Five Sweetwater Union High School District roller hockey teams qualified to compete in this year’s CIF-Metro Conference Kiwanis Cup playoffs.
First-round action took place Feb. 22 with three games taking place at Castle Park High School’s outdoor rink while one additional game took place at the Escondido Sports Center.
All four teams from the Mesa League — Eastlake, Otay Ranch, Hilltop and Bonita Vista — qualified to compete in postseason play along with South Bay League champion Castle Park.
Mesa League champion Eastlake received the No. 7 seed in the 12-team draw while Mesa League runner-up Otay Ranch received the No. 8 seed. Hilltop, the third-place finisher in the Mesa League, received the No. 10 seed, while Bonita Vista, the fourth-place team in the Mesa League, received the No. 11 seed.
Castle Park received the No. 12 seed.
Eastlake advanced to Tuesday’s quarterfinals at the Escondido Sports Center with a 14-1 win over Hilltop while Otay Ranch out-lasted ninth-seeded Patrick Henry by a score of 11-8 to also advance to the quarterfinals.
Castle Park ended its season with a gritty 7-1 loss to fifth-seeded Escondido Charter to cap the triple-header at the CPHS rink.
Bonita Vista fell, 14-0, to sixth-seeded Poway in a game played in North County.
Tuesday’s quarterfinals featured the top eight teams in the 16-team conference. All games were played at the Escondido Sports Center.
Fourth-seeded Scripps Ranch (11-6) engaged fifth-seeded Escondido Charter (9-10) in a game scheduled for 5:30 p.m. while top-seeded Rancho Bernardo (18-1) tested eighth-seeded Otay Ranch (13-6-1) in a game scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Second-seeded Cathedral Catholic (14-4) met seventh-seeded Eastlake (17-3) in a game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. while third-seeded Westview (11-6) met sixth-seeded Poway (4-15) in a game scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal winners advanced to semifinal contests on Wednesday, March 1. Semifinal winners will play in the championship game while semifinal losers will play in the third-place game, both scheduled for Monday, March 6, at the Escondido Sports Center.
Titanic win
Eastlake finished 9-0 in league play while Hilltop finished 4-5 in league play. The Titans defeated Hilltop in all three league match-ups and the playoff match-up would be no different as Eastlake defeated the Lancers for a fourth time this season.
The Titans rolled up a 15-0 win in the teams’ final regular season meeting and eliminated Hilltop by a score of 14-1 in the teams’ playoff meeting.
Freshman standout Braden Mayer led Eastlake in scoring in the playoff game with three goals and four assists while older sister Percilla Mayer collected three goals and two assists.
The Mayer siblings racked up six goals and six assists for 12 points to stamp their name firmly on the game.
Will Hamilton also put his name on the game by scoring four goals while Seiya Hagiya collected four points on one goal and three assists.
A total of eight Eastlake players recorded at least one goal or one assist in the game.
Jake Powell had three points on one goal and two assists while Karla Navarrete and Sean Layton each scored one goal and Jose Campos picked up one assist.
Trevor Fune scored Hilltop’s lone goal.
Including regular season contests, Braden Mayer, Eastlake’s scoring leader, upped his season totals to 71 points (42 goals, 29 assists).
Powell ranks as the Titans’ second-leading scorer on the season with 31 goals and 33 assists for 64 points while Layton ranks third on the team with 41 goals and 53 points.
Fune finished the season as Hilltop’s scoring leader with 26 goals and 39 points.
The Titans led 6-0 after the first period and carried a 10-1 lead into the final period.
Eastlake improved to 17-3 while Hilltop ended its season with a 9-11-1 overall record.
Horse power
Otay Ranch finished 5-4 in Mesa League play while Patrick Henry finished 1-17 in North County League play. The Mustangs finished as the runner-up to the Titans while the Patriots finished at the bottom of the NCL standings.
However, the teams were otherwise not separated by much despite their respective league place-finishes.
Much to the delight of Patrick Henry’s first-year program, the Patriots were included in the 12-team draw and represented themselves well in taking another step forward in the development of their program.
The playoff game was expected to be close after the teams played to a 6-6 tie in January’s Pam Wiser Classic tournament, and a month later, the rematch lived up to its billing.
The Patriots bowed out of the playoffs following an 11-8 loss to the Mustangs, but Patrick Henry’s players and coaching staff have to be proud of the progress they made over the course of their first season.
Patrick Henry head coach Chuck Russell noted that the majority of his players had never picked up a hockey stick before this season, much less have played in a roller hockey game.
“We had a blast this year and are looking forward to coming back next year with more experience behind us,” Russell explained. “We’re looking to continue to grow and this was another step in that direction.”
The Patriots finished their start-up season with a final 3-19-1 overall record after posting a 1-17-0 record in North County League play.
The playoff game was the icing on the cake.
“We knew the match up with Otay Ranch was going to be a great one,” Russell explained. “We tied them in the Pam Wiser tournament and we learned then that our teams are similar.
“We fell behind 9-3 in the second period, but we had a feeling that their key players were beginning to wear down. We outscored them 3-1 in the third period to make it 10-8.”
The game exploded in intensity from there.
Team captain Matt Russell had a great opportunity to make it a one-goal game, but Mustang goaltender Ryan Strodtman made a clutch save. The puck went the other way and Otay Ranch’s Paul Chavez was able to dump the puck into an empty net to seal the victory for Otay Ranch, which advanced to Tuesday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded Rancho Bernardo with a 13-6-1 overall record.
Matt Russell led Patrick in scoring in the playoff game with six goals and two assists; he had a hand in all eight of his team’s goals.
The playoff game featured several momentum shifts.
Chavez opened scoring in the game, assisted by Sean Devaney. The younger Russell tied the game at a goal apiece. Chavez then put his team up 2-1 before Patrick Henry’s Ruben Allen tied the game at 2-2, assisted by Matt Russell.
The Mustangs then reeled off five unanswered goals to take a 7-2 lead. Devaney scored three times while David Mendez scored twice during the run.
Patrick Henry started to chip away at the seemingly imposing lead at that point.
Matt Russell scored a power play goal to trim the Patriots’ deficit on the scoreboard to 7-3. The Mustangs advanced the score to 9-3 on a pair of goals by Devaney before the fledgling roller hockey team picked up the pace by outscoring Otay Ranch 5-1 to narrow the score to 10-8.
Patrick Henry pulled its goaltender with two minutes to play to put an extra attacker on the floor and the Mustangs had to endure some nervous moments before Chavez finally put the game out of reach by scoring into the empty net with 1:17 to play.
Devaney led the victorious Mustangs with six goals and two assists to up his totals to 87 points on 57 goals and 30 assists – tops among Sweetwater district teams. Chavez finished the game with three goals and one assist. Mendez rounded out the scoring for Otay Ranch with two goals and one assist.
Mustang coach John King was complimentary of the Patriots’ strong effort.
“They’re not a bad team,” the Otay Ranch coach explained. “They’re well coached and have a good team. They had more players than we did. I think we started to get tired in the second period. But overall I’m happy with the outcome.”
Despite the loss, the elder Russell has to be happy with the outcome as well.
“We’ll have to wait until next year to even up with Otay Ranch,” he said. “I can’t tell you how excited our players are for the 2017-18 season.”
Red and Black
Castle Park played a smart defensive game to keep the score within striking distance against Escondido Charter in the evening’s final match-up at the CPHS rink.
Simon Gott scored a shorthanded goal to give the White Tigers a 1-0 lead. Joey Mendoza then doubled the lead. Mendoza later scored another goal to put Escondido Charter up 3-0.
The White Tigers slowly extended their lead to 6-0 on goals by Jacob Grove, Gott and Samuel Stewart.
Castle Park’s Martin Mari made the score 6-1 on a goal scored with 6:31 to play in the third period. But Grove scored in the final minute of play, assisted by Mendoza, to pick up his second goal of the game.
Mendoza led Escondido Charter in scoring with two goals and one assist.
Castle Park head coach Jose Mendoza said he sees where his team needs to improve.
“To play at the next level we need to work on our passing,” the Trojan coach explained. “We were giving up the puck too quickly. They were the better team but we know what we need to work on for next year.”
The CP coach said winning this year’s South Bay League title and qualifying for the playoffs represented a big boost in confidence for his team.
“It was beyond our expectation,” Jose Mendoza said. “I’m very pleased with what we accomplished. To see the development from the beginning of the season was awesome. As much as we’ve grown, there’s still room for improvement. The future is bright.”
Castle Park ended the season 14-8 after finishing 10-2 in league play.
The White Tigers improved to 9-10 on the season after finishing 7-10 in North County League play.
Bonita Vista, which finished 0-9 in Mesa League play, finished 7-13 overall following the shutout loss to Poway (4-15).
Despite the setback, BVHS head coach Keith Quigley lauded his team’s selection to the playoff field.
“I was real excited to hear that this team was awarded a playoff game,” he said. “I have an amazing group of players who have worked hard all season and have never given up. Definitely psyched that my seniors got to play at least one more game.”
Wolverines, Broncos take it to the next level in Kiwanis Cup final
The Westview High School roller hockey team appears to be peaking at the right time of the season after suffering numerous key injuries during the course of regular season play.
The Wolverines finished in the middle of the North County League standings with a 10-6 record, 11-6 overall. But Westview has been perfect in its opening two Kiwanis Cup playoff games to get the opportunity to defend its conference championship.
The third-seeded Wolverines (13-6) will face top-seeded Rancho Bernardo Broncos (20-1) in Monday’s Kiwanis Cup championship game at the Escondido Sports Center.
Game time is 7 p.m.
This will be the fourth CIF-Metro Conference championship game appearance in Westview coach Ron Smith’s six years behind the bench.
“We’re looking forward to defending our championship title against a very strong and classy Rancho Bernardo High School program,” Smith said. “We respect their skaters, their families and coaching staff. It will be a fun championship game.”
The Wolverines received a first-round bye as the Kiwanis Cup playoffs faced off Feb. 22, but eliminated sixth-seeded Poway by a score of 4-1 in Tuesday’s quarterfinals at the Escondido Sports Center.
Westview received two goals from Laurent Lee and single goals from senior captain Keisi Takaya and assistant captain Jacob Groll. Smith credited “solid net keep” by goaltender Grigory Oleynichenko as a contributing factor in the victory.
Smith called Poway “much improved.”
Wednesday’s semifinal game proved even more intense as the Wolverines pulled out a dramatic 4-3 overtime win to eliminate second-seeded Cathedral Catholic, which was bidding to qualify for its third consecutive championship game appearance.
Josh Groll scored two goals in the regulation portion of the game while older brother Jacob Groll scored once to give Westview a 3-2 lead late in the game.
But the Dons’ relentless pressure resulted in a game-tying goal by Charlie Paape with just two seconds to play in regulation to send the game into overtime.
The overtime lasted just past one minute when Lee sealed the OT victory with what Smith termed “a beautiful snipe off the faceoff.”
In their previous three title game appearances under Smith, the Wolverines are 1-2. Westview lost to Poway in 2012 and Rancho Bernardo in 2014. Last year’s 13-3 victory against Cathedral Catholic was his Smith’s first conference title.
Westview has won five Kiwanis Cup Championships overall and will be shooting for its sixth on Monday.
“It hasn’t been easy this season,” Smith explained. “We had five broken arms in our program to make the season very interesting. It gave opportunities for entire team to pick up the slack and support each other. We had at least four games this season where everyone in the lineup scored.”
Rancho Bernardo faced off the playoffs with the conference’s top record of 18-1. The Broncos improved to 19-1 following Tuesday’s quarterfinal win over Otay Ranch and Wednesday’s 6-3 semifinal win over fourth-seeded Scripps Ranch to extend their winning streak to 12 games.
“This season has been a great test on our athletes,” RB head coach Joey Gelsomino explained. “We’ve played games with our regular roster of eight skaters and a goalie to games with five skaters due to ice hockey commitments. The team hasn’t had one bad thought about it, no negativity with this group. They have all supported each other game in game out. Everyone has a job and pulls their weight evenly.
“This team isn’t about individual goals; they have one team goal and that’s to win the CIF title.”
The Broncos are led by North County League Co-Player of the Year Bailey Ridout and Goaltender Jakob Ogan, who earned accolades as a member of the all-league second team.
Ridout earned further accolades as a member of the all-conference first team.
Cathedral Catholic (15-5) and will meet fourth-seeded Scripps Ranch (12-7) in Monday’s third-place game at the Escondido Sports Center. Face-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Stewart Pond, Matt Gauthier and Cody Ayers each scored goals in the semifinal loss to Rancho Bernardo.
Cathedral Catholic is paced by CIF-Metro Conference Player of the Year (and co-North County League Player of the Year) Drew Jones. Sam Angeles also earned first team all-league honors for the Dons, who finished runner-up to Rancho Bernardo in the North County League standings.
Angeles, Jones and goaltender Patrick Henson also earned first team berths on the all-conference team.
Scripps Ranch eliminated Escondido Charter, 12-3, in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Cody Sherman (three goals, one assist) and Liam Baird (two goals, two assists) led the Falcons with four points each while Justin Nakagawa (two goals, one assist) and Gauthier (one goal, two assisted) chipped in with three points each.
Scripps Ranch got a 6-2 jump on the White Tigers in the first period.
This season’s North County League’s honor roll also included Westview’s Takaya, who earned first team all-league honors, while Escondido Charter’s Mendoza and Gunnar Gott were second team all-league selections along with Scripps Ranch’s Gauthier and Patrick Henry’s Matt Russell.
Takaya (first team), Mendoza (second team) and Gott (second team) were also named to the all-conference squad.
CIF-Metro Conference Scoreboard
Kiwanis Cup Playoffs
First round
Wednesday, Feb. 22
Castle Park High School
(5) Escondido Charter 7, (12) Castle Park 1
(7) Eastlake 14, (10) Hilltop 1
(8) Otay Ranch 11, (9) Patrick Henry 8
Escondido Sports Center
(6) Poway 14, (11) Bonita Vista 0
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Escondido Sports Center
(4) Scripps Ranch 12, (5) Escondido Charter 3
(1) Rancho Bernardo 20, (8) Otay Ranch 1
(2) Cathedral Catholic 11, (7) Eastlake 1
(3) Westview 4, (6) Poway 1
Semifinals
Wednesday, March 1
Escondido Sports Center
(1) Rancho Bernardo 6, (4) Scripps Ranch 3
(3) Westview 4, (2) Cathedral Catholic 3 (OT)
Championship Finals
Monday, March 6
Escondido Sports Center
Third-place game: (2) Cathedral Catholic (15-5) vs. (4) Scripps Ranch (12-7), 6:30 p.m.
Championship game: (1) Rancho Bernardo (20-1) vs. (3) Westview (13-6), 7 p.m.
Results:
(3) Westview 3, (1) Rancho Bernardo 2 (OT)
(2) Cathedral Catholic 4, (4) Scripps Ranch 2
