Friday’s 2026 edition of the Metro Conference roller hockey championship tournament’s grand finale is set: the top-seeded Eastlake Titans versus the third-seeded Otay Ranch Mustangs.
The Titans (13-0) are bidding to conclude an undefeated season while the new-look Mustangs (10-4) are seeking to end the season on a high note.
Face-off is 6 p.m. at the Castle Park High School outdoor rink.
The finals pairing was set up following Wednesday’s semifinals. Eastlake defeated the fourth-seeded Bonita Vista Barons (5-9) by a score of 11-1, evoking the 10-goal mercy rule after the second period, while Otay Ranch upset the second-seeded Hilltop Lancers (12-2) by a score of 10-3.
Eastlake rolled into last year’s tournament championship game also undefeated while sporting a 19-0 record but the Barons stood in their way of a perfect season by engineering the season’s game of the year performance.
The pressure appears to be on the Titans to get the job done this year.
“We’ve worked really hard since last year to get to this point,” EHS coach Chris Rollbusch Sr. said. “This team of seniors is looking forward to the championship game against Otay Ranch. I think this year’s finals game is going to have the best hockey down here in this rink in three years since we played Cathedral Catholic (a 7-1 win by the visiting Dons in the 2024 quarterfinals).”
In that game, fifth-seeded Cathedral Catholic broke open a tight game with four third-period goals after leading just 1-0 through the first period against the fourth-seeded Titans to advance to the semifinals.
In semis played at the Escondido Sports Center, top-seeded Westview tipped Cathedral Catholic, 4-3, in overtime while sixth-seeded Scripps Ranch eliminated Poway by a score of 5-1.
Scripps Ranch rolled to its fifth Kiwanis Cup championship (sixth conference championship overall) to conclude the 12-team tournament with a 6-2 win over the Wolverines.
The Falcons concluded undefeated seasons in 2023-24 (22-0) and 2018-19 (18-0). Rancho Bernardo concluded a 20-0 undefeated season in 2014-15.
New horizons
The reigning Metro-Mesa League champion Titans opened scoring early with an unassisted goal by junior Sid Jonason and never really stopped scoring. The Barons made it 2-1 on a goal by team leader Aaron Odvina but Eastlake quickly regrouped to net the game’s final nine goals. When Sam Chavez nudged in a shot just before the second period buzzer sounded, the Titans had built an 11-1 lead and the game was halted because of the 10-goal mercy rule.
Freshman wiz kid Jacob Fox led all scorers in the game with five goals while Jonason brought his own excitement to the rink with five points on three goals and two assists. Regular season conference scoring leader Chris Rollbusch Jr. contributed four points on two goals and two assists while Chavez collected three points on one goal and two assists.
Otay Ranch expects to pose a challenge after the late season addition of ice hockey twins Cole and Evan Frayer. The brothers combined for 12 points in the win over Metro-South Bay League champion Hilltop with Cole Frayer leading the way with eight points (five goals, three assists) and Evan Frayer notching four points (two goals, two assists).
The Mustangs have their own home-grown frosh sensation – Gavin Corriveau – to help drive them. Corriveau complemented the Frayers with five points of his own on four goals and one assist.
Cole Frayer opened scoring in the game, which expected to be closer than it turned out, with two goals, both assisted by star defenseman Santiago Pearson. Frayer’s 2-0 goal came on the power play.
Hilltop scoring leader Tre Nichols answered back on a breakaway to trim the early Otay Ranch lead to 2-1. But Evan Frayer responded with a goal in kind, assisted by his brother, to up the Mustang lead to 3-1 at the end of the first period.
Otay Ranch extended its lead to 5-1 on back-to-back goals by Corriveau (on a breakaway) and Cole Frayer. But Hilltop was not ready to roll over. Michael Han scored on a power play, assisted by Nichols, to make the score 5-2 at the end of the second period. Will Aceves managed to plop in a goal over a prone Otay Ranch goaltender and it was suddenly a two-goal game with the bulk of the third period remaining.
The Mustang defense took heart from that point on by taking space (and often times the puck) away from Nichols. Otay Ranch finished off the game with five unanswered goals to win by seven tally marks.
Corriveau, whose speed proved lethal, scored a pair of unanswered goals to help the Mustangs to a 7-3 lead, assisted both times by Cole Frayer. Otay Ranch scored two more goals on delayed penalties – one each by Evan Frayer and Cole Frayer. The brothers combined on a power play goal to up the score to 9-3.
Pearson tacked on two assists to round out scoring for the Mustangs while junior Jazzy (Jasmine) Gamez-Mack performed more than adequately in the Otay Ranch net by only allowing three pucks to get past her.
What do the new ice hockey additions have to say about suddenly finding themselves in the roller hockey playoffs? They have let their sticks to the talking for the most part.
“It’s new,” Evan Frayer said.
“It’s exciting,” Cole Frayer quickly added.
“It’s been fun meeting new players and playing the game,” Corriveau said.
“I didn’t really play last year, so it’s been a good second year,” Pearson said.
“I just tried to hold up No. 79 (on Hilltop),” Cole Frayer said of the team’s strategy in the semifinal game. “We tried to stay in the middle lane.”
“It’s a nice two weeks being on the team,” Evan Frayer added. “It’s an unbelievable experience helping this team.”
Ultimately, it was a team effort for the revitalized Mustangs.
“We have some good kids on the team,” Otay Ranch head coach Carolina Alfonso-Pierce said. “We were able to disarm their No. 1 weapon by keeping the puck off his stick.”
Prior to the game, the Mustangs recognized Keila Bayless and Lex Lopez on Senior Night.
“We have two seniors this year and we’ll have four seniors next year,” Alfonso-Pierce said. “We’re coming back strong.”
Kiwanis Cup Champions Honor Roll
2001: Bonita Vista Barons
2002: Bonita Vista Barons
2003 – La Jolla Country Day Torreys (Scripps Ranch declared conference champions)
2004 – Scripps Ranch Falcons (22-0 season)
2005: Scripps Ranch Falcons
2006: Westview Wolverines
2007: Rancho Bernardo Broncos
2008: Rancho Bernardo Broncos
2009: Westview Wolverines
2010: Westview Wolverines
2011: Westview Wolverines
2012: Poway Titans
2013: West Hills Wolf Pack
2014: Rancho Bernardo Broncos
2015: Rancho Bernardo Broncos (20-0 season)
2016: Westview Wolverines
2017: Westview Wolverines
2018: Rancho Bernardo Broncos
2019 – Scripps Ranch Falcons (18-0 season)
2020 – Scripps Ranch Falcons
2021 – Not contested
2022 – Cathedral Catholic Dons
2023 Del Norte Nighthawks
2024: Scripps Ranch Falcons
