California Rubber Magazine - April 2017

VOLUME 10

NCAA ALL-CALIFORNIA TEAMS HAVE SEVERAL REPEAT PICKS EIGHT TEAMS SHINE WITH CAHA A/B STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS SUMMERTIME FUN, CAMPS, EVENTS APPROACHING AT THE RINKS SMCHS TAKES SILVER AT USA HOCKEY HIGH SCHOOL NATIONALS

ISSUE 8

APRIL 2017

Traveling to the Detroit area earlier this month, the San Jose Jr. Sharks made the trip one to remember as they mowed down the competition and captured the girls 19U Tier II national championship

Attracting the very best youth hockey programs under the bright lights of Los Angeles 2017-18

Tournament Series

TinseltownHockeyTournaments.com

Attracting the very best youth hockey programs under the bright lights of Los Angeles!

LABOR DAY WEEKEND September 1 - 4, 2017

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND November 23- 26, 2017

PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND February 16-19, 2018

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MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND May 25 -28, 2018

Midget Open AAA . 2005 Elite & AAA & Elite 2004 2006 Elite & AAA . 2007 Elite & AAA 2008 Elite & AAA . 2009 Elite & AAA 2010 (Half Ice) . 2011 (Cross Ice)

For more information, contact tournament director Brian McDonough at (612) 220-4402 or brian@jrkingshockey.com

Registration opens on June 1, 2017!

Tinseltownhockeytournaments.com

FROM THE EDITOR Seasons might be ending, but the game is always on our mind

T

his time of year is always bittersweet for me.

The youth and college seasons have come to a close, while junior and pro leagues are well into the postseason. It’s the point in the season where players leave it all on the ice every time out with hopes of capturing a championship when all is said and done.

Yes, it really is one of the most exciting times of the year.

On the flip side, playoffs mean seasons will end for certain teams on any given weekend and seasons are set to close the book.

That, my friends, saddens me because while we all love summer and more time with our famMatt Mackinder ilies at the beach, on vacation, away from the rink, hockey is the greatest game on Earth and we always go through withdrawals. I know I do.

So with that said, it only means there is one question left to answer: How many more days until next season?

The final rankings are out and NHL Central Scouting has named several players with California ties for the upcoming NHL Draft June 23-24 in Chicago.

Three former Los Angeles Jr. Kings – Kailer Yamamoto (WHL’s Spokane Chiefs), Jack St. Ivany (USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede) and Josh Wilkins (Providence College) – were recognized as Yamamoto was tabbed No. 17 among North American skaters, St. Ivany, a Manhattan Beach native, was listed No. 125 and Wilkins came in at No. 190 on the list.

Other California connections listed among the North American skaters were Ivan Lodnia (No. 36, OHL’s Erie Otters, Anaheim native, KHS alum), Sasha Chmelevski (No. 43, OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, Huntington Beach native, KHS alum), Patrick Khodorenko (No. 106, Michigan State University, Walnut Creek native, LA Selects alum) and Brannon McManus (No. 191, USHL’s Chicago Steel, Newport Beach native, LA Selects alum).

Earlier this month, a handful of California and Nevada teams participated at the nationwide USA Hockey Youth Nationals at the Tier II level and the women’s level, while Solar4America Ice hosted the Sled Hockey Nationals.

The Nevada Storm (now Vegas Jr. Golden Knights, see Page 23) had teams at the 14U and 16U levels, the California Golden Bears at the 14U level, the Santa Clara Blackhawks at the 16U level and Golden State Elite Eagles at the 18U level.

The Storm’s 14U team went 2-1 in Coral Springs, Fla., while the 16U Storm team finished 1-2 in Frisco, Tex. The Golden Bears fashioned a 1-2 mark in Coral Springs, Fla., the Blackhawks went 1-2 in Frisco and Golden State Elite made it to the semifinals with a 4-1 mark in Lansing, Mich.

At the Women’s Senior B tournament in suburban Detroit, the Anaheim Lady Ducks and San Jose Sharks took part, while the Women’s Senior C division featured the LA Traffic and SoCal Westside Shockers, also in the Metro Detroit area.

The Lady Ducks fell in overtime of the Senior B championship game and finished 4-2 and the Sharks finished 2-2 at the event. In the Senior C tournament, the Traffic went 1-3 and the Shockers came home after a 1-3 showing.

After completing his NCAA career with Harvard University earlier this month with a Frozen Four berth, San Diego native Tyler Moy signed his first NHL contract with the Nashville Predators.

A former San Diego Jr. Gulls youth player, Moy played 36 games for Harvard this season and led the club with 22 goals and tied for the team lead in points (45). He ranked among the NCAA’s top 15 in points per game (1.25) and goals per game (.61), as well as pacing the Crimson and ranking among the top 10 in the nation in power-play goals (10) and game-winning goals (5).

Moy was Nashville’s sixth-round selection (175th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Contact Matt Mackinder at matt@rubberhockey.com 4

California Rubber Hockey Magazine

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THE CHAMPS ARE HERE

The San Diego Jr. Gulls claimed the Squirt A state championship with a 3-2 win over the San Jose Jr. Sharks on April 2 at Solar4America Ice in San Jose. More coverage of the CAHA A/B state championships can be found on Pages 24-25.

ON THE COVER Players from the San Jose Jr. Sharks’ 19U girls team begin the triumphant celebration after capturing the USA Hockey 19U Tier II girls national championship on April 10 in Troy, Mich. Photo/Hockey Weekly Action Photos

Three Californians bring home NCAA national championships

By Chris Bayee

F

or Tyson McLellan and Megan Crandell, the thrill of winning an NCAA championship for the first time almost defies description.

It was no less exciting for Jordan Lipson even though she’s had plenty of practice at it.

The trio of Californians helped their respective teams hoist an NCAA trophy this spring – McLellan with University of Denver and Crandell and Lipson with Plattsburgh State University. All three are California Rubber Magazine All-NCAA team picks.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling even though it really hasn’t set in,” said McLellan, a freshman from San Jose. “Just the history behind the national championship, not many players have been able to win it, and in my first year to be able to win with such a good group of guys, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

McLellan, the son of former Sharks and current Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McLellan, naturally played for the Jr. Sharks growing up. The forward’s speed, skill and hockey IQ made him a lineup fixture for a loaded, highly-ranked Pioneers team.

From early on, he was entrusted with penalty killing and checking roles and by season’s end, he was playing on the second line with fellow freshmen Henrik Borgstrom, a first-team All-American, and Liam Finlay. McLellan said the plan was hatched by DU coach Jim Montgomery in the middle of the night before the NCAA Midwest Regional began last month in Cincinnati.

“He woke up and shuffled the lines around and told us in the morning,” McLellan said. “We were excited. We’re really good friends off the ice. We played to our strengths and built off each other.”

The trio combined for nine points in DU’s four for her college career late in the regular season. She NCAA tournament games. added a goal and an assist in three NCAA tournaMcLellan also continued DU’s honor of having ment games. a Californian wear No. 9 – a tradition that dates to “Jordan is a very underrated player,” Crandell Gabe Gauthier, who led the Pioneers to NCAA titles said. “Her points come in key situations. The secin 2004-05, and continued with Rhett Rakhshani, ond time we played (championship foe) Adrian, she Beau Bennett and Gabe Levin. scored the game-winning goal in overtime.”

Crandell, a former Lady Duck from Fullerton, won Crandell stepped into an established powerhouse her first NCAA title as an outsider, but she in her first season at said she was never Plattsburgh after playmade to feel that way. ing two seasons at St. “Being new, this Norbert College and team was extremely then transferring last welcoming,” said the season to Plattsburgh. defenseman, whose Lipson, a senior from 29 points were fourth Davis, finished her colmost on the team. “Our lege career with four seniors have won four consecutive Division national championIII championships. ships. To come right “Obviously, it’s unin and be welcomed in believable (to win four) and fit on their power and it’s an amazing play and penalty kill, it feeling,” said Lipson, felt really good to step who played for the in and make a differCapital Thunder, the Tyson McLellan (9) and fellow freshmen Henrik Borgstrom and Liam Fin- ence. It took some time formed a potent line for national champion Denver. Photos/Shannon ValeSan Jose Jr. Sharks lay to adjust. After winter rio/DU Athletics and LA Selects. “In break, I hit my stride.” one of the speeches at our banquet, someone said Six of Crandell’s 26 assists came in three NCAA our class never ended their season with a loss. That’s tournament games, including three in the 4-3 OT vicwhen it set in. tory in the final.

“That really put it in perspective. I’m so proud of “She added a lot to the team defensively and ofmy teammates.” fensively,” Lipson said. “She’s so consistent and has Lipson’s 31 points and 14 goals were third on a huge reach with her stick, being tall (5-foot-8). the team, and she surpassed the 100-point plateau “It was a huge help having her.”

CARubberHockey.com

5

The Gold Standard Jr. Sharks’ 19U AA girls squad revels in USA Hockey Tier II national championship victory Driving the offense in the playoffs was BlaisSavoie, who notched five of her tournament-leading seven goals in the final three games. Long sees the sky as the limit for Blais-Savoie, who at 14 years old was the youngest player in the tournament.

“She’s special,” said Long. “Her ability to go out there and get goals when we need them the most is incredible. She’s physical, she plays big, and it’s hard to explain what she brings to this team. She played so well at this tournament – I don’t think she had a bad game all week. What she brings and

By John B. Spigott

W

hen she notched the overtime winner at the USA Hockey Pacific District tournament, Evelyne Blais-Savoie made sure the San Jose Jr. Sharks 19U AA girls would be making a USA Hockey Youth Nationals appearance.

A month later, Blais-Savoie made sure the championship was coming West.

Blais-Savoie tallied a natural hat trick and goaltender Angela Hawthorne stopped all 15 shots she faced in the title game in the Detroit suburb of Troy, Mich., on April 10, leading the Jr. Sharks to a 4-0 win over the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Cougars to garner a USA Hockey Tier II national title.

“That was a fun game to be a part of,” said Blais-Savoie. “We all enjoyed the experience of being at nationals and to cap it off with a championship is an incredible feeling.”

After going 2-1 in the round-robin portion of the tournament, the Jr. Sharks entered the playoff round playing some of their best hockey of the season, but still managed to take it to another level with their season on the line. The Jr. Sharks won three playoff games by a combined score of 14-1, and assistant coach Amanda Long said the her ability to put the puck in the coaching staff witnessed a true team effort. net is huge. She’s got stamina, speed – “There was something special about how she’s got it all. And being so young on top of this group came together as a team,” said it – she’s got such a bright future.”

Long. “Everyone knew when it was their time At the other end of the ice, Hawthorne and to step up. Not everyone had their best game the Jr. Sharks defensive core slammed the every night, but when someone wasn’t perdoor, allowing only 53 shots on goal in their forming at their highest, someone else would three playoff wins. Hawthorne – who as the step in and fill that role and pick up the slack. only goaltender on the team played every game “At that point, these girls were rolling on all this season, over 70 in all – was rock-solid in cylinders. There was just no way these girls goal for the Jr. Sharks, just as she has been all were going to slow down. There was no way season. they were going to give up and hand every“The thing about Angela is she is just so thing away. Everything was focused on the reliable,” said Long. “She’s so focused. When best performance everyone could put in for the she sets her heart out to do something, she rest of the season.”

The San Jose Jr. Sharks girls 19U captains and coaches accept the USA Hockey na- puts everything into it. As a coaching staff, In opening the tournament with a tight 2-1 tional championship hardware after winning it all on April 10 in the Detroit suburbs. we’ve been working with her on playing more win over the Connecticut Northern Lights, Photo/Hockey Weekly Action Photos aggressive and taking away the top part of the Long said that while nerves were a factor, being able to pull out a victory set the net and at nationals, it was really evident how much work she put into that by how tone for the tournament. successful she was. Even in the games she didn’t face as many shots, she was still “The first game the girls were nervous, for sure, although I don’t know that any so solid. To have someone that’s there every game of the season, whether she’s of them would admit it,” Long said. “We got there a day early to practice before sick or injured or whatever, she was there the whole time and performing at a high the tournament started, and that was good level.” for us because it helped the girls get setWhile winning a national championship tled in a bit. But I would say even though is a huge milestone for any organization, they played a little nervous, once they came both Long and Jr. Sharks director of playthrough that first game with the win that er development Mike Janda see an even it kind of reinforced in them that they bebigger accomplishment for the Jr. Sharks longed at this tournament and we really just program because of the win. got back to the way we had been playing all “This shows the girls in Northern Caliseason. fornia that they have a landing spot to help “It definitely woke them up a bit.” them get to the next level,” said Janda.

A 5-1 win over the Brewster (N.Y.) Lady “Now, we show our 10Us, 12Us, and 14Us Bulldogs put the Jr. Sharks to 2-0 in pool that they can stay in San Jose, play 19U, play before the team dropped a hard-fought have success, and we can get you to colgame to the Boston Shamrocks, losing lege, which is the ultimate goal.”

3-2 in overtime. It was following the loss to Long agrees, and feels a national chamBoston that Long saw her team regroup for Taking the team on-ice photo at the end of a grueling tournament is the goal of every team pionship at the 19U level doesn’t just benwhat was to be a dominating run through and the San Jose Jr. Sharks girls 19U AA team did just that after winning the USA Hockey efit that age group, but instead the benefits Youth Nationals girls 19U Tier II national crown on April 10 in Troy, Mich. the playoff bracket. are going to be felt across the organization.

“All the teams in our pool were really strong and presented tough matchups for “One of the biggest things is that people across the country are starting to recus,” said Long. “Even though we had that loss in there, I think the competition and ognize is the amount of talent we have out here on the West Coast, and especially how close all those games were really pushed us to the top of our game.” in Northern California,” said Long. “The great thing is the exposure it gets for our The Jr. Sharks girls 19U AA team is comprised of forwards Evelyne Blais-Savoie, program, and it shows players don’t have to leave our area. It’s important for us to Juliette Blais-Savoie, Angelina Cruzal, Sierra Donahue, Celine Long, Kiley keep our homegrown players here, and we don’t want them to feel like they have to Searles, Ria Stevens, Sarah Takahashi and Marisa Trevino; defensemen Em- leave to get a better opportunity. ily Burke, Theresa Chickles, Maxx Goodman, Claire Peterson, Alexandra “This win proves that we can still accomplish our goals if people buy in to what Stout and Olivia Wilburn; and Hawthorne in net. Bobby Long joins Amanda we are doing and people work hard and trust in the opportunities we are providing Long on the bench. for them.”

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California Rubber Hockey Magazine

CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS Golden Bears’ prep school hockey camp combines puck, school

By Sophie Kaplan

B

ack on March 25, the California Golden Bears held a prep school hockey camp at their home rink in Burbank.

Plans had been put into place last summer to provide graduating Bears players with exposure to East Coast prep schools as an alternative to AAA hockey.

Bears director of hockey and Bantam coach Peter Torsson is a native Swede who saw the benefits immediately.

“The United States is very unique in the world in that it provides young athletes with the opportunity to combine outstanding academics with the pursuit of high-end hockey,” he said.

This past fall, Torsson took both his Bantam teams to a prep school showcase outside of Boston. The Bears success on the ice drew the attention of several coaches and relationships were formed. For the Bears prep school camp, nine East Coast schools flew coaches out to participate: Groton School, Deerfield Academy, Tilton School, Vermont Academy, Kent School, Governor’s Academy, Kimball Union Academy, Milton Academy and Holderness School.

The Bears’ camp attracted 80 tier-level players from all over California. Teams were divided into two divisions by birth year – 2000-2001 and 2002-2003. Both divisions had morning and afternoon scrimmages to showcase their talents. Off the ice, there was a panel discussion where coaches explained the benefits of a prep school education and the exposure that East Coast hockey provides for players.

With the resounding success of the camp, Torsson plans on making it an annual event.

“No matter how far hockey takes you, a great education is always invaluable,” said Torsson.

Year 1 of the Bears’ prep school efforts has paid off as three players from the 2017 Bantam AA state championship team have been offered enrollment next fall into Groton, Holderness and Tilton.

2016-17 SCAHA A/B Champions Squirt B: Los Angeles Jr. Kings (2) Squirt BB: Valencia Jr. Flyers Squirt A: California Wave (1) Pee Wee B: California Golden Bears Pee Wee BB: San Diego Saints Pee Wee A: OC Hockey Club (2) Bantam B: Anaheim Jr. Ducks Bantam A: California Wave (3)

2016-17 Nor Cal A/B Champions Squirt B: San Francisco Sabercats Squirt BB: San Jose Jr. Sharks Squirt A: San Jose Jr. Sharks (1) Pee Wee B: Tri Valley Blue Devils Pee Wee BB: San Francisco Sabercats Pee Wee A: San Francisco Sabercats Bantam B: South Lake Tahoe Grizzlies Bantam A: San Jose Jr. Sharks High School D3: Tri Valley Blue Devils High School D2: Capital Thunder

CGBHockey.com

NHL debut behind him, Comrie focuses on working to return

By Chris Bayee

W

ith three seconds left, Eric Comrie could exhale for what seemed like the first time in two

days.

The goaltender shot the puck to the corner of the rink at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and did an uncharacteristic fist pump, his first NHL victory secure in his debut for the Winnipeg Jets, a nail-biting 5-4 triumph over the Blue Jackets on April 6.

“The whole experience was unbelievable,” the LA Hockey Club graduate from Newport Beach said. “It was a lot of fun and a dream come true.”

Comrie got the call after a Manitoba Moose game in Winnipeg roughly 48 hours earlier at 11 p.m. on Tuesday night. After grabbing his gear and packing for a flight, he got about two hours of sleep before flying to Columbus to meet the Jets for practice Wednesday and Thursday’s game.

His first call was to his father, Bill, who rounded up as many friends and family as he could to make the trip East. Among those in attendance was Eric’s half-brother Mike, a veteran of 10 NHL seasons and, along with older brother Paul, a major influence on Eric.

“To have my dad (who also helped coach his youth teams with Rick Kelly, Sandy Gasseau and later, Louis Pacella) and my brother (Mike) there was special,” Eric said. “I remember watching Mike’s games and being so happy for him. It’s funny to see how the tables have turned. My family has always been my biggest supporters, and I’m so grateful for them.”

Comrie made 35 saves in the victory at Colum-

bus, which also happened to be his 100th professional game.

“He was very, very good,” Jets coach Paul Maurice told the Jets official website. “The little things, rebound control, the number of quick shots that came to him that he got off into the corner and we didn’t have to fight for.

Newport Beach native Eric Comrie is in his second full season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and made his NHL debut with the parent Winnipeg Jets, a win for the Jets back on April 6. Photo/Jonathan Kozub

“A smaller goalie (6-foot-1) has to be really positionally sound to play in this league, and there were three or four that he got his shoulder or blocker on, and that’s all technique. He deserved to win based on the number of shots he faced and I’m happy for him.”

Comrie, a second-round pick (59th overall) in

2013, has been the Moose’s go-to net option, playing the fourth-most minutes in the American Hockey League this season. His 51 games, 19-26-2 record, 2.96 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and three shutouts all were career bests.

The call-up added more fuel to a fire that already burned hot.

“It’s pretty unbelievable when you know the team has faith in you and trust in you,” Comrie said. “Getting a taste of it gives me more motivation – I know it’s not that far away.”

Motivation has never been an issue for Comrie, who routinely hits the ice 15-20 minutes before practice to work with goalie coach Rick St. Croix and stays afterward to face as many shots as possible.

“There is nobody more committed,” said Kelly, now the senior V.P. of North American Player Development for 4sports & Entertainment. “He’s never drank anything but water, no soda, no alcohol, nothing. That shows you how tough it is to make it to the NHL even with all of that commitment.

“He has the same relentless, intense work ethic his dad does. And he’s a great kid – humble, honest and unassuming.”

Summer is far from a vacation for Comrie, whose drive to improve goes into overdrive.

“I’m a crazy guy in the offseason,” he said. “I’ll work out in the morning, then get a good skate in either with my goalie coach or at a pro skate in Los Angeles. Then I do some eye work – sports vision training has been big for me.

“After that I attend a stretching class.”

Keep that up and it’s no stretch to envision him returning to the NHL. CARubberHockey.com

7

One period changes Nationals for Santa Margarita, OLu

By Chris Bayee

sive, good toward the freshmen and those considering the school.

“We had great leadership from our seniors, and those kids will be missed a lot.”

The final was a rematch of round-robin game that Santa Margarita won 3-0. The Eagles rolled through the preliminary round with a 3-0 record and a plus-

play, amassing a plus-10 goal differential in the process. Their quarterfinal was a different story, hows well as Santa Margarita Catholic and Orange ever.

Lutheran played during round-robin action at the “We had a good game plan and a tough first peUSA Hockey Youth Nationals, one rough first period riod,” OLu coach Dan Adams said. “We had a good in the playoffs cost both high school teams dearly. comeback to make it a game toward the end, but The Eagles, who won the CAHA state champigiving up three first-period goals hurt. onship last month, lost to Bayard Rustin of West“We also gave up three power-play goals, chester, Pa., 4-3 in the Division I title game in which was something we weren’t used to doing Cleveland, Ohio, on April 3. because we had a strong penalty kill all year.”

The Lancers, who won the Anaheim Ducks Trailing 3-1 after the first and 4-1 at one point, High School Hockey League regular-season title, Orange Lutheran began to rally behind late secfell in the quarterfinals to Edwardsville, Ill., 6-4. ond-period goals from Jacob Furry and Zachary “It’s disappointing,” Santa Margarita coach Pires. Edwardsville retook a two-goal lead early in Craig Johnson said. “As a team, we set a goal to the third before the teams traded late-period talmake it (to Nationals). To come so close to winlies. Had they won, the Lancers likely would have ning it …” met the Eagles in the semifinals.

The Eagles held the lead for exactly 58 sec“That would have been fun,” Adams said. onds, when Jesse Logan Orsini scored a “Those are always good games.” short-handed goal with 3:51 left in the first periGoaltender Conner Taherian led the tournaod while SMCHS was killing off a 5-minute major. ment with two shutouts, and his three wins tied for Bayard Rustin then connected for back-to-back second and his .870 save percentage was fourthpower-play goals in a 1:24 span before the end Santa Margarita Catholic High School finished as the runner-up at the USA best. of the first.

“Getting to Nationals was our goal,” Adams Hockey high school national tournament earlier this month in Cleveland, Ohio.

Bayard Rustin made it 3-1 with 1:15 to go in said. “It was the third year in a row we’d accomthe second period before the Eagles rallied to tie 11 goal differential. They then defeated Pinnacle plished that, but we hadn’t fared as well the past two it early in the third period behind goals from Ryan (Arizona) 3-0 in the quarterfinals and Edwardsville seasons. This year, we had a lot of seniors and the Johnson and Jonathan Skule in the first 3:57.

2-1 in overtime in the semifinals. guys were really focused. The preparation was there “Give the kids credit, they worked hard to tie it,” Jekabs Bisnieks had eight points and four on and off the ice.

Johnson said. goals, while Skule added seven points and Nicolas “We played really well in pool play, particularly But Bayard Rustin scored the winner with 5:57 to Mauthe, John Mulvihill II and Orsini added five against Downing of Pennsylvania. That (2-0) win play after a scramble in front of the net. apiece. Mauthe also scored four goals. Trey Taylor gave us a lot of confidence.”

“The program has come a long way,” Johnson went 4-1 with a 1.83 goals-against average and one Pires led Orange Lutheran with six points, while said. “We had a great group of kids, not only on the shutout.

Furry added five and Vail Ardizzone chipped in ice, but how they created a culture that was incluThe Lancers also went undefeated in round-robin four. Furry had a team-high three goals.

A

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California Rubber Hockey Magazine

CSKA to CAHA: Building Pee Wee AAA hockey, Soviet style

By Matt Mackinder

F

ormer member of the Red Army hockey program and student of Anatoli Tarasov, the father of Russian ice hockey, Grigoriy (Grecia) Bocharov will be returning next year to the California Amateur Hockey Association as the head coach for the San Diego Jr. Gulls’ Pee Wee AAA 2005 team.

This appointment marks a significant shift for Bocharov, who has spent recent years focusing on player development at the Mite and Squirt levels. Given Bocharov’s unique background, this appointment also brings a much-welcomed boost to AAA hockey in Southern California.

From early childhood through semi-pro, Bocharov skated for the Red Army in Moscow. Footage of a practice from his early days Grecia Bocharov with the club can be seen in Gabe Polsky’s “Red Army,” a recent documentary about the Soviet National Team. After the Red Army, Bocharov played professionally in the last year of the International Hockey League, a predecessor to the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia.

Aside from playing experience, what distinguishes Bocharov is the formal training he received at the Russian State Academy of Physical Education.

Majoring in ice hockey, Bocharov studied hockey and coaching methods for two years under Tarasov, the man credited with inventing Soviet hockey and building the Soviet National Team into a dominant

Bocharov is second from the right in the bottom row in this CSKA team photo from 1990 when he was just 15.

Pictured far right, looking up at the camera, is Bocharov as seen in the recent “Red Army” documentary.

force on the world stage.

After moving to the U.S. in 1996, Bocharov started coaching in 1999 as an assistant coach for the Jr. Gulls’ Pee Wee AA and Midget AAA teams and the following season as the head coach of the Bantam A team. After getting married in 2002, he left the Jr. Gulls to work at Ice Town Riverside, and later at Ice Town La Jolla. He rejoined the Jr. Gulls in 2010 when he took over as adult and in-house

hockey director at Ice-Plex Escondido. Since 2011, Bocharov has been coaching the Jr. Gulls Mites and Squirts.

Last year, he had his trial return to AAA hockey by assisting with the AAA Major 2004 team. That team, despite a rough start, finished strong by knocking the San Jose Jr. Sharks out of the playoffs and winning the Presidents’ Day tournament in El Segundo.

True to his roots, Bocharov will undoubtedly shape his new team into a truly effective unit. Bocharov said there is much to be excited about when it comes to the Jr. Gulls program, especially with his Pee Wee 2005 team for the 2017-18 season.

“The Jr. Gulls are the biggest San Diego club, and all the best kids in San Diego eventually end up playing for the Jr. Gulls,” said Bocharov. “This year with coaching the Pee Wee AAA Major team, hopefully, all the best 2005 birth year kids in town will play for me. So I’m excited about an opportunity to coach the best kids from San Diego, but of course, not closed for the option to also coach kids from Orange County or Los Angeles as well.”

The Pee Wee AAA may be just the beginning for Bocharov’s ‘05s next season. If he can hone their individual skills toward the end of strong team play, look to Bocharov’s group as leading contenders as they move into Bantams and Midgets.

“I would expect nothing less than hard work and dedication from all the players on our team with hopes to become very competitive with the Jr. Ducks and Jr. Kings, whose 2005 teams have been ranked nationally as some of the top teams in the country,” Bocharov said. “We will have humble beginnings, but with the hard work and dedication, I’m sure we’ll reach good results at the end of the season.”

CARubberHockey.com

9

Lady Ducks standout Yovetich decides on Northeastern

By Brian McDonough

Provincial Women’s Hockey League before beginning her college career in Hockey East in the fall of 2020. ily Yovetich, a defenseman on the Anaheim Lady “I loved the (Northeastern) coaches (head coach Ducks’ 16U AAA team, recently committed to attend Dave Flint and assistants Nick Carpenito and Jeff and play her NCAA Division I hockey at Northeastern Pellegrini), too, and was blown away by the campus in University following her youth downtown Boston,” she said. and junior careers.

“It’s a great hockey city to say This past season, Yovetich the least.” helped lead Anaheim to the Recognized for her skills Pacific District championship and smarts, Carpenito and in its division while punching Pellegrini first scouted Yoveits ticket to the USA Hockey tich at a tournament in ToronNational Championships. to after her final Pee Wee sea“I’m very excited to play son with the Jr. Kings where at Northeastern,” said Yovethey were also impressed tich, who grew up playing for with her physical prowess. both the Lady Ducks and Los “The last few years comAngeles Jr. Kings. “It’s a trepeting and getting the type of mendous hockey school with exposure our program offers a great tradition, and it’s cool has been vital in her recruitthey play in one of the oldest ment to some very strong Dirinks in North America (Matvision I schools,” said McGarthews Arena).” rigle. “Lily had a sweet spot “Lily is a powerful player for Northeastern way back as and brings a dynamic game a 13-year-old, but it took sevto the ice day in and day eral trips, along with scouts out,” said Lady Ducks direcand coaches watching her tor Kathy McGarrigle. “That play, to make that a reality.

Lily Yovetich, who grew up playing for both the Anaheim mentality is one of the things Lady Ducks and Los Angeles Jr. Kings, plans to begin “Her level of consistenthat makes her special and her NCAA Division I career at Northeastern University in cy and the support she got prepared her for the level of the fall of 2020. Main Photo/Scott Eckstien - particularly from (the Lady competition she’ll see in an few years playing Divi- Ducks’ primary NCAA/prep school liaison) Caroline sion I.” Marchant - helped make her NCAA opportunity come A sophomore in high school, Yovetich plans to grad- to fruition.” uate in 2019, and then play a year of junior in Canada’s “It’s been a great experience playing for the Lady

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Ducks and I’m so thankful for the opportunity,” said Yovetich. “The level of competition and exposure they provide is off the charts, and the support we get from Kathy and Caroline, both on and off the ice, is second to none.”

Yovetich is also quick to credit many of her Jr. Kings coaches for her development - both as a player and person - on her way to earning the opportunity to compete at the highest level of women’s college hockey.

Among them Robbert McDonald, who mentored Yovetich during her Pee Wee AA season in 2012-13 in preparation for her Pee Wee AAA and Bantam Minor AAA seasons under the direction of coaches Shawn Pitcher, Rob Blake and Nelson Emerson.

In addition, she gained invaluable experience under the tutelage of Lady Ducks coaches Todd Marchant, Jennifer Friedman and Laura Veharanta.

“I’m so thankful for all my teammates and coaches with the Jr. Kings and Lady Ducks,” said Yovetich. “I’m super fortunate to have been taught by such amazing people.”

Yovetich - the second girl from the Jr. Kings program to earn a NCAA Division I opportunity (the Lady Ducks have moved dozens on to D-I); she joins Boston College recruit Cayla Barnes (this year a senior defenseman at New Hampshire’s New Hampton School and also a former Lady Duck) - is also excited to witness the continued success of the burgeoning LA Lions girls program; the Los Angeles Kings-backed club just completed its second season to rave reviews.

“It’s awesome,” she said. “With the help of the Kings, along with such a dedicated group of coaches and support staff, it won’t be too long until one or more of those girls get the chance to play college hockey, too.”

L.A. KINGS HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY LEAGUE

LAKHSHL set for ’17-18 tryouts, adds roving goalie coach

By Greg Ball

I

t has only been a little more than a month since the Santa Barbara Royals repeated as champions of the two-year-old L.A. Kings High School Hockey League, but the league is already making preparations for its 2017-18 season.

A full slate of tryouts is scheduled throughout the month of May, as the league’s 10 varsity teams and five junior varsity squads look to make up the rosters that they hope can lead them to a championship next winter.

“We are opening the league to eighth graders to play at the junior varsity level this season, which we hope will allow the division to grow,” said Emma Tani, the leagues and rinks coordinator in the L.A. Kings’ Hockey Development division.

The Royals and the Valencia Vikings are the first teams on the ice, with both having tryout sessions scheduled for May 13 and May 14. The Kern County Knights will try players out on May 13 and May 20, and the El Segundo Strikers will hold sessions May 14 and May 19.

Tryouts for the West Ranch Wildcats are May 16 and May 23, and the Torrance Destroyers will

hold sessions on May 19 and May 20. The Burbank Cougars and Santa Clarita Valley Cobras will each put on tryouts May 20 and May 21. The East County Outlaws and South County Aviators will hold two tryout sessions on May 20 and two on May 21, with each player required to attend one session each day.

The league’s full schedule of tryouts, along with other important information, can

be found at its website, www.lakleague. com.

Additionally, the league is considering adding two teams for the 2017-18 season, though plans are still being worked out for that potential move.

The leaders of the Kings’ high school league have also made a handful of notable changes for the 2017-18 season, all positive moves that speak to the league’s progress as it heads into its third year of existence.

The league expects to add a goalie coach to its staff, who will visit with each of the teams

LAKLeague.com

a handful of times each season, similar to how Derek Armstrong operates in his role as the league’s director of coaching curriculum. A series of checking clinics are also on tap, with the number of clinics, dates and locations to be announced in the coming months.

“We feel as though providing goalie instruction will be beneficial for both junior varsity and varsity goalies,” Tani said. “These clinics will allow the goalies to focus on specific skills that they may not be able to work on during practice.”

Also on tap is an expansion of the junior Emma Tani varsity schedule from 15-16 games for each team.

Additionally, the Kings’ league has reached an agreement with Adidas to provide soft goods for every varsity and junior varsity player throughout the league. The sporting goods company will outfit all players (new and returning) with a home and away jersey, socks, practice jersey and warmup jacket. New players will also be provided with a helmet, gloves and bag.

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TOYOTA SPORTS CENTER

Jr. Kings raise the tech bar with new coaches app He then began sharing his library with other coaches within the club. A number of them have been leaning on ooking for some fresh practice plans or drills? Want to Vachon more frequently in recent years looking for addibrowse video of effective power plays or penalty kills? tional resources and ideas.

Maybe access articles relating to nutrition or small-area “For a lot of our coaches, it’s not easy for them to find games? the (video) content they need, then create the clip, then If you’re a coach within the Los Anshare it with their team,” said Vachon. geles Jr. Kings organization, there’s an “The technology side of it is very difficult app for that. and time consuming, and some guys Developed by Nick Vachon, the Jr. just don’t have the time.

Kings’ general manager of hockey oper“It took a little bit of time to build out ations, the newly-unveiled smartphone (the app), and creating the content and organizing it takes some time, but now application is available to Jr. Kings it’s at the final stage where we’re ready coaches only and serves as an all-into push it out full-scale so all of our guys one platform when it comes to breaking have access to it when and as much as down specific game or practice video, they want.” accessing documents and information As part of the video component, the and sharing ideas and concepts with app boasts a sleek and robust search other coaches within the club. engine where coaches can easily ac“The goal here is to create some cess clips relating to their particular meaningful technology for our coaches Nick Vachon search; if a coach is looking for sample and create more easily-accessible resources for them,” said Vachon. “I wanted to build a nice, penalty-kill situations, they can type “penalty kill” or “PK” effective app they could all benefit from, whether they and a menu of shorthanded clips will display right at their fingertips. coach Mites or Midgets.”

“So they don’t have to search thousands of clips,” said With a professional background in video editing and production, Vachon, who also serves as head coach of Vachon. “They can condense their search quickly and acthe Jr. Kings’ 2005 AAA team, has been gathering and cess the ones that apply to a specific tactic or situation archiving NHL clips, articles and other information over the that would resonate with their kids.

“It’s been time-intensive building that part of it - and years and using them more and more from a developmenkind of a work in progress on my end as far as creating the tal standpoint as his players have matured.

By Brian McDonough

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content - but now it’s a matter of getting more clips into the system and tagging them so they’re easily searchable, and then of course to keep adding to the library.”

Early reviews of the app, which also includes PowerPoint presentations and other Jr. Kings-specific information, have been nothing but positive, according to Vachon.

“The feedback has been great,” he said. “We’re slowing getting it off the ground, but the video library we’ve been using has been a valuable resource; the coaches see it and are like, ‘Wow, this is great.’ They’re really excited about it.”

Jr. Kings 16U AAA head coach Jack Bowkus, for one, is already impressed with the capabilities of the app.

“What Nick has been able to do for our club from a video and technology standpoint has been extremely beneficial to say the least,” said Bowkus. “And to be able to access all of these clips and other information in the palm of our hands from anywhere is groundbreaking, in my opinion.”

And Vachon believes the Jr. Kings are just scratching the surface on what the app can represent as it relates to keeping their coaches informed and connected and, ultimately, enhancing the player development component of the entire program.

“The opportunities are endless,” he said. “We’re thinking of cutting-edge ways to improve our coaching and improve the club, and we’re going above and beyond.

“A lot of clubs and coaches use video and use it effectively, but from a club standpoint this will only help us stay ahead of the curve and improve not only our internal coaching communication, but the overall development of our kids.”

SAN JOSE JR. SHARKS

Jr. Sharks celebrate extraordinary 2016-17 on-ice success

By John B. Spigott

I

t’s been a banner year for the San Jose Jr. Sharks.

Literally.

Led by two national championship-winning teams, the Jr. Sharks are enjoying the aftermath of one of the most successful seasons in the organization’s history. The Jr. Sharks’ 2016-17 campaign saw champions at the state, regional and national levels across all age groups within the organization.

“It certainly has to be the best in terms of winning since I’ve been here,” said Jr. Sharks director of player development Mike Janda.

“It’s encouraging to see our teams have success.

Is winning everything for us? Not at all. If we aren’t winning championships, it’s not as if we are going to change what we are doing, because we’ve been doing things the same way for five years and now we’re starting to see the results that we are looking for.”

While the 19U AA girls team and the youth sled hockey team were both crowned USA Hockey national champions, the Jr. Sharks also experienced success in

the Northern California Minor Hockey Association (Nor Cal) and in the state championships. The Jr. Sharks brought home a state championship banner with a win in 13U AAA boys, while the 18U AAA boys and the 16U AA boys each finished second. The Bantam A boys won their division in Nor Cal and the performance of the Squirt teams gives Janda a lot of enthusiasm for the future of that age group, as out of the four teams at 2006 and 2007 birth years, there were two Norcal titles and a secondplace finish.

“For the younger teams to have success means that we are doing things the right way at that level and developing the skills that will put us where we need to be down the road,” said Janda.

“Not only are we having success in California, but these teams are having success at tournaments across North America as well.”

The crown jewel for the organization remains the 19U AA girls national championship win.

“This shows the girls in Northern California that they have a landing spot to help them get to the next level,” said Janda. “For me, the biggest win this year was committing five girls to college. That’s more important than winning nationals to me. Is winning

SJJrSharks.com

nationals awesome? Of course, and it’s great to win, and it’s a product of doing things the right way. But the more encouraging thing is now we show our 10Us, 12Us, and 14Us that they can stay in San Jose, play 19U, have success, and we can get you to college, which is the ultimate goal.”

Obviously, Janda takes pride in what the 28 Jr. Sharks teams accomplished this year.

“The future is bright for us,” said Janda. “I don’t want to take all the credit – a lot of credit goes to our coaching staff. One of the areas I’ve worked really hard in is not only finding the right coaches, but putting those coaches in a position to be successful. When you put coaches at a level where they can communicate effectively with players and get a positive response, that’s where the success comes in. I didn’t have any influence on most of these teams – the bulk of the success and the applause needs to go to these coaches for the effort they have put in, and the way they have bought in to the American Development Model and the skill development.”

Just don’t expect increased success to change or have much effect on the way the Jr. Sharks are currently developing their players.

“You don’t make changes and then see results a year later,” said Janda. “It takes time for things to implement and cultures to be created, and I think the culture now is one where it’s a place a lot of people want to be, and us having success just proves we’re doing things the right way.

“Family is a good word to use, because that’s the environment we’ve tried to create here. The teams have all bought in to doing the same thing and expectations have already been set, top to bottom.”

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PICTURE PERFECT TWest Valley College won a national championship in the Junior College Division at the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships in Fort Myers, Fla., on April 9.

The San Jose Inline Sharks captured the Squirt Gold championship at last month’s NARCh Northern California regional in San Jose. Photo/NARCh

The California Wave blanked the Los Angeles Jr. Kings 2-0 to secure the CAHA 12U Tier II state title on March 19 at the Iceplex Escondido.

The California Golden Bears won the CAHA 14U Tier II state championship with a 3-1 victory March 19 over the Golden State Elite Eagles at the Iceplex Escondido.

The Golden State Elite Eagles were crowned CAHA 18U Tier II state champions March 19 at the Iceplex Escondido after going 3-0 and outscoring the opposition 16-3.

San Diego native Tyler Moy, who played for the Jr. Gulls in his youth days, completed his NCAA career at Harvard University earlier this month with a Frozen Four berth and then signed his first NHL contract with the Nashville Predators on April 10.Photo/Harvard Athletics

San Diego Metro-1 captured the JV-1 division championship at last month’s State Cup inline scholastic tournament in Irvine. Photo/ADISL

The San Diego Selects trekked to Tucson, Ariz., last month to partake in the Inline Hockey Association of Arizona festival and came away victors of the 14U A division with a perfect 3-0 record.

The Central Coast Chiefs won the JV-2 division championship in Irvine at last month’s State Cup inline scholastic tournament.Photo/ADISL

Submit your favorite hockey photos to pictureperfect@rubberhockey.com!

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TAHOE HOCKEY ACADEMY

Tahoe Academy set for Year 2, ‘in this for the long haul’

By Greg Ball

A

s the calendar flips to April, some hockey players, coaches and administrators hang up their skates for the spring or turn their focus to other sports.

The folks at the Tahoe Hockey Academy (THA), however, are already busy preparing for another strong season in the fall.

First on tap is the academy’s summer developmental training camps, as THA looks to begin the process of identifying its next high-end prospects.

“We’re not a traditional hockey program where we have that continuity of players coming up from 10U to 12U to 14U and so on,” THA head coach Michael Lewis said. “We’ve designed our program for those athletes who, once they have reached Bantams and Midgets, want that something extra in terms of development. With the ability to offer our student-athletes up to 10 hours of ice time each week, it can be a huge benefit for those players preparing themselves to make the jump when their youth career is over.

“We carry that philosophy into our summer camps, in which we train two hours of day on the ice developing the individual components of the game.”

Practices are over and ice times are wide-open, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the Tahoe Hockey Academy. From its testing combines to training camp, THA is a year-round destination for player development.

“Our model is rooted in individual player development, and we’ve not only designed our program around

that, but also our philosophy in how we conduct our testing combines and training camps,” said THA president Leo Fenn. “We’ve enjoyed great success in our first season on the ice, and I believe that can attributed to our players becoming better hockey players on an individual basis.”

As a first-year program, and California’s first residential hockey prep school, the long climb to become a recognized name in the California hockey community has had its challenges.

“Being so isolated, geographically speaking, from the areas associated with California hockey, has presented some hurdles, but it has also provided many positives,” THA associate coach Chris Collins said. “We train at high altitude, which provides a great environment to create peak performance, and due to our daily schedule, we’re able to offer things like yoga and sports medicine to our players that traditional programs aren’t able to provide for their athletes.”

Added Fenn: “We’re seeing our players head back to their respective states to compete in select camps, and to hear that their old teammates and families are seeing such a drastic improvement in their game

speaks volumes to what we’re trying to accomplish here at THA.” The work begins in April, as the Tahoe Hockey Academy staff begins its search for new recruits. USA Hockey Youth Nationals, Globals and showcases throughout the country seem to be where the top players can be found, but that doesn’t necessarily mean those players fit the mold of a THA athlete.

“Like any coach, you want the best players possible, but we also want the best player for our specific program,” Lewis said.

“We believe that it’s the player who truly wants to improve his game every day that will get the most out of the Tahoe Hockey Academy.”

The officials in Tahoe seem to have a good grasp on their off-season plans and a firm understanding on what it takes to make Year 2 a success.

“It’s all about relationships and introducing ourselves to the hockey community,” Fenn said.

“We’re the new kids on the block, and we’re fully aware that we’ll need to prove ourselves each year in order to grow our academy, but we’re in this for the long haul and we look forward to speaking with those that are interested in our program.”

TahoeHockeyAcademy.com

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ANAHEIM DUCKS

Summer camps aplenty quickly approaching at The Rinks cus something that you want to improve or work on, and solely focus on that for the entire duration. Power skating, puck handling and body contact are just some of the large variety we offer. If you have a skill you want to work on, we have a camp for you. “ Back for his 22nd season is world-renowned camp director Rick Hutchinson. With over 20 seasons of experience, Hutchinson has developed a science of running highly-successful programs, including helping The Rinks

in better-rounded hockey players.”

And while the variety of camps within the All-World sually, summer in California means warmer weather Hockey Institute feature challenging programs with proto enjoy days at the beach or heading on vacation fessional instruction for all levels of players from Novice to with schools taking their annual break.

AAA, the highly-acclaimed Anaheim Ducks Youth Camp For dedicated hockey players, though, summer is a is a perfect start for beginning hockey players. Designed time to prepare for the next season and get ahead of evfor kids between the ages of 5-12 years old, it’s open to erybody else. With the extra free time, summer provides any skill level with only basic skating skills required. In this the best opportunity for players to work on techniques, camp, kids will spend an unforgettable four days with prodevelop skills, and improve on their game during fessional coaches, learning all aspects of the game time not available before. of ice hockey at The Rinks-Anaheim ICE, which To help these dedicated hockey players, The is the official practice facility of the NHL’s Ducks.

Rinks has announced the All-World Hockey InstiEach day of the camp consists of on- and off-ice tute collection of 2017 camps, along with inline skills, drills, scrimmages, fun and games. hockey camps for players of all ages and skills levOn the inline side, The Rinks-Corona Inline, The els.

Rinks-Irvine Inline and The Rinks-Huntington Beach Returning for its 22nd season, the All-World Inline will all be hosting numerous youth summer Hockey Institute will be hosting a variety of camps inline hockey camps for players of all skill levels. In at The Rinks – Anaheim ICE, The Rinks-Lakewood addition to providing players with personal coachICE and The Rinks-Westminster ICE. From camps ing from The Rinks staff, the camps also include like Sniper Shooting & Scoring to Dominant Deoff-rink conditioning and team building exercises. A fenseman, each camp highlights a different skill to Summertime camps at The Rinks means skating, conditioning, having fun and see- typical day includes participants starting with indifocus on, allowing each player to choose what they ing all participants continue to enjoy the game of hockey. Photo/The Rinks vidual skill development before jumping into team want to work on. drills. From there, players will compete in daily scrimmagbecome a USA Hockey Model Association last year.

“The Rinks summer camps are special in that they “Summer is the best time for skill development,” said es and competitions before ending the day with hockey give each skater the chance to choose their own path Hutchinson. “Kids are out of school, the new season has trivia and contests for prizes. to success,” said The Rinks marketing associate Craig not started yet, and more rink time is available. This time For more information on any of the camps menAppleby. “Unlike many other options available, you do of year allows players enough time to work on a specific tioned or for more information on The Rinks, visit not have to go to a standard camp and work on every skill set at one time, accelerating the amount of learning www.therinks.com/summercamps to find out how you skill for a little bit of time. Instead, you can choose to fo- each player gains and building their confidence resulting can take your game to the next level.

By Tanner Privia

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ANAHEIM JR. DUCKS Jr. Ducks set Tier I tryouts for May, name ‘17-18 coaches

By Chris Bayee

T

he Anaheim Jr. Ducks’ Tier I program continued to build momentum during the 201617 season, adding two more CAHA titles and moving six more players on to NCAA Division I college hockey.

The next chapter in the Jr. Ducks’ story will begin to be written the weekend of May 12-13 when the club holds its Tier I tryouts, primarily at The Rinks – Anaheim Ice. They begin that Friday night at 5:45 p.m. and continue Saturday morning at 8:10 a.m. Specific times and coaches’ contact information for each team are available at www.JrDucks.com.

The Jr. Ducks also announced their Tier I coaching lineup. August Aiken, who led the Midget 18U team to the USA Hockey Youth Nationals earlier this month, will again guide that team.

Jr. Ducks director of coaches Craig Johnson and director of player personnel Alex Kim again will co-coach the 16U team, which went to Nationals for the second time in three seasons in addition to winning a CAHA title.

Darryl Tiveron again will coach the 15U team. Tiveron’s team went to the Pacific District tournament in March.

T.J. Miller will coach the Bantam Major team (2003 birth year), while David Walker and Alex Vasilevsky will guide the Bantam Minor team (2004). The 2004 group also won a CAHA title in February.

Sandy Gasseau will coach the Pee Wee Major team (2005), while Eugene Kabanets will guide the 2006 Pee Wees.

The Jr. Ducks have had a total of nine CAHA champions and five Nationals qualifiers in the past three seasons at the Tier I level. The 18U and 16U teams won their Tier I Elite Hockey League divisions and six teams (18U, 16U, 15U, Bantam Major and both Pee Wee teams) finished the season as the top-ranked Tier I teams in California in the www.myhockeyrankings.com rankings.

The six college commitments give the club a total of 10 over the past three seasons.

JrDucks.com

CHALK TALK

How you handle competition can define you as a person H

ey, aspiring hockey professional!

I want you to pretend you have a microphone in your face and a reporter has just asked who you are as hockey player. Now, answer the question and be very specific.

My mentor, Par Peter Torsson Marts, asked me and my teammates that question in 1994 just as my professional career began and I had no clue how to answer. It showed me I was lost as a player. We were all good at that time and we worked our butts off, but we relied on our talent and coaches alone. We were in the herd and we were followers.

Although they called us professionals, I realized very few had professional attitudes and a change was imminent in my career. Being professional does not start when you sign on the dotted line – it starts when you decide you “want to make it.” Once you say that, you need to live up to it – to your parents, coaches, and yourself.

You need to own it.

You should know who you are, who you want to become. If you emulate a player, you should strive to

surpass him or her, turning your dreams into goals.

Being a hockey player is a lifestyle and compromises every decision you make. The core of it all is being competitive and being competitive at everything.

How you prioritize responsibilities, study, manage time, sleep, prepare, train and who you surround yourself with all reflects on your competitive level.

You are not special, but you do special things that make you special.

So what is competition? Competition can be broken down into three categories: 1) individual, 2) peer-to-peer and 3) team-to-team.

Individual is setting goals for yourself and achieving them and repeating. You are now kicking your own butt. Peer-to-peer is comparing your individual results and training habits with your buddies and trying to beat them. Now, you are kicking their butt and are in pursuit of being the best. Lastly, you come together as a team and try to beat other teams. Focusing on the team first and letting team results define your development will not lead to individual improvement, but the other way around will certainly lead to teams improving and potentially winning. Thus, winning as a team does not make you win as an individual, but winning as an individual and against peers will significantly increase the chance of your team winning.

There is no “I” in team – this has its place ex-

plaining selfish behavior in a team setting, but not in development. In development, it is all about the “I” and your improvement as a player is the main thing that will make the team improve and the only thing in your complete control. Scouts look at talent (your potential) first and competition (your ability to reach your potential) second. You need to take control of your development, make it transparent and tangible immediately. It will have great side effects, such as heightened self-esteem and consistency in your game. Losing individually, peer-to-peer or team-toteam will uncover the next challenge and you will be on a path instead of at the circus. In fact, losing is highly motivating to you and part of why you will become really good. The only adversary to you is not trying.

Why did you develop this year? If the answer revolves around team results, you are at the circus again and not on the path. If your answer is clear, concise and focuses on the 60-30-10 rule, then you are on the path. Sixty percent should focus on your individual improvement and be very specific and tangible, 30 percent should compare your outperformance of peers as it explains whether your goals are set correctly (in the end, only the best will make it) and 10 percent can focus on team trophies and tournaments around the world, not the other way around.

So, again, who are you?

Peter Torsson is the hockey director with the California Golden Bears.

Interested in being a Chalk Talk columnist? E-mail Matt Mackinder at matt@rubberhockey.com.

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Northern, Southern programs capture CAHA Tier II states

By Greg Ball

Nationals in Lansing, Mich., April 6-10.

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16U AA

he California Amateur Hockey Association Tier II state playoffs were held March 17-19 at IcePlex Escondido, north of San Diego, and four different programs - two from Northern California and two from Southern California - went home with state titles.

18U AA

The Santa Clara Blackhawks took down two of the state’s largest youth hockey powers to claim a state title. The Blackhawks kicked off the tournament on March 17 with a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Jr. Ducks and followed that the next day with a 4-2 win over the San Jose Jr. Sharks. In the championship game on March 19, they skated to a 6-2 win in a

only had one goalie (a 2001), who the boys really worked hard to rally around all season.”

14U AA

The California Golden Bears skated away with a state championship banner. The Bears earned a 5-1 win over the Blackhawks to start the tournament on March 17. The next day, they went to a shootout for a 3-2 win over the San Jose Jr. Sharks. On March 19, they took home the state title with a 3-1 victory over the Eagles.

The Bears’ state title qualified them for the national tournament in early April in Coral Springs, Fla. “This team has never won a state title before, and this is the last year the 2002 skaters will be with the Bears, so a state title and a national championship tournament bid is a great way to finish,” Bears coach Peter Torsson said.

The Golden State Elite Eagles took home a championship, rolling through the state tournament in convincing fashion. The Eagles eased past the L.A. Jr. Kings 10-1 in their opening game on March 17. On March 18, they toppled OC Hockey 2-0, and in the championship game the following day, they again topped OC Hockey 4-2.

Jarrett Chen scored two goals against the Jr. Kings, while Parker Stone, Elijah Aquilina and Donovan Garcia each added two assists and Carson Murison made 10 saves. Sebas12U AA tian Larsson and Kellen Ireland each found the At the youngest level of state championship back of the net in the first win over OC Hockey, play, the Wave took home top honors. The Wave and Murison stopped 20 shots. In the champion- The Santa Clara Blackhawks bagged the CAHA 16U Tier II state champi- skated past the Golden Bears 5-3 in their openship game, Murison made 19 saves and the Ea- onship and subsequent USA Hockey Youth Nationals berth on March 19 ing game on March 17 and toppled the Eagles gles’ goals came from Alexander Chaple, Mike after a 6-2 victory over the San Jose Jr. Sharks at the IcePlex Escondido. on March 18. A 3-1 loss to the Jr. Kings on the Carranza, Aquilina and Garcia. rematch with the Jr. Sharks. morning on March 19 couldn’t keep them out of the “We have won state title five of the nine years I The Blackhawks advanced to the 16U Tier II na- championship game, and later that day, they earned have coached at 18AA and been to nationals sev- tionals April 6-10 in Frisco, Tex. redemption by beating the Jr. Kings 2-0 to take home en times, but winning never gets old,” said Eagles “Winning a state championship is always amaz- the state championship banner. coach Michael Holmes. “This is the best team I ing - it’s something that these boys achieved through “This championship was special because this have ever coached, and I was actually relieved when hard work, and for the rest of their lives they will al- team exemplified hard work, dedication, teamwork we won states this year because this team deserves ways be a state champion,” Blackhawks coach Jus- and family,” said Wave coach Trevor Wada. “As a to go to nationals.” tin Alonzo said. “This team is very special, being coach, I could not have been surrounded by a more The Eagles earned a trip to USA Hockey Youth evenly divided between 2000s and 2001s, and we special group of families and coaching staff.”

Los Angeles Jr. Kings Tryouts Toyota Sports Center - El Segundo, California THE OFFICIAL TRAINING FACILITY OF THE LOS ANGELES KINGS & LOS ANGELES LAKERS

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May 12-14

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June 2-4

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT JRKINGSHOCKEY.COM 18

California Rubber Hockey Magazine

State Cup inline tournament spreads around championships

By Phillip Brents

Caleb Scott, who scored the game-winner for the Chiefs in the JV-2 final, paced his team with six goals and nine points in the tournament and goaltender Eli Ward recorded a razor-thin 0.40 GAA. The two teams representing the Sweetwater Union High School District from the CIF-Metro Conference were also making their first trip to the State Cup. Thus,

with 10 points on seven goals and three assists, while Devaney topped the squad with eight goals. small but highly competitive field gathered March San Diego Metro-2 finished 1-3 in the JV-2 divi18-19 at The Rinks-Irvine Inline to crown this year’s sion.

California State Cup champions.

It was also the first time that Laguna Hills (5-0 in The nine participating teams came from three geothe tournament) competed in the State Cup. graphic-based leagues in the Golden State: the host “What a great experience for the players and famAnaheim Ducks Inline Scholastic League in Orange ilies,” Laguna Hills coach Tim Kosmos said. “To County, the Central Coast High School Hockey play teams from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, all League based in Santa Maria and the CIF-Metro of which we had never seen before, really required Conference in San Diego County. each player to focus on the hockey basics and to A team from each league skated home with a play our game. division title to highlight the overall competitiveness “That wasn’t easy for some of the younger of this year’s event. players and seeing this, I could not be happier on “It was a great weekend of hockey,” summed up how the team leaders stepped up and in no time, State Cup tournament director John Paerels. “It they began to play like the team they are. was especially nice to see one team win a title from “We look forward to participating in the event each of the three leagues represented. The champiagain next year and playing other teams from onship teams were genuinely excited to win.” throughout the state.”

The Laguna Hills Hawks defeated the Marina Kyle Kosmos led Laguna Hills with a goal Vikings 5-1 to capture the varsity division champiand two assists in the varsity division championship, while San Diego Metro-1 defeated San Luis onship game. Nolan Liston paced the Hawks Obispo (A) by a score of 6-3 to claim the JV-1 title. overall with seven goals and 13 points in the five The Central Coast Chiefs edged the Edison The Laguna Hills Hawks captured the varsity division championship at last games, while goaltender Amy Hogan recorded a Chargers in a nail-biting 1-0 contest to capture the month’s State Cup inline scholastic tournament in Irvine. Photo/ADISL 0.80 goals-against average.

JV-2 championship.

Andrew Stapleton led Marina (3-2 in the The Chiefs finished 5-0 in the tournament with four winning the JV-1 championship was a big deal. tournament) with three goals and seven points, while shutout victories.

“It was a real surprise not knowing the caliber of goaltender Vincent Dunton compiled a 2.60 GAA. “Being our first State Cup tournament, this means a teams we would be playing and seeing them for the first Escondido Charter’s Cade Frederick led all scorlot to our team and each of these players,” Chiefs coach time,” team manager Jose Mendoza explained. “It was ers in the tournament with 14 goals. The White Tigers Michael Scott explained. “We loved the JV tournament nice to see the kids come out with something.” finished 1-5 with a pair of narrow losses to CIF-Metro experience, enjoyed watching the talented teams in the Senior Sean Devaney and freshman Braden rival San Diego Metro-1 in the JV-1 bracket. varsity division and look forward to the challenge of Mayer proved to be the SD Metro-1 team’s scoring San Luis Obispo (B) filled out the four-team JV-2 playing varsity next year.” machines. Mayer led the team (4-2 in the tournament) division.

A

CARubberHockey.com

19

2016-17 All-California NCAA Division I Men’s Team

Game On: All-Hockey East pick led league in save % (.928) to go with 2.15 GAA.

Game On: Consistent defender (+4) chipped in some scoring for Atlantic Hockey quarterfinalist

NATE KALLEN

ALEC McCREA

DEFENSE

School/Yr.: Ferris State/Fr. Home/Clubs: San Diego/Jr. Gulls, OCHC

MATT O’DONNELL

SCOTT SAVAGE

Game On: Debut included 13 points, 32 blocks, +3 and playing in all but two games

BRETT GERVAIS

School/Yr.: Clarkson/Jr.

School/Yr.: Boston College/Sr.

FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD DEFENSE

Game On: Big, well-rounded D (11 points, +10, 71 blocks) for NCAA tourney team

FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD DEFENSE

Game On: Played every game, was +2 with 7 points in first season for WCHA finalist

School/Yr.: Vermont/Fr. Home/Club: Ftn. Valley/LAHC, Jr. Kings

Home/Clubs: S.Clemente/Yorba Linda, LAHC Game On: Career-best 29 points and 24 assists resulted in all-Hockey East selection

ROBBY JACKSON

School/Yr.: St. Cloud St./Soph.

Home/Clubs: Corona/Jr. Ducks, Beach City, OCHC Game On: Assistant captain does bit of everything - scores (11 points), hits, blocks shots (31)

Home/Clubs: Alameda/Blackhawks, LAHC, Jr. Kings Game On: Versatile center had multiple SH, PP, GW goals among his 21 points

WILL JOHNSON

PATRICK KHODORENKO

School/Yr.: Wisconsin/Soph.

Home/Clubs: Santa Barbara/Riptide, Titans

School/Yr.: Michigan St./Fr.

Game On: Career-high 22 points and 5 of his 10 goals came on the power play

Home/Clubs: Walnut Creek/Oakland, S.C., Ana., LAHC Game On: Played every game; scored fourth-most points (17), third-most goals (7) on team

TROY LOGGINS

TAYLOR MARUYA

School/Yr.: Northern Michigan/Soph.

GOALIE

MERRICK MADSEN, HARVARD

O

ne of the reasons Harvard went on a 17-1-1 run to end the season was its goaltender, Madsen, who allowed three or more goals just five

times in the stretch.

The 2013 Flyers draft pick was even better at money time.

In the ECAC semifinal and final and three NCAA games he allowed a total of six goals, or 1.17 goals per game.

Overall, Madsen’s 28 wins tied for the most in Division I, his 2.10 GAA was 10th and his save percentage of .924 was 13th.

Add in four shutouts and it’s not hard to see why the Crimson had a top-4 defense and reached the NCAA semifinals.

FORWARD

AUSTIN ORTEGA,

OMAHA

T

he beauty of Austin Ortega’s game, his college coach Dean Blais once told me, was that he can score from anywhere.

The forward from Escondido proved that this season, tallying a career-high 20 goals and 47 points and contributing to a dominant Mavericks power play. A second-team All-American and a first-team all-NCHC selection, Ortega finished his college career second all-time in goals (70) and fourth in points (139) at UNO. A product of the Jr. Gulls, Jr. Ducks and LA Selects, Ortega set himself apart with his penchant for clutch goals. He tied the NCAA record for game-winning goals with 23, a mark he shares with, among others, California’s Brett Sterling.

TYSON McLELLAN

Home/Clubs: Huntington Beach/LAHC, Jr. Ducks

School/Yr.: Army West Point/Soph.

Home/Club: Westchester/Jr. Kings

Game On: 10 goals were third on team; played 38 games after injuries derailed freshman season

Game On: Career-high 14 points and lineup versatility for Army’s best team in 10 years

Game On: 12 points, plus-11; speedster played all over lineup for national champs

MICHAEL McNICHOLAS

TYLER MOY

PATRICK NEWELL

School/Yr.: New Hampshire/Jr. Home/Club: Manhattan Beach/LA Hockey

School/Yr.: Harvard/Sr. Home/Club: San Diego/Jr. Gulls

School/Yr.: Denver/Fr. Home/Club: San Jose/Jr. Sharks

School/Yr.: St. Cloud St./Soph.

Game On: 43 points, 30 assists – both second on team – after 13 points total in first two years

Game On: Career-high 22 goals, 45 points, 5 GWG, plus-22 for Frozen Four semifinalist

Home/Clubs: Thousand Oaks/LAHC, Jr. Kings, Titans Game On: Well-rounded game; Had 20 helpers among his 24 points and was plus player

ANDREW OGLEVIE

JAKE SLAKER

SHANE SOOTH

School/Yr.: Notre Dame/Soph.

Home/Club: Fullerton/LA Hockey

Game On: His career-high 21st goal sent Irish to Frozen Four; 41 points and plus-18

20

School/Yr.: Cornell/Soph.

Home/Club: El Cajon/Jr. Gulls

DEFENSE

Home/Clubs: Ran.Cuca./Jr.Ducks, Stars, Titans, OCHC

School/Yr.: Bentley/Jr. Home/Club: San Jose/Jr. Sharks

GOALIE

School/Yr.: Merrimack/Jr.

PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

CHRIS BUCHANAN

FORWARD FORWARD FORWARD

COLLIN DELIA

DEFENSE

California Rubber Magazine is proud to announce its third annual All-California NCAA Division I Men’s Team for the 2016-17 season. The list was compiled by senior writer Chris Bayee with significant input from Division I coaches and scouts. It weighs such factors as individual statistics, team success, level of competition and sustained excellence. All statistics are through the end of the season.

California Rubber Hockey Magazine

School/Yr.: Michigan/Fr.

Home/Clubs: San Diego/SD Saints, SDIA, LAHC

School/Yr.: Northern Michigan/Sr. Home/Club: Canyon Country/LA Hockey

Game On: Scored in first game and kept scoring (21 points); above 50 percent on draws

Game On: Two-time captain and face-off ace overcame injury to score 10 points in 19 games

2016-17 All-California NCAA Women’s Team ANNIE PANKOWSKI, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

GOALIE

School/Yr.: Lake Forest (D-III)/Sr. Home/Clubs: Campbell/Jr. Sharks, LDs

How does one follow up being a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top-10 finalist, a second-team all-American and a first-team all-WCHA pick?

If you’re junior forward Annie Pankowski, you do it again while helping your team reach the NCAA championship game. The former Anaheim Lady Ducks player from Laguna Hills etched her name near the top of the D-I lists for points (55, sixth) and goals (career-high 25, second).

She’s in the conversation as an all-time great at Wisconsin, too. If she hits career averages in ’17-18 she will finish fifth in goals and sixth in points and assists, with shots at fourth in each category. Those above her all are or were U.S. Olympians. It’s a good bet Pankowski will join that club, too.

JUSTINE SILVA

GOALIE

School/Yr.: Buffalo State (D-III)/Jr. Home/Club: El Monte/Lady Ducks

MEGAN CRANDELL

School/Yr.: Plattsburgh (D-III)/Jr. Home/Club: Fullerton/Lady Ducks

DEFENSE

Game On: Tied career highs with 16 wins and 4 ShO and had a 1.87 GAA

KARA DREXLER

KENDRA FAROLE

FORWARD FORWARD DEFENSE

Game On: Went 8-1-1 with a 2.05 GAA, 2 ShO and a .916 SV% for NCHA finalist

School/Yr.: Yale/Jr. Home/Club: Manhattan Beach/Lady Ducks

School/Yr.: RPI/Fr. Home/Clubs: Irvine/LDs, Wave

FORWARD FORWARD DEFENSE

JACQUELINE AUDET

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

California Rubber Magazine is proud to announce its third annual All-California NCAA Women’s Team for the 2016-17 season. The list, which includes Division I and III players, was compiled by senior writer Chris Bayee with input from coaches. It weighs individual statistics, team success and sustained excellence. All statistics presented are through the end of the season.

Game On: Career-high 9 points and relied on as top-4 D on improving team

Game On: One of team’s top defenders, puck movers as freshman, played in 25 games

LEILA KILDUFF

BRIDGET BAKER

NICOLE DUNBAR

FORWARD DEFENSE

Game On: Career-high 29 points, including three assists in national championship game

School/Yr.: Minnesota St./So. Home/Clubs: San Jose/Jr. Sharks, LDs

School/Yr.: Vermont/Sr.

Game On: Strong puck skills to go with defensive awareness; shot-blocker deluxe

Home/Clubs: Los Gatos/Santa Clara, Jr. Sharks, LDs Game On: Career-best 17 points, 12 goals; Sixth-most games (138) and goals (40) in school history

JORDAN LIPSON

JUSTINE REYES

School/Yr.: Plattsburgh (D-III)/Sr.

Home/Clubs: Davis/Thunder, Sharks, LAHC

School/Yr.: St. Lawrence/So. Home/Club: Chino Hills/Lady Ducks

Game On: Her 31 points, 14 goals and 5 PPG were third on national champs

Game On: Career-high 22 points, 13 goals – both fourth – on NCAA quarterfinalist

School/Yr.: New Hampshire/Fr. Home/Clubs: Coto de Caza/LDs, Wave

Game On: Debut included playing all 35 games, netting 11 points, 6 goals and 3 GWG

MEGAN WHIDDON

School/Yr.: Mercyhurst/Sr. Home/Clubs: Corona/LDs, LA Selects

Game On: Career highs in points (23), assists (16) and goals (7) while going +8

UVM’s improvement pleases Baker most about NCAA years

By Chris Bayee

gram) has had so many ups and downs,” she said. “It’s not a competition. I had an amazing career here, and I couldn’t hen Bridget Baker played for an LA Selects girls have picked a better school for me.” travel team, she often stayed with Megan WhidBaker is proudest of the program’s progress during don’s family. her four seasons. The Catamounts won seven, four and Later, when Baker played eight games in the three years two seasons for the North before she enrolled. Her class American Hockey Academy in won 57 games, the most of any Stowe, Vt., Annie Pankowski in school history. was one of her teammates.

“We made the Hockey The trio of forwards, along East final four for the first time with goaltender Justine Silva, my freshman year and again are the only four to appear on this year,” she said. “We made California Rubber Magazine’s a dent in the program, and I’m All-California NCAA womproud of that.” en’s team in each of its three Baker is also proud of her California roots, a result of her years and offer evidence of the father, Jamie – a longtime San closeness of the state’s hockey world.

Los Gatos native and graduating University of Vermont for- Jose Sharks radio and TV anaBaker recently wrapped up ward Bridget Baker compiled 12 goals among 17 points in lyst – spending roughly half of her senior season at the Uni- 36 games for the Catamounts during the 2016-17 season. his NHL career playing for the versity of Vermont, where she will graduate with a double Sharks.

Baker grew up playing boys (Jr. Sharks, Santa Clara major in public communications and entrepreneurship.

She played the sixth-most games (138) and scored the Blackhawks) and girls hockey (Jr. Sharks, LA Selects, sixth-most goals (40) in program history, capped by a ca- Lady Ducks) but felt she needed more ice time achieve her goals. After considering some offers from NAHA and prep reer-best 12 markers in 2016-17.

“I don’t even think about that stuff because (the pro- schools after a district camp, she and her family decided

W

to pursue that route. She spent two seasons at NAHA and her senior year at Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna, B.C. “Girls hockey is definitely growing in California,” Baker said. “I hope there is a way to draw more teams to tournaments in California so the girls can get that level of competition more often.

“When I was playing 12U, the Jr. Sharks hosted Nationals. It was a really cool experience to see that at a young age. Little things like that will make a difference.”

And could lead to a college career.

Notable

Four men’s players also have appeared on the California Rubber Magazine All-California NCAA team each of the three seasons – Boston College defenseman Scott Savage, and forwards Tyler Moy of Harvard, Austin Ortega of Nebraska-Omaha and Shane Sooth of Northern Michigan.

Five more made it a second year in a row – Harvard goalie Merrick Madsen, Cornell defenseman Alec McCrea, and forwards Brett Gervais of Clarkson and Robby Jackson and Patrick Newell of St. Cloud State.

Four women are on the list a second time – forwards Jordan Lipson of Plattsburgh and Justine Reyes of St. Lawrence, as well as defensemen Kara Drexler of Yale and Plattsburgh’s Megan Crandell, who also appeared in 2015.

CARubberHockey.com

21

www.caha.com Lady Ducks downed in OT of Senior B national title game

By Chris Bayee

T

he Anaheim Lady Ducks can be excused for running out of gas in the Women’s Senior B championship game at the USA Hockey Nationals in Rochester, Mich., in early April.

Playing six games in four days with just eight skaters and a goaltender, the Lady Ducks pushed the Minnesota Blue J Hawks to overtime before falling 6-5. The final began less than three hours after the LDs’ 4-1 semifinal victory over Detroit Victory Honda.

In a back-and-forth championship game, Anaheim got goals from Jessica Hawkins, Jennifer Friedman, Celeste Loyatho, Daniell Ahumada and Sara O’Toole, the last of which came with just over a minute left to tie it. Ahumada added three assists and Laura Veheranta added two.

The Lady Ducks went 2-1 in pool play, defeating the San Jose Sharks 5-1 and Mass Chaos 14-1 and losing to Rochester Edge 7-1.

The LDs then edged CLE 4-3 in the quarterfinals, scoring the last four goals, including the first and the last two by Veheranta. O’Toole had the second in the run, which spanned a period and a half.

Anaheim then knocked off Victory Honda, building a 4-0 lead courtesy of two goals by Veheranta and another from O’Toole and Loyatho.

O’Toole led the tournament with 22 points and 15 assists, and she and Hawkins tied for the tournament goal lead with seven. Ahumada was second in points (12) and assists (eight), and Hawkins tied for third with 10 points. Whitney Woodcox was in net for all four wins.

22

California Rubber Hockey Magazine

The California Wave girls 19U team battled back from an opening loss to reach the semifinals at the USA Hockey Youth Nationals in Rochester, Mich.

The Wave rallied to tie the Chicago Mission early in the third period on Elizabeth Humphrey’s unassisted goal before falling 5-2. Mission’s Jess Compher, a Boston University commit, scored three of her four goals in the third period.

After an opening loss to the Madison Capitals, the Wave edged Detroit Belle Tire 2-1 on goals by Humphrey and Daniella Dror and Julieana Tarantino’s 18 saves.

The Wave, behind 13 saves from Tarantino, then shut out Gilmour Academy 4-0 to qualify for the playoffs.

St. Cloud State commit Aubrey Pritchett, Devyn Gillman, Maria Meola and Colgate commit Samantha Smigliani scored a goal each.

Smigliani led the Wave with four points at Nationals, while Gillman and Humphrey each had three.

16U

The Anaheim Lady Ducks rallied to tie the New Jersey Colonials in the third period before the Colonials scored a last-minute goal to win, 4-3.

Anaheim trailed 3-1midway through the third before Ivy Boric and Iman Shepard scored in 1:31 span.

Lily Yovetich, who scored the LDs’ first goal, set up both third-period tallies.

Anaheim had early lost close games to semifinalist East Coast Wizards (2-0) and the Mid Fairfield CT Stars (4-2). Yovetich’s four points and Shepard’s two goals led the way for the LDs.

14U

The Lady Ducks closed out the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Detroit Honeybaked courtesy of Lisa Ito-Bagshaw’s shootout goal.

Sarah Hirst and Alexandra Bye scored goals in regulation and Brooke Marella made 31 saves.

The LDs had earlier lost to Assabet Valley and semifinalist St. Louis Lady Blues. Marella went 1-1 with a 2.92 GAA and a .922 save percentage.

BOYS 18U

Michael Boutoussov sparked a four-goal second period that helped the Anaheim Jr. Ducks storm past the Tampa Scorpions 5-4 in their round-robin finale in Pittsburgh.

Boutoussov had two goals, including the first of the Jr. Ducks’ four-goal eruption, and two assists in the victory. Brandon Bergado, Paul Selleck and Gregery Lee also scored in the run.

The Jr. Ducks began the tournament with losses to the Culver Academy Eagles and the North Jersey Avalanche.

16U

Jojo Harguindeguy’s short-handed goal 2:49 into overtime propelled the Jr. Ducks to a 4-3 victory over the Sioux Falls Jr. Stampede. The victory was sandwiched between losses to the CCYHA Selects and champion Detroit Compuware.

Sam Meyers and Ryan Johnson scored evenstrength goals and Wyatt Wong added a power-play strike late in the second for the Jr. Ducks.

Tomas Leet made 21 saves.

NEVADA REPORT Nevada Storm program morphs Harris goes ‘Wild’ with Wenatchee into Vegas Jr. Golden Knights in final junior hockey campaign

By Matt Mackinder

By Matt Mackinder

T

B

he NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights are putting a firm stamp on youth hockey in and around town.

Back on April 4, the team announced a partnership with the Nevada Storm to create a new youth hockey travel program – the Vegas Jr. Golden Knights. The program will initially feature teams from the Mite level through Midgets and will utilize all three city rinks, including the Golden Knights’ unnamed practice facility, the Las Vegas Ice Center and the SoBe Ice Arena.

All existing Storm teams will be re-branded under the Jr. Golden Knights name.

“We have a long-term commitment to growing the sport of hockey in our community, especially at the youth level,” said Golden Knights senior VP Murray Craven. “The Nevada Storm organization has done an incredible job in the youth hockey space and we believe this strategic partnership will help take youth hockey in Southern Nevada to new heights in terms of participation, interest and quality. We hope kids in Las Vegas will be proud to share the same Vegas Golden Knights name, colors and logos as our NHL players.”

“We are really excited to partner with the Vegas Golden Knights and the opportunity to take Nevada youth hockey to a whole new level,” added Las Vegas Ice Center owner and Storm founder Kirk Brooks.

Tryout dates for the upcoming season, as well as a complete list of coaches, teams and executive board will be announced in the coming weeks.

Helping lead the Golden Knights youth hockey efforts will be Brad Sholl, who joins the organization as GM of the Golden Knights practice facility. Sholl will oversee all daily youth hockey activities at the venue.

Sholl most recently served as the GM of the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, Calif., from 2001-16. He helped develop learn to skate programs, the Lil Kings program and the LA Jr. Kings AAA program, where he served on the Executive Board of Directors.

rendan Harris committed to attend and play NCAA Division I hockey at Bemidji State University (WCHA) last season.

Some players after making a commitment and having their future locked in, may lay off the gas pedal for a bit.

Not Harris.

In his final junior hockey season with the Wenatchee Wild of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), the Las Vegas native claimed the league MVP award after a 98-point regular season, the Most Sportsmanlike Player award the Brett Hull Trophy as the regular-season scoring leader. Harris compiled 23 goals and a BCHL-best 75 assists.

The Wild also took home awards for finishing first overall in the regular season.

“It was a great season for us,” said Harris. “We ended up putting banners up in the arena for best regular season and getting first in our division for the regular season. The biggest highlight of the season for the team was definitely clinching that regular-season first-place banner. A personal highlight was obtaining those awards after the season.

“Those individual awards mean a lot to me, but I have to thank my teammates and coaches for those awards. They’re the reason I got those.”

Harris, who started playing hockey when he was six years old, began playing roller hockey and switched to ice, where he grew up playing for the Las Vegas Outlaws. He then went to the California Titans for his Bantam AA year, back home to the Las Vegas Storm for 16U AAA and then returned to the Titans for another year of 16U AAA. “Peter Torsson (with the Titans) was great influence on me in developing some of the important little things that have helped me,” said Harris.

Now, the college game awaits Harris. Admittedly, he’s not sure what to expect next season.

“Haven’t really thought much about it,” Harris said. “Just take it as one game at a time and give it my all. Should be a lot of fun. Long-term goal is to ride out hockey as long as I can and hopefully, play some pro hockey.”

FROM THE TRAINER’S ROOM Recovering after a long hockey season: What you should know T

he hockey season can be a grind.

Most youth players start practicing in August and finish games in March or April. That’s 8-9 months of 2-3 practices a week and anywhere from 25-60 or more games, not to mention any private lessons and dryland.

This can take a huge toll on an athlete both physically and mentally.

In the 2002-03 NHL season, the Mighty Ducks played Chris Phillips 113 games, including the regular season and pre- and post-season. It was a great run to the Stanley Cup Finals that ended in June. By the time everyone got home, it seemed like the training camp was around the corner. Instead of having time off to recover, everyone went right back in to training, affecting both their physical and mental preparation for the following year where many key players returned still feeling tired and complaining of nagging injuries that never had time to heal.

Following the season, players must tone it down a bit and take time away from the ice and even some of their off-ice training. This isn’t to say they should go cold turkey and do nothing, but pick a priority or two and focus on them with less hours committed to the game for 2-6 weeks following the season. It can be easier said than done, but decreasing the demands and pressure for a period of time can do wonders.

During this down time, take this time to work on your skating, shooting the puck better, getting in the weight room and getting stronger or rehab an injury. There are things that can be done during the off-season to improve your game, but make sure you take care of the little things that you may not always have time for during the season.

Chris Phillips ATC, CSCS, is a former athletic trainer in the NHL with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Washington Capitals and currently owns Compete Sports Performance and Rehab.

CARubberHockey.com

23

Top California teams skate off with A, B and BB titles

By Greg Ball

and goalies Tamer Bohatch and Devon Cole.

E

12U A

ight teams earned California Amateur Hockey Association state titles at the A, B and BB levels during the first weekend of April at Solar4America Ice in San Jose. Five of those teams came from the Northern half of the state.

14U A

The California Wave, out of Artesia and Ontario, steamrolled their opponents en route to the state title. They toppled the Black Stars 6-3 and then shut out the Jr. Sharks 6-0. A 6-3 win over the Golden Bears ensured they were perfect in pool play, and they beat the same team 4-0 in the championship game.

“We are very proud of these boys,” Wave head coach Kyle Calder said. “They played hard every game of the season, and being able to lift the state banner sealed an unforgettable year of hockey. The players were held to a very high standard, and they met that bar every game. The team philosophy had nothing to do with winning or losing, but knowing you’re part of something greater than yourself. Each player sacrificed for the greater good, and that’s all any coach can ask for.”

The Wave’s roster includes Rigoberto Aceves, Ashton Arbab, William Chisholm, Ryan Crist-Knell, Lucas Dauphinee, Filip Dobes, Marko Giourof, Jame Guarin, Nicholas Leone, Manan Mendiratta, Kyle Oh, Nikolas Panameno, Samir Panwar, John Perry, Scott Slayback, Christine Steege, Ryan Tabrizi and Dimitri Voyatzis. Calder was assisted by Maik Tatavosian, and Stephen Perry was the manager.

“The kids just had a lot of fun,” Calder said. “They played just over a 65-plus game season, and every player contributed. Our two biggest strengths were our hunger to win the small battles and every player knowing their job in all zones of the ice.”

14U A California Wave

12U BB

14U B Tahoe Grizzlies Photo/Hockey Shots

14U B

The Tahoe Grizzlies allowed just five goals in four games on the way to their state championship. They opened with a 4-1 win over the Heat, then toppled the Jr. Ducks 4-2.

They beat the Colts 3-1 to close out pool play and later skated to a 3-1 triumph over the Heat in the title game.

“What made this team special was its unity,” Grizzlies head coach Ken Wood said.

“They all got along so well, and that made the teamwork that much better. That slowly developed throughout the season. We do a lot of offseason work, and the practices are pretty intense, so I think they bonded over that.

“We were defense-oriented all season and had two great goalies. My motto is that offense wins games and defense wins championships. Almost all our games were low-scoring, and our power play was top notch throughout the season and in the state tournament.”

The Grizzlies’ roster includes forwards Mason Croskery, Tyler Gunderson, Diego Honda, Pablo Honda, Andrey Shemyakin, Wallace Sonntag, Noah Sorenson and Peter Sullivan; defensemen Adin Burns, Nathan Cimino and Quinn Proctor; 24

California Rubber Hockey Magazine

The Grizzlies also won the 12U A division, though they kept their fans on edge with a couple close games. They opened with a 3-2 victory over OC Hockey, and topped the Eagles 7-4. They beat the Sabercats 6-2 to finish pool play undefeated, and then earned a 3-2 win over OC Hockey in the championship game.

“These kids worked their tails off all year long and it really paid off for them,” said Tahoe head coach Mike Gunderson. “It’s easy to lose focus over such a long season, especially with the ski season we just had, but they never lost sight of their goals. You’d be hard pressed to find a more diverse group of personalities anywhere, but they really bonded and pulled it together when it mattered most.

I am super proud of each and every one of them.”

The team’s roster includes Blaise Broadhurst, Hayden Cannon, Heath Fellows, Andrew Gunderson, Brennan Monroe, Carson Oleson, William Posey, Jacob Pratt, Lauren Romsos, David Salcido, Charlotte Sonntag, Patrick Webster and Tadi Wright. Gunderson was assisted by David Monroe, Jeffrey Posey, Jacob Pratt and Jeffrey Shane Romsos.

12U A Tahoe Grizzlies Photo/Hockey Shots

With a shootout win and an overtime victory among their four wins in the tournament, the San Francisco Sabercats took home the 12U BB state title. They opened with a comfortable 4-2 win over the Jr. Flyers, but had to go to a shootout for a 5-4 victory over the Saints. They defeated the Jr. Sharks 3-1 to close pool play, and then edged the Jr. Sharks 2-1 in OT to secure the championship.

“The one thing I think the coaching staff will remember most about this team is the amount of heart our players had,” said Paul Scott, who, along with Brad Young, served as the team’s co-head coaches. “We had the shortest bench by far in the league all season.

For most of the state championship playoffs, we only had nine skaters. Things were so desperate that we had one kid fly back on a redeye from a bar mitzva in New Jersey to show up minutes before the final game.

“In game after game, the kids were banged up and exhausted, but they would just never say quit.”

The team’s roster includes forwards Mattisse Blouin, Oliver Budd, Ron David, Luke Duplessis, Cooper Vernachio and Rohin Young; defensemen Nathan Eibshutz, Spencer Kwan, Eli Lin and Mark Machle; and goalie Amelia “Finn” Scott.

Ofer Eibshutz and Alan Blouin served as assistant coaches.

12U B

The Tri Valley Blue Devils had to win three one-goal games to capture the 12U B state championship. They went to a shootout to beat the Heat 4-3 in their opener, and then got a breather with their 8-0 win over the

12U BB San Francisco Sabercats

Continued on next page

Eight teams claim CAHA A/B state titles in San Jose event Continued Golden Bears. A 4-3 shootout victory over the Cougars got the Blue Devils into the championship game, where they toppled the Heat again 3-2.

“This state title meant so much to this team,” Blue Devils head coach Sean Dearborn said. “They all have stories for a lifetime. It’s validation that hard work provides opportunity, and that with continuous effort and proper preparation you can find yourself crowned a champion. I am so proud of this team. They really wanted to keep advancing and learned how to stay in their ‘compete’ mode. The team is predominantly made up of players that were experiencing their first season of competitive hockey. This season was a success before this team clinched a playoff seed – the championship run will fuel an even greater player passion for hockey and an increased interest for the families new to the sport.”

The team’s roster includes forwards Avery Books, Drew Dearborn, Michael Hu, Brendan Kiley, Ryan Little, William Lu, Jesse Mount, Kai Sprague and C.J. Starr; defensemen Bobby Deibel, Brody Biggs, Trevor Bourne and Tony Yu; and goalie Brandon Forbes. Josh Biggs and Robert Diebel assisted Dearborn, and Lori Books was the team manager.

strong, Brendan Dunphy, Andy Kim and Gerald Smith; and goalie Autry Bennett.

10U BB

12U B Tri Valley Blue Devils

10U A

The San Diego Jr. Gulls suffered a 6-2 defeat to the Jr. Sharks in their state tournament opener, but didn’t let it slow them down on their run to a championship. They bounced back with a 10-0 win over a different Jr. Sharks team the next day, and toppled the California Wave 5-3 to reach the title game.

To clinch the championship, they beat the Jr. Sharks squad that they had lost to in their first game, 3-2.

“All of our players were very thrilled to win the state championship,” Jr. Gulls coach Randy Moy said. “They knew they had to work very hard every shift because our opponents were very good and skilled. We had already lost to two of the three teams before.

Our coaches and parents were very proud of how hard our kids worked.

“We had a great group of kids – our team did not have any superstars, but every player was good and was dedicated to getting better every day. They were willing to be coached, and the coaches created a hard-working atmosphere while having lots of fun, too. They enjoyed coming to practice and embraced the idea of getting better in video review, dryland training and on-ice practice. Our parents were very supportive, and they also enjoyed each other’s company. The coaches felt very blessed to have a pleasant group of parents.

In the end, the players got better and better as the year went on. It is a testament to their dedication toward development.”

The Jr. Gulls roster includes forwards Bravery Esplin, Rui Han, Cole Hartman, Josh Hejza, Hayden Labovitch, Dante Memmolo, Max Silver, Noa Ta’Amu and Kyle Tracy; defensemen Kaden Arm-

10U A San Diego Jr. Gulls

10U BB San Jose Jr. Sharks

10U B Los Angeles Jr. Kings

The Jr. Sharks skated home with the championship thanks to a solid performance in the second half of the tournament. They started states with a 3-2 defeat to the Jr. Gulls, and fell again, 6-3, to the Valencia Jr. Flyers. A 3-1 win over the Santa Rosa Flyers was enough to get them into the championship game, where they toppled the Valencia Jr. Flyers 2-0.

“One of the things that makes this team special is that they all play for one another,” Jr. Sharks head coach Salvatore Barranco said. “They all came up through the in-house program the last couple years. They really want everyone to do well – there have been a couple times throughout the season when we’ve been down and battled back – and there’s consistently a really good attitude.

“This team does a phenomenal job of sticking together, and I think that’s why we were able to be so successful.”

The Jr. Sharks roster includes forwards Isaiah Castro, Thomas Corneillie, Colten Fazio, Tanner Ford, Jack O’Connor, Andrei Nabokov, Dylan Nolan, Joshua Phillips, Carrick Stevens and Steven Wang; defensemen Jayden Balan, Griffin Brown, Tanner Fast, Daniel Henning and Jadyn Yee; and goalies Christopher Dean and Bennett Law.

10U B

The Jr. Kings came out on top of their division after its 4-3 overtime triumph over the California Wave in the title game.

Forward Tanner Herschman struck for two goals in the victory, while forward Liam Schnorr tallied the game-winner in the extra session. Forward Keirstyn Camiolo notched the other Jr. Kings goal. Between the pipes, goaltender Jake Miller turned aside 18 shots.

“I’m so proud of this entire group of players and their families,” said Jr. Kings head coach Jeff Bain, who’s assisted behind the bench by Danny Patterson and B. “This entire season was all about learning and having fun, and I can enthusiastically say we accomplished both of those goals on our way to a state title.”

The Jr. Kings opened states with an 8-1 victory over the Vacaville Jets before knocking off the San Francisco Sabercats 5-1. They fell to the Wave on Saturday 4-3 before exacting revenge over the club in the title game.

Other members of the squad include forwards Miles Baird, Benjamin DeFranco, Lucas Delay, Jack Gargiulo and Anthony Trutanich; defensemen Gideon Evans, Pearse Huey, Ethan Klapper and Bailey Milken; and goaltender Matthew Serkin.

Kara Camiolo is the team’s manager.

“I’m so impressed with how hard these kids worked the entire season, along with how well they bonded and grew together as a team,” Bain added. “They’re all great young men and women and deserve to be called state champions.”

CARubberHockey.com

25

California teams golden at collegiate inline nationals

By Phillip Brents

preliminary round-robin play (two games each against St. Charles and St. Louis community colleges).

Logan Titus scored four goals, Nathan Olocki collected two goals and one assist and Jarrit Baker contributed four assists in the championship game as St. Charles saw its impressive string of eight consecutive national championships come to an end.

Goaltender Jack Robinson posted the shutout win

round-robin games.

“Our scoring came from every team member with he Western Collegiate Roller Hockey League outstanding goaltending from both our goalies,” Salazar (WCRHL) turned in a power-packed showing at this said. “Our coaches worked with us on our passing and year’s National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships special teams all season long and assisted in making this in Fort Myers, Fla., as two teams won national champia team effort instead of relying on only a few players.” onship titles.

Fullerton went 7-0 in Florida to win its division title.

CSU Fullerton defeated the Tennessee Vols by a The Titans finished 3-0 in round-robin play, then capscore of 6-2 to win the Division II championship, while tured all four of their elimination games, including West Valley College topped St. Charles Community three by one-goal margins.

College 10-0 to capture this year’s Junior College DiKyle Alexander paced Fullerton with one goal vision title. and two assists in the championship game, while “It was a long, hard-fought week where the boys Brandon Olinger and Troy Yano each scored two were able to come out on top,” Fullerton club presgoals. ident Ron Best said after the April 5-9 event. “The The path to the final proved to be harrowing. Alcompetition in our pool didn’t compare to the teams exander scored the winning goal in the Titans’ 3-2 we played in the playoff bracket. Our team showed semifinal victory against the Florida Gators with just lots of resilience and was able to come from behind six seconds to play. in multiple games. We were happy to be able to send Team captain Nick Balaban notched the our seniors off in style.” game-winner in the Titans’ 5-4 come-from-behind The national championship title is the second for quarterfinal victory against WCRHL rival Chico State. the Titans, who previously won in 2014.

Fullerton rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win in its West Valley College, located in the greater San Sweet Sixteen game against Kansas State 5-4 on the Jose area, won its first national championship.

CSU Fullerton captured the Division II national championship title at the strength of four unanswered goals.

“After coming in as runners-up last year, we worked National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships earlier this month in Balaban called the championship run “an amazing really hard this season to play as a team,” West Valley Fort Myers, Fla. The Titans also won a national championship in 2014. experience that was three years in the making.” forward Danny Salazar explained. “We looked forward in the final after compiling a 1.00 goals-against average “Since the last CSU Fullerton championship, the to playing teams we knew were better than us (during and .943 save percentage in two round-robin games. team had to rebuild with new students,” Balaban added. the regular season) so we could improve our game and Baker topped the division in preliminary-round scor- “We picked up three new players with veteran expericompete at the highest level.” ing with 15 points (three goals, 12 assists), followed by ence in ice and roller who helped us achieve this goal.

With a sizable number of players set to move on to teammate Matt Swanson with 14 points (five goals, Everyone on the team contributed to our success; everyfour-year universities following this season, motivation nine assists). one made it on the point board. was certainly not lacking on the part of the Vikings.

Goaltender Nicholas Defayette posted a 0.50 “We had awesome team chemistry and a hockey culWest Valley out-scored its two Midwest rivals 44-5 in GAA, one shutout and .968 save percentage in his two ture we created.”

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26

California Rubber Hockey Magazine

Rolling On

NARCh regionals start busy inline slate with Northern California exposure

By Phillip Brents

N

ow that the youth ice hockey season is over, it’s time to prepare for four months of roller hockeyheavy tournaments.

Quite a bit of activity has already transpired in the opening three months of the new NARCh season.

The NARCh Winternationals faced off the 2017 campaign Jan. 13-16 at The Rinks-Huntington Beach Inline. More than 140 teams competed from California, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada and Hawaii along with teams from British Columbia and Brazil to add an international theme to the event.

That was just the beginning, however.

The first of four NARCh regional tournaments in California took place March 11-12 in San Jose. A second NARCh regional followed March 31-April 2 in Huntington Beach.

Remaining NARCh regionals are scheduled April 27-30 in Irvine and June 2-4 in Escondido.

The NARCh West Coast Finals are scheduled June 16-25 in San Jose, followed by the NARCh East Coast Finals July 12-23 in Toronto.

Northern California teams have helped set the early tone this season.

“Nor Cal teams are so important to the sport in California, and the days of SoCal domination over them is long gone,” NARCh president Daryn Goodwin said. “Now they’re winning more than their share of hardware and have some of the most wellrespected programs in the sport.”

The Sharks claimed division championships in Mite Silver and Squirt Gold and placed runner-up in Pee Wee Silver.

NCR won division titles in Pee Wee Gold and Midget Silver while claiming second place in Bantam Silver.

The Bullets, who have returned to play in the Nor Cal region, sped to three division championships: Mite Gold, Squirt Silver and Pee Wee Silver.

The Verbero Voltage won the Men’s Silver title and skated to a runner-up finish in Midget Gold while the Valley Storm captured the Men’s Gold championship.

Division runners-up also included the Delta River Rats (Squirt Silver), NIKA Properties (Pee Wee Gold), NorCal Extreme (Men’s Gold) and Cali Buds (Men’s Silver).

to top the Midget division.

Jaisal Patel of the Sharks Black (Pee Wee) recorded a perfect 1.00 save percentage to lead all division top goaltender award-winners.

Jack Salverson of the Quakes (Mite) recorded a .923 save percentage while the Revo Black 01 tandem of Ethan Bach and Marisa Trevino (Bantam) combined to post a .917 save percentage.

SoCal regional

The HB regional attracted 55 teams with medals handed out in 14 sub-divisions.

The Pama Cyclones had three champions (Atom Gold, Atom Silver and Mite Gold) and three runners-up (Atom Silver, Squirt Gold and Pee Wee Silver).

The Raiders had two champions (Bantam Silver and Midget Silver) and two runners-up (Bantam Gold and Midget Silver).

The Bulldogs had two champions (Pee Wee Silver and Midget Gold) and one runner-up (Bantam Silver).

Skittles won division titles in Pee Wee Gold and Bantam Gold while Notion had one champion (Squirt Silver) and one runner-up (Midget Gold).

Other division champions included the Renegades (Mite Silver), San Diego Rockets 04 (Squirt Gold), KG Groove (Men Gold) and RiskVision Red Army (Men Silver).

The Militia had four runner-up teams (Mite Gold, Mite Silver, Squirt Silver and Men Gold).

Other division runners-up included the Temecula Valley Warriors (Atom Gold), Revision Vanquish Northern exposure (Pee Wee Gold) and the Puget Sound Puck Eaters A total of 47 teams competed at March’s NARCh The Revision Revolution 99s Black team captured the Midget Gold (Men Silver).

Northern California regional. Champions were championship at last month’s NARCh Northern California regional in Aidan Yu of the Cyclones 08 racked up 18 San Jose. Photo/ NARCh crowned in 13 subdivisions. goals and 22 points as the Atom Division high scorer.

The Silicon Valley Quakes and Revision Revolution Top individuals Danny Taslgeorgos of Skittles (Pee Wee) posted led the field with five finalists each while the San Jose Johnathon Arruda of the Quakes (Mite), Nico a .958 save percentage to lead top goaltender awardInline Sharks, NCR Konixx Elite and Bend (Ore.) Bullets Petroni of the Sharks (Squirt) and Max Scott of NIKA winners. each had three finalists.

Properties (Pee Wee) all registered 13 points to tie The Cyclones 08 team made the transition from ice The Quakes collected gold in the Atom division and for the lead among division high scorers. Arruda and to win its division. captured runner-up finishes in Mite Gold, Squirt Gold, Petroni each collected 10 goals.

“Roller resembles ice hockey but it is more relaxed,” Bantam Gold and Midget Silver.

Jaden Guzman of Revo Black 01 (Bantam) and coach James Gasseau explained. “The required skills The Revolution won titles in Bantam Gold, Midget Michael Inouye of the Voltage (Junior/Men’s) each to excel at roller definitely help the ice hockey players Gold and Bantam Silver, and took home silver medals recorded 11 points to top their respective divisions, as handling a roller puck is much more difficult than in Atom and Mite Silver. while the Voltage’s Will Robinson rolled up 10 points stick-handling an ice puck.”

Casey’s Cup event remains all about hockey, community

T

here was a special buzz around The Rinks- community.

Anaheim Ice facility on April 1 as the third annual Fundraising efforts support the Translational Casey’s Cup Iceman charity tournament faced off.

Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix “The day was full of in an effort to unlock smiles and community targeted therapies that and the love and support could dramatically improve that is involved,” event the outcome for patients co-founder Traci Strale with ACC. TGen president explained.

Mike Bassoff spoke at Casey Strale, the this year’s event. event’s namesake, died More than $40,000 is from a rare form of expected to be raised this cancer – Adrenal Cortical year for a three-year total Carcinoma (ACC) – in of $106,000.

June 2013 at 16 years Taste it Forward, a of age. An avid inline wine tasting held March and ice hockey player Anaheim Ducks mascot Wild Wing poses with Casey’s Cup 19 at the Orange Coast – and overall hockey tournament co-founders Chris and Traci Strale and Mike Bas- Winery in Costa Mesa, soff (far right), president of TGen. fan – Casey was a key helped kick off this year’s member of the Southern California hockey-playing tournament. The event raised $5,175.

Casey’s memory obviously still inspires many.

“Casey’s Cup was formed to honor our hero, Casey Strale, and raise money for TGen in an effort to draw attention to ACC, a rare form of cancer that Casey battled,” co-founder Julie Ruff said. “Casey’s Cup was born out of the need to support a research arm that specifically targets ACC in efforts to make and translate genomic discoveries into advances in human health that hopefully, will one day find a cure for this and other similar devastating diseases.”

“At a minimum, the hope is to make ACC a manageable disease, and ultimately, a curable cancer,” Casey’s mother, Traci Strale, added.

“As parents, Casey has opened our eyes, made us better friends, better parents, but most of all, better people,” Casey’s father, Chris Strale, acknowledged.

All general donations can be made to www.

Helptgen.org/caseyscup.

- Phillip Brents CARubberHockey.com

27

2016-17 CALIFORNIA/NEVADA ALUMNI E-mail all additions, deletions and corrections to alumni@rubberhockey.com

CALIFORNIA

Cherie Stewart (Lake Forest) – New York Riveters Alyssa Wohlfeiler (Saugus) – Connecticut Whale

PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Beau Bennett (Gardena) – New Jersey Devils Eric Comrie (Newport Beach) – Winnipeg Jets Emerson Etem (Long Beach) – Anaheim Ducks Shane Harper (Valencia) – Florida Panthers Alec Martinez (Santa Clara) – Los Angeles Kings Kevan Miller (Los Angeles) – Boston Bruins Matt Nieto (Long Beach) – Colorado Avalanche Bobby Ryan (El Segundo) – Ottawa Senators Jason Zucker – Minnesota Wild * AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE Sena Acolatse (Hayward) – Springfield Thunderbirds Chase Balisy (Fullerton) – Springfield Thunderbirds Mitch Callahan (Whittier) – Grand Rapids Griffins Pheonix Copley – Hershey Bears + Chase De Leo (La Mirada) – Manitoba Moose Thatcher Demko (San Diego) – Utica Comets Adam Erne – Syracuse Crunch * Matthew Ford (West Hills) – Grand Rapids Griffins Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor) – San Antonio Rampage Nic Kerdiles (Irvine) – San Diego Gulls Kyle MacKinnon (Walnut) – San Diego Gulls Stefan Matteau – St. John’s IceCaps !

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California Rubber Hockey Magazine

COLLEGE HOCKEY NCAA DIVISION I – MEN ATLANTIC HOCKEY Chris Buchanan (San Jose) – Bentley University Taylor Maruya (Westchester) – U.S. Military Academy Jared Pike – American International College % Blake Weyrick (Los Angeles) – Canisius College BIG TEN Will Johnson (Santa Barbara) – University of Wisconsin Patrick Khodorenko (Walnut Creek) – Michigan State University Jake Slaker (San Diego) – University of Michigan ECAC Max Becker (Orange) – Princeton University Arthur Brey (Yorba Linda) – St. Lawrence University Brett Gervais (Corona) – Clarkson University Sean Lawrence (Granite Bay) – Quinnipiac University Merrick Madsen (Acton) – Harvard University Alec McCrea (El Cajon) – Cornell University Tyler Moy (San Diego) – Harvard University Gavin Nieto (Yorba Linda) – Brown University HOCKEY EAST Collin Delia (Rancho Cucamonga) – Merrimack College Garrett Gamez (Chino Hills) – Providence College Niko Hildenbrand (Vacaville) – University of Massachusetts Michael McNicholas (Manhattan Beach) – University of New Hampshire Matt O’Donnell (Fountain Valley) – University of Vermont Andrew Oglevie (Fullerton) – University of Notre Dame Nikolas Olsson (Escondido) – Boston University Ryan Ruck (Coto de Caza) – Northeastern University Nolan Stevens – Northeastern University % Ryan Tait (Santa Clarita) – Providence College NCHC Lawton Courtnall (Westlake Village) – Western Michigan University Grant Gallo (San Diego) – University of Nebraska-Omaha Robby Jackson (Alameda) – St. Cloud State University Tyson McLellan (San Jose) – University of Denver Patrick Newell (Thousand Oaks) – St. Cloud State University Austin Ortega (Escondido) – University of Nebraska-Omaha David Radke (Orinda) – Colorado College WCHA Brandon Carlson (Huntington Beach) – University of Alabama-Huntsville Niko DellaMaggiore (Gilroy) – University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nate Kallen (San Diego) – Ferris State University Troy Loggins (Huntington Beach) – Northern Michigan University Chandler Madry (Bakersfield) – Minnesota State University Nicholas Rivera (Pacific Palisades) – Minnesota State University Tomas Sholl (Hermosa Beach) – Bowling Green State University NCAA DIVISION I – WOMEN CHA Hannah England (Simi Valley) – Penn State University Lillian Marchant (Tustin) – Lindenwood University Megan Whiddon (Redondo Beach) – Mercyhurst University ECAC Hana DeClerck (Menlo Park) – Brown University Keiko DeClerck (San Jose) – Princeton University Kara Drexler (Manhattan Beach) – Yale University Monica Elvin (Penryn) – Brown University Kendra Farole (Irvine) – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Lydia Grauer – St. Lawrence University $ Kayla Nielsen (Laguna Hills) – St. Lawrence University Erin Ozturk (Huntington Beach) – Harvard University Justine Reyes (Chino Hills) – St. Lawrence University HOCKEY EAST Bridget Baker (Los Gatos) – University of Vermont Nicole Dunbar (Coto de Caza) – University of New Hampshire Alexandra Lersch (Manhattan Beach) – University of Connecticut WCHA Leila Kilduff (San Jose) – Minnesota State University Annie Pankowski (Laguna Hills) – University of Wisconsin

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MASCAC Kyle Baker (Fresno) – Worcester State University Jake Carter (El Segundo) – Westfield State University Connor Cooley (Simi Valley) – University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Khalil East (Los Angeles) – Worcester State University Drake Longaker (San Jose) – Plymouth State University Andrew McAvoy (Valencia) – Salem State University Connor McPherson (Lancaster) – Fitchburg State University Kyle Orgel (El Segundo) – Plymouth State University Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills) – Worcester State University Cody Slocum (Temecula) – Worcester State University Crissostomos Villareal (Corona) – Worcester State University

ECAC WEST Bri Carroll – Buffalo State University $ Megan Crandell (Fullerton) – Plattsburgh State University Eva Kristof (Pleasanton) – Cortland State University Jordan Lipson (Davis) – Plattsburgh State University Justine Silva (El Monte) – Buffalo State University Hannah Tarr (Los Angeles) – Buffalo State University Laura Thacker (San Jose) – Oswego State University

MIAC Peter Barral (Berkeley) – Bethel University Tyler Gonzales (West Covina) – Hamline University Dallas Marvin (Newbury Park) – Bethel University Chris Nuth (Trabuco Canyon) – Augsburg College J.T. Paine (Rancho Santa Margarita) – St. Olaf College Kyle Rimbach (Encinitas) – St. Olaf College Steven Sherman (San Diego) – St. Olaf College Cole Souto (Yorba Linda) – St. John’s University J.T. Walters (Escondido) – Gustavus Adolphus College NCHA Anthony Annunziato (Alta Loma) – Lake Forest College Henry Berger (Claremont) – Northland College Zach Feldman (San Diego) – Lake Forest College Kyle Gonzalez (Chino Hills) – Northland College James Mathias (Ontario) – Marian University Peter Megariotis (Anaheim Hills) – College of St. Scholastica Travis Meyer (Corona) – Marian University Sean Reynolds (Anaheim) – Lawrence University Nick Trefry (Upland) – Northland College Quinton Wunder (Simi Valley) – Lake Forest College NEHC Sam Bloom (Davis) – Skidmore College Scott Cornfield (Brea) – New England College Conor Ferrera (Trabuco Canyon) – University of Southern Maine Keenan Haase (Mission Viejo) – New England College Bryan Hodges (La Palma) – University of Southern Maine Brett Kilar (Coto de Caza) – New England College David MacGregor (Azusa) – University of Massachusetts-Boston Jon Manlow (Murrieta) – New England College Bryce Nielsen (Laguna Hills) – New England College Will Platt (San Francisco) – New England College Mark Shroyer (Fresno) – Castleton State University Corey Sikich (Hermosa Beach) – Castleton State University NESCAC Nick Balboa (San Francisco) – Tufts University Kendall Culbertson (Laguna Niguel) – Bowdoin College Kai Frankville (La Jolla) – Colby College Ryan Glantz (Tarzana) – Connecticut College Chad Goldberg (Agoura Hills) – Tufts University Austin Ho (Chino Hills) – Amherst College Evan Johnson (Huntington Beach) – Williams College Marcus Mollica (Dove Canyon) – Williams College Ryan Mowery (Rancho Santa Fe) – Connecticut College Sean Ross (San Diego) – Wesleyan University Oliver Takacsi-Nagy (Los Gatos) – Tufts University Theo Tydingco (Newark) – Wesleyan University

NCAA DIVISION III – MEN

NORTHEAST-10 Matthew Toombs (Pleasanton) – Franklin Pierce University

COMMONWEALTH David Anderson (Stevenson Ranch) – Nichols College Matt Audet (Campbell) – Western New England University Stefan Brucato (Lake Elsinore) – Johnson and Wales University Adam Canepa (Santa Cruz) – University of New England Garrett Geane (Fullerton) – Wentworth Institute of Technology Carter Horwitz (Tustin) – Endicott College Joseph Kaszupski – Endicott College % Nicholas McKee (Bakersfield) – Becker College Christian Merritt (Thousand Oaks) – University of New England Luke Miller (Lancaster) – Suffolk University

SUNYAC Max Blitz (Chino Hills) – Fredonia State University Kevin Chilton (Oak Park) – Brockport State University Michael Freeman (Rancho Cucamonga) – Fredonia State University Paul Fregeau (Los Angeles) – Cortland State University Doc Gentzler (Manhattan Beach) – Brockport State University David Jacobson (Calabasas) – Oswego State University Luke Rivera (Pacific Palisades) – Fredonia State University Zac Sikich (Oak Park) – Brockport State University T.J. Sneath (Chino) – Oswego State University Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose) – Potsdam State University

NCAA DIVISION III – WOMEN COLONIAL HOCKEY Danielle Comorre (Tujunga) – Endicott College Madison Maloney (Clovis) – Becker College Savannah Sommers (Corona) – Stevenson University Anastasia Thompson (Riverside) – Becker College

MIAC Valerie Brown (San Martin) – St. Thomas University Jessica Jones (El Cajon) – St. Mary’s University Kylie Kramer – College of St. Benedict $ NCHA Jacqueline Audet (Campbell) – Lake Forest College Allie Girard (Folsom) – Lake Forest College Rachael Goodrow (Rancho Santa Margarita) – St. Norbert College Bailey Robertson (Orange) – Adrian College NEHC Alexandra Anderson (San Anselmo) – Salve Regina University Lizzie Aveson (West Covina) – University of Massachusetts-Boston Taylor Chisholm (Discovery Bay) – Salve Regina University Mackenzie Kennedy (Brea) – Plymouth State University Demi Latham (Redwood City) – New England College Brooke Maggy (Alhambra) – Plymouth State University Kateri McClellan (Rancho Palos Verde) – University of Mass.-Boston Kristi Peters (Newport Beach) – Manhattanville College Tori Polehonka (Chino) – New England College Maisie Tatum-Borich (Newport Beach) – New England College Tara Turcotte (Huntington Beach) – New England College NESCAC Candace Lu (Studio City) – Williams College Hailey Sholty (Malibu) – Wesleyan University Emily Williams (Fallbrook) – Hamilton College D-III INDEPENDENT Emilia Aguilar (Los Angeles) – Post University Sydney Conrad (Temple City) – Post University Anna Estes (Whittier) – Post University Victoria Lahey (Redwood City) – Lebanon Valley College Kalena Mueller (San Ramon) – Post University JUNIOR HOCKEY ALBERTA JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Sam Anzai (Los Angeles) – Drayton Valley Thunder Alec Grollman (Laguna Niguel) – Grand Prairie Storm Robert Jacobson (Calabasas) – Bonnyville Pontiacs Tyler Levine (Laguna Beach) – Brooks Bandits BRITISH COLUMBIA HOCKEY LEAGUE Elijiah Barriga (West Covina) – Salmon Arm Silverbacks Austin Chavez (Corona) – Wenatchee Wild Devin Cooley (Los Gatos) – Wenatchee Wild Slava Demin (Cypress) – Wenatchee Wild Justin Dixson (Sunnyvale) – Chilliwack Chiefs Andre Ghantous (Glendale) – Trail Smoke Eaters Trevin Kozlowski (Santa Clarita) – Salmon Arm Silverbacks Jacob Modry (El Segundo) – Wenatchee Wild Eric Pinsky (San Jose) – Wenatchee Wild Dakota Raabe (Capistrano Beach) – Wenatchee Wild Tyler Rockwell (San Jose) – Wenatchee Wild Chad Sasaki (Cypress) – Wenatchee Wild Jack Sitzman (Redondo Beach) – Trail Smoke Eaters Julian Timba (Oceanside) – Salmon Arm Silverbacks Jared Turcotte (Moorpark) – Salmon Arm Silverbacks Brian Williams (San Diego) – Wenatchee Wild EASTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE Michael Adelson (Claremont) – Boston Bandits (Elite) Adam Bedford (Hawthorne) – Boston Bandits (Premier) Paul Boutoussov (Dana Point) – Valley Jr. Warriors (Premier) Declan Curtis (Fontana) – New Jersey Rockets (Premier) Thomas Dyreng (San Jose) – Northern Cyclones (Elite) Jason Epperly (Lakewood) – Valley Jr. Warriors (Premier)

Brendan Gilligan (San Jose) – Northern Cyclones (Elite) John Grealish (Bakersfield) – Boston Jr. Rangers (Elite) Nicholas Harris (Glendale) – Philadelphia Jr. Flyers (Premier) Tim Huxen (Bakersfield) – New Jersey Rockets (Premier) Jagr Larson (Palm Springs) – East Coast Wizards (Premier) Sean Lincoln (Orange County) – Valley Jr. Warriors (Premier) Sawyer Lockleis (Stanford) – Vermont Lumberjacks (Premier) Julian Madison (Pasadena) – New York Applecore (Premier) Robby McClellan (Palos Verdes) – Northern Cyclones (Premier) Ryan Miller (Manhattan Beach) – Valley Jr. Warriors (Premier) Zach Morel (Oceanside) – Boston Jr. Rangers (Elite) Tyler Nelson (Danville) – Hartford Jr. Wolfpack (Premier) Ryan Ng (Manhattan Beach) – New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (Premier) Garrett Nieto (Yorba Linda) – Vermont Lumberjacks (Premier) Shane Noviello (Mission Viejo) – Northern Cyclones (Premier) Evan Nyhus (Dove Canyon) – Valley Jr. Warriors (Premier) Ricky Pacciorini (Winters) – Boston Bandits (Elite) Adam Papayoanou (Valencia) – Connecticut Nighthawks (Premier) Eric Phillips (Portola Hills) – Walpole Express (Elite) Sean Plonski (San Bernardino) – Walpole Express (Premier) Brian Sanzone (Santa Monica) – Northern Cyclones (Premier) Connor Schwarz (Oakdale) – Boston Bandits (Elite) Ryan Sheridan (Mission Viejo) – Northern Cyclones (Elite) Felix Takacsi-Nagy (Los Gatos) – Hartford Jr. Wolfpack (Premier) Jake Takashima (Torrance) – Valley Jr. Warriors (Elite) Chad Watt (Corona) – Valley Jr. Warriors (Premier) Eric Wright (San Diego) – Walpole Express (Premier) GREATER METRO HOCKEY LEAGUE Eric Bampenchow (Laguna Hills) – Bradford Rattlers Don Carter, Jr. (Antioch) – Bradford Bulls Brandon Chapin (Santa Clara) – Bradford Rattlers Steven Colombo (San Jose) – Seguin Huskies Bryan Hochberg (Woodland Hills) – Parry Sound Islanders Austin Kane (Milpitas) – Bradford Rattlers Mark Klasen (San Diego) – New Tecumseth Civics Nico Wilton (Redondo Beach) – Temiscaming Titans KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Ethan Bock (Upland) – Golden Rockets Stephen Gaughran (Lake Elsinore) – Golden Rockets Ruslan Katsnelson (West Hills) – Golden Rockets Blake Norman (Redondo Beach) – Spokane Braves Mark Pretorius (San Diego) – Spokane Braves MANITOBA JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Dylan Dix (Scotts Valley) – Winkler Flyers MARITIME HOCKEY LEAGUE Ezekiel Estrada (Anaheim) – Yarmouth Mariners NORTH AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE Jake Acton (Livermore) – Minnesota Magicians Nathan Burke - Aberdeen Wings % Connor Chilton (Oak Park) – Fairbanks Ice Dogs Jayson Dimizio (Goleta) – Corpus Christi IceRays Zak Galambos (Walnut Creek) – Johnstown Tomahawks Jack Gates (Oceanside) – Janesville Jets Cooper Haar (Huntington Beach) – Bismarck Bobcats Carson Kelley (Portola Valley) – Lone Star Brahmas Nick Klishko (San Diego) – Odessa Jackalopes Austin Koss (Huntington Beach) – Minot Minotauros David Marabella (Clovis) – Lone Star Brahmas Kyle Mayhew (Anaheim Hills) – Aberdeen Wings Robby McClellan (Rancho Palos Verdes) – Minot Minotauros Aaron Murray (Chino) – Northeast Generals Ryan Orgel (El Segundo) – Wichita Falls Wildcats Jake Rosenbaum (Trabuco Canyon) – Topeka RoadRunners Evan Somoza (Simi Valley) – Johnstown Tomahawks Hunter Stanley (Camarillo) – Lone Star Brahmas Alex Stoley (Manteca) – Lone Star Brahmas Matt Wiesner (Newport Beach) – New Jersey Titans Connor Yawney (Orange) – Corpus Christi IceRays NORTH AMERICAN 3 HOCKEY LEAGUE Tristan Ayoubi (Orange) – Syracuse Stampede Brady Boudreau (Anaheim) – New Ulm Steel Ryan Brown (South Lake Tahoe) – Billings Bulls Zach Brunelle (Rancho Santa Margarita) – Louisiana Drillers Anthony Cathcart (Northridge) – Willmar WarHawks Chase Di Bari (Ladera Ranch) – Granite City Lumberjacks Bailey Dorf (Palm Springs) – Glacier Nationals Bradley Estrada (Chino Hills) – Helena Bighorns Hayden Funk (Valley Glen) – Willmar WarHawks Daniel Goodwin (Fresno) – Euless Jr. Stars Ryan Gridley (Santa Monica) – Atlanta Capitals Nicholas Gustafson (Walnut Creek) – Point Mallard Ducks A.J. Hoyt (Yorba Linda) – Breezy Point North Stars Campbell Jackson (Hermosa Beach) – Northeast Generals Ben Kottmeier (San Francisco) – Helena Bighorns Malik Lamotte-Stokes (Westminster) – Syracuse Stampede Michael Lempiainen (Corona) – New England Stars Nick Nast (Oxnard) – Great Falls Americans Matt Newberger (South Lake Tahoe) – Billings Bulls Ryan Newman (Bakersfield) – Northeast Generals Danny O’Donnell (Ventura) – Great Falls Americans Teagan Poliseno (Valencia) – Atlanta Capitals Tristen Poliseno (Valencia) – Atlanta Capitals Kane Toriumi (Westlake Village) – Willmar WarHawks Collin Tripp (Prunedale) – Chicago Bulldogs Alex Werdmuller (Laguna Hills) – St. Louis Jr. Blues NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Arshia Mitchell (Aliso Viejo) – Blind River Beavers

Joseph Thielen (Huntington Beach) – Cochrane Crunch Riley William (Manhattan Beach) – Elliot Lake Wildcats ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE Sasha Chmelevski (Huntington Beach) – Ottawa 67’s Ivan Lodnia (Anaheim) – Erie Otters ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Rock Boynton (Lomita) – Lindsay Muskies Kyle Moore (Sunnyvale) – Burlington Cougars QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Matthew Boucher (Los Angeles) – Quebec Remparts SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Christian Bundschuh (Orange County) – Thief River Falls Norskies SASKATCHEWAN JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Aaron Aragon (Whittier) – Melville Millionaires Dakota Delbridge (Tracy) – Flin Flon Bombers Coby Downs (Montclair) – Battlefords North Stars Michael Maple (Fullerton) – Nipawin Hawks Brett Pickler (Villa Park) – Flin Flon Bombers Evan Plotnik (Capistrano Beach) – Melville Millionaires Nick Schultze (San Diego) – Melfort Mustangs UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE Joey Cassetti (Pleasanton) – U.S. NTDP Under-18 Team Vincent de Mey (Los Angeles) – Madison Capitols Jake Durflinger (Walnut Creek) – Bloomington Thunder Cole Guttman (Los Angeles) – Dubuque Fighting Saints Jacob Hamacher (Corona) – Dubuque Fighting Saints Rory Herrman (Poway) – Green Bay Gamblers Ben Lown (Newport Coast) – Omaha Lancers Shane McMahan (Irvine) – Fargo Force Brannon McManus (Huntington Beach) – Chicago Steel Alec Mehr (Irvine) – Bloomington Thunder Jack St. Ivany (Manhattan Beach) – Sioux Falls Stampede Rourke Russell (Long Beach) - Green Bay Gamblers Eetu Selanne (Coto de Caza) – Madison Capitols Ethan Somoza (Simi Valley) – Bloomington Thunder UNITED STATES PREMIER HOCKEY LEAGUE Jonathan Aguilar (Pasadena) – Islanders Hockey Club (USP3 Patrick Choi – Boston Jr. Bruins (Premier) #) Pierce Bartolo (Belmont) – Atlanta Jr. Knights (Elite) Nash Berkowitz (San Jose) – Eugene Generals (USP3) Brendan Burns (San Carlos) – Islanders Hockey Club (USP3) Jordan Carrasco (San Jose) – Islanders Hockey Club (USP3) Nikolai Cherednichenko (Berkeley) – PAL Jr. Islanders (Premier) Severin Corallo (San Diego) – Tampa Bay Juniors (USP3) Ryan Cortez (Norco) - Palm Beach Hawks (Elite) Paul Daley (Bakersfield) – Forest Lake Lakers (Elite) Hayden Day (Oak Park) – Boston Jr. Bruins (USP3) Sean Dickson (Millbrae) – Hampton Roads Whalers (Elite) Tyler Dill (South Lake Tahoe) – Charlotte Rush (Elite) Jason Footlick (Redondo Beach) – River Falls Renegades (Elite) Andrew Frojelin (San Marcos) – Charlotte Rush (Elite) Cody Fulkerson (Los Angeles) – Florida Jr. Blades (USP3) Liam Gallant (Santa Barbara) – Atlanta Jr. Knights (Elite) John Garrity (San Francisco) – Islanders Hockey Club (Elite) Ethan Gill (Santa Clarita) – Florida Eels (USP3) Dylan Gluck (San Juan Capistrano) – Jersey Hitmen (Premier) Brooks Hatfield (Tracy) – South Shore Kings (Elite) Sam Hernandez (Fontana) – Islanders Hockey Club (USP3) Frank Horowitz (Beverly Hills) – Connecticut Jr. Rangers (Premier) Adam Hulsey (Bakersfield) – Atlanta Jr. Knights (USP3) Bryce Hunt (Rancho Santa Margarita) – Richmond Generals (Elite) Rob Ivy (Bermuda Dunes) – Richmond Generals (Elite) Austin Lechtanski (Rancho Cucamonga) – Syracuse Stars (Elite) Jeremiah Levitt (Simi Valley) – West Sound Warriors (USP3) Daniel Luyten (Chino Hills) – Atlanta Jr. Knights (Elite) Colin Markoski (Corona) – Hampton Roads Whalers (USP3) Joshua Miller (Paramount) – Kalkaska Rhinos (USP3) Brennan Newton (Santa Fe Springs) – West Sound Warriors (USP3) Sven Nilsson (Culver City) – Florida Eels (Elite) Robert Norwalk (Fremont) – Islanders Hockey Club (USP3) David Quast (Long Beach) – River Falls Renegades (Elite) Dylan Robello (Salida) – Florida Eels (USP3) Dalton Teeter (Dublin) – Bay State Breakers (Elite) Taylor Urch (Anaheim) – Richmond Generals (Elite) Tristan Waechter (Fairfield) – Bay State Breakers (Elite) Jacob Ward (Murrieta) – Hampton Roads Whalers (USP3) Nick Wardstrom (San Francisco) – Islanders Hockey Club (Elite) Michael Wiggins (Temecula) – Atlanta Jr. Knights (Elite) VANCOUVER ISLAND JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Colton Rhodes (Coachella) – Campbell River Storm WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE Blake Bargar (Torrance) – Victoria Royals Jake McGrew (Orange) – Spokane Chiefs Steven Owre (Rocklin) – Medicine Hat Tigers Evan Sarthou – Tri-City Americans % Carl Stankowski – Seattle Thunderbirds # Murphy Stratton (Los Angeles) – Calgary Hitmen Keoni Texeira (Fontana) – Portland Winterhawks Brayden Watts (Bakersfield) – Vancouver Giants Evan Weinger (El Segundo) – Portland Winterhawks Kailer Yamamoto – Spokane Chiefs % Keanu Yamamoto – Spokane Chiefs % WESTERN STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE Joseph Aguirre (Los Alamitos) – Ontario Avalanche

Joseph Allegrini (Valencia) – Las Vegas Storm Wolfgang Boehringer (Fresno) – Fresno Monsters Domenic Bosetti (Long Beach) – Long Beach Bombers Rhett Bruckner (Huntington Beach) – Las Vegas Storm Brad Budman (Foothill Ranch) – Bellingham Blazers Sean Buffardi (Westminster) – Long Beach Bombers Evan Camba (Orange) – El Paso Rhinos Thomas Campbell (Riverside) – Ontario Avalanche Carter Dahl (Fresno) – Colorado Jr. Eagles Quinn Deshler (Torrance) – Ontario Avalanche Blake Duarte (Mission Viejo) – Ontario Avalanche Michael Dwyer (Clovis) – Fresno Monsters Morgan Diamond (Moorpark) – Arizona Hawks Michael Fary (Anaheim) – Utah Outliers Greg Figg (Valencia) – Valencia Flyers Jake Fleischman (Valencia) – Valencia Flyers Sage Fleming (Costa Mesa) – Ogden Mustangs Ryan Foster (Sacramento) – Long Beach Bombers Nicholas Gary (Palo Alto) – Fresno Monsters Tadeh Grigorian (Burbank) – Ontario Avalanche Tyler Hagen (Granada Hills) – Valencia Flyers Taylor Hiatt (Fresno) – Fresno Monsters Jackson Hill (Monterey) – Ontario Avalanche Jonathan Holguin (Fresno) – Fresno Monsters Riley Hummitsch (Chino Hills) – El Paso Rhinos Logan Jalynski (Riverside) – Ontario Avalanche Taylor Jolly (Saugus) – Valencia Flyers Cody Key (Fresno) – Fresno Monsters Thomas King (Rancho Cucamonga) – Ontario Avalanche Garret Kingsbury (Bakersfield) – Valencia Flyers Mason Kohn (San Diego) – San Diego Sabers Jason Lee (Thousand Oaks) – Valencia Flyers Nathan Lloyd (Los Alamitos) – Arizona Hawks Gabel Longshore (Davis) – Lake Tahoe Icemen William Ma (Anaheim) – Ontario Avalanche Manny Mancha (Rosemead) – Ontario Avalanche Alexander Marbach (Stevenson Ranch) – Valencia Flyers Connor Melton (Chico) – Colorado Jr. Eagles Luis Mendoza (Newark) – Lake Tahoe Icemen John Moffatt (South Lake Tahoe) – Lake Tahoe Icemen Cole Parker (San Diego) – San Diego Sabers Andrew Pellegrino (Fresno) – Fresno Monsters Michael Perez (Fresno) – El Paso Rhinos Jonathon Pichedwatana (Lakewood) – Long Beach Bombers Connor Rickabus (Rancho Santa Margarita) – Tulsa Jr. Oilers Dylan San Agustin (Santa Clarita) – Valencia Flyers Nicholas Short (Los Angeles) – Long Beach Bombers Christopher Sohl (Riverside) – Ontario Avalanche Sam Taferner (Santa Clarita) – Valencia Flyers Braydon Thompson (Roseville) – Lake Tahoe Icemen Bryan Verna (Lake Forest) – Phoenix Knights John Wilshire (Temecula) – Arizona Hawks Aleksandr Zendejas (Mission Viejo) – El Paso Rhinos

Jordan Skahill (San Dimas) – South Kent Daniel Thomas (Irvine) – Hotchkiss School Daniel Ton-That (Laguna Hills) – Tilton School Jackson Tuszynski (Valencia) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Lukas Uhler (Upland) – New Hampton School Brent Valentine (Newport Beach) – Choate Rosemary Hall Cam York (Anaheim Hills) – Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep Billy Zegras (San Diego) – The Berkshire School

PREP SCHOOL Alan Austria-Garcia (Redwood City) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Lucas Bafoner (Los Angeles) – Albany Academy Cayla Barnes (Corona) – New Hampton School Brandon Bedient (Stevenson Ranch) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Grady Birk (Carlsbad) – Shawnigan Lake School Noah Dahlen (Orange) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Liam Dauphinee (Newport Beach) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Jared Day (Orange) – Brooks School Zachary Dill (Tahoe) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Tanner Ensign (Tustin) – Holderness School Riley Fenn (Newport Beach) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Ryan Fischer (Anaheim Hills) – South Kent Dennis L. Y. Franklin (Oakland) – The Taft School Shane Gilbert (Newport Beach) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Jonah Gold (Rolling Hills Estates) – Groton School Niko Grollman (Mission Viejo) – The Gunnery Tyler Herr (Huntington Beach) – Culver Academy Nathan Katzaroff (Anaheim) – Milton Academy Nicholas Kent (Ladera Ranch) – Delta Hockey Academy Noah Kim (Fullerton) – Cushing Academy Indigo Kinzey (Pacifica) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Matt Kors (Los Angeles) – Shawnigan Lake School Jordan Labbe (Pasadena) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Erik Larsson (Los Altos) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Nicholas Lee (Los Angeles) – Salisbury School Noah Lee (Los Angeles) – Salisbury School Tae Lee (Irvine) – The Governor’s Academy Koby Leeman (Napa) - Culver Academy Tyler Leibl (Del Mar) – Shawnigan Lake School Roan Linvill (Berkeley) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Jack Lippis (Mission Viejo) – The Gunnery Mathias Long (Marina del Rey) – Lake Forest Academy Brandon McDonald (Los Angeles) – Vermont Academy Kyle McElhaney (Yorba Linda) – Tilton School Nolan McElhaney (Yorba Linda) – Cushing Academy Adam McGill (Rancho Santa Margarita) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Keely Moy (San Diego) – Kent School Matthew Odom (Elk Grove) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Zach Pires (Villa Park) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Steven Plante (Valencia) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Patrick Pugliese (Pasadena) – Loomis Chaffee Casey Rhodes (Huntington Beach) – Albany Academy Alexander Rogers (Anaheim) – Williston Northampton Brett Roloson (Newport Beach) – Shawnigan Lake School Ross Roloson (Newport Beach) – Shawnigan Lake School Hunter Sansbury (Lomita) – The Gunnery Chase Sechrist (Santa Rosa) – Tahoe Hockey Academy Blake Selden (Santa Clara) – Tahoe Hockey Academy

SUNYAC Ryan Chiasson (Henderson) – Plattsburgh State University

NEVADA PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Jason Zucker (Las Vegas) – Minnesota Wild AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE Zach Pochiro (Las Vegas) – Bakersfield Condors ECHL Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas) – Colorado Eagles Chris Francis (Las Vegas) – Quad City Mallards Gage Quinney (Las Vegas) – Wheeling Nailers Jacob MacDonald (Fernley) – Toledo Walleye Ross McMullan (Las Vegas) – Wheeling Nailers Cory Ward (Las Vegas) – Manchester Monarchs SOUTHERN PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Chris Rial (Las Vegas) – Columbus Cottonmouths COLLEGE HOCKEY NCAA DIVISION I – MEN ECAC Joe Sullivan (Las Vegas) – St. Lawrence University D-I INDEPENDENT Joey Raats (Las Vegas) – Arizona State University NCAA DIVISION I – WOMEN CHA Sarah Robello (Las Vegas) – Mercyhurst University NCAA DIVISION III – MEN COMMONWEALTH Joseph Kaszupski (Henderson) – Endicott College Alec Mono (Las Vegas) – Curry College NCHA Derek Sutliffe (Las Vegas) – College of St. Scholastica

D-III INDEPENDENT Tanner Todd (Henderson) – Daniel Webster College JUNIOR HOCKEY BRITISH COLUMBIA HOCKEY LEAGUE Brendan Harris (Las Vegas) – Wenatchee Wild GREATER METRO HOCKEY LEAGUE Richard Prekop (Las Vegas) – South Muskoka Shield NORTH AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE Dom Garcia (Las Vegas) – Aston Rebels NORTH AMERICAN 3 HOCKEY LEAGUE Michael Cichy (Las Vegas) – Atlanta Capitals Kyle Truax (Las Vegas) – Gillette Wild NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Adrian Nicholas (Las Vegas) – French River Rapids QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE Landon Quinney (Las Vegas) – Saint John Sea Dogs UNITED STATES PREMIER HOCKEY LEAGUE Spencer Poscente (Henderson) – Tri-City Icehawks (USP3) Gage Roberts (Las Vegas) – Carolina Eagles (Elite) Ethan Van Muyden (Henderson) – Tri-City Icehawks (USP3) WESTERN STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE Seth Bergeron (Las Vegas) – Las Vegas Storm Vito Carlo (Las Vegas) – Las Vegas Storm Brenden Fehlig (Las Vegas) – Las Vegas Storm Reed Lequerica (Reno) – Lake Tahoe Icemen Jake McKenna (Las Vegas) – Las Vegas Storm Kyle Molony (Las Vegas) – Las Vegas Storm Eric Williams (Henderson) – Ontario Avalanche

% former LA Jr. King + former California Titan * former LA Select

! former San Jose Jr. Shark # former Anaheim Jr. Duck $ former Anaheim Lady Duck

CARubberHockey.com

29

SCOTT SAVAGE

Position: Defenseman, Cleveland Monsters (American Hockey League) Hometown: San Clemente Last Amateur Team: Boston College (Hockey East) Youth Teams: Yorba Linda Blackhawks, LA Selects California Rubber: How has your transition to pro hockey gone?

Scott Savage: I signed an amateur tryout contract with Cleveland (on March 21), and it’s gone well. I am trying to finish my final three courses at BC (Boston College) at the same time (he’s an applied psychology and human development major).

CR: Speaking of college, you were one of the few veterans on a team that surprised some people.

SS: It was a good way to end my college career despite not making the tournament. We were picked sixth or seventh, but placed second in the Hockey East tournament and earned a share of the regular-season trophy with 12 or 13 freshmen.

CR: What is your favorite hockey memory growing up?

SS: Winning our first national championship with the LA Selects in OT against (Detroit) Honeybaked (in 2008) was pretty awesome. We’d lost to them in the Quebec Pee Wee final a few months earlier, which started a big rivalry with them. Avenging that Quebec loss was a great memory.

CR: What is your favorite memory in the game since leaving California?

SS: My first trip to the Frozen Four with BC during my freshman year.

CR: Who have been the biggest hockey influences on you?

SS: The head coaches I’ve had. Joe Cook was my first ice hockey coach. I’ve stayed in touch with him. When I moved to LA Hockey, Sandy Gasseau was my first coach.

Then Rick Kelly and later Louis Pacella. All the coaching staffs with each head coach, I attribute much of my development to them.

CR: What advice do you give young hockey players?

SS: I tell them remember what has gotten them to where they’re at. Always play with purpose. Give everything they have each practice and it will help them reach their goals.

CR: Other than hockey, do you have a favorite sport to play?

SS: I started with roller hockey, which is what got me going. I also played baseball and soccer. I started ice hockey with Yorba Linda Blackhawks and Joe Cook for my second year of Squirt. I wouldn’t be where I’m at without roller hockey.

CR: When you’re back in California, do you have a favorite meal or restaurant?

SS: My favorite meal would be my mom’s cedar plank salmon. My favorite restaurant is South of Nick’s in San Clemente. I especially like their grilled chicken burrito.

CR: Did you have a favorite player growing up?

SS: I always enjoyed watching Scott Niedermayer play for the Ducks, who were my favorite team growing up. I appreciated how well he skated and how well he moved the puck. And he is a great person on and off the ice. He’s definitely a role model for me.

CR: Are there are any pieces of gear you’re particular about?

SS: I always go right side first when putting on my protective gear. I always like to tape my stick either on the bench or with a view of the ice. I use it as a time to visualize and think about the game.

CR: What are essential items to take on a road trip?

SS: Headphones CR: Who’s the funniest player you’ve ever played with?

SS: (Former LA Selects teammate and current University of Notre Dame forward) Andrew Oglevie.

CR: If you weren’t playing hockey, what do you think you’d be doing?

SS: I don’t think I’ve been asked that. Maybe making an attempt to play soccer professionally because that was the sport I quit last to focus on hockey.

Photo/John Quakenbos/Boston College

30

California Rubber Hockey Magazine

- Compiled by Chris Bayee

– m a r g o r p r u o t u You’ve heard abo ! t u o b a l l a e r ’ e now see what w