The seeding meeting for the Kiwanis Cup playoffs is scheduled Saturday, Feb. 20, at Castle Park High School. At the meeting, coaches representatives from the CIF-Metro Conference’s four leagues will vote on the 12 teams that will gain admittance to this year’s playoff field. Coaches present will also vote on all-league and all-conference teams for the 2015-16 season.
League champions automatically qualify for the playoffs. Three of the four divisional championship races have already been decided. The Chula Vista Spartans will represent the South Bay League as this year’s league champion. The Otay Ranch Mustangs will represent the Mesa League as this year’s league champion while the Cathedral Catholic Dons will represent the Central League as this year’s league champion.
Still undecided is which team will win the North County League title. That honor will go to either the two-time defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo Broncos or the Westview Wolverines. Those two teams meet in their final regular season encounter this coming week (Wednesday, Feb. 18 at the Escondido Sports Center). Should Rancho Bernardo emerge victorious, the Broncos would claim the league title and a berth in the upcoming playoffs. However, should Westview win, the Wolverines would tie Rancho Bernardo atop the league standings and, by virtue of head-to-head wins (two to one), would win the tie-breaker to secure an automatic bid to the playoffs.
Mustangs keep rolling along, pick up three more wins
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Feb. 12, 2016 – The Otay Ranch Mustangs, recently crowned Mesa League champions for the 2015-16 season, kept their momentum building for the upcoming Kiwanis Cup playoffs by adding three more wins to their record this week. The Mustangs blanked the Mar Vista Mariners, 10-0, in a non-league game on Tuesday before grabbing back-to-back league victories against the Bonita Vista Barons – 7-1 on Thursday and 5-1 on Friday.
The three wins raised Otay Ranch’s record to 8-0 in league play, 17-5 overall. Head coach Jose Castro said his team has exceeded many of its goals already this season.
“At the beginning of the year, the players didn’t have a sense of when to pass or the flow of the game,” Castro explained. “We concentrated on skills. Now, they’re improved with their passes. We have a little more to work on. We’re not perfect. But this was a big week for us to get everyone involved. Our last game against Eastlake will hopefully prep us for the playoffs.”
Friday’s game was much closer than the final score indicated as the Barons, under veteran coach Keith Quigley, put together perhaps their best game of the season. The Bonita Vista defense, braced by starting goaltender Ashley Massarene, was superb. The Mustangs could only manage one goal in the opening frame and that came with just 2:16 left in the period as David Mendez notched an unassisted goal.
Otay Ranch doubled its lead to 2-0 when team captain Ricky Portilla scored a power play goal with 4:20 remaining in the second period. However, the Barons quickly made it a one-goal game again when Alex Tran scored with 2:52 to play in the period.
The 2-1 margin held up until late in the third period. Bonita Vista had an opportunity to tie the game when holding a two-man advantage on a power play for about a minute. However, the Mustangs managed to kill the two-man disadvantage on the floor. That marked a crucial turning point in the contest as Otay Ranch would later add three late goals to their total.
Mendez scored off a pass from Paul Chavez with 4:04 to play in the third period to make the score 3-1. Chavez then scored off a pass from Portilla with 3:15 to play to make the score 4-1, and Portilla completed scoring in the game when he scored a goal, assisted by Chavez, with 1:35 left to play
Quigley was visibly pumped by his team’s performance. “If we could just bottle this up, everyone played great,” he said.
Gabe Sosa got the win between the pipes for Otay Ranch. He picked up credit for the shutout win in Tuesday’s win over Mar Vista. In that game, Aaron Marientes led Otay Ranch with four points on a goal and three assists while Mendez and Portilla each collected two goals and one assist. The Mustangs scored four times in each of the first two periods to build an 8-0 lead in the game.
J.T. Santiago was the winning goaltender in Thursday’s game against Bonita Vista. Otay Ranch found itself in a battle early on, taking a 2-1 lead after the first period on a pair of goals by freshman sensation Sean Devaney sandwiched by a goal by BV frosh standout Nick Stark (assisted by Matt Custodio). The Mustangs added five more goals over the balance of the game.
Devaney finished the Mesa League contest with four goals. James Thomas, Mendez and Casey Prenatt each scored once in the game while Chavez was credited with two assists. Portilla notched one assist in the match-up.
The Barons (0-8 in league play, 6-15 overall) also concluded a busy week by going 2-2 in games against Sweetwater (5-2 win on Monday), Southwest (4-1 win on Tuesday) and the two losses to Otay Ranch.
In Monday’s game, the teams fought to a 1-1 standoff after the first period and a 2-2 draw after the second period before Bonita Vista marched to the victory with three goals in the third period. Custodio led the Barons with three goals and one assist while Stark scored twice. Phillip Brandon scored both goals for Sweetwater.
Custodio picked up two goals and assist in the victory against Southwest while Stark and Dylan Riley each collected goals. Bo Santos also contributed an assist in the winning effort. Alex Flores scored for Southwest in defeat.
Bonita Vista build a 2-0 first period lead and weathered a comeback by the Raiders, who scored their only goal of the game in the middle stanza to trim the Barons’ lead to one-goal. But Bonita Vista came back strong with two goals in the third period to secure the win.
Massarene earned the goaltending win over Southwest’s Mari Cornel.
The win was the second consecutive for Bonita Vista following Monday’s win over Sweetwater.
“I was very excited about the effort the team has been putting out the last couple of weeks,” Quigley said. “They’re really getting into it, showing more effort. We’ve got our passing game going. If you’re going to win, you’ve got to have good passing. We’ve had that. I also like how we’ve become more aggressive in games. It’s become more of a team effort.”
In a South Bay League game on Friday:
Whoa! Castle Park prevents Chula Vista from finishing undefeated in South Bay League play
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Feb. 12, 2016 – The Castle Park Trojans, last year’s South Bay League champion, didn’t pass the torch to this year’s league champion without serving notice to the Chula Vista Spartans. Castle Park, braced by seven goals from Marvin Ciriginano, prevented the Spartans from clutching a perfect 12-0 league season by doubling up the Spartans, 8-4, in a make-up game from December.
Eleazar Cruz contributed a goal and two assists for Castle Park, which also received a pair of assists each from Adolfo Medina and Isaac Montero.
Chula Vista, which concluded South Bay League play 11-1, was braced by two goals and one assist from team scoring leader Hector Garcia and two goals from Allison Smith.
Castle Park improved to 7-4 in league play, 8-10 overall, with the win.
The Spartans finished regular season play with an overall 16-7 record. Their next game will come in the Kiwanis Cup playoffs.
Lancers capture 2-1 thriller from Titans in Mesa League match-up
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Feb. 11, 2016 – Hilltop defeated Eastlake for the second time in league play this season. Danny Godinez scored both Lancer goals – the first in the opening period and what proved to be the game-winner with 1:34 left in the third period – to snap a 1-1 deadlock between the longtime rivals on Thursday.
Esteban Martinez supplied the assist on Godinez’ first goal. The Titans leveled the score at a goal apiece when Percilla Mayer scored an unassisted goal with 6:43 to play in the game. EHS goaltender Kevin Hooks stopped a breakaway by Martinez with 3:25 remaining, it appeared the contest might be headed for overtime.
However, Godinez notched an unassisted goal of his own in the dying minutes to propel Hilltop to the win.
Lancer head coach George Godinez called the win over the Titans “exciting.”
“I’m proud of the effort, it was an exciting game,” the HHS coach noted. “We didn’t get as many shots on their net as we wanted to get, but we played with heart.”
The victory came after Tuesday’s key 6-2 non-league victory against newly crowned South Bay League champion Chula Vista.
Danny Godinez collected three goals and one assist in the win over the Spartans while Eduardo Arguello contributed a goal and assist, Andrew Tesner had two assists and Josh Fischer was credited with one assist.
Hector Garcia scored both goals for Chula Vista – one in the second period and another in the third period – after Hilltop had taken command of the game with three first-period goals. Giovani Cimmino and Ashley Curtis were credited with assists for the Spartans in the loss.
The win over Chula Vista gave Hilltop an edge in the conference rankings. The Lancers have beaten the Spartans twice in their three meetings this season.
“We definitely wanted this win,” George Godinez explained. “We definitely put a lot of pride into this game. Last night (in a 11-1 non-league loss to Westview), we played more of a box defensively. This was more of a fore-checking game. We’ve definitely improved from the beginning of the season.”
Martinez scored the jump goal in Monday’s non-league match-up against Westview only to see the Wolverines respond by netting the game’s final 11 goals. Laurent Lee led the visitors with four goals and one assist while Keisi Tayaka recorded a hat trick, Dallas Oleson tallied two goals and Jason Gyokery chipped in with a goal and two assists. Jacob Groll rounded out the Westview scoring with one goal.
All 11 goals by the Wolverines were either scored on assisted by underclassmen – four by sophomores (Lee, Gyokery, Tayaka and Groll) and one by a junior (Oleson).
In a non-league game on Monday, Eastlake skated past Castle Park, 13-2, to improve to 15-4-1 on the season. Luke Killeen turned in one of his most productive games of the season with four goals and four assists while Jake Powell added three goals and one assist. Seiya Hagiya contributed two goals and one assist while Sean Layton scored twice. Jose Campos also picked up four assists in the win.
The Titans sped to a 4-0 first-period lead and let 8-2 entering the final period upon which they tacked on five more goals.
Marvin Cirignano led Castle Park with a goal and assist while Isaac Montero scored once.
In a pair of South Bay League games on Wednesday:
Chula Vista 4, Sweetwater 2
Jesse Amador scored two goals and Hector Garcia and Giovani Cimmino each added a goal and assist for the Spartans, who improved their league record to 11-0. The game opened with a scoreless first period and was tied 2-2 through two periods before Chula Vista was able to slip away to score the victory on the strength of two third-period goals.
Armando River got the Red Devils rolling with a goal in the second period assisted by teammate Marco Salazar.
Castle Park 7, Mar Vista 0
Marvin Cirignano recorded a hat trick as the Trojans scored the shutout win over the Mariners. Elezar Cruz dished out three assists for Castle Park, which expanded on a three-goal lead by scoring four goals in the third period.
In a South Bay League game on Thursday:
Sweetwater 4, Southwest 0
Phillip Brandon scored two goals and tacked on two assists to have a hand in all Red Devil goals. Teammate Marco Salazar picked up two goals and an assist. Sweetwater led 1-0 after the opening period and broke open the game with two more goals in the second period.
Next up: Regular season comes to a close
There are seven games remaining this week at the Castle Park High School rink to close out regular season play.
There are two games scheduled on Tuesday: Mar Vista and Bonita Vista will pair in a non-league game at 4:30 p.m., followed by a non-league match-up between Eastlake and St. Augustine at 5:30 p.m. that will weigh heavily on upcoming playoff seeding.
There are two games scheduled on Wednesday: Castle Park will engage Sweetwater in the teams’ final South Bay League game of the season at 4:30 p.m., followed by a 5:30 p.m. South Bay League clash bewteen Mar Vista and Southwest.
There are three games scheduled on Thursday: Bonita Vista and Hilltop will close out Mesa League play at 4:30 p.m., followed by another Mesa League clash between Otay Ranch and Eastlake at 5:30 p.m. A non-league game between Southwest and Westview finishes out the 2015-16 schedule at 6:30 p.m.
North County League Report:
Top-ranked Broncos sweep North County League series against Poway
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Feb. 8, 2016 – Ryan Wilson scored five goals and added two assists to lead the two-time defending Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo to an 8-3 victory over Poway Monday night at Kit Carson Park that earned the Broncos a sweep of their three-game North County League series against Poway this season.
Bailey Ridout tallied two goals and Brendan O’Rourke netted another for the Broncos, who improved to 13-2 overall and 7-1 in league play. Ridout notched two assists and Miles Cook also drew an assist on the evening.
Rory Herrman scored all three Poway goals while Bret Kaufman and Cliff Schrader were each credited with assists for the Titans.
Rancho Bernardo goaltender Jakob Ogan turned away 18 of 21 Poway shots to earn the victory, while Poway netminder Christian Woolfe made 23 saves in defeat. The Broncos out-shot the Titans 31-18 on the evening.
The Broncos edged Cathedral Catholic, 6-4, in a non-league game on Wednesday to secure their No. 1 conference ranking and, in the process, sweep their two-games season series against the Dons.
Also hitting the net for the Broncos were Bailey Ridout, Chris White and Matt Holmes. Brendan O’Rourke assisted on two Broncos goals and Miles Cook and Isaiah Frankel also tallied assists on the evening. Rancho Bernardo goaltender Jakob Ogan stopped 19 of 23 Cathedral shots to earn the win in net as the Broncos improved their overall record to a CIF-Metro Conference best 14-2 on the season.
Drew Jones and Sam Angeles had (2) goals apiece for the Dons while Jon Leone and Jones each had a pair of assists for Cathedral in defeat. Patrick Henson made 19 stops in net for the Dons in a losing effort. With the loss, Cathedral dropped its overall record to 11-5
Cathedral Catholic skated to a 2-1 lead at the conclusion of the opening period but the Broncos reversed that with a 2-1 edge in the second period to send the teams into the final period knotted at three goals apiece. Rancho Bernardo won the decisive third period with a 3-1 scoring edge.
In a non-league game played Monday:
Escondido Charter 9, Scripps Ranch 5
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Feb. 8, 2016 – The White Tigers took advantage of a Scripps Ranch team depleted by players particpating in the recent California Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) championships.
The Falcon team was flat-footed and lost every individual battle, the Scripps Ranch coaching staff reported.
Jesse Lycan’s 16U-AAA Jr. Ducks and Sherman’s 14U-AAA Jr. Ducks team won their division at the CAHA Championships and were unavailable for the game against Escondido Charter. Lycan and Sherman will both unavailable until next Wednesday for the rematch as both leave for Minnesota to participate in the Tier 1 championships.
Joey Mendoza had five goals and Blake Woods had four goals to pace the White Tigers. Stewart Pond and Matt Gauthier each had two goals and Wesley Rim had one goal to lead Scripps Ranch.
In a game played Wednesday:
Falcons shut out Saints, 8-0, to secure second place in Central League standings
Stewart Pond scored 30 seconds into the game and continued his run by having a hand in all eight goals – scoring six goals and assisting on the other two. Wesley Rim and Matt Gauthier scored the other Falcon goals. Gauthier had one assist and Leo Gaffrey had two. Scripps Ranch was without Cody Sherman and Jesse Lycan, who are preparing for a major Tier 1 ice hockey tournament in Minnesota.
Scripps Ranch scored three goals in each of the opening two periods and added two goals in the third period to complete scoring. Casey Wu stopped all nine shots he faced to record the shutout win between the pipes while Johnny Bartel was credited with 16 saves in the loss.
Top shelf: Who’s the top player in the CIF-Metro Conference?
Who will be named CIF-Metro Conference Player of the Year? How about North County League Player of the Year? Central League Player of the Year? Mesa League Player of the Year? South Bay League Player of the Year?
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The front-runners for the CIF-Metro Conference Player of the Year honors appear to be the Scripps Ranch tandem of defenseman Jesse Lycan and goaltender Casey Wu, Rancho Bernardo’s Ryan Wilson and Poway’s Rory Herrman.
Lycan, Wilson and Herman are all Anaheim Ducks AAA ice hockey players and each is leading their respective team in scoring. All three of the Ducks players have missed games because of ice hockey commitments while Wu has made every game.
Lycan and Wu are certainly top candidates for Central League Player of the Year; Wilson and Herrman appear to be the leading candidates at least for North County Player of the Year.
Take your pick from the following for All-CIF First Team:honors. The envelope will be opened at Saturday’s Kiwanis Cup playoff seeding meeting.
Poway junior Rory Herrman
A highly decorated ice hockey player for the Jr. Ducks and a verbal commit to Arizona State University’s Division I men’s ice hockey program, Herrman is a terror on the roller hockey playing court as well. He has played in 10 of the Titans’ 17 games thus far with 42 goals and 14 assists for 56 points. That works out to 5.6 points per game – a potent scoring average that few players in the conference can match.
Of note, Herrman recieved a three-game call-up to the 17U United States National TDevelopment Program Team over the winter break.
The Titans are 7-10 on the season and Poway head coach Jason Coker admits his squad is a “different team” whenever Herrman suits up for games.
Next up on the Poway scoresheet is Brett Kaufman with 12 goals and 22 points in 13 games (1.7 points per game). Liam Garry, who has played in 16 games, ranks third in team scoring with 10 goals and 18 points (1.1 points per game).
Rancho Bernardo senior Ryan Wilson
Another ice hockey standout, senior Ryan Wilson is averaging 5.8 points per game on 48 goals and 10 assists in 10 reported games. His importance to the Broncos is not understated. Should Rancho Bernardo win the North County League title this season, it’s likely that Wilson could edge Herrman for POY honors.
Sophomore Bailey Ridout has collected 36 points (22 goals, 14 assists) in 13 games.
Scripps Ranch junior Jesse Lycan
A talented ice hockey player, Lycan leads the Falcons with 40 goals and 19 assists for 59 points — a 4.5 point-per-game average in 13 games. Scripps Ranch is currently second in the Central League standings but at full strength is a legitimate contender to win the Kiwanis Cup championship.
Senior teammate Casey Wu owns a 10-6 goaltending record. He’s averaging 10.2 saves per game.
Westview junior Josh Morrison
Morrison has stats available for just eight games, but they’re phenomenal. In those eight games, he had collected 36 goals and 13 assists for 49 points – a staggering 6.1 points per game. When he’s played, the Wolverines are 7-1. But has he played enough games to qualify, even should Westview wrestle the North County League title away from two-time Kiwanis Cup champion Rancho Bernardo. If he’s on the court and helps Westview pull down the Broncos with a statement game, who knows?
Cathedral Catholic senior Drew Jones
In 10 reported games, Jones has 14 goals and 40 points to lead the Dons, last year’s Kiwanis Cup runner-up team. He’s averaging 4.0 points per game for this year’s Central League champions. The Dons are 11-5 overall.
Escondido Charter junior Joey Mendoza
Mendoza leads the CIF-Metro Conference’s New Kids on the Block with 22 goals and 42 points in 11 games – an average of 3.8 points per game. The White Tigers are 9-7 in thier first year playing CIF-branded roller hockey after winning last year’s San Diego District Hockey club championship.
Otay Ranch senior Ricky Portilla
The Mustangs team captain’s value is not underestimated. He was unavailable for the 2016 Bonita Optimist Pam Wiser Classic tournament and Otay Ranch finished just fourth after clearly establishing itself as the top team among Sweetwater district squads at the winter break. Portilla has 21 goals and 36 points in 16 games played – a 2.3 points-per-game average.
When paired with freshman newcomert Sean Devaney, the Mustangs ate a different team. Devaney also was not present for the Oam Wiser Classic tournament. Devaney is averaging 2.6 points per game when he’s on the floor with 29 goals and 34 points in 13 games played.
Otay Ranch is 8-0 in Mesa League play, 17-5 overall.
Chula Vista junior Hector Garcia
The Spartans won their first South Bay League championship in school history and are also believed to have set a school record for most wins in one season. Garcia is clearly the driving force on the team’s offense with 37 goals and 56 points reorded in 16 games — an average of 3.5 points per game.
Senior Jesse Amador is next on Chula Vista with 22 goals and 34 points recorded in 15 games.
The Spartans are 16-7 overall, including tournament games, and finished 11-1 in league play.
Castle Park senior Marvin Cirignano
Cirignano remains a leader on the Trojans with 40 goals and 52 points in 16 games – he is averaging 3.3 points per game. Castle Park has secured second place in this yeaar’s South Bay League standings after winning last year’s title. Castle Park is 8-10 overall.
Players to Watch
Mesa League
Ricky Portilla – Otay Ranch High School, 12
David Mendez – Otay Ranch High Scjool, 12
Paul Chavez – Otay Ranch High School, 10
Aaron Marientes – Otay Ranch High Scjool, 11
Danny Godinez – Hilltop High School, 11
Andrew Tesner -Hilltop High School, 12
Sean Layton – Eastlake High School
Kevin Hooks – Eastlake High School
Seiya Hagiya – Eastlake High School
Brandon Benson – Eastlake High School
Matt Custodio – Bonita Vista High School, 11
Dylan Riley – Bonita Vista High School
South Bay League
Hector Garcia – Chula Vista High School, 11
Jesse Amador – Chula Vista High Scjool, 12
Marvin Cirignano – Castle Park High School, 12
Eleazar Cruz – Castle Park High School, 10
Isaac Montero – Castle Park High School, 12
Phillip Brandon – Sweetwater High School, 11
Marco Salazar – Sweetwater High School, 11
Joel Ojeda – Sweetwater High School, 12
Eloy Rodriguez, Mar Vista High School, 12
Jake Dilliott – Mar Vista High School, 11
Angel Bonilla – Southwest High School
Central League
Miguel San Martin (G) – West Hills High School, 12
Wes Konold – West Hills High School, 11
Nick Heid – St. Augustine High School, 12
Dominic Cianflone – St. Augustine High School, 10
John Leone – Cathedral Catholic, 12
Drew Jones – Cathedral Catholic, 11
Sam Angeles – Cathedral Catholic, 11
Patrick Henson (G) – Cathedral Catholic,10
Casey Wu (G) – Scripps Ranch, 12
Jesse Lycan – Scripps Ranch, 11
Stewart Pond – Scripps Ranch, 10
Matt Gauthier – Scripps Ranch, 10
North County League
Jono Pecoraro – Escondido Charter, 12
Evan Medieros – Escondido Charter, 12
Joey Mendoza , – Escondido Charter 11
Josh Morrison – Westview, 11
Dallas Oleson – Westview,11
Keisi Takaya – Westview, 10
Rory Herrman – Poway, 11
Brendann O’Rourke – Ranch Bernardo, 12
Ryan Wilson – Ranch Bernardo, 11
Bailey Ridout – Ranch Bernardo, 11
Top Newcomers
Mesa League/South Bay League
Sean Devaney – Otay Ranch HIgh School, 9
Jake Powell – Eastlake High School, 10
Luke Killeen – Eastlake High School, 9
Nick Stark – Bonita Vista High School, 9
Cruz Salas – Chula Vista High School, 12 (new to position)
Central League/North County League
Cody Sherman – Scripps Ranch High School, 9
Colton Grover -West Hills High School, 9
Josh Groll – Westview High School, 9
Miles Cook – Rancho Bernardo High School, 9
Girl Power
Mesa League/South Bay League
Percilla Mayer -Eastlake High School, 10
Allison Smith – Chula Vista High School, 11
Naya Romero – Bonita Vista High School, 11
Ashley Massarene – Bonita Vista High School, 10
Ana Custodio – Bonita Vista High School, 9
Mari Cornel – Southwest High School
Kayleigh Andrew – Southwest High School, 10
Ariel Briones – Castle Park High School, 9
CIF-Metro Conference Scoreboard
Monday, Feb. 8
Non-League
Eastlake 13, Castle Park 2
Bonita Vosta 5, Sweetwater 2
Westview 11, Hilltop 1
Escondido Charter 9, Scripps Ranch 5
North County League
Rancho Bernardo 8, Poway 3
Tuesday, Feb. 9
Non-League
Otay Ranch 10, Mar Vista 0
Hilltop 6, Chula Vista 2
Bonita Vista 4, Southwest 1
Escondido Charter 13, St. Augustine 4
Wednesday, Feb. 10
South Bay League
Chula Vista 4, Sweetwater 2
Castle Park 7, Mar Vista 0
Central League
Scripps Ranch 8, St. Augustine 0
North County League
Westview 12, Escondido Charter 4
Non-League
Rancho Bernardo 6, Cathedral Catholic 4
Poway 6, West Hills 5 (OT)
Thursday, Feb. 11
Mesa League
Hilltop 2, Eastlake 1
Otay Ranch 7, Bonita Vista 1
South Bay League
Sweetwater 4, Southwest 1
Friday, Feb. 12
Mesa League
Otay Ranch 5, Bonita Vista 1
South Bay League
Castle Park 8, Chula Vista 4
CIF-Metro Conference Standings
(Through Feb. 12)
Mesa League
Otay Ranch Mustangs 8-0, 17-5
Eastlake Titans 4-4, 15-5-1
Hilltop Lancers 4-4, 13-8-1
Bonita Vista 0-8, 6-15
South Bay League
Chula Vista Spartans 11-1, 16-7
Castle Park Trojans 7-4, 8-10
Sweetwater Red Devils 4-7, 8-14
Mar Vista Mariners 4-7, 5-15
Southwest Raiders 2-9, 2-18
Central League
Cathedral Catholic Dons 7-1, 11-5
Scripps Ranch Falcons 4-4, 10-7
St. Augusatine Saints 3-4-1, 6-9-1
West Hills Wolf Pack 1-6-1, 2-14-1
North County League
Rancho Bernardo Broncos 7-1, 14-2
Westview Wolverines 6-2, 12-5
Escondido Charter White Tigers 2-6, 9-8
Poway Titans 1-7, 5-11
CIF-Metro Conference Rankings
(Through Feb. 12)
1 Rancho Bernardo
2 Cathedral Catholic
3 Westview
4 Escondido Charter
5 Scripps Ranch
6 St. Augustine
7 Poway
8 West Hills
9 Otay Ranch
10 Hilltop
11 Eastlake
12 Chula Vista
13 Castle Park
14 Bonita Vista
15 Sweetwater
16 Mar Vista
17 Southwest
Ice Chips:
AHL’s Pacific Division playoff race heating up in February
The San Diego Gulls aren’t the only team in the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division making an early push for a berth in the Calder Cup playoffs. The Bakersfield Condors have stretched their winning streak to five games – including a 4-2 win over the Gulls Feb. 10 at the Valley View Casino Center – to jump into sole possession of third place in the division standings.
How important is that?
Because the five new California teams are not playing an equal number of games compared to teams in the rest of the league (and also Texas and San Antonio in the Pacific Division), playoff berths will essentially be determined by winning percentage this season rather than standing points. Also, the top four finishers in the Pacific Division aren’t necessarily assured of playoff berths.
If the fifth place team in the Central Division has a better winning percentage than the fourth-place team in the Pacific Division, that team takes its place in the playoffs.
The Condors’ latest rampage has catapulted them to a record of 23-18-2-2 and a winning percentage of 0.556. The Gulls are 23-19-1-1 and have a winning percentage of 0.545.
The fourth place team in the Central Division is currently the Grand Rapids Griffins with a record of 27-19-1-1 with a 0.583 winning percentage. The Griffins would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today. But the Charlotte Checkers, the Central Division’s fifth place team, would do the same based on its 25-20-3-2 record and 0.550 winning percentage as the Checkers would bump the Gulls for the final Pacific Division spot.
There is obviously going to be a lot of late season drama here as the Pacific Division’s fourth place team will need to finish with a higher winning percentage than the Central Division’s fifth place team. If not, there will be a mad scramble among Pacific Division teams currently out of a playoff perch to climb into that coveted No. 3 position in the Pacific Division standings.
Currently, six of the seven teams in the Pacific Division have winning records. The defending Calder Cup champion Ontario Reign appears to be sitting comfortably in the Pacific Division lead with a record of 28-13-3-1 and a 0.667 winning percentage. The Texas Stars – the Gulls’ next opponent on Wednesday, Feb. 17 – are in second place with a record of 30-18-3-3 and a 0.611 winning percentage. The Reign has played 45 games while the Stars have played 54 games.
The San Jose Barracuda follows the Gulls in fifth place with a record of 21-17-5-3 and a 0.543 winning percentage – 0.002 percentage points behind San Diego. The Stockton Heat is presently in sixth place with a record of 20-19-1-2 and a 0.512 winning percentage. There are only 0.44 percentage points that separate the third place Condors and sixth place Heat, so any combination of wins and losses by the four teams occupying that zone can result in the teams exchanging positions on a game-to-game basis.
The San Antonio Rampage occupies the cellar in the Pacific Division standings with a reord of 22-23-7-0 and a 0.490 winning percentage. The Rampage remains within striking distance of third place should the Texas team get on a late season hot streak.
Back to Bakersfield: The Condors are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 games while the Gulls (fourth place) are 6-4-0-0, San Jose (fifth place) is 3-6-1-0, Stockton (sixth place) is 7-3-0-0 and the Rampage (seventh place) is 5-5-0-0.
Texas, bouyed by Irvine native Cory Kane, is riding a five-game winning streak heading into Wednesday’s game in San Diego and is 8-2-0-0 in its last 10 games. Ontario is currently on a three-game slide but is 6-3-1-0 in its last 10 games.
Of note; Five of the seven teams in the division have compiled .600 or better winning percentages in their last 10 games to bring the playoff chase into high gear – in February.
Points are thus becoming precious in the battle for a Calder Cup playoff berth among the AHL’s seven Pacific Division teams.
A couple of big wins or a pair of inopportune losses can easily slide a team into or out of contention for a playoff berth.
Condors take flight
Bakersfield won its third consecutive game to move into fourth place in the division standings. The Condors got a gift goal just 54 seconds into the game on a goaltender misplay and added a goal later in the period by Rob Klinhammer to skate to a 2-0 lead.
The hosts, however, stormed back to tie the game, 2-2, on goals by Antoine Laganiere and Chris Mueller, and the game appeared headed for overtime until Klinkhammer popped the game-winner on a great individual effort with just 3:38 remaining in the third period.
California native Matt Ford fired in an empty net goal with 18 seconds to play to seal the win for the visitors.
Bakersfield, which fired off 40 shots in the game, improved to 5-1-1 on the season against San Diego.
The loss was the sixth in eight games at home to start the 2016 calendar year and erased the positive gain the club had made in winning its previous two games over the weekend – 4-2 over Stockton on Feb. 5 and 4-1 over Milwaukee on Feb. 6. Gulls players were understandably disappointed by the result and one could feel a sense of pressure on their shoulders while embarking on a weekend road trip to Charlotte.
“These two points (were) huge, just huge,” Gulls center Chris Mueller emphasized after the loss to the Condors. “Somehow we’ve got to get four points in Charlotte.
“We have to forget about this game and move on. Divisional points are huge. Every team we play from now on is above us. They’re all playoff games now. We know that.”
While feeling pressure in the win column, the Gulls also had to deal with the call-up of left wing Nick Ritchie, who ranked second in team scoring.
But the timing somehow proved to the San Diegans’ advantage. The Gulls appeared to thrive amid the adversity by pulling out a pair of one-goal thrillers over the Checkers to send Charlotte to its record ninth consecutive setback.
San Diego captured a 3-2 overtime win on Friday, Feb. 12, after building a pair of one-goal leads in the contest, and swept the two-game set in Bojangles Coliseum with a 5-4 win on Saturday, Feb. 13.
Mike Sgarbossa netted the game-winner in OT on Friday while Antoine Laganiere scored the game-winner on Saturday as the visitors scored four times in the second period to snap a 1-1 deadlock.
Matt Hackett stopped 26 of 28 shots he faced to post the win between the pipes on Friday while Anton Khodobin, on the eve of a call-up to the Ducks, turned aside 23 of 28 shots to pick up the win on Saturday.
After the two-game sweep on the East Coast, Montour continues to lead San Diego with 38 points (8 goals, 30 assists) in 44 games while Mueller has now moved into second place in team scoring with 32 points (9 goals, 23 assists) in 43 games. Sgarbossa sits in fourth place in team scoring with 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 40 games.
The Gulls’ next three games could decide whether they hang in the playoff chase. Texas is the highest scoring team in the AHL with 202 goals. San Diego turns around and plays in Bakersfield on Friday before hosting the first place Reign on Saturday.
— Phillip Brents
A trio of team press releases document the dramatic turn of events this week:
CONDORS OUTLAST GULLS, 4-2
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 10, 2016 — – Rob Klinkhammer’s second goal of the game snapped a 2-2 tie with 3:48 remaining in the third period, and the Bakersfield Condors (21-18-2-2) added an empty netter to beat the San Diego Gulls 4-2 at Valley View Casino Center. A crowd of 5,543 saw a tense game end with the Condors’ third consecutive win overall, and fourth straight against San Diego this season.
The Gulls (21-19-1-1) battled back from a 2-0 deficit after 20 minutes to tie the game with goals by Antoine Laganiere and Chris Mueller, only to see the Condors emerge with the victory, San Diego’s sixth loss in its last eight home games. The results around the AHL Pacific Division caused San Diego to drop from third to fifth place in the standings, falling behind Bakersfield and San Jose.
Coming off a 7-3 win the night before over Stockton, the Condors carried their momentum into the first period, quickly building a lead. Brad Hunt’s slap shot from outside the left circle, after a Gulls turnover at neutral ice, smacked the glove of San Diego goalie Anton Khudobin but popped out, trickling slowly over the goal line for a 1-0 Bakersfield lead just 54 seconds into the game.
The Condors doubled their advantage at the 10:50 mark of the period when Klinkhammer was sprung between the circles on perfect feeds from Nikita Nikitin and Andrew Miller, beating Khudobin stick side for a 2-0 advantage. Klinkhammer registered his sixth goal in seven games since being assigned to the AHL from the Edmonton Oilers, the Condors’ NHL parent club.
San Diego opened the second period on a power play, and while the team did not convert, it was during sustained pressure as the Condors were regaining full strength that the Gulls found the back of the net. Michael Sgarbossa’s backhand shot from left wing was saved by Condors’ net-minder Eetu Laurikainen, but Laganiere found the rebound, played it off the back dashers to his stick and then into the far side netting for the Gulls’ first goal of the night at 1:43.
Shortly thereafter, San Diego took advantage of a poor line change by Bakersfield. Brandon Montour’s stretch pass from the defensive zone connected to Mueller camped at the opposite blue line, and his diving shot under pressure snuck past Laurikainen’s right pad for the game’s equalizer at 6:33 of the second.
For the remainder of the game, Khudobin found himself in a Condors shooting gallery, facing a total of 35 shots over the final two periods. The veteran goaltender kept San Diego in the game, as the Gulls faded a pair of 5-on-3 disadvantages prior to Klinkhammer’s game-winner.
NOTES: The Condors’ win over the Gulls was the fourth straight as Bakersfield took an 11-4 points lead in the season series…San Diego continued its trend of turning the game’s first goal into the night’s result, falling to 5-19-1-0 when conceding the first goal … Montour collected a pair of assists for the Gulls, his team leading 34th and 35th points … Andrew Miller collected two assists for Bakersfield … Khudobin’s 40 saves were a season best.
THREE STARS
1st Star: BAK Rob Klinkhammer (2-0=2, GWG); 2nd Star: SD Chris Mueller (1-0=1); 3rd Star: BAK Andrew Miller (0-2=2)
GULLS SKIP PAST CHECKERS IN OT, 3-2
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 12, 2016 – Mike Sgarbossa potted the game-winning goal 1:27 into overtime as the San Diego Gulls (22-19-1-1) escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Gulls’ third OT winner of the season came after Charlotte had tied the score with 1:20 left in the third period.
Brandon Montour and Charlotte native Bryan Moore also scored for San Diego, which beat the Checkers (25-18-3-2) for the first time in three tries this season. Charlotte dropped its eighth consecutive game (0-6-2), a new franchise record.
The Gulls came out with fire in the first period, outshooting the Checkers 10-3 while controlling puck possession. In the final minute of the frame, Brandon Montour crept into the high slot after a faceoff win by Sgarbossa and a quick touch from Joseph Cramarossa. Montour’s rising shot beat Charlotte goalie Daniel Altshuller high over the left shoulder for a 1-0 Gulls lead at 19:09.
Tipped goals would account for all the second period scoring, with both teams finding the back of the net once. Brody Sutter held out a lateral stick to bat Patrick Brown’s shot from inside the blue line on left wing, slapping the puck off the ice and behind San Diego goalie Matt Hackett for the equalizer 9:58 into the frame.
San Diego’s answer came from a local favorite; Moore, the first Charlotte native to sign a pro hockey contract, tipped Shea Theodore’s high slot wrist shot at the left side of the net, beating Altshuller for a 2-1 advantage at 15:35. It was Moore’s second goal of the season and followed a timeout video tribute for the hometown star.
Hackett took center stage from there, making a trio of sterling saves to keep the Gulls in front, twice denying outmanned rushes and once going post to post to deny a sure rebound goal. Hackett stopped 26-of-28 shots faced on the night, improving to 7-5-0 on the season.
The Checkers were unable to penetrate the goal line until a late penalty on San Diego’s Joseph Cramarossa for slashing enabled a power play, and the chance to pull the goalie for a sixth skater. Deftly working the puck inside their blue line, Trevor Carrick connected with T.J. Hensick on the left circle, who crossed dot-to-dot with a perfect pass to Brendan Woods, who fired home the equalizer with 1:20 remaining on the clock.
In overtime, Gulls winger Stefan Noesen celebrated his 23rd birthday in style, carrying the puck across three lines, regaining possession and finding Mike Sgarbossa on the right circle. His try off Altshuller’s pad came out to the slot, where Noesen lunged to tip the puck back to Sgarbossa, where a yawning net and a game winner awaited.
NOTES: The Gulls maintained a number of remarkable streaks with the win: San Diego improved to 17-0-0-1 when scoring first, 18-0-0 when leading after two periods, and 13-1-1-1 in one-goal games … the win lifted the Gulls to 3-1 in games ending in sudden death; the team is 4-1 in shootouts … Andrew O’Brien added a lone assist for San Diego … the road team has won all three meetings between the Gulls and Checkers … San Diego went 0-for-3 on the power play … the Gulls have failed to convert their past 18 power plays and are 7-for-54 on the man advantage since Jan. 1 … the Checkers have scored just eight goals over their past six games.
THREE STARS
1st Star: SD Mike Sgarbossa (1-1=2, GWG); 2nd Star: CHA Brendan Woods (1-0=1); 3rdStar: SD Bryan Moore (1-0=1)
GULLS TAKE SECOND GAME IN CHARLOTTE, 5-4
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 13, 2016 – Shea Theodore (1-2=3) and Chris Mueller (0-3=3) recorded three points apiece as the San Diego Gulls (23-19-1-1) held off a Charlotte Checkers third period comeback attempt, pulling out a 5-4 victory at Bojangles Coliseum. The Gulls swept the weekend series and dealt Charlotte (25-19-3-2) its franchise-worst ninth consecutive defeat.
The Gulls erupted for four goals in the second period, breaking open a 1-1 tie. Theodore and Mueller collected all of their points during the onslaught. Antoine Laganiere’s short-handed goal at 16:39 of the period proved to be the game winner.
San Diego set an early tone as Matt Berry swept home the rebound of a Zac Larraza chance just 1:20 into the game for a 1-0 Gulls lead. The Gulls are now 18-0-0-1 when scoring the game’s first goal.
Charlotte answered back on Patrick Brown’s rebound score at 8:41 of the first for a 1-1 tie after twenty minutes, but the second period would both start and end well for San Diego. Joseph Cramarossa’s shivering fore-check in the right corner of the offensive zone allowed him to steal the puck, immediately slotting a pass to Theodore at the right circle, who wristed home his fifth goal of the year 52 seconds into the second period for a 2-1 Gulls lead.
Entering the night on a 0-for-18 drought on the power play, the Gulls saw Charlotte take consecutive slashing minors midway through the frame. Stefan Noesen converted the 5-on-3 advantage at 10:46 on assists from Mueller and Theodore, building the lead out to 3-1 San Diego.
Ryan Murphy’s first of two goals on the night, a power play score for Charlotte at 13:55, temporarily narrowed the score to 3-2, but the Gulls came roaring back with two goals in 92 seconds. First, after an Ethan Werek holding penalty put San Diego on the power play, Brandon Montour skated in to accept a pass on the right circle from Mueller behind the net, one-timing home his eighth goal of the year for a 4-2 lead at 15:07.
Moments later, this time with Charlotte on the man advantage after a Matt Bailey holding call, Mueller’s defensive zone faceoff win was sent forward to a pouncing Laganiere, who wove between three Checkers skaters before beating Daniel Altshuller high over the right arm for his tenth goal of the season and a 5-2 San Diego cushion. The Laganiere goal spelled the end of the night for Altshuller, who surrendered five goals on sixteen shots faced.
The Checkers got a hopeful crowd of 8,320 on Pink in the Rink night back into the game with two quick goals in the third period, as San Diego wobbled with their defensive clearances. Murphy found his second of the night on a rebound at 4:03, and Kyle Hagel spun on a loose puck in the low slot for his second of the year at 6:36, drawing Charlotte within one at 5-4.
Anton Khudobin (24 saves on 28 shots faced) and the Gulls held off the remainder of the Checkers’ comeback bid, using a too many men penalty on Charlotte late in the period to bleed off precious time. San Diego dropped the Checkers to 0-7-2 on their current nine-game skid, while moving into a tie for fourth place in the AHL Pacific Division.
The Gulls return home on Wednesday night to take on the Texas Stars at Valley View Casino Center.
NOTES: The Gulls finished the AHL Central Division portion of their schedule with a final record of 4-4-0 … the visiting team won all four games in the Gulls-Checkers series, although Charlotte used Friday’s overtime loss to take the series 5-4 on points … Montour continues to pace the AHL with 24 power play points … San Diego improved to 19-0-0 when leading after two periods, and 14-1-1-1 in one-goal games … the Gulls signed center Michael Pelech to a Professional Try Out (PTO) contract prior to the game, from the ECHL Norfolk Admirals … center Kyle MacKinnon missed the game with an upper body injury.
THREE STARS
1st Star: SD Shea Theodore (1-2=3); 2nd Star: CHA Ryan Murphy (2-0=2); 3rd Star: SD Chris Mueller (0-3=3)
Hockey Weekend Across America
The Gulls will host a post-game beginner’s hockey clinic for youths ages 4-9 following Saturday’s game against Ontario. Sign up through www.sandiegogulls.com.
