Sweetwater district hockey teams are set to roll out for second half of season

Play among Sweetwater district roller hockey teams resumes Tuesday, Jan. 13, with three games scheduled at the Castle Park High School rink. The 2015 calendar portion of the 2014-15 season starts off with a pair of South Bay League match-ups between Southwest and Sweetwater at 4 p.m. and Castle Park and Chula Vista at 5 p.m., followed by a non-league clash at 5 p.m. putting Mar Vista and Eastlake.

Southwest is the defending South Bay League champion.

Eastlake entered the winter break with a 3-0 record while Castle Park was 1-1, Mar Vista and Sweetwater were both 0-2 and Southwest and Chula Vista were both 0-4, all in non-league play.

Game action continues Wednesday, Jan. 14, with a pair of Mesa League contests: Hilltop against Otay Ranch at 4:30 p.m. and Eastlake against Bonita Vista at 5:30 p.m.

Hilltop entered the winter break with a 4-0 record in non-league competition while Otay Ranch and Bonita Vista  were both 3-1.

Eastlake is the defending league champion.

“The Barons are definitely excited about the start of Mesa League play now,” Bonita Vista coach Keith Quigley said. “It will be good to get an early idea on where we stand in our division. Lots of hockey left to be played but the divisional match-ups are always important.”

Defending Kiwanis Cup champion Broncos stay perfect to start season
The defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo Broncos picked up right where they left off by defeating the West Hills Wolf Pack, 21-4, in a non-league game Monday, Jan. 5, at the Skate San Diego roller rink in El Cajon. The Broncos entered the winter break with the best record of 5-0-0 among CIF-Metro Conference teams, and continued to make a statement to start the 2014-15 season.

Spencer Ridout led RB in its latest conquest with nine goals and three assists, while teammate Alex Pelletier scored six goals. Also giving the Broncos an offensive boost were Ryan Wilson (3 goals, 3 assists) and Brendan O’Rourke (2 goals, 4 assists).

Bailey Ridout contributed a goal and two assists while Sungwoo Kim had two assists and Bradley Larson picked up one assist.

In six games, Spencer Ridout leads the conference in scoring with 33 goals and 18 assists.

Back on top
Joey Gelsomino has assumed coaching duties this season of the Broncos and, despite his team’s strong start, states “it’s anyone’s game” to claim the conference championship.

“The ultimate goal is for our program to continue its high caliber play year after year with the end result being the CIF champion,” Gelsomino said.

Which teams might be the Broncos’ chief challengers this season?

“I have a feeling Scripps Ranch is going to surprise a few people during the season as well as Westview,” Gelsomino explained. “Both teams are very talented and have great goalies. Cathedral Catholic also looks very dangerous. They have a lot of weapons on the rink and a great coach who can mold their game plan.”

Rancho Bernardo has won five championships in its history: 2000-01 and 2002-03 in the club-based San Diego County High School Roller Hockey Conference and 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2013-14 in the CIF-Metro Conference.

Top returners this season include senior forwards Spencer Ridout and Pelletier and sophomore defensemen Bailey Ridout and Wilson. Impact newcomers include Larson, a freshman, and senior netminder Josh Christie.

Larson is new to roller hockey but has an experienced background in ice hockey. He currently plays Bantam AA for the SDIA Oilers (where he is team captain).

“Brad is an impressive player, and is going to get better within the rest of the season,” the RBHS coach noted.

Christie had previously played for the Broncos’ JV team from his freshman through his junior years. “Josh played JV behind three talented goaltenders on varsity his first few years, now he’s up to the challenge and accepted it and impressed the team and league so far,” Gelsomino explained. “He’s a determined player with a positive attitude and adds to the leadership of the team. He’s highly school spirited and is looking to win it all this season.”

Westview has won four Kiwanis Cup championships since joining the CIF-Metro Conference: 2005-06 and three consecutive from 2009-11. The Wolverines finished 19-3 in 2013-14, losing three times to Rancho Bernardo, including in the championship game.

Coach Ron Smith said team goals this season are “to be competitive in every game, work hard and finish strong.”

“We’re looking forward to bringing the CIF championship back to WVHS,” Smith said.

Top returners include senior defensive skaters Yves Wagner and Gilad Barzilai, senior offensive skater Scott Hord and sophomore standout Josh Morrison.

Morrison chalked up 52 goals and 13 assists last season as an all-conference selection, while Hord had 27 goals and 11 assists and Barzilai scored 24 goals and 11 assists last season.

Second-year varsity goaltender Lance Lee and forward/defensive skater Daniil Lukoyanov are the team’s impact newcomers.

“This season Rancho Bernardo, Cathedral Catholic, Poway and Scripps Ranch look like teams to beat,” Smith said.

Scripps Ranch head coach Greg Friedman calls the 2014-15 edition of the Falcons a work in progress. “We’re young but we’re getting there,” he said.

Top returners for Scripps Ranch include senior Taegan Warren, junior goaltender Casey Wu and sophomores Jesse Lycan and London Peters.

Impact newcomers include senior Shaun Simmons and freshmen Matt Gauthier, Stewart Pond, Wesley Lim and Leo Gaffrey.

Lycan had collected 10 goals and four assists in his team’s opening three games while Gauthier had four goals and five assists.

New year ushers in exciting non-league contests

In games played Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Escondido Sports Center:

Scripps Ranch 9, St. Augustine 8
Jan. 7 at Escondido Sports Center: Scripps Ranch was short handed with six skaters but managed to pull out a heroic win over the hard-charging Saints. St. Augustine took the 1-0 lead in the opening15 seconds on a goal by Nick Heid, then went up 2-0 before Scripps Ranch tied the score, 2-2 to end the first period. The second period ended 6-5 with St. Augustine leading. In the third period, St. Augusitne extended its lead to 8-5 before the Falcons’ Jesse Lycan caught fire by scoring two goals to make it 8-7 Saints. With two minutes remaining in regulation play, a tripping call gave the Saints a power play. Despite playing short-handed, Scripps’ Taegan Warren hit Lycan for the game-tying goal.  With 48 seconds left, Lycan scored his fourth consecutive goal to give Scripps Ranch its only lead of the game. St. Augustine then pulled its goaltender and, with the Saints playing five-on-three, the Scripps trio of Lycan, Warren, and Matt Gauthier, with strong goaltending from Casey Wu, held St. Augusitne off the scoreboard to seal the victory.  Wu made 27 saves on the night.

For Scripps Ranch, Lycan finished the game with six goals and two assists, while Wesley Rim had two goals, Gauthier had one goal, Warren had two assists and Leo Gaffrey had one assist.

Nick Heid led the Saints with four goals while Charlie Tomlin had two goals and Domenico Cianfione scored once.

Poway 20, La Jolla Country Day 1
Jan. 7 at Escondido Sports Center: Eric Wright led the victorious Titans with five goals and four assists, while teammates Charlie Liebman, Nick Holdman and Kit Carter each collected three goals. George Little scored the lone goal for the Torreys.

Rancho Bernardo 8, Cathedral Catholic 4
The top-ranked Broncos and second-seeded Dons combined for 12 goals – five of them coming on special teams play (four power play goals and one short-handed goal).  RB beat Cathedral to remain undefeated on the season and also maintain its No. 1 conference ranking. The Dons scored first but the Broncos reeled off six unanswered goals to take control of the game. Conference scoring leader Spencer Ridout led Rancho Bernardo with three goals and one assist while younger brother Bailey Ridout scored a hat trick, Alex Pelletier had a goal and two assists, Ryan Wilson had a goal and assist and Nick Wagner picked up one assist. RB out-shot Cathedral 23-10. Will Devaney and Drew Jones led the Dons with a goal and assist each while Charlie Pape, Jake Belland and Sam Angeles each scored single goals.

Westview 14, West Hills 1
Josh Morrison racked up eight goals and one assist while teammate Gilad Barzlai recorded a hat trick. Dylan Siminofff scored the lone goal for the Wolf Pack.

In games played Monday, Jan. 5, at the Escondido Sports Center:

Poway 12, St. Augustine 3
Eric Wright scored seven goals, Charlie Liebman had two goals and two assists and Nick Holdman scored twice to pace the Titans. Ian Harkness had two goals and Nick Heid scored to lead the Saints.

Cathedral Catholic 5, Westview 4
The Dons scored with 1:26 left to win the game on a goal by Sam Angeles, assisted by John Leone. Angeles had two goals in the game to match teammate Drew Jones while Adam Stocker rounded out the scoring for Cathedral Catholic, which improved to 3-0 on the season. For Westview, which saw its record dip to 3-2, Yves Wagner and Josh Morrison each had two goals.

Scripps Ranch 16, La Jolla Country Day 3
Newcomers Shaun Simmons and Matt Gauthier put together a highlight reel showing with eight goals and seven assists between them. Simmons led the Falcons with four goals and four assists while Gauthier, a freshman, had four goals and three assists. Team scoring leader Jesse Lycan added a goal and three assists while Wesley Rim collected three goals and one assist, Scott Rhyne had two goals and Stewart Pond contributed one goal and one assist.


CIF-Metro Conference Scoring Leaders

Sweeetwater district schools
(Through Dec. 19)
Player, team

Devyn Taras (Otay Ranch) 10 goals, 16 assists – 26 points
Sam Bawden (Eastlake) 10 goals, 8 assists – 18 points
Aaron Mayer (Eastlake) 13 goals, 3 assists – 16 points
Michael Mechling (Eastlake) 9 goals, 5 assists – 14 points
Danny Godinez (Hilltop) 7 goals, 7 assists – 14 points
David Mendez (Otay Ranch) 12 goals, 1 assist – 13 points
Andrew Tesner (Hilltop) 10 goals, 2 assists – 12 points
Ricardo Portilla (Otay Ranch) 5 goals, 5 assists – 10 points
Leo Gurrola (Bonita Vista) 7 goals, 1 assist – 8 points

Non-Sweetwater district schools
(Through Dec. 19)
Player, name

Spencer Ridout (Rancho Bernardo) 24 goals, 15 assists – 39 points
Eric Wright (Poway) 14 goals, 9 assists – 23 points
Alex Pelletier (Rancho Bernardo) 13 goals, 5 assists – 18 points
Nick Wagner (Rancho Bernardo) 9 goals, 6 assists – 16 points
Nick Heid (St. Augustine) 13 goals, 2 assists – 15 points
Bailey Ridout (Rancho Bernardo) 8 goals, 7 assists – 15 points
Ryan Wilson (Rancho Bernardo) 7 goals, 8 assists – 15 points
Jesse Lycan (Scripps Ranch) 10 goals, 4 assists – 14 points
Gilad Barzilai (Westview) 7 goals, 7 assists – 14 points
Yves Wagner (Westview) 7 goals, 5 assists – 12 points
Scott Hord (Westview) 7 goals, 5 assists – 12 points
Cade Frederick (West Hills) 10 goals, 1 assist – 11 points
Josh Morrison (Westview) 6 goals, 5 assists – 11 points
Ian Harkness (St. Augustine) 6 goals, 4 assists – 10 points
Drew Jones (Cathedral Catholic) 3 goals, 7 assists – 10 points
Brendan O’Rourke (Rancho Bernardo) 5 goals, 4 assists – 9 points
Dallas Okson (Westview) 5 goals, 4 assists – 9 points
Bradley Larson (Rancho Bernardo) 4 goals, 5 assists – 9 points
Matt Gauthier (Scripps Ranch) 4 goals, 5 assists – 9 points
Daniil Lukoyanov (Westview) 4 goals, 5 assists – 9 points
Charlie Liebman (Poway) 4 goals, 4 assists – 9 points
Adam Stocker (Cathedral Catholci) 5 goals, 2 assists – 7 points
Sam Angeles (Cathedral Catholic) 4 goals, 3 assists – 7 points
Shaun Simmons (Scripps Ranch) 2 goals, 5 assists – 7 points

Composite Conference Scoring Leaders

(Through Dec. 19)
Player, name

Spencer Ridout (Rancho Bernardo) 24 goals, 15 assists – 39 points
Devyn Taras (Otay Ranch) 10 goals, 16 assists – 26 points
Eric Wright (Poway) 14 goals, 9 assists – 23 points
Alex Pelletier (Rancho Bernardo) 13 goals, 5 assists – 18 points
Sam Bawden (Eastlake) 10 goals, 8 assists – 18 points
Aaron Mayer (Eastlake) 13 goals, 3 assists – 16 points
Nick Wagner (Rancho Bernardo) 9 goals, 6 assists – 16 points
Nick Heid (St. Augustine) 13 goals, 2 assists – 15 points
Bailey Ridout (Rancho Bernardo) 8 goals, 7 assists – 15 points
Ryan Wilson (Rancho Bernardo) 7 goals, 8 assists – 15 points
Jesse Lycan (Scripps Ranch) 10 goals, 4 assists – 14 points
Michael Mechling (Eastlake) 9 goals, 5 assists – 14 points
Danny Godinez (Hilltop) 7 goals, 7 assists – 14 points
Gilad Barzilai (Westview) 7 goals, 7 assists – 14 points
David Mendez (Otay Ranch) 12 goals, 1 assist – 13 points
Andrew Tesner (Hilltop) 10 goals, 2 assists – 12 points
Yves Wagner (Westview) 7 goals, 5 assists – 12 points
Scott Hord (Westview) 7 goals, 5 assists – 12 points
Cade Frederick (West Hills) 10 goals, 1 assist – 11 points
Josh Morrison (Westview) 6 goals, 5 assists – 11 points
Drew Jones (Cathedral Catholic) 3 goals, 7 assists – 10 points
Ian Harkness (St. Augustine) 6 goals, 4 assists – 10 points
Ricardo Portilla (Otay Ranch) 5 goals, 5 assists – 10 points
Brendan O’Rourke (Rancho Bernardo) 5 goals, 4 assists – 9 points
Dallas Okson (Westview) 5 goals, 4 assists – 9 points
Bradley Larson (Rancho Bernardo) 4 goals, 5 assists – 9 points
Matt Gauthier (Scripps Ranch) 4 goals, 5 assists – 9 points
Daniil Lukoyanov (Westview) 4 goals, 5 assists – 9 points
Charlie Liebman (Poway) 4 goals, 4 assists – 9 points
Leo Gurrola (Bonita Vista) 7 goals, 1 assist – 8 points
Adam Stocker (Cathedral Catholci) 5 goals, 2 assists – 7 points
Sam Angeles (Cathedral Catholic) 4 goals, 3 assists – 7 points
Shaun Simmons (Scripps Ranch) 2 goals, 5 assists – 7 points

CIF-Metro Conference League Standings
(Through Dec. 19)

Mesa League
Hilltop Lancers 0-0, 4-0
Eastlake Titans 0-0, 3-0
Otay Ranch Mustangs 0-0, 3-1
Bonita Vista Barons 0-0, 3-1

South Bay League
Castle Park Trojans 0-0, 1-1
Mar Vista Mariners 0-0, 0-2
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-0, 0-2
Chula Vista Spartans 0-0, 0-4
Southwest Raiders 0-0, 0-4

Central League
Cathedral Catholic Dons 2-0, 2-0
St. Augustine Saints 2-1, 3-3
West Hills Wolf Pack 1-2, 1-3
La Jolla Country Day Torreys 0-2, 0-4

North County League
Rancho Bernardo Broncos 3-0, 5-0
Westview Wolverines 1-1, 3-1
Poway Titans 1-1, 2-1
Scripps Ranch Falcons 0-3, 0-3* (1 overtime loss)

Standings updated through Jan. 7, 2015

Central League
Cathedral Catholic Dons 2-0, 3-1
St. Augustine Saints 2-1, 3-5
West Hills Wolf Pack 1-2, 1-5
La Jolla Country Day Torreys 0-2, 0-6

North County League
Rancho Bernardo Broncos 3-0, 7-0
Westview Wolverines 1-1, 4-2
Poway Titans 1-1, 4-1
Scripps Ranch Falcons 0-3, 2-3 (*1 overtime loss)

Monday, Jan. 5
Non-League

Poway 13, St. Augustine 3
Cathedral Catholic 5, Westview 4
Scripps Ranch 16, La Jolla Country Day 3
Rancho Bernardo 21, West Hills 4

Wednesday, Jan. 7
Non-League
Westview 14, West Hills 1
Scripps Ranch 9, St. Augustine 8
Poway 20, La Jolla Country Day 1
Rancho Bernardo 8, Cathedral Catholic 4

Monday, Jan. 12
North County League
Poway 8, Cathedral Catholic 4
Scripps Ranch 9, West Hills 3

Non-League
Westview 7, St. Augustine 0

Wednesday, Jan. 14
North County League

Westview 16, Poway 7
Rancho Bernardo 13, Scripps Ranch 5

Central League
Cathedral Catholic 20, La Jolla Country Day 0
St. Augustine 5, West Hills 5

Central Coast High School Hockey League
(Standings through Dec. 20)

Varsity Division
Santa Barbara Gold 5-1-0, 10 points
NorCo 4-1-1, 9 points
Santa Barbara Blue 4-2-0, 8 points
San Luis Obispo 1-5-0, 2 points
Central Coast Chiefs 0-5-1, 1 points

Scoring Leaders
Sören Wild (SB Gold) 14 goals, 3 assists, 17 points
Kees Fedyk (SB Blue) 13 goals, 4 assists, 17 points
Kai Tomaszewski (SLO) 9 goals, 6 assists, 15 points
Nolan Cope (SB Gold) 9 goals, 5 assists, 14 points
Ben Essig (SB Gold) 6 goals, 6 assists. 12 points
Taylor Dixon (SB Gold) 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points
Devon Cetti (SB Gold) 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points
Casey Cook (NorCo) 8 goals, 1 assist, 9 points
Hans Fedyk (SB Blue) 7 goals, 2 assists, 9 points
Bryce Bryant (NorCo) 6 goals, 2 assists, 8 points
Nick Lapidus (SLO) 6 goals, 2 assists, 8 points
Colby Olive (NorCo) 6 goals, 2 assists, 8 points
Tommy Heckman (NorCo) 1 goal, 7 assists, 8 points

Goaltenders
Matt Dodds (NorCo) .88 save percentage
Kevin Hough (SB Gold) .85 save percentage
Will Hahn (SB Blue) .84 save percentage
Eli Ward (Chiefs) .83 save percentage
Henry Bordeaux (SLO) .79 save percentage
Sam Secord (SLO) .77 save percentage


Junior Varsity Division

Santa Barbara Blue 5-0-1, 11 points
Santa Barbara Gold 4-2-0, 8 points
NorCo 1-3-2, 4 points
San Luis Obispo 1-3-2, 4 points
Central Coast 1-4-1, 3 points

Scoring Leaders
Shea Rouseau (SB Blue) 13 goals, 5 assists, 18 points
Will Hahn (SB Gold) 10 goals, 6 assists, 16 points
Max Youngson (SB Gold) 6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points
Cameron Baron (SB Blue) 8 goals, 3 assists, 11 points
Annelle Ratcliffe (SB Blue) 8 goals, 2 assists, 10 points
Jared Fitton (SB Gold) 6 goals, 4 assists, 10 points

Goaltenders
Ian Cope (SB Blue) .89 save percentage
Alec Klymshyn (NorCo) .88 save percentage
Will Christian (SLO) .88 save percentage
Tyler Tencati (Central Coast) .85 save percentage

Anaheim Ducks Inline Scholastic League
(Midseason statistical report)
Division I

Team standings: Marina (5-2-0, 10 points), Canyon (3-0-0, 6 points), Newport Harbor (2-2-0-1, 5 points), El Toro (2-3-0, 4 points). Tesoro (2-3-0, 4 points), Laguna Hills (2-4-0, 4 points)

Goals-per-game leader:
Marina (7.14)
Goals-against average: Canyon (3.00)

Top scoring leaders: Cannon Kunichika (Marina) 21 goals, 12 assists in seven games played; Evan Stapleton (Marina) 10 goals, 8 assists in seven games played; Cameron McCartin (Tesoro) 7 goals, 6 assists in five games played.

Top goaltender: Ron Best (Canyon) 3.00 GAA

Division 2
Team standings
: Santiago (5-2-0, 10 points), Mission Viejo (5-3-0, 10 points), Pacifica (4-2-0-1, 9 points), Chino Hills (2-4-0, 4 points), Capo Valley (1-6-0, 2 points)

Goals-per game: Pacifica (6.29)
Goals against average: Santiago (2.86)

Top scoring leaders:
J.P. Merrick (Pacifica) 14 goals, 7 assists in six games played; Blake Abel (Mission Viejo) 9 goals, 10 assists in six games played; Jake Brady (Mission Viejo) 12 goals, 5 assists in six games played)

Top goaltender: Jordan McManama (Santiago) 2.86 GAA

Division 3/4
Team standings:
Edison (4-1-1, 9 points), Fountain Valley (4-2-1, 9 points), Woodbridge (3-1-2, 8 points), Mater Dei (4-2-0, 8 points), Northwood (2-5-0, 4 points), Trabuco Hills (2-2-0, 4 points), Corona Del Mar (1-2-0, 2 points), Los Alamitos (1-6-0, 2 points).
Note: Division will be split for the playoffs

Goals-per-game: Edison (6.83)
Goals-against-average: Woodbridge (3.67)

Top scoring leaders: Ian Bast (Fountain Valley) 17 goals, 10 assists in six games played; Chris Fawcett (Woodbridge) 14 goals, 7 assists in five games played; Charley Lowe (Edison) 9 goals, 9 assists in four games played.

Top goaltender: Joey Willis (Woodbridge) 3.67

Division 5
Team standings:
Marina (5-0-1, 11 points), El Toro (5-0-1, 11 points), Santiago (2-4-0, 4 points), Eleanor Roosevelt (2-4-0, 4 points), Santa Margarita Catholic (1-4-1, 3 points), Villa Park (1-4-1, 3 points)

Goals-per-game: Marina (7.33)
Goals-against-average: Marina (3.83)

Top scoring leaders: Ryan Romans (Eleanor Roosevelt) 24 goals, 3 assists in six games played; Nick Vardon (El Toro) 17 goals, 8 assists in seven games played; Dylan Simon (Villa Park) 12 goals, 2 assists in six games played.

Top goaltender:
Ally Kirby (Marina) 4.33 GAA