March 6, 2011
On to Day 2 - Semifinals and Championship Games in Divisions I, II and B
Divisions I, II and B all started out with round robin games this morning. Division I played a 5-team round robin, consisting 4 games a piece against all opponents. Division II was a 6-team round robin, consisting of 2 pools of 3 teams each, with each team playing 2 round robin games. The B Division was an 8-team round robin, consisting of 2 pools of 4 teams each, with each team playing 3 round robin games.
The B Division saw the #1 seed Saddleback College B Gold finish the day where they should have, with a 3-0 record and a bye to the semifinals on Sunday. In the other pool, Arizona State B and Cal Poly SLO B Gold (who were tied in the regular season and separated by a tie-breaker) finished #1 and #2, respectively. Arizona State B would get the bye to the semifinals on Sunday as well. Cal Poly SLO B Gold would face Chico State B, the #3 seed from the opposite pool. In the other quarterfinal game of the evening, Saddleback B Red (#3 from Pool B) would face UC Santa Barbara B Gold (#2 from Pool A). UCSB B Gold would prevail, creating Sunday semifinal matchups of UCSB B Gold vs. Arizona State B and Saddleback B Gold vs. Cal Poly SLO B Gold. Both games will take place at 9:00am, with the winners facing off at 11:30am for the B Division Championship.
The B Division saw the #1 seed Saddleback College B Gold finish the day where they should have, with a 3-0 record and a bye to the semifinals on Sunday. In the other pool, Arizona State B and Cal Poly SLO B Gold (who were tied in the regular season and separated by a tie-breaker) finished #1 and #2, respectively. Arizona State B would get the bye to the semifinals on Sunday as well. Cal Poly SLO B Gold would face Chico State B, the #3 seed from the opposite pool. In the other quarterfinal game of the evening, Saddleback B Red (#3 from Pool B) would face UC Santa Barbara B Gold (#2 from Pool A). UCSB B Gold would prevail, creating Sunday semifinal matchups of UCSB B Gold vs. Arizona State B and Saddleback B Gold vs. Cal Poly SLO B Gold. Both games will take place at 9:00am, with the winners facing off at 11:30am for the B Division Championship.
Division II would see UC Berkeley go 2-0 in their pool to gain a bye to Sunday's semifinals with UC Santa Cruz (#2) and UC Irvine(#3) left to play in quarterfinal games on Saturday evening. The other pool would see a 3-way tie between USC, Sonoma State and Chico State, as all teams finished round robin with 1 game and 1 loss. The most interesting was that the first 2 round robin games in this pool were 1-goal games, meaning that everything was riding on the USC vs. Sonoma State game, the final game of round robin in this pool. This back and forth battle had both teams scoring in 2-goal spurts, with Sonoma State taking an early 2-0 lead, USC tying the game, and Sonoma State netting 1 goal to end the first period 3-2. The 2nd period featured 2 USC goals, followed by a Sonoma goal, creating a 4-4 tie going into the 3rd period. Chico State players were watching earnestly as their seed depended entirely on the outcome of this game. USC would strike first with 2 power play goals to take a 6-4 lead. Sonoma State answered back with 2 goals to knot the game at 6 a piece. USC took a 7-6 lead with under 3 minutes to go, as Mike Mowrey completed his hat trick. Coincidentally with 36 seconds remaining in the game, Mowrey would take a penalty for Interference. Sonoma State pulled their goaltender on the ensuing faceoff, going for the tie, as the tie (or win) would earn them a bye until Sunday's semifinal game. USC was able to score an empty netter for the 8-6 win, earning them the #1 seed and a bye to Sunday's semifinal game.
The Division II quarterfinal games featured Sonoma State vs. UC Santa Cruz and Chico State vs. UC Irvine. UC Irvine defeated Chico State 5-1 and UC Santa Cruz downed Sonoma State 9-2. Semifinal matchups at 8:00am Sunday morning will include UC Berkeley vs. UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz vs. USC. The last time UCI met Cal was in the round robin, with Cal defeating UCI 5-3, and the last time UC Santa Cruz met USC was a 5-5 tie. The winners will meet in the 11:00am Division II Championship Game.
Division I round robin was a 4-game a piece endurance test, as each one of these games featured intensity unrivaled elsewhere. The entire season was played in this same way, as the teams all met 3-4 times during the regular season. Arizona State finished the day with a 4-0 record, winning 3 of their games by just 2 goals each. Long Beach State finished 2nd in round robin, going 3-1. UC Santa Barbara finished 2nd in round robin, going 2-2. The final game of the day featured Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UNLV. Both teams were 0-3 going into the game, with the winner advancing to the semifinals on Sunday and the loser going home. Both teams knew the importance of the game and played strong games, specifically strong defensive games. UNLV scored under a minute into the game on the Power Play. Midway through the 1st period, Cal Poly answered with a goal of their own. No further scoring took place in the 1st, and no scoring at all took place in the 2nd. At 8:22 of the 3rd period, Cal Poly scored short-handed to take the lead. That goal turned out to be the eventual game winner, as Cal Poly would hold on and score 2 more goals late in the period for the 4-1 lead.
The Division II quarterfinal games featured Sonoma State vs. UC Santa Cruz and Chico State vs. UC Irvine. UC Irvine defeated Chico State 5-1 and UC Santa Cruz downed Sonoma State 9-2. Semifinal matchups at 8:00am Sunday morning will include UC Berkeley vs. UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz vs. USC. The last time UCI met Cal was in the round robin, with Cal defeating UCI 5-3, and the last time UC Santa Cruz met USC was a 5-5 tie. The winners will meet in the 11:00am Division II Championship Game.
Division I round robin was a 4-game a piece endurance test, as each one of these games featured intensity unrivaled elsewhere. The entire season was played in this same way, as the teams all met 3-4 times during the regular season. Arizona State finished the day with a 4-0 record, winning 3 of their games by just 2 goals each. Long Beach State finished 2nd in round robin, going 3-1. UC Santa Barbara finished 2nd in round robin, going 2-2. The final game of the day featured Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UNLV. Both teams were 0-3 going into the game, with the winner advancing to the semifinals on Sunday and the loser going home. Both teams knew the importance of the game and played strong games, specifically strong defensive games. UNLV scored under a minute into the game on the Power Play. Midway through the 1st period, Cal Poly answered with a goal of their own. No further scoring took place in the 1st, and no scoring at all took place in the 2nd. At 8:22 of the 3rd period, Cal Poly scored short-handed to take the lead. That goal turned out to be the eventual game winner, as Cal Poly would hold on and score 2 more goals late in the period for the 4-1 lead.
Cal Poly will face Arizona State in the semifinals and UC Santa Barbara will face Long Beach State in the other. Each team played each other today during round robin, and the championship game, no matter which teams advance, will be a rematch from Saturday's games as well. Division I semifinals will take place at 10:00am with winners advancing to the 12:30pm Division I Championship Game.
Best of luck to all teams in the Semis and Finals!!!