November 5, 2007

WCRHL 2nd Event Recap

UCSB hosts another great event on campus

The WCRHL’s second event of the season was a success. 19 games were played over the weekend with all Divisions in action. 4 Division I teams and 1 Division III team played on Saturday at the UCSB Recreation Center. 4 B teams played in 2 games each on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. 2 Division II teams came in for a set of 3 games on Sunday. It was Parents Weekend on the UCSB Campus, and several were introduced to the Rec Center as part of a campus tour, giving them a chance to see some of college roller hockey's finest.

Only 2 unbeaten teams exist at this point, UC Irvine and Cal Poly Pomona (DII). Both teams were idle this weekend. Cal Poly Pomona plays in Carson City, NV on Nov. 10th and UC Irvine plays in Huntington Beach on Nov. 17th. Below is a brief description of each game.

In the opening matchup of the day, Evergreen Valley College started off strong against home team UC Santa Barbara, going up early in the game. UCSB came back late in the game for a 6-3 win. Evergreen played the entire day with 6 skaters, and UCSB’s deeper bench enabled them to outskate Evergreen.

Long Beach state came out strong, defeating everyone in their path this weekend. Their first game was against undefeated Cal Poly SLO. SLO would be undefeated no more, as Long Beach stomped them by a score of 9-2, courtesy of 4 goals by Long Beach’s Ryan Burrows, 3 of those goals a natural hat trick in the 3rd period.

Chapman hung tough for the first 2 periods against Evergreen but was unable to keep it close. Evergreen got out to a 8-1 lead late in the game. Chapman added 2 late goals, to make the final score 8-3.

Long Beach got on the board first against UC Santa Barbara. The end of the first and most of the second periods were played 3 on 3, with the teams trading minor penalties for that span. Long Beach ran away with the game with 5 goals in the 3rd period, winning the game 10-3.

In the battle between UC Santa Barbara B squads, the UCSB B Blue team ended up on top by a score of 4-3. Blue led for the majority of the game, with Gold chasing close behind. This was the first loss of the season for the Gold team, and both teams currently sit tied for first place with a record of 5-1-2.

The game between Cal Poly SLO and Evergreen was led early by Evergreen, by a score of 3-1. SLO came back to tie the game at 3-3 and then took the lead with just under 10 minutes to go. Evergreen battled hard in the 3rd period, but SLO was able to add 2 empty net goals to finish 6-3. Dan Wood’s empty net goal earned him the hat trick.

A seesaw battle saw UCSB jump out to an early lead, but Chapman scored 2 goals under 2 minutes apart late in the 2nd period. UCSB would tie the game with under 7 minutes to go in the game, but Chapman’s John Reid would score on a partial breakaway with 4 minutes left to regain the lead 3-2. UCSB would catch a break as Chapman’s Shea Ferraro was sent off for roughing with under 1 minute left in the game. UCSB would score in less than 20 seconds to tie the game at 3.

UC Davis B played a tough game against a good UCSB B Gold squad. The game was tied 2-2 with 11 minutes to go in the game, when UCSB pulled away with 2 goals scored 1 minute apart, with 3 minutes left in the game. The final score was 4-2 in UCSB B Gold’s favor.

Long Beach State came out hard against Chapman in the final game of the day for each team. The score was 7-0 in Long Beach’s favor at the end of the first period. The final score was 10-0, despite over a dozen point blank saves by Chapman goaltender Josia Flutts, in her first year in the league.

UC Davis B would earn their first win of the season against UC San Diego B. The final score was 4-2. 3 straight goals in the 2nd period were the key to the win for UC Davis B.

Always a crowd favorite, the game between Cal Poly SLO and UC Santa Barbara could not have been closer. Cal Poly SLO built up a 4-1 lead early in the game. UCSB battled back, tying the game with under 1 minute remaining in the game. The final score was 4-4. SLO sits one point behind both UCSB and Long Beach in the standings. UCSB has played one more game than the other two teams.

The game between UC San Diego B and UCSB B Blue had plenty of action. Blue was ahead for most of the game, with UCSD B hanging on. The final score was 5-3.

Sunday morning action was resumed. The first game of the day was Claremont College against UC Davis B. UC Davis B jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period. Claremont battled back within 1. Turnovers late in the game by UC Davis B and a flurry of shots by Claremont almost got Claremont back in the game, but they were not able to put one past the UC Davis B netminder. UC Davis B held on to win by a score of 2-1.

UC Riverside started off strong against UC San Diego B, with a score of 7-1 by the end of the first period. The final score was 12-2 in UCR’s favor.

UC Davis B has a 4-3 lead in the 3rd period against the much-improved UCSB B Blue squad. While the teams were skating 3 on 3, UCSB B Blue was able to tie it up. Blue again had a man advantage for the last minute of the game but was unable to capitalize. The game ended in a 4-4 tie.

The sole game between Division II opponents featured UC Riverside and Claremont College. Claremont, in their first year in the league, was no match for an experienced UC Riverside team, who defeated Claremont by a score of 10-0. UCR has a short-benched, tight-knit squad that has played together for several years, while Claremont has one of the largest benches in the league and have not had sufficient time to start clicking on all cylinders.

UCSB B Gold defeated UCSD B by a score of 10-2. 4 assists by Doug Dunbar paved the way to this win. Drew Hayes and Bobby Burns each added 2 goals of their own.

Claremont got on the board first with a goal from Corey Hadden, assisted by Skylar Boorman, in their final game against UC Santa Barbara B Blue. Blue answered back with 2 goals of their own, taking the lead 2-1. An own goal by UCSB Blue would give Claremont an even playing field once again, as a delayed penalty against Claremont and an erroneous pass by UCSB Blue would put the puck into their own net. 2 UCSB Blue penalties in the 3rd period gave Claremont chances for the win, but they were unable convert. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, for Claremont’s first points this season.

In the final game of the day, UC Riverside faced the DII-looking UCSB B Gold. Gold outskated UCR due to their deeper bench and largest talent pool in years. Gold had the 4-3 lead going into the 3rd period, but UCR was able to notch the tying goal, escaping with a 4-4 tie. For both teams it was a team effort, with 4 different UCSB players scoring and 3 UCR players in on it as well.

The next WCRHL event is November 10th in Carson City, Nevada at the Sierra Inline Hockey League. 8 Division II teams will be in action, playing in the first event in Nevada in several years.