This MLK weekend, roller hockey coaches within the Sweetwater Union High School District will pay tribute to one of the pioneering ladies in the CIF-Metro Conference when the third edition of the Bonita Optimist Pam Wiser Classic rolls out at the Castle Park High School rink.
Eight teams will participate in this year’s tournament that starts Saturday with pool play and concludes Monday with playoff finals.
The tournament is dedicated to the memory of former Chula Vista High School head coach and Southwest High School assistant coach Pam Wiser.
Wiser was instrumental in maintaining interest in the sport during a coaching transition period at Chula Vista High School. She stepped in as head coach of the Spartans to save the team from folding and later served as an assistant coach at Southwest High School before her death in April 2011.
She was involved in the sport for the better part of a decade either coaching or serving as the ultimate team mom. Her legacy to support scholastic roller hockey and young student-athletes continues with this tournament named in her memory.
She was beloved by the entire South Bay roller hockey community.
“It means a lot for us to give this tournament a name to honor her, regardless of her passing or not,” Chula Vista High School coach Matt Diaz explained. “It makes me want to participate in this tournament even more.”
Diaz played four years with the Spartans – two years under the leadership of Wiser.
“She left a big impression on me, probably more than any other coach,” Diaz explained. “She was a very caring person. If we ever needed a ride, if a parent had to work late, she made sure we got home safely. Either she would do it or arrange it with another parent. That’s something I bring over myself.”
Former coaching colleagues continue to hold Wiser in high esteem for her contributions to the sport locally.
“I think it’s great that once again the Bonita Vista High team will be competing in the Pam Wiser tournament,” Barons coach Keith Quigley said. “We all miss Pam in the local Chula Vista hockey world. What stood out to me about Pam was how supportive she was of the kids. She was always there for them on and off the rink. I’m glad we continue to honor her with this tournament.”
Girl power
Wiser was also a specific role model for female student-athletes. The Spartans quickly accumulated a sizable number of females playing on their roster and came to celebrate that.
As girls gained a notable presence on the playing court, it opened up opportunities on other teams and the number of female student-athletes playing roller hockey mushroomed throughout the Sweetwater district.
While there were a few girls playing roller hockey prior to Wiser becoming a head coach, it was largely through Wiser’s visibility as a head coach that paved the way for an increasing number of female student-athletes to gravitate toward playing roller hockey.
Current Chula Vista assistant coach Caroline Talavera came to the Spartans after Wiser had left the team but still benefitted from Wiser’s legacy.
“One year we had five girls on the team,” explained Talavera, who played also competed in lacrosse and field hockey. “Most of them were my friends. I had played with most of them in other sports. It was like playing with (all of) them on the same team. It was comforting to know there were other girls on the team.”
Talavera played roller hockey two years. She said she preferred roller hockey over the two other sports she played in high school.
“I liked the atmosphere more than the other sports,” she said. “It pushed you more than in any other sport. All the teams are here and you know everyone – they’re your friends and also your rivals. It was fun.”
Talavera said the presence of girls on coed teams actually helps motivate the male student-athletes.
“It challenges the boys to not let their guard down,” Talavera explained. “You know, they see a girl and they expect it will be an easy game. So, they don’t see it coming when suddenly the guy is on the floor and the girl is skating past them.”
Talavera competed in the inaugural Pam Wiser Classic in 2014 and retains fond memories of the event. “It was good competition and I was also one of the top skaters (in the skills competition),” she said. “It was fun. Everyone was in their corner (team areas) but also together, too. I’m looking forward to it this year.”
Competition on Saturday will be divided into two groups. Bonita Vista, Eastlake, Hilltop and Southwest will compete in pool play from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. while Chula Vista, Mar Vista, Otay Ranch and Sweetwater will compete in pool play from 1:30 to 5 p.m.
The top two teams from each group will play Monday afternoon and the bottom two place-finishers in each group will play Monday morning.
Games for Monday will be determined by Saturday’s results.
The Silver Division will include teams that finished third and fourth in their respective pools and will play from 9 a.m. to noon.
The Gold Division will feature teams that finished first and second in their respective pools and will play from 2 to 5 p.m.
Mar Vista coach/tournament director Manny Buenrostro said a skills competition is planned between the Silver and Gold division games on Monday.
Southwest coach Jerry Nestlerode said fun activities are planned from noon to 1:30 p.m. on both days if all teams and student-athletes can participate “to make a full day of it.”
On Saturday, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., PUCKidz will run a youth roller hockey clinic.
Bonita Optimist Pam Wiser Classic Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 16, at Castle Park High School
Group A
Bonita Vista, Eastlake, Hilltop, Southwest
Pool play
9 a.m. – Hilltop vs. Bonita Vista
9:30 a.m. – Eastlake vs. Southwest
10 a.m. – Eastlake vs. Hilltop
10:30 a.m. – Bonita Vista vs. Southwest
11a.m. – Bonita Vista vs. Eastlake
11:30 a.m – Hilltop vs. Southwest
Group B
Chula Vista, Mar Vista, Otay Ranch, Sweetwater
Pool play
2 p.m. – Otay Ranch vs. Chula Vista
2:30 p.m.. – Sweetwater vs. Mar Vista
3 p.m. – Chula Vista vs. Sweetwater
3:30 p.m. – Mar Vista vs. Otay Ranch
4 p.m. – Sweetwater vs. Otay Ranch
4:30 p.m. – Mar Vista vs. Chula Vista
Happy New Year
Sweetwater district teams are about one-third of the way through the 2015-16 season. The Otay Ranch Mustangs remain undefeated (5-0) against district competition while the Eastlake Titans have only lost once to a district opponent (that being 8-7 to Otay Ranch just prior to the winter break).
Otay Ranch shut out Sweetwater, 7-0, in a non-league game on Monday while Eastlake rolled past Southwest, 5-0, in another non-league game on Tuesday to face off the second half of the season on winning notes.
Both the Mustangs (3-0 in league) and Titans (2-1 in league) occupy the top half of the Mesa League standings.
The teams’ initial encounter proved to be a see-saw affair. The score was tied five times before Otay Ranch finally managed to take a two-goal lead in the final stages of the third period. But that didn’t last long as Eastlake promptly scored to return the game to a one-goal margin.
Both teams held three leads in the game before Otay Ranch managed to slip through with the win in the waning minutes.
“It was a great win for us against Eastlake,” Mustang head coach Jose Castro noted. “It was a great way to head into the second half of our season. Our goal was to go into winter break on a positive note and we achieved that.
“Overall, it was a great win because it showed our resilience and that we can come back and win. Looking forward to playing them again.”
Ricky Portilla led Otay Ranch with three goals and one assist, followed by Hector Sanchez and Paul Chavez each with two goals and one assist and David Mendez with one goal and one assist. Aaron Marientes contributed one assist.
For Eastlake, Jake Powell picked up three goals and one assist, Will Hamilton and Sean Layton each had two goals and one assist, while Brandon Benson and Luke Killeen each chipped in with one assist.
Otay Ranch goaltender J.T. Santiago finished the game with 16 saves. Erin Gregory made a season-high 12 saves before her departure while Jesse Diaz made seven saves in emergency relief duty.
“A couple of bounces here and there,” EHS coach Ron Cole assessed of the tight outcome.
Otay Ranch scored one goal in the opening period before adding three goals in each of the final two periods in Monday’s win over Sweetwater. Freshman Sean Devaney continued a torrid start to his rookie season by collecting two goals and two assists. Portilla had two goals and one assist while Mendez scored two goals, Chavez had one goal and Sanchez and John Gentile were each credited with one assist.
Gabe Sosa made seven saves to record the shutout in his season debut.
Despite the shutout loss, the Red Devils (1-5) played one of their better games of the young season, with SuHi netminder Joel Ojeda making 34 saves in the loss.
Tuesday’s shutout win over Southwest put Eastlake back on course after the Titans suffered a 21-2 thrashing administered by the Escondido Charter White Tigers in a non-league encounter Monday at the CPHS rink.
Tuesday’s Titan win marked the return to action of senior goaltender Kevin Hooks, who stopped 10 shots in turning back the Raiders (1-4).
Eastlake received two goals from Seiya Hagiya and a goal and assist each from Benson and Killeen.
Powell and Killeen are the team’s two ice hockey newcomers.
“We want to continue to progress as a team,” Cole said. “That includes team work, team camaraderie and team spirit. We feel like we are an eight cylinder engine running on six cylinders. We want all eight cylinders to fire. I’m encouraged. We have a young team.”
Because of an injury, the Titans were forced to play with field player Percilla Mayer in the net in Monday’s loss to Escondido Charter. Mayer played brilliantly at times but the White Tigers’ offensive attack proved too fast and furious for Eastlake to contain.
Southwest goaltender Mari Cornel, who was credited with 22 shots, played well in absorbing the loss.
Cornel was the star of the Raiders’ 2-1 South Bay League victory on Dec. 18 against Mar Vista as she made several clutch saves in the dying moments of the game.
Angel Bonilla scored the game-winning goal in the third period to help lift the Raiders to the win.
“It was a really good game,” Nestlerode explained. “Both teams played well. It was a fun game to be involved with because it was a closely played game between two teams. It was also a rivalry game between the teams that made it fun.”
The Mariners hit the post in the final five seconds that could have sent the game into overtime.
“Mar Vista had a bunch of near-misses in the final five minutes,” Nestlerode said. “Our goalie played a phenomenal game.”
The Raiders were the last team in the 17-team conference to pick up a win to face off the 2015-16 season.
“I think it’s a great start to the season,” Nestlerode explained. “I think every team has at least one win. Before going into the winter break every team has one win, so it should set up a very exciting second half of the season.”
Blue and White
Chula Vista improved to 5-1 on the season after skating past Bonita Vista, 7-1, in a non-league match-up on Tuesday. The Spartans had rolled out to an impressive 4-0 start before dropping a 4-3 non-league contest to Hilltop prior to the winter break. Chula Vista promptly got back on the winning track against the Barons to open the second half of the season.
Jesse Amador led the Spartans with three goals and two assists in the win over the Barons (1-5) while Hector Diaz picked up two goals and four assists. Ricardo Pina and Allison Smith each chipped in with one goal while Cruz Salas stopped five of six shots.
Rebecca Garcia scored the lone goal for Bonita Vista, assisted by Marcy Farmer.
“I was a little concerned coming back from the break,” Diaz admitted. “We were off three weeks, that’s a long time.
“The first period we started slow, it looked like we were on break. The second period we picked it up and by the third period we looked like we had picked up where we left off at the break.”
The Spartans came off the break leading the South Bay League with a 3-0 record. Diaz feels his team has emerged as a legitimate challenger for this season’s league championship.
“Before I thought we had potential, now I think we’re just getting warmed up,” Diaz said.
From Vaccaro to Godinez: Lancers officially pass the torch to new coach
Roller hockey was the new kid on the high school sports block back in 1997, and not necessarily a welcome addition, when Dan Vaccaro got the go-ahead to start the Hilltop High School club team. The Lancers are still rolling after 19 years as the Sweetwater Union High School District’s oldest roller hockey team, and that fact has Vaccaro smiling.
“This looks great!” he exclaimed while watching the Lancers compete in a CIF-Metro Conference game Tuesday evening at the district-owned Castle Park High School rink.
Vaccaro, 64, is now a spectator after officially retiring as Hilltop head coach at the conclusion of last season. He was pleased watching his former team perform under the reins of new head coach George Godinez, a 2013 Hilltop graduate and former player with the Lancers.
Hilltop won its “homecoming” game for Vaccaro, 10-5, over the Castle Park Trojans.
The longtime Lancer coach admitted there were challenges when Hilltop first got rolling.
“Most of the athletic coordinators were not in favor of it (roller hockey) because it would dilute the budgets (of the other sports), but we kept pushing it as a new sport,” Vaccaro explained.
“Most of the kids who played roller hockey then didn’t play other sports, it was a different group of kids,” Vaccaro added. “Our philosophy was that if you get new kids interested and made them part of the team, they would want to stay in school, so it was something positive we had to offer.”
The sport, which grew out of the roller-blading craze of the 1990s, gained the support of former Sweetwater district superintendent Dr. Ed Brand and the rest is history. The first CIF-sanctioned roller hockey league game faced off in November 2000 with the Bonita Vista Barons taking on the Eastlake Titans. Hilltop won the first conference championship with a 13-0-1 record.
Sixteen year later, 17 schools across the San Diego Section are now fielding teams in the CIF-Metro Confernence, including nine from the founding Sweetwater district.
The Lancers initially competed in the San Diego County High School Roller Hockey Conference, co-founded by the late Don Cerone, a former college classmate of Vaccaro’s in their native New York.
Vaccarro and Cerone worked to expand the conference to include a South Bay division based at the now defunct Chula Vista RollerSkateLand rink. Hilltop, Bonita Vista, Eastlake and Chula Vista competed at the club level before additional district teams were added when the sport made the official jump to CIF-sanctioned status.
“Ed Brand got on board and he was the catalyst who got this going,” Vaccaro said. “One thing led to another and here we are.”
The Castle Park High School rink also grew out of Brand’s support of the sport. With local skating rinks either closing or moving, the outdoor district-owned rink has proven a godsend.
“If this had not been built, there would be no roller hockey now or we’d be playing in Escondido,” Vaccaro noted.
Roller hockey has since become integrated into the fabric of the district’s sports line-up and embraces all student-athletes on campus. Many student-athletes who play other sports are drawn to roller hockey as a novelty sport while others have played the sport on youth clubs and have previous skating experience.
Without a youth feeder program in the South County, the Sweetwater district has kept the sport rolling, at least at the high school level.
Vaccaro said in order for the sport to regenerate itself, some type of youth feeder program needs to be in place to provide the necessary skills before student-athletes reach high school.
“It’s difficult when you have to teach sophomores in high school how to skate,” Vaccaro said. “If there was a way to create a junior team where kids could learn to skate at 6, 8 or 10 (years old), it would help out a lot. Eighty percent of the sport is skating.”
Godinez had served as a volunteer coach under Vaccaro for the past two years after graduating from Hilltop.
“I had been thinking about retiring for the past four or five years but I wanted to leave the program in good hands,” Vaccaro explained. “George was a great hockey player for us and he came in as a volunteer coach and showed good maturity to lead the kids.”
“It has been a great learning experience and so much fun to be able to coach my alma mater, Godinez explained. “I enjoyed my four years at Hilltop and had a fun time playing hockey for (former coaches) Dan (Vaccaro) and Darren (Ries). To now be the head coach of the program is something I never thought would happen. I’m grateful that Dan thought I was good enough to take over the program.”
Hilltop is off to a 4-2 start to the season after defeating Castle Park, 10-5, in a non-league game on Tuesday. Eddie Arguello led the Lancers with a hat trick while Andrew Tesner collected two goals and three assists, Danny Godinez (George’s younger brother) contributed two goals and two assists. Josh Fischer and Kristen Lambertson each scored one goal in support of winning goaltender Anthony Ryan,
Isaac Montero led Castle Park (2-4) with three goals.
White Tigers claw, rip apart Titans, 21-2, in high profile non-league match-up
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 11, 2016 – The Escondido White Tigers are still getting a feel of their new surroundings in the CIF-Metro Conference but are starting to feel more at home with each victory. The White Tigers skated to their third win in seven games by defeating the host Eastlake Titans, 21-2, in a non-league match-up of teams with top finishes last season.
The Titans won last season’s Mesa League championship while Escondido Charter won last season’s San Diego District Hockey varsity club championship.
Eastlake, depleted by much of last season’s prize-winning talent and braced by a field player between the pipes in Monday’s contest, proved no match for the White Tigers.
Escondido Charter raced out to a quick 8-1 lead and led 12-2 entering the final period.
Joe Mendoza paced the White Tigers with 11 points on six goals and five assists while teammate Jono Pecoraro racked up four goals and four assists. Blake Woods tallied seven points on five goals and two assists while Bryce Mendoza contributed three goals and one assist. Sam Stewart chipped in with two goals and one assist while Evan Medieros tacked on a goal and assist.
Jacob Grove picked up the win in the net for Escondido Charter.
Jake Powell scored both goals for Eastlake, which saw its record dip to 4-2 on the season.
The White Tigers won their first CIF game but have since settled into the middle of the pack in the 17-team conference.
“It’s been pretty fun because we’ve never played CIF before,” noted Stewart. “It’s rewarding to play all these new teams. It’s been a test.”
Escondido Charter is not new to fielding a roller hockey team. The White Tigers have existed as a club team since 2004. But they are exploring new horizons as a member of the CIF-Metro Conference.
“It’s nice – it’s a jump up for the team,” Escondido Charter coach Jake Pribble explained. “We are getting a good challenge from the other teams.”
Pribble played two seasons of club roller hockey at Escondido High School. The White Tigers’ strength comes from a large group of players who play competitive travel team inline hockey – seven for the San Diego Stingrays and one for the San Diego Selects.
“We are all friends, we all grew up together,” Pecoraro explained.
Spartans roll past Mariners, 12-2, in South Bay League match-up
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 13, 2016 – Hector Garcia collected five goals and three assists and Jesse Amador had three goals and two assists to lead the Chula Vista Spartans to their fourth consecutive South Bay League victory. Ricardo Pina also contributed a hat trick while Angel Valadez scored once and Giovani Crimmino added one assist. Cruz Salas made 14 saves on 16 shots.
The Spartans, who improved to 6-1 overall, broke out to a 4-0 first period lead and led 8-1 entering the final period.
Jake Dilliott scored both Mar Vista goals.
CVHS head coach Matt Diaz said his team appears to be gaining momentum — and confidence — as the season rolls forward. “As the season continues, I think it’s going to be harder and harder for the other teams in the South Bay League to catch us,” he said.
Southwest netminder continues hot hand, leads Raiders to second league win
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 13, 2016 – Mari Cornell backstopped Southwest to a 5-0 shutout win over Castle Park as the Raiders topped last year’s league champions and, in the process, propel her team to its second consecutive South Bay League win.
“Excellent goaltending,” Southwest coach Jerry Nestlerode noted of Cornel’s performance. “She played the best game so far that she’s played.”
Angel Bonilla led the Raiders offense with two goals while Nick Dowdle added a goal and two assists and defender Kayleigh Andrew scored the first varsity goal in her two-year varsity career.
The Raiders evened their league record at 2-2 and improved to 2-4 overall.
Castle Park dropped to 2-2 in league play, 2-4 overall.
Poway breaks open close game against Otay Ranch, wins by 9-2 score
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 13, 2016 – It was a North vs. South match-up Wednesday evening between the Poway Titans and Otay Ranch Mustangs. The teams skated to a 1-1 standoff through the first period before the Titans gained the upper hand with a 4-1 edge in the second period to lead 5-2. Poway put the game away with four more goals in the final period to cap the non-league battle.
Brett Kaufman led the Titans with four goals and two assists while Liam Garry contributed two goals and one assist. Cliff Schrader and Trevor Curtin each collected a goal and assist for Poway while Jeffery Bauer scored once.
Team captain Ricky Portilla scored both Otay Ranch goals.
The Titans improved to 3-4 on the season while the Mustangs fell to 5-2 on the season.
“I knew it would be a tough game,” ORHS head coach Jose Castro explained. “They have very talented players who are tough to stop. All we can do is limit some aspects of their game but not all of it. I tried to motivate my team as much as possible and they responded well with an early goal. For two periods we were in the game. We got fatigued mentally and physically in the last period when they pulled away. That is something we have to work on moving forward. But very proud we can play with a team of this caliber.”
Saints clip Falcons wings by 6-3 score in Central League upset
SKATE SAN DIEGO, Jan. 14, 2016 – After topping the two top-ranked teams in the CIF-Metro Conference earlier in the week, the Scripps Ranch Falcons could not maintain their momentum in dropping a 6-3 Central League match-up to the St. Augustine Saints in a game played in El Cajon.
With the victory, St. Augustine moved into sole possession of second place in the league standings.
A depleted Scripps Ranch team, playing without standouts Jesse Lycan and Stewart Pond due to ice hockey commitments, could not provide enough continuity to overcome the Saints (2-1-1 in league, 3-4-1 overall).
The Falcons (2-3 in league, 5-4 overall) were paced by Matt Gauthier with two goals and one assist. Cody Sherman had one goal and Wes Rim had one assist. Scripps Ranch was never able to get on track and had to shuffle several players between lines to try and generate enough offense while trying to contain St. Augustine’s Nick Heid.
Mustangs rally with seven unanswered goals to prevail over Lancers
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 14, 2016 – Danny Godinez scored the opening goal of the game to give the Hilltop Lancers a 1-0 lead but the Otay Ranch Mustangs followed with the game’s remaining seven goals to post a 7-1 Mesa League victory. The win kept the Mustangs undefeated (4-0) in league play.
David Mendez led Otay Ranch (6-2 overall) with four goals while Aaron Marientes contributed two goals and one assist. Ricky Portilla added a goal and assist while Hector Sanchez and Paul Chavez each chipped in with one assist. The Mesa League leaders provided some separation in the game by scoring three times in the second period and adding two more insurance goals in the third period.
Hilltop dropped to 1-3 in league play, 4-3 on the season. Goaltender Andres Corrales helped keep the game from getting out of hand with a blockbuster amount of saves in the third period. Corrales finished the game with 30 stops.
“I told my team to keep up the same intensity from Poway game (a loss the previous day) and they did,” ORHS head coach Jose Castro explained. “We played very well. There’s always room for improvement, but it was a very good showing.”
Barons play Titans tough, drop 4-1 Mesa League decision
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 14, 2016 – The Bonita Vista Barons fought hard and showed great determination in their Mesa League game against the defending league champion Eastlake Titans but came up on the short end again in the teams’ season series, though by only a 4-1 score the second time around.
The opening period ended with the Titans holding a 1-0 lead on a goal by Sean Layton, though both teams enjoyed an equal opportunity of scoring chances. A knee injury to Bonita Vista’s Rebecca Garcia forced a play stoppage for approximately 25 minutes. When play resumed, Eastlake doubled its lead on a goal by Jake Powell, assisted by fellow newcomer Luke Killeen.
The Barons’ efforts were finally rewarded when Dylan Riley scored the opening goal of the third period. But Killeen answered that goal with one of his own, set up by a pass from Layton, to give the Titans some breathing room with a 3-1 lead. Killeen scored into an empty net to cap the Eastlake victory.
Prior to that, BV netminder Ashley Massarene had starred on the court with 15 saves in the final period before leaving for an extra attacker. Naya Romero, who took the loss, had nine saves in first-half duty.
Kevin Hooks remained unbeaten in the net since his return to active duty for the Titans.
“We had one of our best practices on Wednesday,” Baron coach Keith Quigley explained. “As a team, at practice, we focused on being more aggressive and more physical. I think we accomplished that in the game. We were a little scrappy out there. We played Eastlake a lot better than we did the first time (a 13-1 loss prior to the winter break). I’m looking for improvement each game.”
Sweetwater gathering momentum as season continues
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 15. 2016 – The Sweetwater Red Devils have improved as the season has progressed. The team played two of its better games this week – losing, 7-0, to Otay Ranch in a non-league game on Monday and defeating Mar Vista, 8-3, to pick up their first South Bay League win of the season on Friday.
The Devils have 12 players on this season’s team, a bump up from last year.
“There’s more word around school,” SuHi head coach Brandon Fox explained.
Marco Salazar (four goals) and Phillip Brandon (three goals, and two assists) led Sweetwater (1-3 in league play, 2-5 overall) on the scoreboard against the Mariners (2-4 in league play, 2-6 overall). Eddie Hijar scored one goal while Adrian Kercher contributed one assist. Goaltender Joel Ojeda continued his strong play by making 25 saves. Ojeda made 34 saves in the loss to Otay Ranch earlier in the week.
“We’ve improved,” Fox said. “We’ve been working hard for it. We have a roster of 12, and it’s grown from last year.”
Fox said the biggest attribute of this year’s squad is its commitment to improving. “Everyone on the team comes to practice. We have three to four practices during the week with games. The commitment is there.”
Jacob Dilliott paced Mar Vista with two goals and one assist while teammate Eloy Rodriguez contributed a goal and two assists.
Eastlake streaks past Trojans in 9-3 non-league win
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 15, 2016 – Sophomore newcomer Jake Powell collected two goals and three assists and freshman newcomer Luke Killeen tacked on two goals and two assists to spearhead the Eastlake Titans in their non-league match-up against last year’s South Bay League champions.
The Titans, who improved to 6-2 overall on the season, also received two goals and one assist from Sean Layton, two goals from Seiya Hagiya, one goal from Percilla Mayer and one assist from Stefanos Alexiou. Goaltender Kevin Hooks finished the game with 15 saves.
Marvin Cirignano led the Trojans (2-6 overall) with two goals and one assist while Eleazar Cruz scored one goal and Isaac Montero contributed one assist.
Spartans edge Raiders, remain perfect in South Bay League play
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 15, 2016 – The Chula Vista Spartans’ magical season continued Friday amid drizzle as they posted a 2-1 victory against the Southwest Raiders to remain undefeated in South Bay League play. The Spartans (7-1 overall) improved to 5-0 in league play after the game was called following two periods due to a wet playing surface.
The Raiders were coming off their first league win – an impressive 5-0 verdict over Castle Park on Wednesday – and played Chula Vista to a scoreless stalemate through the opening period.
Hector Garica scored the game’s first goal by lifting a shot just over the outstretched arm of Southwest goaltender Mariana Cornel. Jesse Amador doubled the Spartan lead to 2-0 before Agustine Munoz put the Raiders on the scoreboard.
Cornel, who was sensational at times, finished the game with 15 saves in the loss. Southwest dropped to 1-3 in league play, 2-5 on the season.
NORTH COUNTY REPORT:
No more unbeatens as Dons, Broncos fall
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Jan. 11, 2016 – There are no more unbeaten teams in the CIF-Metro Conference as the 2015-16 season nears its midpoint. The Cathedral Catholic Dons and Rancho Bernardo Broncos had both entered the new year sporting undefeated records, but no more after the Poway Titans topped the top-ranked Dons, 7-5, and the Scripps Ranch Falcons slipped past the second-ranked Broncos, 4-1, in a pair of high profile non-league games played Monday.
Poway 7, Cathedral Catholic 5
Rory Herrman propelled the Titans over the previously unbeaten Dons on the strength of five goals. Cathedral Catholic took a 2-1 lead after the first period and led 4-2 after two periods before Herrman, generally regarded as the top high school-age ice hockey player in San Diego County, caught fire with a hat trick in the third period.
Liam Garry and Greg Dhillion also scored for the Titans (3-4 overall). John Leone led the Dons (5-1 overall) with two goals while Drew Jones, Adam Stocker and Kyle Riddlespurger each scored one goal.
Scripps Ranch 4, Rancho Bernardo 1
Rancho Bernardo saw its 44-game consecutive winning streak ended by the Falcons. Casey Wu, last year’s All-CIF First Team goaltender, had an incredible night and came close to recording a shutout win over the two-time defending Kiwanis Cup champion Broncos.
The first period was fast paced with both goaltenders making key saves. A tripping penalty by Stewart Pond of the Falcons gave the power play to the Broncos. With the Broncos in possession of the puck, they pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker. As the Broncos set up a 5-on-4 power play, a missed pass saw the puck slide down the rink and into the Broncos empty net to give the Falcons a surprise 1-0 lead after the first period.
The second period was played tightly until a holding penalty was called on Ryan Wilson, giving the Falcons the power play. A minute later, Stewart Pond scored to extend the Scripps Ranch lead to 2-0. The third period begin with the Falcons Jesse Lycan scoring an unassisted goal to make the score 3-0 in favor of Scripps Ranch.
The Falcons then killed two power plays before Wilson scored to trim Rancho Bernardo’s deficit to 3-1. With the Broncos netminder pulled, Pond iced the game with an empty net goal to put an end to the Broncos’ marathon winning streak.
Pond paced Scripps Ranch (5-4 overall) with two goals while Matt Gauthier contributed one goal and one assist and Lycan chipped in with one goal.
Wilson scored the lone goal for the Broncos (5-1 overall) with the assist from Alex Pang. Jakob Ogan played strong in the net for the Broncos and made several amazing saves. But, in the end, it was the Falcons’ pressure and strong special teams play that won the game.
Wolverines muzzle Wolf Pack, capture 14-1 non-league win
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Jan. 11, 2016 – Westview received hat tricks from Dallas Oleson and Josh Groll and two goals scored each from Josh Morrison, Keisi Takaya, Laurent Lee and Lyusyen Loshak in rolling past West Hills. Greg Oleynichenko earned the victory between the pipes.
Falcons topple Dons in key Central League clash
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Jan. 13, 2016 – Round Two of the Central League clash between the Cathedral Catholic Dons and the Scripps Ranch Falcons went to the Falcons by a score of 8-5 Wednesday evening.
The Falcons grabbed a 1-0 lead just 30 seconds into the game when Stewart Pond hit Matt Gauthier to give the Falcons the lead and they never looked back. A minute later, Jesse Lycan scored to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead.
Jake Belland (the son of former Gulls great Brad Belland) scored two goals in a row to tie the game before Lycan ripped off three straight goals to put Scripps Ranch back on top.
Falcon goaltender Casey Wu was outstanding between the pipes to throw his hat into the ring as a potential player of the year candidate. Lycan finished the game with five goals and an assist while Gauthier had two goals and two assists. Pond had one goal and two assists, and Cody Sherman had four assists,
Belland paced Cathedral Catholic with two goals and one assist; Drew Jones had one goal and two assists while John Leone and Sam Lathus each scored one goal.
Scripps Ranch improved to 2-2 in Central League action, 4-4 overall. The Dons, who suffered their second consecutive loss to drop to 5-2 overall, saw their Central League-leading record diminish to 3-1.
Wolverines corner Escondido Charter in 14-3 victory
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Jan. 13, 2016 – Josh Morrison scored eight goals to lead Westview past the White Tigers in a North County League contest. Dallas Oleson chipped in with four goals while Jacob Groll and Keisi Takaya each collected one goal. Greg Oleynichenko was the winning goaltender. The Wolverines pushed their overall record to 5-3, 3-2 in league play. Escondido Charter dropped to 3-5 overall, 2-4 in league play.
CIF-Metro Conference Standings
(Through Jan. 15)
Central League
Cathedral Catholic Dons 3-1, 5-2
St, Augustine Saints 2-1-1, 3-4-1
Scripps Ranch Falcons 2-3, 5-4
West Hills Wolf Pack 1-2-1, 2-5-1
North County League
Rancho Bernardo Broncos 3-0, 5-1
Westview Wolverines 3-2, 5-3
Escondido Charter White Tigers 2-4, 3-5
Poway Titans 1-2, 3-4
Mesa League
Otay Ranch Mustangs 4-0, 6-2
Eastlake Titans 3-1, 6-2
Hilltop Lancers 1-3, 4-3
Bonita Vista Barons 0-4, 1-6
South Bay League
Chula Vista Spartans 5-0, 7-1
Castle Park Trojans 2-2, 2-6
Southwest Raiders 2-3, 2-5
Mar Vista Mariners 2-4, 2-6
Sweetwater Red Devils 1-3, 2-5
Monday, Jan. 11
Non-League
Otay Ranch 7, Sweetwater 0
Escondido Charter 21, Eastlake 2
Poway 7, Cathedral Catholic 5
Westview 14, West Hills 1
Scripps Ranch 4, Rancho Bernardo 1
Tuesday, Jan. 12
Non-League
Chula Vista 7, Bonita Vista 1
Eastlake 5, Southwest 0
Hilltop 10, Castle Park 5
Wednesday, Jan. 13
North County League
Westview 14, Escondido Charter 3
Central League
Scripps Ranch 8, Cathedral Catholic 5
West Hills 5, St. Augustine 4 (OT)
South Bay League
Chula Vista 12, Mar Vista 2
Southwest 5, Castle Park 0
Non-League
Poway 9, Otay Ranch 2
Thursday, Jan. 14
Central League
St. Augustine 6, Scripps Ranch 3
Mesa League
Otay Ranch 7, Hilltop 1
Eastlake 4, Bonita Vista 1
Friday. Jan. 15
South Bay League
Sweetwater 8, Mar Vista 3
Chula Vista 2, Southwest 1
Non-League
Eastlake 9, Castle Park 3
CIF-Metro Conference Rankings
(Through Jan. 15)
- Rancho Bernardo Broncos
- Cathedral Catholic Dons
- Scripps Ranch Falcons
- Westview Wolverines
- Poway Titans
- Escondido Charter White Tigers
- West Hills Wolf Pack
- St. Augustine Saints
- Otay Ranch Mustangs
- Eastlake Titans
- Hilltop Lancers
- Chula Vista Spartans
