2002-03 First Semester Recap

Happy Holidays from W.C.R.H.L. Happy Holidays to all the players, parents, fans(High Country Sports Arena), and supporters of the Western Collegiate Roller Hockey League and it's teams. The first half of the 2002-2003 season has come to a close, with our tournament on December 7th at Timeout Sportscenter in Lathrop, CA. All Division I teams have completed 11-12 league games(with the exception of UC Irvine, who switched divisions after their first event). Orange Coast College leads the way into the 2nd half of the season, 3 points ahead of their fellow JC, Santa Barbara Community College and leading Division I school Cal Poly Pomona. OCC finished the first half plus-55, while SBCC finished plus-49 and Cal Poly Pomona finished plus-37. 7-8 league games remain for each Division I/III school. OCC will face-off against Cal Poly Pomona, SBCC, 5th place CSU San Bernardino and UC Irvine at the next tournament on January 25th at Gretzky Center, Upland. 3 teams fall just a few points away from the top spot. Chico State, CSU San Bernardino and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo all lie within 3 games of the top spot, not to mention only 1-2 games from 2nd place. All games between these top 5 teams are important down the home stretch. Division II action shows a bit of a discrepancy, with CSU Monterey Bay heading into the 2nd half with a record of 7wins, 3 losses and 1 overtime loss. UC San Diego has only managed to notch 3 wins, with 8 losses. UC San Diego, in it's first year of competition, has become stronger as the season wears on, so look for them to improve their record in the second half. The B Division, in it's increased size in 2002-2003, shows quite the spectrum. Cal Poly SLO B has handled their opponents, boasting a record of 11 wins and only 1 loss. Cal Poly Pomona B is next, with 6 wins and 1 loss. CP SLO B has played in 1 extra tournament so far, so look for this gap to disappear, as 2nd place Cal Poly Pomona B and 3rd place UC Santa Barbara B look to dethrone the SLO B team. UC Davis B and CSU Monterey Bay B will likely battle it out for the 4th playoff spot in the B Division.