WCRHL First Semester Recap

The first half of the season is in the books, and this is how the teams stack up!!!

 

UC Irvine came into the final event of the 1st semester with a record of 8 wins, 0 losses.  In 3 regular season games, they would not disappoint.  They dispatched UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis and Chico State by a minimum of 4 goals per game.  What was great to see was the UC Irvine exhibition game against newcomer San Diego State.  SDSU played 4 games this past weekend and won 1, and tied the other 3, showing that they will definitely be a contender in Division I next season.  From talks with the team, they are looking to form 2 teams in 2008-2009.

 

UC Irvine is followed closely by Long Beach State, UNLV and Cal Poly SLO, who are 3, 5, and 6 points behind UCI at this point in the season, respectively.  Long Beach State and Cal Poly SLO sat idle this weekend, but UNLV was in action and won 3 games and tied the 4th.  UNLV beat Chico State and UC Davis, also receiving a foreit win against UC Berkeley(Cal), and tied UC Santa Barbara 4-4.  UCSB, Chico State and UC Davis did not gain much ground this weekend, and Cal forfeited all 4 of their games.

 

Currently UC Santa Barbara and Chico State hold the final playoff spots in Division I (spots 5 and 6), should the season end today.  UCSB is just 1 point behind 4th place Cal Poly SLO.  UC Davis is close behind Chico, and has 3-4 more games remaining than all other teams.  Look for them to make a strong 2nd half push and try and squeeze a playoff spot out of UCSB or Chico.

 

UC San Diego continued their winning streak, extending it to 10 games.  The Tritons are 10-1, only losing their season opener to Cal Poly Pomona.  UCSD's toughest game was their first game of the weekend against UC Riverside, where UCSD started out slow, and came back from a 3-goal deficit to win the game 7-5.  Cal Poly Pomona and CSU San Bernardino sit just 1 point behind UCSD at the semester break.  These 3 teams will all play each other one more time in the regular season.  So far, no team has dominated the games between these 3 schools.

 

USC, UC Riverside and University of San Diego round out the final 3 playoff spots for Division II (spots 4, 5, and 6), should the season end today.  CSU Monterey Bay and University of Nevada are within striking distance of those last 2 spots, held by UCR and USD.  Nevada has given those teams a little bit of a break, by forfeiting their games last weekend.

 

Evergreen Valley College has their sights set on a strong 2nd half of the season, which mainly is to prepare the team for the NCRHA National Championships in Division III.  Being the sole Division III school in the WCRHL, they are matched up against tough Division I opponents all season long.

 

Cal Poly SLO B Gold is on a 6-game winning streak, losing only their 2nd game of the season 6-1 against UCSB B Gold.  UCSB B Gold and Blue are both only 2 points behind SLO B Gold, making this race for the top spot a tight one.  Each B Division team will play 8 games in the 2nd half of the season, and this one is going to come down to the wire.  Currently SLO B Green and Cal Poly Pomona B are tied for the 4th and final playoff spot with 6 points, followed closely by UC Davis B, just 1 point behind.  A strong 2nd half run could even push UC San Diego B into the playoffs, so anything is possible in the B Division.  The one thing that will make the difference is each team's games played against Division II opponents.  SLO B Gold has already played 3 games against DII opponents, UCSB B Gold 2, UCSB Blue 1, SLO B Green 2, Cal Poly Pomona B 2, UC Davis B 1, and UC San Diego B 1.  Each B Division team is scheduled for 3-4 games against Division II opponents.

 

The next WCRHL event will be held at the Davis Indoor Sports Center in Davis, CA on January 26, 2008.  This is a Division I and III event.  Following that, all teams will be participating in the February 9-10, 2008 event at the 949 Roller Hockey Center in Irvine, CA (formerly Gretzky's).  Each team will participate in 3-4 games, as well as have players selected to play in the Division I/III or Division II/B All Star Games to be held in the evening on Saturday, February 9.  Lastly, the WCRHL will hold it's annual Alumni Game on Saturday evening as well.  All college roller hockey alumni are invited to play (for free).  Please email League Director Brennan Edwards at [email protected] to register.

 

Good luck on your finals, and have a great Winter Break!!!