to win three conference championships.

RB built a 2-0 lead through two periods on goals by Kyle Shafer and Chris Clement. Westview halved its deficit to 2-1 when Kyle Clements scored early in the third period. But the Broncos added another goal, scored by Cruz Major with 7:36 to play in the game, to go back on top by two goals. The teams exchanged goals in the final minute of play. Bryce Semonian made it 4-1 RB with an unassisted tally while Anthony Mata scored the Wolverines' last goal with 27 seconds left.

Semonian led the Broncos with a goal and assist.