November 14, 2007

WCRHL Weekend 3 Recap

Carson City - We came, we saw...

USC and Nevada players get physical after the play. The Nevada Appeal newspaper was there to capture the moment.

The WCRHL hosted it's first event outside of the California borders in more than 3 years last weekend. This Division II event was held at the Pony Express Pavillion in Carson City, Nevada. The Pony Express Pavillion is an outdoor, covered rink with Sport Court surface. It serves as a hockey rink for the months of November through May. In the summer and fall it is host to concerts, Oktoberfest, and other city events. This WCRHL event is the first event held since the boards have been put back up. The staff and locals at the Sierra Inline Hockey League were both excited and extremely accommodating for WCRHL staff, players and fans alike. The WCRHL looks forward to returning next season to Carson City.

Check out http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20071111/NEWS/111110113/-1/NEWS for local news coverage of the event.

Cal Poly Pomona opened up the weekend by beating the hometown University of Nevada, by a score of 4-3. Cal Poly Pomona had a 3 goal lead with under 2 minutes to go in the 2nd period, but Nevada would score late in the 2nd bringing the score to 3-1. Pomona would score once in the 3rd but Nevada would tally twice, with goals from Damon Demetropolis. The last 5 minutes of the game saw 3 Pomona penalties, but the Nevada team was unable to convert on the power play. Pomona held on for the 4-3 win.

USC started off with 2 goals on the first 2 shots of the game against CSU Monterey Bay. USC would continue to pelt the CSUMB goaltender with shots, running up an 8-0 lead in the 2nd period. CSUMB goalie, Adam Newacheck made 23 saves on 35 shots, many of them high-percentage scoring chances by USC. CSUMB defenseman Tommy Murdock broke the shutout bid with 3:43 remaining in the 2nd period and Marc Lu added 2 goals for CSUMB, making the final score 13-3. USC had 6 different players get in on the goal scoring, most notably 4 goals from Brian Lacrosse and 3 goals each from Joseph Bodner and Oliver Vereschagin.

A long way to travel for this cross-county rivalry. CSU San Bernardino faced off against Cal Poly Pomona. Pomona jumped out to, once again, an early 2-0 lead with 2 power play goals from Samee Arastu. The 2nd and 3rd periods saw action at both ends of the rink. CSU San Bernardino was down 4-1 going into the 3rd period and scored early in the 3rd and then 2 power play goals late in the 3rd, the last one coming with only 8 seconds remaining. The 2 final power play goals were scored by Brent Cadogen, assisted by Christian Bernad.

USC and Nevada would each play their 2nd game of the day with short rest and it was USC that dominated the game, with 6 goals in the first period, to Nevada’s 2 goals. Nevada goaltender Nick Saccomono faced 45 shots in the game, allowing 9 goals. Again USC had 5 different goal scorers in the game.

The two CSU schools faced off next, CSU San Bernardino and CSU Monterey Bay. CSUMB would score just 8 seconds into the game, with Marc Lu scoring, assisted by Mark Jenness. Lu would add another goal and assist later in the game. Nick Kramer would also score 1 and assist on another for CSUMB. The final score was 12-4, CSU San Bernardino downing CSU Monterey Bay. CSUSB had 5 goals from Christian Bernad and 4 goals from Brent Cadogen in the effort. CSUMB goaltender Adam Newacheck once again faced 49 shots.

The University of San Diego also made the trip up to Carson City, one of 2 San Diego area schools. Their first game was against Ca Poly Pomona. Pomona took an early 3-0 lead but USD chipped away, coming within 2 goals early in the 2nd period. USC was led by Matt Smith, with 2 goals and 1 assist. Cal Poly Pomona has 6 different players score in the 7-4 win. Pomona goaltender Martin Nario turned away 37 of 41 shots for the win.

UC San Diego and Sonoma State had a late start this weekend. The score was 3-1 after the first period, with Kenny McCubbins of UCSD scoring 3 of his 4 goals in the 1st period. UCSD never looked back, and the final score was 12-1 in UCSD’s favor.

University of San Diego would take a 2-0 lead late into the 2nd period, but 3 USC goals with under 1:30 remaining in the 1st would make the score 3-2 in USC’s favor by the end of the 1st period. USC would tally 4 goals in the 2nd period to USD’s one, and 5 goals in the 3rd period to USD’s 2. The final score was 12-5 in USC’s favor, completing a 3-0 weekend for the squad. USC’s Brian Lacrosse scored 7 goals in the win, and USD’s Matt Smith led his team’s scoring with 3 goals.

CSU San Bernardino faced off next against hometown University of Nevada. CSUSB started out strong, with 5 unanswered goals heading into the 3rd period. Nevada would get one early in the 3rd and another late in the 3rd, but it was not enough to stop San Bernardino’s offense. The final score was 7-2, San Bernardino. CSUSB goaltender Matt Takahashi stopped 36 of 38 shots for the Coyotes.

UC San Diego blanked the CSU Monterey Bay Otters in CSUMB’s final game of the day. Dozens of high percentage scoring chances were there for UC San Diego, and they converted the majority of them. Shots were 34 to 7 in UC San Diego’s favor and the final score was 11-0.

Cal Poly Pomona’s final game of the day was against Sonoma State University. As most of Pomona’s earlier games went, they hopped out to an early 5-0 lead with goals from Erick Rivas and Billy Chung. Sonoma State awoke in the 2nd and 3rd periods, coming within 3 goals twice. Sonoma State had goals from 5 different skaters in this team effort. Goaltender Amber Carey faced 39 shots, stopping 30.

UC San Diego and University of Nevada played their final games of the day, with Nevada getting on the board first, much to the pleasure of the local fans and Nevada alumni. From there on out, it would be UC San Diego’s game, as they outshot Nevada 60-11. The Nevada netminder stopped 47 of those 60 shots, which is remarkable considering the frequency that these shots were coming at him.

University of San Diego and Sonoma State University had the nightcap, and it was Sonoma State getting on the board first, with a goal from Scott Runge. Runge would assist in the 3rd period on one of Jerry Rock’s 5 goals for Sonoma State. Those 6 goals would not be enough, as USD scored 12 goals on 60 shots. Sonoma State netminder Amber Carey could not have asked for better goalie practice in this game, and she did play phenomenal.

The next WCRHL event is this weekend, November 17th, when 7 Division I and 1 Division III schools face off at Coast 2 Coast Hockey in Huntington Beach, CA. Mt. San Antonio College is also participating in their first-ever WCRHL event, playing exhibition games Saturday evening against UNLV and Chico State. For the event schedule, go to: http://wcrhl.com/schedule.php?event_id=722.