WCRHL Players Compete at NARCh Finals 2012

Although the NCRHA playoffs ended about four months ago, the roller hockey season for many WCRHL players just ended at the NARCh Finals in San Jose. There were over forty players from the WCRHL competing at the NARCh Finals, some even playing alongside their college rivals.

Only a handful of players were playing in NARCh Pro, the pinnacle of our sport. UCSB standout Travis Noe led the charge for the Reebok Larceny team as he continued his onslaught of the opposition by leading the NARCh Pro division in scoring with 2.4 points per game. Noe’s team fell short in a close 4-3 game against the eventual NARCh Pro winners, Revision Vanquish.  The Reebok Larceny squad also played in Divison 1 (24 & under). In Division 1, they had a great run, but failed to score against a solid Alkali team that included several players from Great Plains Collegiate Inline Hockey League (GPCIHL) teams. Noe was able to bring home the NARCh Pro Skills Competition title to cap off his 2012 NARCh Finals experience.

The Las Vegas Tour Rebels were loaded with WCRHL talent from Cal Poly SLO, Arizona State, and hometown UNLV. WCRHL players included Nick Robone, Andrew Tamura, Alex Yug, Travis Barendt, Will Heinze, and Ryan Newens. The Rebels faced some stiff competition in the NARCh Pro round robin and missed out on the playoff rounds. The Rebels faired a little better in Division 1 as they took the seventh seed going into playoffs. They beat Cal Beach, another team loaded with WCRHL players, in a close 5-4 game. That victory sent them into the quarterfinals where they fell to a strong Alkali squad.  Will Heinze from ASU led the Rebels team in Division 1 with 1.3 points per game.

Cal Beach was a hybrid team of players from Cal Poly SLO and Long Beach State. Former NCRHA MVP Ryan Burrows joined his old teammates Ryan Doyle and Oscar Huezo to represent the “Beach.” Brian Costello, Kevin Middlekauff, Chris Kumata, Mike Chaloupka, and Erik Long represented Cal Poly. Former San Jose State forward, Joey Atkins, joined the squad in Division 1 to round out the roster. Cal Beach was dispatched in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs by the Las Vegas Tour Rebels. Ryan Doyle of Long Beach finished as the top scorer of the division with 3 points per game. Cal Beach also played in Men’s Platinum, but fell short in overtime of the semifinals to Pama Platinum after a late goal tied the game. Brian Costello took the top scorer of the Men’s Platinum division with 2.2 points per game. Cal Beach players Ryan Doyle, Chris Kumata, and Ryan Burrows finished second, third, and fourth in scoring for the division.

Corey Jones of Long Beach State backstopped the Pama team that eliminated Cal Beach as well as the Mission Bauer Raiders in Junior Platinum and Division 1. His 49’er teammate Taylor Abramson also played for the Raider Nation. They were joined by Matt Han, Jake Hennings, and Anthony Squirek of Saddleback College.

Arizona State was well-represented by the Mission Bauer Outcasts in Men’s Platinum. Alex Dodt, Dan Anderson, Clay Taylor, and a couple 2012-13 prospects were joined by ASU’s all-time leading scorer Brian Ganz. The Outcasts’ tournament ended in the semifinals where they lost to the eventual champion, Hockey X Superstore (aka Oakland Goodlife).

The Gauchos in Men’s Gold were made up of half current UCSB players and half alumni. Doug Dunbar, Eric Swanstrom, MJ Jeffries, and Ryan Baird joined 2011-12 players Casey Wedge, Christian Simonsen, Sean McKenney, and Nick Snyder. They unfortunately couldn’t get things rolling and missed out on the playoff rounds.

One of the only WCRHL players to bring home a gold medal was Kevin Smith from the University of Arizona. His team, the Mission Bauer Outcasts, ended up winning the Midget Gold division after entering playoffs as the fifth seed.

There were several other WCRHL players participating including Skyler Hoar (Team RinkRat – Narch Pro), Paul Linder (Alkali High Rollers – NARCh Pro/D1), Tommy Tuohy (Alkali High Rollers – NARCh Pro/D1), Richard Newens (Bodangles – Men’s Gold), Drew Eggleston (Bodangles – Men’s Gold), Erik Steggall (Bodangles – Men’s Gold), Kyle Tankard (Bodangles – Men’s Gold), Sam Poyer (NCR Elite – Midget Platinum/PED - Junior Platinum), Anthony Robone (Las Vegas Tour Rebels – Junior Platinum), and Jacob Van de Roovaart (Verbero Invaders – Men’s Silver).