Aaron Mayer (Eastlake) and Devyn Taras (Otay Ranch) made names for themselves by routinely terrorizing opposing defenses on the roller hockey playing court in the CIF-Metro Conference.
Mayer set a record for most points in one season while Taras proved to be his chief nemesis with the rival Mustangs.
Both are now seniors at San Diego State University and this will be their final season playing together on the school’s men’s ice hockey team. Thus, this season will be a special one for the pair of Chula Vistans.
It could be a special season for the Aztecs as well.
“We’re going to have an excellent team,” SDSU head coach Phil Bateman said.
The Aztecs are off and roaring with a 2-0 record after defeating Loyola Marymount University, 9-5, in dramatic comeback fashion in the teams’ season opener on Sept. 13 at the Kroc Center Ice Arena and skating past the University of San Diego, 13-1, on Sunday.
Mayer and Taras finished one-two in team scoring last season and both have already entered their names in the scoring column this season. Mayer, who led the Aztecs with 37 points last season, has picked up two goals and two assists while Taras (28 points in 2018-19) has collected two assists.
This is Mayer’s fifth year on the team and the second year for Taras. Mayer’s collegiate eligibility runs out after the first semester and he’s hoping his last ride with his Aztec brothers is a very memorable one.
“I just want to have some fun,” Mayer said. “I just want to play some good hockey games, be challenged — all that good stuff.”
Mayer has finished at or near the top of the SDSU scoring column the past three seasons and ranks high on team seniority.
He’s a big plus to have on the team. He said he likes what he sees so far from his teammates, especially the returning group that has gained a year of maturity since last season.
“This year I think we have a lot more talent than last year,” he said. “Last year there were a lot of freshmen but only a couple of difference makers. This year I think we have two or three solid lines on both offense and defense.”
The team camaraderie has also grown over the past year as last season’s large freshman group has now become assimilated into the team.
“It’s really cool, we’re like a family,” Mayer said. “We help each other with homework or have someone to talk to. We hang out after practice and games.”
With a more experienced group assembled this season, Mayer said he is looking for increased productivity from his teammates, which takes the work load off him and other veteran players to carry the team on their shoulders.
“I feel less pressure,” he said. “Judging by the tryout the new guys were pretty even to the returning guys. I see a lot of skill.”
Taras transferred into SDSU as a junior. He provided an immediate impact by finishing second in scoring.
Like Mayer, Taras said he is getting a positive vibe from this year’s squad.
“Our team last season was very young,” Taras said. “It was the majority freshmen. I was one of the few transfers. We’ve all bonded really well since then. I think we’ll have a good season together, all competing for each other.”
Taras and Mayer obviously have a history together — as teammates in ice hockey and rivals in roller hockey.
“It’s great,” Taras said. “We’ve been playing for quite a few years now. In high school, we played against each other. Now we’re playing with each other. I know him up and down. I just need to get in front of the net and he sets me up (with a pass).”
Bateman said he is grateful to have both Mayer and Taras as team leaders in what could be one of the program’s best seasons.
“From a coaching perspective, he brings leadership and professionalism to the team,” Bateman said. “Eighty percent of our lineup is freshmen and sophomores. You still have to have a leader who acts as a role model. You have to have that at the college level.
“He’s a great kid, great first as an athlete. I understand he has a job at the rink working with young kids. He’s paying it forward. It will be a big loss. It will be sad come January.
“With Devyn, it’s the same breath.”
SDSU hosts the University of Georgia in a pair of non-conference games this weekend at the Kroc Center: Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. The Kroc Center is located at 6845 University Ave., Sam Diego.
NEW SEASON BRINGS NEW HOPE FOR AZTEC ICE MEN
The 2018-19 season ended all too abruptly for San Diego State University’s men’s ice hockey team, and in brutal fashion at that.
The Aztecs had built a 5-2 lead on the University of Oregon midway through the third period in the opening game of the PAC-8 championship tournament last February in South Lake Tahoe only to see the ice melt beneath their skates in a very unkind 7-5 elimination loss to the Ducks.
Oregon used the momentum of that dramatic victory to sweep through the tournament to claim the championship, defeating the top-seeded Cal Bears by a 3-0 shutout margin in the final, en route to claiming a berth in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division II West regional tournament in Tempe.
The Aztecs are back in 2019-20, apparently with a stronger team and definitely with a stronger resolve to find success.
“You always have to watch out for a team with a chip on its shoulder,” SDSU head coach Phil Bateman noted after the Aztecs concluded their two-day training camp Sept. 7-8 at The Salvation Army Kroc Center’s ice arena.
Twenty-seven hopefuls attended the two-day tryouts, including 12 returners from last season’s 13-8-2 squad. Bateman and assistant coach Clark Oliver eventually selected a roster of 24 players to face off the new ice campaign.
The group appears to have meshed well in a 9-5 come-from-behind win over Loyola Marymount in the teams’ season opener Sept. 13 at the Kroc Center.
Eastern exposure
East County will once again have a key presence on the Aztecs, keyed by La Mesa’s Elisha Reece, who finished sixth in team scoring last season with 17 points as a freshman, and Lakeside’s Mason Cook, who contributed seven points in 22 games, also as a freshman.
“My first year was really fun,” Reece said. “There were a lot of freshmen on the team and it was really easy to relate to the guys, some of whom I had either played with or against before.”
Reece had played one season for the San Diego Sabers in the Junior A Western States Hockey League prior to joining the Aztecs last season, logging six goals and 14 points in 51 games.
“There are a lot less games (in the ACHA college division) but this league is still pretty physical,” Reece said. “There’s a lot more bonding here. You see your teammates every day at school.”
Reece, one of the speediest players on the SDSU roster, helped anchor last season’s very productive Freshman Line along with Darien Theberge and Mickey Sullivan. The trio produced 23 goals, including three game-winners.
“It should be a lot of fun this season playing with the same guys I did last year,” Reece said. “This year I think we will be a pretty good team. I think we could easily compete for the PAC championship.”
This is Cook’s second year on the team. He provided a contributing role as a freshman last season with two goals and five assists.
He acknowledges that everyone must play their specific role for the greater benefit of the team.
“It’s a large team dynamic,” he said. “If it’s not going, we’re not going to be successful.”
Cook made the jump to the Aztecs last season after playing high school hockey locally with the Poway Unified Hawks club team. In 15 games as a senior he logged 10 goals and 17 points.
“It was a huge jump,” Cook said of making the transition to the Aztecs. “But seeing how many freshmen there were on the team made it easier to fit in. Everyone was accepting.”
He now finds himself in a position to be accepting to a new wave of freshmen arrivals.
“I love it,” Cook said of being on the team. “It means so much. It’s also more interesting to go to school with your teammates (rather than being on a unified team).”
The SDSU sophomore concurs there has been an upgrade in talent this season.
“Everyone has skills,” he said. “Every line seems to have depth and we’re extremely fast this year.”
Cook, who turns 20 on Oct. 11, possesses one of the larger body frames (6-0, 185) on the SDSU roster.
Personal goals are to develop his own skill set to make a greater contribution to the team’s success. That would include skating more with the puck and becoming more of a physical presence on the ice.
“I’d like to use my body more since I’m so big,” he said. “So skating with the puck and using my body.”
New horizons
Newcomers made a big impact in the opening game for SDSU, with Minnesota native Ian Stentz collecting three goals and one assist and German import Artem Klein recording two goals and one assist.
Brian Milner collected a goal and assist while Wesley Varrasso picked up two assists. Verrasso joins the Aztecs after piling up 224 PIM in 81 career WSHL games with the San Diego Gulls/Sabers.
Blake Reed, the Offensive Player of the Year from the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League’s J Serra ice team, registered one assist in his ACHA debut.
Returners scored three of the nine SDSU goals while dishing out six assists.
Sophomore Derian Theberge (Santaq Clarita) posted four points on one goal and three assists while super senior Mayer, last season’s team scoring leader, faced off the new season with a goal and assist. South Lake Tahoe’s Mickey Sullivan, another sophomore, scored one goal, while Reece logged one assist.
“Good,” Mayer noted about all the help he received in the scoring column in the season opener.
Sophomore Nick Ilvento (South Lake Tahoe) made 23 saves on 26 shots as the Aztecs out-shot the Lions 36-28 in the contest.
Ilvento, who logged an 8-2 record with a 3.01 GAA and .906 save percentage in 12 game appearances, started slow as Loyola built a 3-1 lead. The Aztecs zipped in front 5-3 before the Lions roared back to tie the game 5-5.
“With only two practices, his timing will improve as the season progresses,” Bateman said. “With goaltenders, it’s all about timing.”
Bateman admitted he was impressed by what he saw from his team in its first foray onto the ice.
“It could have been a lot more,” Bateman said after the win. “Being a first game, we have a lot to work on. It was a solid effort. We wore them down. You can contain speed for only so long.”
Bateman was definitely impressed by the team’s newcomers. Stentz, from Edina, Minn., entered duty with SDSU after participating in the 2019 Minnesota state tournament for Edina Junior Gold A. He also skated for Edina Junior Gold A at the 2019 USA Hockey high school national championships.
“It was pretty similar but a little higher,” Stentz said in comparing the ACHA level to the two seasons he played in Junior Gold A back home. “It was a great win; I was surprised I scored three goals. Now I just want to keep scoring goals.”
Stentz said he chose SDSU to continue his education in television production.
If the Aztecs can produce like they did on Friday, there will be plenty of highlights to edit this season.
Third-year player Reece Breuckman (San Jose) was equally impressed by the season opening victory.
“We only had two practices before tonight – we haven’t had a lot of time to put things in order,” he explained. “Luckily, we’re blessed with a lot of talent. We rallied early being down 3-1 to go up 5-3. We then had a bit of adversity when they tied it 5-5. But we came back with four goals (to put it away).”
SDSU AZTECS 9, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS 5
Friday, Sept. 13 at Kroc Center
HOME SCORING
Period 1: Mickey Sullivan (Blake Reed) 15:24
Period 2: Brian Milner (Wesley Varrasso) 7:39
Period 2: Artem Klein (Wesley Verrasso) 10:17
Period 2: Aaron Mayer (Artem Klein) 10:36
Period 3: Derian Theberge (Ian Stentz, Elisha Reece) 1:01
Period 3: Ian Stentz (Derian Theberge) 9:36
Period 3: Ian Stentz (Derian Theberge) 13:09
Period 3: Ian Stentz (Derian Theberge) 15:57
Period 3: Artem Klein (Aaron Mayer, Brian Milner) 16:47
Goaltender saves: Nick Ilvento 23 saves on 28 shots
AZTECS SKATE PAST TOREROS 13-1 TO IMPROVE RECORD TO 2-0 ON YOUNG SEASON
Newcomer Michael Pellegrino recorded a hat trick to help stake the San Diego State University men’s ice hockey team to a 13-1 non-conference victory against the University of San Diego Sunday evening at the Kroc Center Ice Arena.
The Aztecs scored the opening goal but quickly found themselves tied 1-1 by the young Toreros, who are competing in just their second season in the ACHA.
SDSU made a statement with a flurry of three late goals in the first period to move in front to stay by a 4-1 score. The Aztecs out-shot the visitors 17-3 in the first frame and piled up an 18-1 edge in shots in the second period in skating to a 10-1 advantage.
“They’re young,” SDSU head coach Phil Bateman offered up in regard to USD’s fledgling team. “I’m sure once upon a time our program looked like that. It’s taken a lot of work for us to get this far.”
Pellegrino joins JSerra teammate Blake Reed on this season’s SDSU roster. The Orange County native previously played three years for the Jr. Ducks organization at the 16AA and 18AA levels.
A business finance major, Pellegrino said he finds the level of play in the ACHA to his liking upon his initial exposure.
“It feels like high school hockey but upgraded, more physical and more fans coming out to the games,” he said.
He was excited about scoring the hat trick, his first as a freshman on the team.
“It felt great,” Pellegrino said. “I didn’t get one in the first game. It feels great to get one in my second game. But I got help. Blake kept giving me a nice passes. It was just like at JSerra.”
While team goals are to win the PAC-8 championship this season, Pellegrino said personal goals are just to help his team any way he can.
“Being a freshman, I just want to do my job,” he said.
Pellegrino finished Sunday’s game with three goals and one assist.
Reed also had a breakout game in his second outing as an Aztec. After recording one assist in the team’s season opening win over LMU, Reed racked up three goals and three assists on Sunday.
Other newcomers to shine included Artem Klein (one goal, two assists) and Brian Milner (three assists).
Derian Theberge (two goals, one assist) and Elisha Reece (one goal, two assists) led the SDSU returners with three points.
Aaron Mayer, last season’s scoring leader, recorded a goal and assist for the second straight game. Senior Devyn Taras collected two assists while Adrien Perez, Ian Stentz and Callum McRae also logged two assists in the contest.
Eight players scored goals and 15 players recorded at least one pint for the victors.
The Aztecs out-shot the Toreros 56-12. SDSU netminder Nick Ilvento was credited with 11 saves in improving his season record to 2-0.
Stay tuned
Sophomore Derian Theberge (Santa Clarita) was a major contributor last season in his first year on the squad by chalking up 23 points on 13 goals and 10 assists in 20 games. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring and third on the team in goals scored (behind Taras and Mayer).
He joined the Aztecs after playing Midget with the Valencia Jr. Flyers in 2016-17 (with 18 goals and 33 points in 15 regular season games) and 18U AAA with the Jr. Kings (T1EHL) in 2017-18. He also suited up in five games for the Valencia Flyers’ WSHL team.
He was paired on the high scoring “rookie line” with fellow freshmen Elisha Reece and Mickey Sullivan last season. The line accounted for 23 goals and 29 assists.
“It was a lot of fun last year,” Theberge said. “They (my teammates) were really accepting. I’d like to think I’ve gotten better since my freshman year.”
He likes what he’s seen on the ice so far.
“The freshmen are really good this year,” he said. “This is a little more skilled team (than last season). I’d like to see us do well … maybe go to nationals. That would be fun. I’d like to help us win conference.”
