WCRHL Division II - CSU Fullerton continues unbeaten streak

CSU Fullerton has continued, through two events, to show why they are the top Division II team in the WCRHL.  Surrendering just 13 goals in 8 games so far this season, it has been a team effort defensively, standing tall in front of goaltender Nevin Iwatsuru, who sits tied for 1^st place in wins nationwide, and in 2^nd place in both Goals Against Average (1.56) and Save % (0.908).  3 different CSU Fullerton skaters sit in the top 5 for points, goals and assists:  Matt Han, Ryan Cruz and Jeff Brown.

Also sitting undefeated is the University of Arizona.  With just 5 games under their belt, U of A sits tied for 3^rd place with UC Irvine and San Jose State, with 4 games in hand.  U of A is averaging 7 goals per game, while allowing just over 2.  Jesse Rooney leads the team in points, followed closely by Kyle Wilson and Kevin Smith.  All 11 U of A skaters at the Huntington Beach event scored at least 1 point and registered at least 3 points.  This well-rounded effort should serve them well in the 2^nd semester.

UC San Diego sits in 2^nd place, currently at 7-1, with their only blemish being a 7-3 loss to undefeated CSU Fullerton.  UCSD defeated San Jose State 6-4 and UC Irvine 5-3 on Saturday.  Kevin Zhang and Tommy Tuohy lead the charge for UCSD, with 13 and 14 goals a piece, respectively.

UC Irvine could not have anticipated what happened between the 1^st and 2^nd events of the season.  A 2-2 start for UCI, with losses to CSU Fullerton and Chico State, sat them in the middle of the pack.  Scott Rottman, a graduate student for UC Irvine who had never been in contact with the team, found out about the UCI team, and contacted them afterwards.  Rottman arrived on Saturday never having practiced with the team, only demonstrating his capability by his words and hockey resume, such as playing AIHL hockey in Northern California.  In just 4 games, Rottman scored 10 goals, leading UC Irvine to a 3-2 record on the weekend, with big wins against UC Santa Cruz (8-3) and San Jose State (4-2).  In watching the UCI-SJSU game, it was evident that UCI defenseman and leading point scorer Paul Dresser had Rottman on his radar, as all 3 of Rottman’s goals in the game were assisted by Dresser.