The Castle Park High School roller hockey rink received a major upgrade this week. No, it wasn’t a roof or a heating system to help keep fans, players and coaches warm and dry during the winter nights.
But a new scoreboard that gives the facility a more professional feel.
It is a much welcome addition, according to rink manager Jerry Nestlerode.
“It’s a big improvement,” explained Nestlerode, who also serves as head coach for Southwest High School’s team. “There’s a lot of excitement about it. Coaches, players and spectators can enjoy the game and all the games in our league. The spectators are much more involved and now are more clued into what’s happening. It makes for more exciting games and a more exciting league. I’m thrilled.”
Previously, a small scoreboard, which was difficult to make out both because of its size and low light level emitted, was located in the scorer’s box. Many spectators never even knew it existed, and so they would come to the scorers booth to ask questions about the score of games.
There’s no longer a need for that. The score is now up in bright lights at the eastern side of the rink, which has been in operation for approximately 14 years.
“I was so worried that we wouldn’t be able see it in the daytime, but it’s just fine,” Nestlerode explained.
It’s bold and beautiful even in full daylight.
A horn even denotes when games are about to start and when each period ends.
“The sound of the horn is just perfect, in my opinion,” Nestlerode explained. “It’s not too awfully loud, but loud enough for everyone in the facility to hear.”
The scoreboard also is much easier to set up because it operates via a wireless connection to a control box in the scorers booth.
The new scoreboard went into operation Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of talk about it the last few days in the hockey community, and how happy the hockey community is,” Nestlerode said.
“It makes the game seem official,” explained game official Darius Newhall, a former player in the league with Eastlake. “There’s scores they can to look at during the game and be proud of, see it after the game. It adds more to it. It makes it more official.”
“It adds more excitement to this community, its been a long time coming,” Otay Ranch head coach Jose Castro explained. “I’m happy finally it’s here. When the kids saw it first light up, they were ecstatic. It was time to play hockey. When the horn went off, everyone was like ‘wow.’ It adds a new dimension to this whole rink.”
In games this week at the Castle Park High School rink:
Lancers roll to third consecutive win, top Red Devils
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 25, 2016 – Danny Godinez scored five goals to lead Hilltop to its third consecutive win via a 6-2 non-league decision over Sweetwater. Gerrardo Barragan scored one goal while Andrew Tesner and Josh Fischer each picked up assists for the victorious Lancers. Marco Salazar and Adrian Kercher each scored goals for the Red Devils, with both assists going to Phillip Brandon.
Hilltop improved to 9-4-1 overall with the win while Sweetwater dropped to 6-9 overall.
Titans rebound from league loss with 8-0 shutout win over Spartans
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 25, 2016 – The Chula Vista Spartans are enjoying one of their better seasons in school history, but it appears there still exists some separation from the Sweetwater Union High School District’s elite teams.
The Spartans got a measure of that when they engaged defending Mesa League champion Eastlake in a non-league game on Monday. The Titans rolled to an 8-0 victory and, if not for a 23-save performance by CV netminder Cruz Salas, the margin of victory could have been even wider.
Eastlake, which was coming off a stinging league loss to Hilltop, was very active offensively.
Chula Vista trailed 3-0 at the end of the first period and 7-0 entering the final periods. However, the Spartans did put up a fight and played well enough to earn respect from their Mesa League opponent.
Newcomer Jake Powell led the Titans with two goals and three assists while Sean Layton chalked up three goals and one assist. Percilla Mayer had a goal and assist, as did newcomer Luke Killeen. Brandon Benson contributed one assist while Kevin Hooks recorded the shutout win in the net.
Eastlake improved its overall record to 11-3-1 while Chula Vista fell to 12-4 overall (including tournament games).
The Spartans will face current Mesa League leader Otay Ranch in a non-league game on Feb. 2.
Scripps Ranch soars past Mustangs, wins 17-1 in non-league duel
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 25, 2016 – The Scripps Ranch Falcons won their second non-league game against a Sweetwater district team by a blowout margin when they engaged the Otay Ranch Mustangs on Monday. The Mustangs appear to be one of the top teams in the Sweetwater district this season but proved no match for the Falcons.
Scripps Ranch scored just nine seconds into the game and flew out to a 3-0 lead before Otay Ranch scored what proved to be its only goal of the game to tighten the score to 3-1. The Falcons tacked on 14 unanswered goals over the balance of the game to win handily 17-1.
Matt Gauthier (four goals, six assists) and Cody Sherman (three goals, seven assists) each led Scripps Ranch with 10 points while Jesse Lycan added nine points on seven goals and two assists. Scott Rhyne contributed three goals and one assist to the Falcon win while Jimmy Musser had one assist. Goaltender Casey Wu was credited with the win.
Scripps Ranch improved to 7-5 on the season while Otay Ranch fell to 10-5 overall.
Aaron Marientes, assisted by David Mendez, scored the Mustangs’ lone goal in the game.
Mustangs roll past Raiders, 11-0, in non-league match-up
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 26, 2016 – Paul Chavez paced Otay Ranch’s 11-0 non-league victory against Southwest on Tuesday with seven points on three goals and four assists while Ricky Portilla added five points on four goals and one assist. David Mendez chalked up three points on two goals and one assist while teammate Aaron Marientes scored two goals and John Gentile contributed one assist.
The Mustangs led 3-0 at the end of the first period and 7-0 at the end of two periods. Otay Ranch improved to 11-5 on the season while Southwest dropped to 2-11, including tournament games.
Mariners shut out Raiders, 3-0, in South Bay League contest
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 27, 2016 – Eloy Rodriguez scored one goal in each period to lift Mar Vista to a 3-0 South Bay League victory against Southwest on Wednesday.
Castle Park slams door shut on Sweetwater in final period to grab 8-3 win
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 27, 2016 – Marvin Cirignano lit up scoreboard with four goals and one assist to help power Castle Park past Sweetwater, 8-3, in a South Bay League game on Wednesday. Eleazar Cruz and Isaac Montero each contributed two goals and one assist to the winning effort while Martin Mari was credited with one assist.
The Trojans led 2-0 after the opening period and 4-2 after two periods. Castle Park put the game away by scoring four goals in the final period while the Red Devils could only muster one goal.
Adrian Kercher led Sweetwater with two goals while Phillip Brandon scored once in a losing effort.
White Tigers head south, bring back 17-0 non-league win over Lancers
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 27, 2016 – Four players accounted for all the scoring in Escondido Charter’s 17-0 non-league win over Hilltop Wednesday. Jacob Grove led the White Tigers with six goals while Joey Mendoez pace the team overall with nine points on five goals and four assists. Jono Peroraro also was active in the scoring column with four goals and four assists while teammate Evan Medieros collected two goals and five assists.
Escondido Charter led 6-0 after the first period and upped its lead to 11-0 after two periods. The White Tigers closed out the game with six more goals in the third period.
Mustangs corral Titans for 5-1 win, inch closer to securing Mesa League title
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 28, 2016 – Freshman Sean Devaney put on a dazzling performance and his Otay Ranch teammates followed in kind as the Mustangs snapped a 1-1 first period deadlock against arch rival Eastlake to skate to a 5-1 Mesa League win. The victory kept Otay Ranch unbeaten in league play (5-0) while the defending league champion Titans dropped to 3-3 in league play.
The game pitted the Sweetwater district teams with the best records and did not disappoint for the most part. The Mustangs drew first blood when Devaney scored off a pass from teammate David Mendez. But the Titans responded to tie the game on a goal by newcomer Jake Powell.
The game remained closely played from there, with Mendez scoring the lone goal of the second period to put Otay Ranch up 2-1. Aaron Marientes picked up the assist.
Devaney dazzled the crowd – and lit up the new rink scoreboard – with a pair of goals just 40 seconds apart to start the third period. His first strike came just five seconds from the face-off to put the Mustangs ahead 3-1. Scarcely had his name been jotted down in the scorebook when he struck again to put his team up 4-1. On both lightning-quick goals, he managed to pinpoint openings against Eastlake netminder Kevin Hooks.
Devaney scored three goals total in the third period. Paul Chavez assisted on the first while the last two were both unassisted.
Otay Ranch improved to 12-5 on the season while the Titans saw their overall record dip to 11-4-1.
“It was a very important performance by Sean for us,” ORHS head coach Jose Castro explained. “He helped put us in the lead and take pressure off our defense. Our defenders could stay calm and keep on their men. We played our best hockey of the season.”
Castro said the uplifting performance by his team came after a heart-to-heart team meeting.
“We hadn’t been playing as a team, we had been playing more as individuals,” the Mustang coach explained. “There weren’t any hard feelings or discord between the players or anything. We just hadn’t been playing together as a team. But now we’re getting to know each other more, and that starts with me as a new coach. I’m getting to know them more.”
Lancers break away to post 6-2 win over Barons in Mesa League tilt
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 28, 2016 – Andrew Tesner scored four goals and tacked on one assist to help pace Hilltop past Bonita Vista, 6-2, in a Mesa League contest on Thursday. The Lancers found themselves down, 2-1, on first-period goals by Bonita Vista’s Matthew Custodio and Nick Stark. However, the Barons could not find the net over the next two periods while being out-scored 5-0.
Danny Godinez contributed three assists to the winning effort for the Lancers. Tesner scored Hilltop’s opening four goals – one in the first period and three in the second period – and assisted on the Lancers’ fifth goal.
Andres Cordero picked up the win between the pipes for Hilltop while Naya Romero took the loss. Both goaltenders made a healthy amount of saves in the game.
There were several dramatic goals in the contest. The Lancers scored their first goal of the game on the last second of a power play opportunity while Stark scored his go-ahead goal in the last seconds of the opening period. Tesner put the Lancers up 4-2 on a goal with five seconds left in the second period.
Hilltop improved to 3-3 in league play, 10-5-1 overall; Bonita Vista dropped to 0-5 in league play, 3-11 overall.
Trojans win, remain in second place in South Bay League standings
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 29, 2016 – Marvin Cirignano scored three goals and two assists, Eleazar Cruz added a goal and three assists and Adolfo Medina was credited with two goals and one assist to lead Castle Park past Southwest, 7-3, in a South Bay League game. Isaac Montero added a goal and assist for the victorious Trojans, who built a 4-2 lead through two periods and out-distanced their opponent by a 3-1 score in the final period, to roll to their third consecutive win.
The win raised Castle Park’s record to 5-3 in league play, 5-7 overall. Southwest fell to 2-6 in league play, 2-13 overall.
Spartans claim South Bay League title with 8-0 shutout win over Mariners
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 29, 2016 – Few would dispute that the Chula Vista Spartans are enjoying a banner season. The Spartans, in fact, cemented their claim to this year’s league title – the first in school history – by putting an exclamation mark on an 8-0 shutout win over Mar Vista.
Hector Garcia led Chula Vista (8-0 in league) with three goals and one assist while Jesse Amador scored two goals and Allison Smith contributed a goal and assist.
Mar Vista’s scoring leader, Eloy Rodriguez, played between the pipes. Cruz Salas picked up the goaltending win for the Spartans.
“This is probably the most successful team in school history, not necessarily skill-wise, but record-wise,” CVHS head coach Matt Diaz explained. “We’re very offensive-minded in our games. The reason we’re winning games is that we’re keeping constant pressure with the puck.
“In the win over Mar Vista, Jesse and Hector were pretty relentless with their shots.”
As a league champion, the Spartans (13-4 overall) have earned a berth in the upcoming Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs.
“I’m no longer trying to train the team to win the (league) banner, we have that now – what I’m trying to do now is to teach them to hold off in the playoffs. I think we’re getting there.”
Mar Vista (4-12 overall) remained in third place in the South Bay League standings with a 3-6 league record.
Stark has breakout game in Bonita Vista win over Sweetwater
CASTLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 29, 2016 – Bonita Vista freshman Nick Stark enjoyed a breakout performance with two goals and two assists as the Barons topped Sweetwater, 4-2, in a non-league game. The Red Devils led, 1-0, at the end of the first period on a goal by Marco Salazar. But Bonita Vista (4-11 overall) countered with two goals in the second period (both by Stark) and two goals in the third period (both assisted by Stark).
Matthew Custodio finished the game with one goal and one assist while Dylan Riley scored what proved to be the game-winning goal. Ashley Massarene picked up the win between the pipes.
Sweetwater, which suffered its fourth consecutive loss, dropped to 6-11 overall.
NORTH COUNTY REPORT:
Wilson, Rancho Bernardo out-duel Herrman, Poway to secure wild 12-8 league win
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Jan. 25, 2016 — Ryan Wilson netted five goals and Brendan O’Rourke drove home another three goals to lead the Rancho Bernardo Broncos to a wild 12-8 roller hockey victory over crosstown rival Poway in the North County League on Monday. Also hitting the net for RB were Bailey Ridout with two goals and Isaiah Frankel and Chris White with one goal apiece. Ridout also tallied two assists on the night with Miles Cook, Alex Pang, Frankel, and O’Rourke all contributing one assist.
Rory Herrman scored seven goals for the Titans in defeat and Cliff Schrader also notched a goal off an assist from Herrman. Liam Garry also tallied an assist for Poway.
Rancho Bernardo goaltender Jakob Ogan stopped 17 Poway shots to earn the victory in net as the Broncos outshot the Titans 32-25 on the evening. Poway goaltender Trevor Curtin made 21 saves for the Titans in defeat. The top ranked Broncos improved to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in league play for the season.
Broncos top Dons on late goal to post exciting 6-5 win in battle of top-ranked teams in CIF-Metro Conference
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Jan. 27, 2016 — Ryan Wilson threaded a perfect pass to Brendan O’Rourke, who redirected the puck home for the winning goal with two minutes remaining as top-ranked Rancho Bernardo skated to a thrilling 6-5 win over second-ranked Cathedral Catholic Wednesday night at Kit Carson Park. Leading the scoring attack for the Broncos were Wilson with three goals and two assists and O’Rourke with two goals and one assist. Bailey Ridout scored the tying goal to knot the game at 5-5 late in the third period to set up the exciting finish.
Miles Cook assisted O’Rourke on the first Rancho Bernardo goal which put the Broncos up 1-0. The game was a seesaw battle with several lead changes from start to finish. Hitting the net for the Dons were Jake Belland and Sam Angeles, who netted two goals apiece and Drew Jones with one goal. Jon Leone had two assists for Cathedral Catholic while Kyle Riddlespurger and Jones notched single assists. RB’s Jakob Ogan stopped 27 Cathedral Catholic shots to earn the victory in net; Cathedral Catholic netminder Patrick Henson made 23 saves in defeat.
With the victory, the Broncos improved their overall record to 9-1 to solidify the top spot in the CIF-Metro Conference rankings.
Falcons muzzle Wolf Pack in high-scoring Central League affair, post 13-5 victory
ESCONDIDO SPORTS CENTER, Jan. 27, 2016 – It wasn’t a defensive battle by any stretch of the imagination as Scripps Ranch rolled past West Hills, 13-5, in a Central League game on Wednesday. There were lots of saves by both goaltenders. Scripps Ranch out-shot West Hills 62-34. Miguel San Martin had 49 saves for West Hills and Casey Wu made 29 stops for Scripps Ranch.
Jesse Lycan tallied eight points on three goals and five assists. Scott Rhyne and Stewart Pond had four goals each while Cody Sherman had the other two goals for the victorious Falcons (8-5 overall). It was a coming-of-age game for Rhyne, a senior, who started his career as a freshman and has mostly been a role player. Over the last two games, Rhyne has scored seven goals.
Cade Frederick paced West Hills by scoring all five Wolf Pack goals to make a case for end-of-season accolades despite missing the first half of the season.
CIF-Metro Conference Standings
(Through Jan. 29)
Mesa League Standings
Otay Ranch Mustangs 5-0, 12-5
Eastlake Titans 3-3, 11-4-1
Hilltop Lancers 3-3, 10-5-1
Bonita Vista Barons 0-5, 4-11
South Bay League Standings
Chula Vista Spartans 8-0, 13-4
Castle Park Trojans 5-3, 5-7
Mar Vista Mariners 3-6, 4-12
Sweetwater Red Devils 2-5, 6-11
Southwest Raiders 2-6, 2-13
Central League
Cathedral Catholic 5-1, 8-4
St. Augustine 3-3-1, 5-6-1
Scripps Ranch 3-3, 8-5
West Hills 1-5-1, 2-10-1
North County League
Rancho Bernardo 5-1, 9-2
Westview 4-2, 9-3
Escondido Charter 2-5, 5-7
Poway 1-4, 4-7
CIF-Metro Conference
Power Rankings
(Through Jan. 29)
1 Rancho Bernardo
2 Westview
3 Cathedral Catholic
4 Scripps Ranch
5 St. Augustine
6 Escondido Charter
7 Poway
8 West Hills
9 Otay Ranch
10 Eastlake
11 Hilltop
12 Chula Vista
13 Castle Park
14 Bonita Vista
15 Sweetwater
16 Mar Vista
17 Southwest
Ice Chips:
Taking flight: Time to shine for pair of Gulls at AHL All-Star Classic
Two San Diego Gulls will be in the Pacific Division All-Star Team line-up for the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic that will take place on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in Syracuse, N.Y.
Rookie defenseman Brandon Montour and rookie forward Nick Ritchie will represent the Gulls at the post American Hockey League event featuring the future stars in the National Hockey League.
Both Montour and Ritchie expressed pride at being selected to the upcoming AHL All-Star Classic.
“It’s definitely a good feeling, obviously it’s good to be recognized from the league for that,” explained Montour, 21, who appeared in 14 games last season with the AHL Norfolk Admirals with one goal and 10 points to his credit. “It’s my first year (with the Gulls), so I’m pretty excited but we have a lot more work to do before that.”
“It’s a good honor to me to be selected,” the 20-year-old Ritchie explained. “It’s going to be my first time, I don’t know what to expect, (but) it’s going to be a fun weekend.”
Both players were tabbed by the Ducks in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft – Ritchie in the first round (10th player overall) and Montour in the second round (55th player overall).
At the time of his selection, Montour led San Diego in team scoring with 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) in 30 games. He ranked 12th among AHL players in points, was tied for second overall in assists, while leading the league in power play assists (15) and power play points (18). Through 38 games, the 21-year-old from Brantford, Ontario had compiled six goals and 32 points to continue to lead the team in scoring.
Ritchie, who has played 11 games with the NHL parent Anaheim Ducks this season, had collected 20 points (12 goals, eight assists) in 21 games with the Gulls at the time of his selection to the division all-star squad. The Anaheim Ducks’ first-round selection in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, the native of Orangeville, Ontario has since increased his season totals to 15 goals and 26 points in 29 games to rank second in team scoring during his rookie season. He collected his first NHL assist in a Nov. 30 game against Vancouver.
Montour’s offensive skills as a blue-line obviously caught the attention of the selection committee.
“Obviously, I focus on my own end first, defense first, there but when the chances tare there, I like to take those and create offense for the guys,” Montour said. “Power play-wise, I’m quick and I like to shoot the puck.”
Ritchie (6-2, 232 pounds) commands a physical presence on the ice. “I’m obviously a big guy going to the net hard, playing like a power forward,” he explained. “My style got me selected.”
Both Gulls players said they are looking forward to attending the event together.
“Nick is one of my good buddies on the team, we’ve been together with this since the start,” Montour explained. “He’s one of my roommates as well so we became close friends. Obviously to have him there with me is a good feeling. It’s good to have someone there, coming with me, so I’m excited about it.”
Ritchie echoed those sentiments. “It’s awesome,” he said. “It makes it more familiar traveling with someone else. It’s going to be a fun time for both of us.”
All 30 AHL teams will be represented in the upcoming event hosted by the Syracuse Crunch. Nine players will represent the five California-based teams on the 13-man Pacific Division All-Star Team roster.
Events will take place at the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic Skills Competition will take place on Jan. 31, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Challenge will take place on Feb. 1, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
The skills competition will keep its traditional format, with the All-Stars representing Eastern Conference teams (Atlantic and North divisions) squaring off against All-Stars representing Western Conference teams (Pacific and Central divisions) in seven skills events.
Instead of a traditional 60-minute game, the All-Star Challenge event will feature four teams – one representing each of the league’s four division. The four teams will first compete in a round-robin tournament featuring six games of nine minutes each. The first half of each game will be played four-on four and the second half of each game will be played three-on-three.
The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin tournament will face off for the championship in a six-minute game played three-on-three.
This year’s All-Star Classic will feature the top young talent in the AHL. Of the 679 players who have taken part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 93 percent have competed in the National Hockey League.
Honor roll
The Pacific Division-leading Ontario Reign will be represented by three players on the division all-star team while the Gulls and Bakersfield Condors each will be represented by two players. The San Jose Barracuda and Stockton Heat will each be presented by one player.
“It feels great when you’re recognized for something like that, it feels pretty good, but I think there could be other guys on the team who could be going, there a lot of guys who are playing well right now,” explained San Jose right wing Barclay Goodrow, a first-year selection to the AHL All-Star Classic.
Goodrow, , a 22-year-old native of Toronto, has two years of AHL experience and 74 games to his credit over that span with the NHL parent club San Jose Sharks.
“I feel honored and am looking forward to it,” Goodrow said in reference to his upcoming participation in the AHL All-Star Classic.
Goodrow has collected four goals and 11 assists during stints with the Sharks over the past two seasons. He had posted 13 goals and 19 points in 22 games with the Barracuda at the point of his selection to the division all-star team this season. He has since extended those totals to 14 goals and 24 points in 30 games.
Goodrow said he he has been working on putting together a more solid game on his part, which he believes aided in his all-star selection.
“I’ve been playing a harder game, and the goals and assists are coming from that,” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be playing with some pretty good line mates to get there. I feel pretty good about that.”
The month of October was not kind to the Barracuda, which lost its first three games and finished its first month in California with a 2-6 record. Partly through Goodrow’s efforts, the Barracuda (18-12-5-3, .579) has since experienced a rapid rise up the Pacific Division standings – from fifth to second place – after making an 8-1-1 run over a 10-game span in late December and early January.
“We’ve kind of figured our game out,” Goodrow explained. “At the beginning of the season, we seemed to put 40 or 50 good minutes together in a game but never a full game. But now that we’ve been able to put a full game together, we’ve seen what it takes to be successful. It’s been exciting to be a part of that.
“California is a great hockey state, it’s nice they’ve been able to get a few more teams out there. It’s nice when everyone is so close, there’s some good competition and it builds some good rivalries.”
Bakersfield defenseman Brad Hunt, meanwhile, will be making his third appearance in the AHL All-Star Classic. The 27-year-old native of Ridge Meadows, British Columbia had posted 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 26 games at the time of his call-up to the Edmonton Oilers, the Condors’ NHL parent club.
This is the third consecutive season in which Hunt has earned a call-up to the NHL. He appeared in 11 games during 2014-15 with one goal and three points; he has appeared in seven games without picking up a point for the Oilers this season.
Hunt was tabbed alongside Bakersfield teammate Laurent Brossoit. At the time of his selection, Brossoit had compiled a 10-5-3 goaltending record with a 2.52 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and three shutouts. A three-year AHL veteran, the 22-year-old netminder from Surrey, British Columbia, has since posted an 11-803 record, 2.62 GAA and .925 save percentage in 22 game appearances.
The Pacific Division All-Star Team will be coached by Ontario head coach Mike Strothers, who will be making his fourth appearance in the AHL All-Star Classic. He will have the opportunity to coach three of his own players at the upcoming event: goaltender Peter Budaj, defenseman Vincent LoVerde and forward Michael Mersch.
At the time of his selection, Budaj sported a 17-7-2 record, league-leading 1.69 GAA, .930 save percentage and four shutouts. The 33-year-old native of Slovakia had extended his record to 22-9-2 for the Reign (24-10-2-1, .689) in 33 game appearances while keeping both his GAA and save percentage unchanged while adding a fifth shutout.
A second-round draft pick by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Budaj has enjoyed considerable playing time in the NHL (296 games) with both the Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens.
Mersch, 23, from Park Ridge, Ill., had collected 12 goals and 15 points in 19 games at the point of his all-star selection, and has racked up 21 points (13 goals, eight assists) in 25 games for the Reign this season while also playing 15 games for the NHL parent club L.A. Kings (with one goal and two assists to his credit).
Mersch, the Kings’ fourth-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, tied for the team goal-scoring lead with 22 goals and ranked fourth with 45 points on last season Calder Cup champion Manchester Monarchs team.
LoVerde, 26, from Chicago, also joined Mersch on last year’s Calder Cup-winning Monarchs team. LoVerde had 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 29 games to his credit this season with the Reign at the time of his all-star selection and had five goals and 16 assists for 21 points in 37 game appearances for Ontario leading up to the All-Star Classic.
Center Derek Grant will represent the Stockton Heat. The 25-year-old native of Abbortsford, British Columbia, had 15 goals and 21 points in 21 games at the time of his selection to the division all-star team and has since extended those numbers to 17 goals and 30 points in 26 games. Grant, who stands 6 feet, 3 inches tall, has appeared in nine games this season for the NHL parent club Calgary Flames, and has appeared in 34 NHL games overall with both the Flames and Ottawa Senators over the span of three seasons.
Rounding out the Pacific Division All-Star Team roster are three selections from the Texas Stars (defenseman Esa Lindell and forwards Travis Morin and Brendan Ranford) and one selection from the San Antonio Rampage (forward Mikko Rantanen).
Morin, who is making his second appearance in the AHL All-Star Classic, leads the Stars with 40 points through 45 games, to rank fourth in league scoring. Rantanen, a native of Finland and first-round pick by Colorado in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, had collected 31 points in 25 games for the Rampage in his rookie campaign.
Hall of Fame
Prior to the All-Star Challenge on Feb. 1, the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Crouse Hinds Theater at 11 a.m. that morning. The event will feature the induction of Bruce Cline, Ralph Keller, Jean-Francois Labbe and Bruce Landon as the AHL Hall of Fame Class of 2016 and will also celebrate honorary All-Star Classic captains Michael Peca and Scott Walker.
Cline, who spent 13 seasons in the AHL (1955-68) was a four-time Calder Cup champion
Keller spent parts of 13 seasons in the AHL (1957-74. has his No. 3 jersey retired by the Hershey Bears as that club’s all-time leader in games played (737) and points (408) by a defenseman. He is one of five blue-liners in league history to score at least 100 goals (111).
Labbe, who played in the AHL from 1993 to 2003, was one of the most decorated goaltenders of his era with a 202-151-52 record in 420 career AHL appearances (with 27 shutouts).
Landon, drafted as a goaltender in 1969 by the Kings and who would go on to play five seasons in the World Hockey Association for the New England Whalers, retired as an active player at 28 due to injury but promptly moved into the front office, serving the community of Springfield, Mass., for 39 years – first as general manager for the Springfield Indians and, since 1994, as a general manager, president and now director of hockey operations for the Springfield Falcons.
Prime time
The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic will reach more than 110 million households on Sportsnet in Canada and a comprehensive network of television partners in the United States.
The telecast can be seen on Fox Sports San Diego and Fox Sports Prime Ticket throughout Southern California at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Jan. 31 and 4 p.m. Pacific time on Feb. 1. Comcast SportsNet (www.csncalifornia.com) will also provide coverage in the Bay Area. The two-day event will also be streamed worldwide to subscribers via AHL Live (www.ahllive.com).
AHL milestone on tap
San Jose head coach Roy Sommer remains one win away from tying Fred Cook’s 60-year-old AHL record of 636 coaching victories. Sommer, 58, an Oakland native, registered victory No. 635 via a 5-2 win at Rockford on Jan. 15, but the Barracuda has dropped its last four games – including a pair of one-goal nail-biters last weekend (Jan. 22-23) against Ontario – to keep the San Jose bench boss short of reaching the league’s career-win milestone.
The Barracuda end January with three games in Texas (Jan. 27 at the Texas Stars and Jan. 29-30 at the San Antonio Rampage) to provide Sommer with an opportunity to possibly tie and set a new league coaching milestone.
Sommer, who played three games for the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL during an 11-year pro playing career (mostly in the International Hockey League and Central Hockey League), has been coach of the NHL San Jose Sharks’ top minor league affiliate for 18 seasons. He is currently the longest tenured coach in the AHL.
In 2009, he became just the fourth coach in AHL history to reach 400 wins.
Sommer coached the San Jose Rhinos of Roller Hockey International in 1995-96 before serving as an assistant coach with the NHL Sharks for two seasons (1996-98).
Pacific Division standings
In games played through Jan. 24: Ontario Reign (24-10-2-1, .689), San Jose Barracuda (18-12-5-3, .579), Texas Stars (23-16-3-3, .578), San Diego Gulls (19-17-1-1, .526), Bakersfield Condors (16-16-2-2, .500), Stockton Heat (16-16-1-2, .500), San Antonio Rampage (18-18-7-0, .489). Final order of finish for playoff qualification will be determined by winning percentage.
Drawing a crowd
San Diego continues to lead the AHL’s five California-based teams in home attendance. The Gulls are averaging 8,658 fans through 16 dates, followed by Ontario (8,086 average through 22 dates), Bakersfield (5,212 average through 16 dates), Stockton (4,800 average through 16 dates) and San Jose (4,225 average through 21 dates).
San Diego ranks second in the league in average home attendance to Hershey (9,386 through 23 dates). The AHL average is 5,658.
– Phillip Brents
