San Diego State University men’s ice hockey team is off to a 10-0-1 start thanks in large part to junior winger Aaron Mayer, an Eastlake High School alumnus. In statistics compiled through 10 games, Mayer ranked in a tie for second in team scoring with seven goals and nine assists for 16 points. He had one game-winning goal to his credit.
Mayer, a roller hockey standout at Eastlake High School, led the Aztecs in regular season scoring in 2016-17 with 19 goals and 41 points.
Mayer collected an assist in last Saturday’s 5-4 win over the University of Southern California at the Poway Ice Arena, the Aztecs’ home rink this season.
SDSU is off to its best start since joining the Division 2 tier in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, a national organization governing non-varsity college ice hockey teams.
SDSU was won 10 of its 11 games in regulation play; the team’s lone loss was in a shootout to visiting Grand Canyon University on Oct. 8 after the teams had skated to a 2-2 tie.
The Aztecs swept USC in a pair of home and home games last weekend, winning by a score of 11-2 last Friday in Anaheim.
“It’s pretty fun, we’ve got a lot of good new talent,” Mayer said in regard to the team’s undefeated start. “We’re hoping to improve and get better. We should see some good things, maybe some national championships, hopefully.”
Mayer scored one goal in SDSU’s 5-3 win over Cal State Northridge on Oct. 20; he collected one goal and two assists in the Aztecs’ 5-2 win over Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 21.
He had two goals and two assists in SDSU’s 10-2 win over UCLA on Oct. 7.
The Aztecs received points from nine players and goals from four players, including a pair from newcomer Tristan Macalolooy.
Goals by team scoring leader Hayden Bolls and Macalolooy pushed SDSU to an early 2-0 start in the first period. Macalolooy scored his second goal at the 2:53 mark of the second period to extend the Aztec lead to 3-1. Mayer drew the assist on that goal.
Tyler Smith scored at 9:10 of the middle frame to make the score 4-1 in SDSU’s favor.
However, USC rattled off three unanswered goals to tie the game by the 8:41 juncture of the third period.
The Trojans were whistled for five penalties in the game, including two in the third period. However, the Aztecs could not take advantage of either power play and had to settle on Isaac Miller’s even-strength goal with 6:57 to play to record the weekend sweep and remain unbeaten in regulation.
Miller, a sophomore forward, is a 2016 graduate of Helix High School.
Smith and Bolls finished the game with a goal and assist each while Mayer, Lorenzo Santor, Joshua Norbida, Justin Ward and Steven Plante each chipped in with assists.
Goaltender Austin Hathcoat stopped 19 of 23 shots to pick up the win.
SDSU out-shot USC 29-23.
Trojan netminder Jeremy Blaustein made saves on 24 of the 29 shots he faced.
Jack D’Anna led USC in scoring with two goals while teammate Drew McGrane had two assists. Chase Thesman and Travis Schwartz each scored single goals for USC.
A mass infusion of new players has helped create a new team dynamic on the Aztec team.
“It’s a lot more up-tempo,” Mayer assessed. “Basically, everyone can play. We always have a line that can score and get things done. It’s a team sport; we need everyone to play.”
With such a strong start to the season, SDSU can ill afford for complacency to set in. There was a decided turnaround in the scores in the two weekend matchups.
“They had a couple new guys and we kind of have a tendency to underestimate teams,” Mayer conceded. “Once we beat (teams) by a lot, we kind of take it easy and we’ve got to stop doing that.”
Mayer, who said roller hockey has helped with his rink vision and stick-handling, said the team’s secret to ongoing success is to remain true to the team’s motto this season.
“We just put in a motto in early — work before skill,” SDSU head coach Phil Bateman explained.
“The skill was always going to be there. These guys have adopted that and, for the most part, they’re going out every night and working.
“Some times, with a very young team, with 10 freshmen, there is a maturation that has to happen but, for the most part, they are buying in. It’s a10-0-1 start, the best since we’ve been a Division 2 team.”
“We just hard work and staying kind of humble and work as a team and not as individuals,” Mayer said.
Winter wars
The 2018 ACHA national championship tournament is scheduled March 9-13 in Columbus, Ohio. Four teams from the West region will participate in the 16-team event.
The top two ranked teams in the West region receive a bye to the national tournament. Teams ranked third through 12th will compete in a regional tournament Feb. 22-25 at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, to determine the next two qualifiers.
The first regional rankings are due out in November. Bateman feels his team should score a high mark in the rankings if it can remain undefeated.
The Aztecs depart for three games in the Bay Area this coming weekend — Friday, Nov. 3, against Santa Rosa Junior College; Saturday, Nov. 4, against San Jose State University; and Sunday, Nov. 5, against Weber State University. All three games will be played at Sharks Ice in San Jose.
SDSU stays on the road for a Nov. 11 game against Loyola Marymount University before returning home to play Long Beach State Nov. 18 at the Poway Ice Arena.
The Aztecs are set to make history locally by playing in an outdoor game on Dec. 18 as part of the Frozen Fairgrounds event at the Del Mar Arena. SDSU is scheduled to play Long Beach State. Face off is 8:15 p.m.
The Del Mar Arena seats approximately 3,000. SDSU has been drawing 300 to 500 fans to games at its current home arena in Poway.
“The college game is going to be the centerpiece (of the event),” Bateman said.
The Aztecs’ regular season schedule extends through the first weekend in February prior. Upcoming opponents, besides Long Beach State, include the University of Texas-El Paso (Jan. 12-13) and Northern Arizona University (Feb. 2-3).
Among teams in the West region, Northern Colorado is 10-0-0 while Boise State University is off to an 8-0-1 start. Closer to home, NAU is 8-1-0 while Cal-Berkeley is 8-2-0.
Arizona State University is currently the only NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey program west of the Rockies.
