The Hilltop Lancers remain in the lead in the Mesa League roller hockey standings despite numerous rainouts that have played havoc with the league schedule.
The Lancers, who picked up a non-league forfeit win from Chula Vista on Thursday, have three league games remaining on their schedule, including rain make-up games.
Hilltop (8-1 in league play, 14-3 overall) will play Bonita Vista (0-10 in league play, 5-13 overall) on Friday, Feb. 8. The Lancers will then match up against Eastlake (7-2 in league play, 17-3 overall) in a make-up game on Monday, Feb. 11, and close out regular season play with a game against Castle Park (4-5 in league lay, 11-7 overall) on Tuesday, Feb. 12.
If the weather holds up, all Mesa League teams should get in their full allotment of 12 league games.
Hilltop played its last on-court game on Jan. 29. Since then, the Lancers have had two games rained out besides Thursday’s forfeit win over the Spartans.
If the results of recent games among Sweetwater district teams are any indicator, expect the final regular season week’s slate of games to be especially hard fought.
Just win, baby
Hilltop blew out to an early 3-0 lead in its high profile Jan. 29n encounter against the Otay Ranch Mustangs. Trevor Fune, Justin Sanchez and Kristin Lambertson all scored goals to face off the opening period.
But midway through the period, the gates opened and Otay Ranch scoring star Sean Devaney stepped onto the playing surface after arriving from a practice with the San Diego Sabers of the Western States Hockey League.
Devaney proved to be an instant game-changer. He scored his first of six goals in the game less than a minute after entering the game. His fourth goal narrowed the Lancer lead to 7-5 at the end of the second period. His fifth goal made the score 7-6 and his double hat trick goal tied the game 7-7 with 6:54 to play.
His game-tying goal was a beauty. He sliced through the defense, drew the goaltender out to the near post and flipped the puck across to the open far post from an extremely steep angle.
But Hilltop is not without its own standout talent parade and team depth ultimately proved the difference. Fune scored his fifth goal of the game with 3:39 left to put the Lancers up 8-7.
Devaney, who had a hand in all seven Mustang goals (six goals, one assist) and his teammates could not answer that one.
Lambertson finished the game with two goals and one assist.
Remember the Titans
Eastlake has picked up two more Mesa League wins to remain within one game in the loss column behind Hilltop in advance of Monday’s potential showdown for the league championship.
The Titans rolled past Bonita Vista, 7-2, in a game played on Jan. 30 and topped Castle Park, 10-1, on Wednesday.
Braden Mayer recorded seven points (three goals, four assists) and linemate Luke Killeen tacked on five points (four goals, one assist) as the two players accounted for all of Eastlake’s scoring in the win over Bonita Vista.
Alvaro Ruiz and Nick Stark each scored goals for the Barons, who received two assists from Ana Custodio.
On Wednesday, Mayer collected five goals and four assists for Eastlake while Killeen collected four goals and two assists. Karla Navarrete also scored for the Titans.
Jared Fuentes scored the lone goal for Castle Park, making it a 1-1 game early. Eastlake led 3-1 at the end of the first period and 7-1 at the end of two periods.
EHS goaltender Rob Hendrickson was steadily improved over the course of the season and was a big reason the defending league champs were able to maintain a comfortable lead by blocking numerous shots on down court rushes by the Trojans.
The Titans have three games left on their regular season schedule. Following Monday’s encounter with Hilltop, Eastlake finishes with games Tuesday and Wednesday against Otay Ranch, which could determine the final individual scoring title between Eastlake’s Killeen and Mayer and Otay Ranch’s Devaney.
Killeen won last year’s district scoring title.
Rain delay
Games scheduled for Thursday (Jan. 31), Monday (Feb. 4) and Tuesday (Feb. 5) were rained out. Play resumed Wednesday (Feb. 6) at the outdoor Castle Park High School rink.
In other games played at the CPHS rink on Wednesday (Feb. 6):
- Adrian Ontiveros had two goals for Chula Vista while Isaac Suarez had two goals for Mar Vista, including one on a penalty shot to give Mar Vista an early 2-0 lead. But the Spartans rallied with three unanswered goals to record a key 3-2 win to lift them up the South Bay League standings.
Lucio Gutierrez scored the first goal for Chula Vista, with Ontiveros tallying the game-tying and game-winning goals.
- Gonzalo Morales recorded a hat trick for San Ysidro in its 4-0 South Bay league win over Southwest while Kevin Villanueva posted the goaltender shutout win, his first of the season.
In games played Thursday (Feb. 7) at Castle Park High School:
Otay Ranch 5, Bonita Vista 3
Sweetwater 2, San Ysidro 0
Sean Devaney scored all five goals for Otay Ranch, including a hat trick in the first period to stake the Mustangs to a 3-0 lead. But Nick Stark completed a second period hat trick of his own, including a shorthanded goal, to allow the Barons to narrow the score to 4-3.
The score remained in the balance until Devaney scored on an end-to-end rush along the boards with 2:00 left to provide Otay Ranch with an insurance goal.
Sweetwater remained undefeated in South Bay League play by scoring an even strength goal in the first period and a power play goal in the second period against a still improving San Ysidro team.
Additional photos:
MESA LEAGUE STANDINGS
(Through Feb. 8)
Hilltop Lancers 9-1, 15-3
Eastlake Titans 7-2, 17-3
Castle Park Trojans 5-5, 12-7
Otay Ranch Mustangs 4-6, 10-10
Bonita Vista Barons 0-11, 5-14
SOUTH BAY LEAGUE STANDINGS
(Through Feb. 8)
Sweetwater Red Devils 10-0, 14-6
Chula Vista Spartans 8-2, 10-9
Mar Vista Mariners 6-5, 7-14
San Ysidro Cougars 2-10, 2-18
Southwest Raiders 1-10, 2-17
North County League
(Through Jan. 16)
Scripps Ranch Falcons 9-0 (9-0 overall)
Rancho Bernardo Broncos 6-1 (6-1 overall)
Escondido Charter White Tigers 4-3 (4-3 overall)
Westview Wolverines 3-4 (3-4 overall)
Patrick Henry Patriots 3-6 (4-6 overall)
Poway Titans 2-5 (4-5 overall)
Cathedral Catholic Dons 0-8 (0-8 overall)
North County League
(Through Feb. 7)
Scripps Ranch Falcons 14-0 (14-0 overall)
Rancho Bernardo Broncos 10-2 (11-2 overall)
Westview Wolverines 7-5 (8-5 overall)
Escondido Charter White Tigers 6-7 (6-7 overall)
Patrick Henry Patriots 6-8 (7-8 overall)
•Poway Titans 2-11 (4-11 overall)
•Cathedral Catholic Dons 0-12 (0-13 overall)
- incomplete record
Updated scores:
1-23: Westview 7, Poway 2
1-24: Westview 9, Escondido Charter 2
1-30: Poway vs. Cathedral Catholic (no report)
2-4: Patrick Henry vs. Cathedral Catholic (rain-out)
2-4: Rancho Bernardo vs. Poway (rain-out)
2-6: Westview 11, Cathedral Catholic 1
2-7: Westview 9, Escondido Charter 0
At Escondido Sports Center:
2-11: Westview vs. Scripps Ranch, 6 p.m.
2-12: Rancho Bernardo vs. Westview, 5 p.m.
2-13: Rancho Bernardo vs. Westview, 8 p.m.
Remaining regular season schedule at the Castle Park High School rink:
Friday, Feb. 8
Castle Park 15, Otay Ranch 2
Sweetwater 3, Mar Vista 1
Hilltop 8, Bonita Vista 3
Notable:
Jared Fuentes (Castle Park) 6 goals
Martin Mari (Castle Park) 4 goals, 2 assists
Jovan Macias (Castle Park) 3 goals, 4 assists
Trevor Fune (Hilltop) 4 goals, 2 assists
Kristin Lambertson (Hilltop) 2 goals, 1 assist
Isaiah Macias (Hilltop) 1 goal, 3 assists
Ana Custodio (Bonita Vista) 2 goals
Nick Stark (Bonita Vista) 1 goal, 1 assist
Cesar Salazar (Sweetwater) 2 goals, 1 assist
Monday, Feb. 11
Chula Vista vs. Sweetwater, 5:30 p.m.
Hilltop vs. Eastlake, 6:30 p.m.
Castle Park vs. Bonita Vista, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 12
Castle Park vs. Hilltop, 5:30 p.m.
Eastlake vs. Otay Ranch, 6:30 p.m.
Bonita Vista vs. Southwest, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 13
Otay Ranch vs. Eastlake, 4:30 p.m.
Sweetwater vs. Chula Vista, 5:30 p.m.
Southwest vs. Mar Vista, 6:30 p.m.
San Ysidro vs. Patrick Henry, 7:30 p.m.
SWEETWATER DISTRICT SCORING LEADERS(Through Jan. 21)
Luke Killeen (Eastlake) 47 goals, 30 assists – 77 points
Sean Devaney (Otay Ranch) 56 goals, 16 assists – 72 points
Trevor Fune (Hilltop) 43 goals, 13 assists – 56 points
Braden Mayer (Eastlake) 32 goals, 23 assists – 55 points
Martin Mari (Castle Park) 38 goals, 5 assists – 43 points
Kristin Lambertson (Hilltop) 26 goals, 13 assists – 39 points
Kevin Eagles (Eastlake) 23 goals, 16 assists – 39 points
Cesar Salazar (Sweetwater) 28 goals, 8 assists – 36 points
Nick Stark (Bonita Vista) 26 goals, 7 assists – 33 points
Lucio Gutierrez (Chula Vista) 21 goals, 12 assists – 33 points
Adrian Ontiveros (Chula Vista) 21 goals, 7 assists – 28 points
Jose Lopez (Sweetwater) 20 goals, 6 assists – 26 points
Isaac Suarez (Mar Vista) 19 goals, 3 assists – 22 points
Isaiah Macias (Hilltop) 14 goals, 6 assist – 20 points
Jared Fuentes (Castle Park) 11 goals, 8 assists – 19 points
Ana Custodio (Bonita Vista) 15 goals, 3 assists – 18 points
Jovan Macias (Castle Park) 13 goals, 5 assists – 18 points
David Segura (Sweetwater) 11 goals, 7 assists – 18 points
Karla Navarette (Eastlake) 6 goals, 12 assists – 18 points
Bryan Mendez (Castle Park 7 goals, 6 assists – 13 points
Gabby Sanchez (Southwest) 10 goals, 2 assists – 12 points
Justin Sanchez (Hilltop) 8 goals, 4 assists – 12 points
TEAM STATISTICS
Hilltop Lancers Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 18)
#5 Trevor Fune 34 goals, 7 assists – 41 points
#12 Kristin Lambertson 22 goals, 11 assists – 33 points
#9 Isaiah Macias 12 goals, 4 assist – 16 points
#10 Justin Sanchez 6 goals, 4 assists – 10 points
#15 Gabe Love 2 goals, 0 assists – 2 points
#6 Niko Sandoval 2 goals, 0 assists – 2 points
#22 Cadence Babiarz 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
#11 Andrea Chavera 0 goals, 1 assists – 1 point
#7 Alexis Samanian 0 goals, 1 assists – 1 point
#4 – 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
Eastlake Titans Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 11)
Luke Killeen 24 goals, 17 assists – 41 points
Braden Mayer 19 goals, 15 assists – 34 points
Kevin Eagles 20 goals, 10 assists – 30 points
Karla Navarette 3 goals, 6 assists – 9 points
Xavier Baluis 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Mason Sedlacek 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
Jacob Flores 2 goals, 0 assists – 2 points
Ricardo Otanez 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
Joshua Pratt 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
Mia Mae Dacasin 0 goals, 1 assist – point
Rob Hendrickson 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
Otay Ranch Mustangs Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 10)
#11 Sean Devaney 24 goals, 13 assists – 37 points
#3 – 3 goals, 2 assists – 5 points
#7 – 3 goals, 0 assists – 3 points
#10 – 3 goals, 0 assists – 3 points
#4 Nathan Castro – 2 goals, 0 assists – 2 points
#6 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
#2 – 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
#9 – 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
#8 – 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
Castle Park Trojans Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 18)
#1 Martin Mari 24 goals, 3 assists – 27 points
#4 Jovan Macias 10 goals, 4 assists – 14 points
#13 Jared Fuentes 6 goals, 3 assists – 9 points
#8 Bryan Mendez – 4 goals, 3 assists – 7 points
#3 – 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
#11 – 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
#10 – 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
#2 – 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
Chula Vista Spartans Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 18)
#12 Lucio Gutierrez 14 goals, 9 assists – 23 points
#14 Adrian Ontiveros 17 goals, 5 assists – 22 points
#10 Carlo Espino – 3 goals, 2 assists – 5 points
#17 Sylvia Barba 1 goal, 2 assists – 3 points
Sweetwater Red Devils Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 16)
#97 Cesar Salazar 15 goals, 5 assists – 20 points
#44 Jose Lopez 12 goals, 5 assists – 17 points
#11 David Segura 9 goals, 4 assists – 13 points
Isabel #78 – 3 goals, 2 assists – 5 points
#16 Irma Victoria 5 goals, 0 assists – 5 points
#40 – 3 goals, 2 assists – 5 point
#33 – 0 goals, 2 assists – 2 points
#19 – 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
Mar Vista Mariners Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 18)
#96 Isaac Suarez 14 goals, 2 assists – 16 points
#97 – 1 goal, 2 assists – 3 points
#98 – 2 goals, 0 assists – 2 points
#68 – 1 goal, 1 assist – 2 points
Tiffany O’Neil 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
Bonita Vista Barons Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 18)
#11 Nick Stark 15 goals, 4 assists – 19 points
#12 Ana Custodio 8 goals, 2 assists – 10 points
#17 Alvaro Ruiz 0 goals, 3 assist – 3 points
Ayden Mudd 1 goal, 1 assist – 2 points
#7 Keala Nunes 1 goal, 1 assist – 2 points
#5 Isabelle King 0 goals, 2 assist – 2 points
Niklas Massarene 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
#14 Diego Nunes 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
#16 – 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
#26 – 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
Southwest Raiders Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 18)
#2 Gabby Sanchez – 8 goals, 2 assists – 10 points
Katie George 3 goals, 1 assist – 4 points
#1 – 1 goal, 3 assists – 4 points
#9 Edward Arsman 3 goals, 0 assists – 3 points
Leilani #3 – 2 goals, 1 assist – 3 points
Max (#7) – 0 goals, 2 assists – 2 points
#11 – 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
#12 – 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
San Ysidro Cougars Scoring Leaders
(Through Jan. 16)
#4 Nathan Oliver 2 goals., 1 assist – 3 points
#14 Gonzalo Morales 1 goal, 1 assist – 2 points
#7 – 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
#35 – 1 goal, 0 assists – 1 point
#12 – 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
#9 – 0 goals, 1 assist – 1 point
Falcons continue to soar over CIF roller hockey opponents at 14-0
Ben Ivey notched four goals and one assist and Cody Sherman tacked on three goals and two assists to lead Scripps Ranch to a conference-best 14-0 record following a 12-7 win over Rancho Bernardo in a high profile North County League game on Wednesday (Feb. 6) at the Escondido Sports Center. It was the Falcons’ second North County League win this season over the second place Broncos, who fell to 9-2 in league play, 10-2 overall.
The Falcons sped to a 6-1 advantage after the first period. The teams fought to a 3-3 standoff in each of the next two periods.
Joon Bae, Kyle Fraser and Cody Ayers also scored goals for Scripps Ranch, which had its lead cut to 9-5 early in the third period before rebounding with three consecutive goals to lead 12-5.
Ike Frankel had four goals in the loss while Colton Clapham recorded a goal and assist. Nik Thomas and Trevor Marquez also scored goals for RB.
In another North County League game on Wednesday:
Ruben Allen and Matthew Voegel each had two goals in the third period to help Patrick Henry (6-8 in league, 7-8 overall) come from behind to record a 9-6 win over Poway. Tyler Daniel had two assists for the Patriots while Jonathon Puno had two goals and two assists for Poway.
Rancho Bernardo bounced back from Wednesday’s 12-7 loss to North County League frontrunner Scripps Ranch with a 6-3 win over Poway on Thursday in a game played at the Escondido Sports Center.
Alex Pang led the Broncos with two goals while Miles Cook, Colton Clapham, Chris Angelo and Nicholas Angelo each scored goals in RB’s 11th win of the season. The Broncos hold a current record of 11-2 overall, 10-2 in North County League play.
Michael Little recorded a hat trick for Poway in the loss.
- Ruben Allen and Matthew Voegel each had two goals in the third period to help Patrick Henry (6-8 in league, 7-8 overall) come from behind to record a 9-6 North County win over Poway on Wednesday (Feb. 6). Tyler Daniel had two assists for the Patriots while Jonathon Puno had two goals and two assists for Poway.
CIF roller hockey scores for Wednesday, Jan. 30:
Escondido Sports Center:
Rancho Bernardo skated to an 11-2 victory against Patrick Henry to improve its record to 10-1 on the season. Ike Frankel and Niklas Thomas each scored four goals. Goalie K.J. Luna de la Fuente stopped 15 of 17 shots to post the victory.
“It was a good game,” Patrick Henry coach Chuck Russell noted. “We had trouble scoring on their goalie. He did a great job cutting down the angles and we did a poor job creating traffic in the slot to screen him and get rebounds.
“It was 5-1 going into the third, but our goalie got injured and I had to put in my rookie. He did well, but let in six goals in the last part of the third.”
In another North County League game on Wednesday, Scripps Ranch skated past Escondido Charter by a score of 7-3. THomas Sherman, Jack Ivey and Cody Ayers each scored two goals to lead the Falcons, who improved to 13-0 on the season.
In a North County League game on Monday, Scripps Ranch defeated Poway, 10-3, as Ben Ivey and Fraser each scored four goals.
Ben Ivey leads the Falcons in season scoring with 30 goals and 52 points. Fraser ranks second on the team with 29 goals and 44 points.
In games played Thursday, Jan. 30, at Castle Park High School:
Sweetwater 5, Southwest 0 (South Bay League)
Westview 14, Mar Vista 0 (non-league)
In games Friday, Feb. 1, at Castle Park High School:
Sweetwater 5, Otay Ranch 4 (non-league)
Chula Vista 7, Southwest 2 (South Bay League)
Mar Vista 2, San Ysidro 0 (South Bay League)
In games Jan. 29 at the Castle Park High School outdoor rink:
- Adrian Ontiveros scored four goals and Lucio Gutierrez collected two goals and two assists for Chula Vista in a 6-1 South Bay League win over San Ysidro.
- Jared Fuentes led Castle Park with four goals and two assists whie Martin Mari tacked on four goals and one assist in an 11-1 mercy rule non-league win over Sweetwater.
PATRICK HENRY STUNS WOLVERINES WITH SECOND OVERTIME VICTORY
The Patrick Henry High School varsity roller hockey team secured its sixth win of the season with a dramatic overtime victory against the 2017 Kiwanis Cup champion Westview Wolverines on Jan. 28 at the Skate San Diego rink in El Cajon.
Sam Moorhead scored his second goal of the season to tie the game up at 5-5. With 48 seconds left in the game, Westview scored to take the lead with what seemed to be the game-winning goal.
However, the host Patriots pulled their goaltender to allow an additional player on the rink and Matt Russell tied the game 15 seconds later to send the game into overtime.
In the three-on-three sudden-victory five-minute overtime period, it took Matthew Voegel just 31 seconds to fire the game-winner past the Westview goaltender and secure a dramatic come from behind victory for the Patriots.
The overtime victory was Patrick Henry’s second over Westview after the Patriots’ nipped the Wolverines in the season opener.
Scores from non-league games played Jan. 28 at the Caste Park High School outdoor rink:
Bonita Vista 8, Mar Vista 1
Eastlake 13, San Ysidro 0
Rancho Bernardo 11, Castle Park 1
Notable:
Ana Custodio (BV) 5 goals, 2 assists
Nick Stark (BV) 3 goals, 2 assists
Ike Frankel (RB) 3 goals, 2 assists
Braden Mayer (EL) 5 assists
Jacob Flores (EL) 3 goals, 1 assist
Joshua Pratt (EL) 3 goals
Miles Cook (RB) 3 goals
Kiril Yampolsky (RB) 2 goals, 1 assist
Nik Thomas (RB) 2 goals, 1 assist
Rancho Bernardo (8-1 in North County League play) improves to 9-1 on the season.
