The San Diego State University men’s club ice hockey team is off to an undefeated start; the Aztecs are led by a familiar face — one from South County.
Former Eastlake High School roller hockey scoring wizard Aaron Mayer returns to lead the Aztecs as a junior left wing. Mayer holds the single-season scoring record of 177 points set during the 2014-5 CIF/Metro Conference roller hockey season.
He’s just as talented and proficient in the scoring column on the ice. He led SDSU in regular season scoring last season with 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 25 games. In his first two seasons with the Aztecs, Mayer collected 44 goals and 82 points in 51 games.
He tallied 22 goals and 36 points during his freshman season with the Aztecs in 2015-6 and tacked on 22 goals and 46 points last season as a sophomore, including playoff games.
He’s putting his name in the scorebook on a regular basis once again this season.
SDSU faced off the season Sept. 28 with a 2-1 non-conference victory against Dallas Baptist University at the newly christened Poway Ice arena.
The teams met again on Sept. 29 in a second game at Poway Ice, with SDSU claiming a 9-3 win. Mayer proved high point man for the Aztecs with two goals and two assists.
Dallas Baptist University entered the two games with a 6-0 record. SDSU, which improved to 2-0, next faced Loyola Maryount University in a Sept. 30 game at Poway Ice. The Aztecs won, 7-2, to sweep the trio of opening weekend games. Mayer picked up one assist in the latter game to increase his scoring totals to two goals and three assists in three games.
SDSU head coach Phil Bateman has coached Mayer from the youth club level now into college.
“Aaron was our leading scorer last season and is off to a fast start in the 2017 campaign,” Bateman said. “Aaron has tremendous play-making ability on the ice. His vision and creativity is something that I am sure is echoed on the roller rink. He is by far one of the most coachable players I have had the privilege to work with over the years.”
The Aztecs improved to 4-0 after defeating UCLA, 5-1, in an Oct. 6 game at Poway Ice.
SDSU kept the momentum going with a 10-2 win over the Bruins on Oct. 7 to start the season 5-0. The Aztecs remained unbeaten in regulation play after dropping a 3-2 shootout decision to Grand Canyon University on Oct. 8 to extend its strong season start to 5-0-1.
SDSU had outscored its opening five opponents 33-9 to face off the 2017-18 season.
SDSU’s success has come with the infusion of 10 new players to the program, according to Bateman.
“The team this year is a very young talented team,” Bateman explained. “The team is off to a great start (5-0-1) with our one loss being a shootout loss.”
Early season scoring leaders featured forwards Patrick Miller (four goals, four assists) and Steven Plante (three goals, five assists), each with eight points through the team’s opening four games. Meanwhile, goaltender Austin Hathcoat was 4-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
Forward Anthony Mata, a Westview High School roller hockey standout, scored both regulation goals for the Aztecs against GCU. Mayer set up Mata’s game-tying goal at 16:05 of the third period to erase a 2-1 deficit.
Impact newcomers include forwards Patrick Meier, Plante, Reece Breukman and Tristan Macalooloy and defensemen Tyler Smith, Griffin Holland and Derek Bell.
“They all come with a great hockey pedigree and, in Derek’s case, he is a grad student who was a four-year offensive lineman at Michigan University,” Bateman said. “Our returners are the core of the team.”
Besides Mayer, other top returners include forward Hayden Bolls, Hathcoat, Patrick Miller, defenseman Josh Nobida and forward Isaac Miller.
Regular season play continues through early February. The Aztecs host Chapman University on Saturday, Oct. 14, at Poway Ice, starting at 7 p.m.
SDSU hosts Cal State Northridge Oct. 21 and Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 21, also at 7 p.m. at Poway Ice.
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