November 15, 2010
WCRHL Division I Parity
Top teams trade wins/losses to keep standings unchanged
Saturday saw UNLV put up a fight against Arizona State, as
the rivalry intensifies each time these two teams meet. Arizona State put up the first goal just over
3 minutes into the game on their first power play opportunity, but UNLV battled
back with 2 of their own in the 2nd period. The power play would prove crucial as 4 of
Arizona State’s goals were scored on the power play, as well as 2 of UNLV’s
goals. The final score was ASU 6, UNLV
4. ASU’s Will Heinze led all scoring
with 4 goals and 1 assist, while UNLV’s Alexander Yug notched a hat trick of
his own.
Long Beach State would then defeated Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo 7-3. While Cal Poly would score
the first goal of the game midway through the 1st period, Long Beach
answered back with 6 consecutive goals, 3 on the power play, to take the lead
and never look back. The two teams are
now even in their season series with 1 win a piece, and they will face each
other again in the 2nd semester.
Kevin Tanaka of Long Beach led
all scoring with 2 goals and 2 assists, while Ryan Burrows, also from Long
Beach, would also get the hat trick.
The next game was a battle, featuring UC Santa Barbara and
San Jose State. This back-and-forth
battle featured several lead changes, with top scoring from UCSB’s Travis Noe
(2 goals, 2 assists) and Max Ryan (hat trick) and SJSU’s Joey Atkins (hat
trick, 1 goal being shorthanded). The
game-winner, scored by UCSB freshman Travis Noe, was scored with 1:03 left in
the game. SJSU goaltender Gurlajit
Sangha stopped 28 of 35 shots, keeping his team in the game throughout.
The next game can not exactly be called a surprise, but with
Arizona State’s dominance the last 2 seasons, this game can be classified as an
upset. Arizona State went up 4-0 in the 1st half of the game, and entered the 3rd period leading Cal
Poly San Luis Obispo by a score of 5-1. The 3rd period was a complete
reversal of the 1st 2 periods, with Cal Poly scoring 4 straight
goals in just under 5 minutes. Three of
those 4 goals were scored by Brian Costello of Cal Poly. Arizona State would score to once again take
the lead with 1:02 remaining in the 3rd. Cal Poly would tie the game just 11 seconds
later on a goal from Charlie Delkeskamp.
Then with 11 seconds left in the game, players from both teams would
earn penalties, and Cal Poly would get a power play opportunity. In just 9 seconds, and with 2 seconds
remaining in the game, Ryan Newens would score a power play goal, assisted by
Brian Costello, for the first defeat of Arizona State this season. Final score – Cal Poly SLO 7, Arizona State
6.
Long Beach State defeated San Jose State 10-3. The deeper bench of Long Beach versus the
short bench of San Jose State would prove to be a big difference.
UC Santa Barbara then faced UNLV.
This game proved that if any of the WCRHL Division I teams are off their
game, they will be taken advantage of.
UNLV also had a short bench this weekend, similar to San Jose
State. Final score – UCSB 7, UNLV 0.
Arizona State and Long Beach was one of the last few games
on Sunday morning. These teams were
ready for the challenge. Both had tough,
physical games just a few hours earlier, but they were warmed up and
prepared. Both teams took 30+ shots in
the game, the goaltenders backstopping their teams and giving them the
opportunity for victory. This game
looked to be in Long Beach’s hands, as they scored the first 4 goals of the
game, entering the 3rd period up 5 goals to 2. Arizona State, remembering their 3rd period against Cal Poly from the day before, vowed not to let this game slip by
them, as a loss would have had them tied with Cal Poly for the division lead,
and would sit just one game ahead of Long Beach. A power play goal from Will Heinze sparked
the team and Derek Bolls got ASU within 1 with 8 minutes to play. The next several minutes featured several
great chances and great saves by the goalkeepers. But with 3:33 remaining, ASU captain Alex
Dodt’s snipe from just outside the crease tied the game and gave ASU a chance
to win, as they were on a roll. Long
Beach would take a penalty with 1:39 to play, but would kill it successfully
and end the game with a 5-5 tie.
The perennial rivalry between Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and
UC Santa Barbara was a great game from start to finish. This was probably the best defensive game of
the event, showing that not all WCRHL Division I teams play run-and-gun,
coast-to-coast hockey. The game-winner
was scored with 41 seconds remaining on a power play, with Cal Poly defeating
UCSB by a score of 4-3.
Other Division I scores from Huntington Beach:
- Cal Poly SLO 10, San Jose State 5
- UNLV 5, Long Beach State 4
- UNLV 9, San Jose State 2
- Arizona State 7, UC Santa Barbara 4