March 6, 2013

CSU Fullerton - WCRHL Division II Champions!

CSUF goes undefeated en route to 1st Regional Championship

The CSU Fullerton Titans finished the regular season 15-0-1 and a goal differential of +69. They were the obvious favorite coming into the Regional Championship weekend. UC San Diego entered as the 2^nd seed. Both teams kept their high seeding by going 2-0 in round robin. Chico State, UC Irvine, Arizona and UC Santa Cruz all battled to get into the semifinal matchups with these 2 teams. Arizona beat UC Santa Cruz on Saturday in the quarterfinals by a score of 9-6, while Chico State defeated UC Irvine 6-1.

Chico struck first in the semifinal against UC San Diego, early in the 1^st period. UCSD battled back, throwing everything at the net until one finally got by the Chico goaltender with 8:22 remaining in the game. The game went to overtime, and after 8 scoreless minutes, UC San Diego player of the game Alexey Voronin found the back of the net and advancing the UCSD team into the finals.

In the 2^nd semifinal, University of Arizona struck first, just 30 seconds into the game. One might think that this would deflate Fullerton, but the Titans are known to have better 2^nd and 3^rd periods than the 1^st, especially if you’re talking about an 8am game. Tristan Gonzalez scored halfway through the 1^st on a power play to even the score. After another power play goal and many even strength goals, CSU Fullerton went on to win by a score of 9-2. CSUF’s Tristan Gonzalez earned player of the game honors with 4 goals and 1 assist in the win.

Fullerton had faced UCSD twice in the regular season, winning each game by 2-3 goals. This game would prove no different, although UC San Diego was dead even with the Titans for much of the game. The teams traded goals in the 1^st and 2^nd periods, but each period ended with Fullerton up by 1. The 3^rd period opened up quite a bit, and Fullerton found the back of the net twice, sealing the win. CSU Fullerton’s Matt Bockenstette earned Division II MVP honors, with 2 goals and 1 assist on the game and 5 goals, 5 assists on this playoff weekend.