Winning Ways

Mike Sciacca

Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach was at a fever

pitch last weekend.

There were players everywhere, pucks flying here and there and parents

and children packed in the stands, their rhythmic stomping on the

bleacher seats during game time, reverberating through the floor.

They all were on hand for one big day of championship play.

Postseason play, for the most part, means that you can forget how a

team fares during the course of the regular season. Nothing, hardly, ever

goes according to form: some favorites win, some teams surprise.

Below is a roundup of the outcome from the eight division championship

games.

WALES DIVISION

YOUNG AMERICANS 9, PUCK HOGS 2

A six-goal outburst in the third period propelled the Young Americans,

who finished in the runner-up spot during the regular season.

Six players got into the scoring act for the Young Americans as Derek

Rosas scored three goals and also had a pair of assists, Damian Raburn

had two goals and an assist, Nicholas Capriccio scored twice, Matthew

Braun scored once and picked up three assists, Mitchel Gonzales scored

once and Michael Mowrey and Josh Roseberry each had an assist.

Sam Robinson recorded 18 saves.

The Puck Hogs, who finished fourth during the regular season, received

a goal and an assist from Daniel Watt, a goal by Robert Sanchez and

assists from Troy Bosiljevac and Erik Stern.

NORRIS DIVISION

Thunder 5, Slapshots 1

Tyler Schultz had 21 saves and gave up his only goal in the final

period as the Thunder, fourth in the standings during the regular season,

rose to the occasion to knock off the second place Slapshots in the

final.

Austin Heinz accounted for four of the Thunder’s five goals, Richard

Oke scored once with an assist, Jared Neely had two assists and Gregory

Hancock had one.

Zachary Sellards scored off a Cordell Heckel feed and Corey DeMatteo

came up with 18 saves for the Slapshots.

LEMIEUX DIVISION

Raiders 6, Flash 5

Chad Pelliccioni twice scored off Andrew Watt assists in the final

period and Jason Gutierrez, who finished with 26 saves overall, shutout

the Flash down the stretch as the Raiders rallied to claim the division

crown in a battle featuring two of the division’s top teams.

Pelliccioni scored three goals overall, Gutierrez scored twice, Tony

Derleth scored once, Ryan Pelliccioni had two assists and Shaun Ross had

one for the regular season champion Raiders.

Jessen Zimmerman scored two goals and had an assist, Brian Ayala

scored once with an assist, Shane Case and Mats Degerstedt each scored

once, Paul Pianowski added an assist and Kyle Concannon had 27 saves to

lead the Flash, who finished runner-up to the Raiders during the regular

season.

SMYTHE WEST DIVISION

Red Wings 6, Mad Dogs 3

Dimitri Coutsoyannopolus scored two goals and had an assist, David

Keller scored once with an assist, James Williams, Matthew Kibler and

Cody McWhirter all scored once, Alex Litten had an assist and Darrell

McDonald turned away 26 shot attempts as the Red Wings repeated their

regular season title by winning the postseason tournament.

For the Made Dogs, who finished fourth during the regular season,

Nicholas Estrada scored twice, Nicholas Modrak scored once, Jacob Butters

had an assist and Zachary Cudeback had 18 saves.

SMYTHE EAST DIVISION

Jets 4, Avalanche 3

Joshua Mockridge scored the final three goals of the match for the

Jets, Kyle Impelman scored once, Sam Slosman had an assist and Sean Wing

recorded 33 saves as the second place Jets topped the Avalanche, who

finished in first place during the regular season.

D.J. Mihalik and Kyle MacLeod each scored once with an assist, Joshua

Fisher had one goal and Stephanie Weingart picked up an assist and Jeff

Fuzzard had 34 saves to lead the Avalanche.

HOWE DIVISION

Roller Rebels 5, Blackhawks 0

Brian Potter got the shutout in the net with 19 saves and the regular

season champion Roller Rebels won the postseason tournament behind three

goals by Stephanie McKnight, goals by Bryan Paranal and Tyler Olsen and

assists by Cameron Weiss, Cody Bertrand, Darren Koontz and Brandon Weiss.

PATRICK DIVISION

Big Hurt 5, Atomic 1

The Big Hurt put the big hit on the regular season champion Atomic by

outscoring them, 3-0, in the first period en route to winning the

tournament title. Dan Zike netted two goals, Mats Degerstedt scored once

but dished out three assists, Brian Weingart and Brian Sweeney each

scored one goal, Kelly Kelleher had an assist and Jeremy Escalante had 28

saves the Big Hurt bettered their third place regular season standing.

Chad Ramsey scored unassisted and Phil Vournazos had 22 saves for the

Atomic.

CAMPBELL DIVISION

Carnivores 4, Sharks 1

The regular season champion Carnivores put the bite on Sharks behind a

goal and an assist by both Andrew Mendoza and Warren Brown, goals by

Zachary Jennings and Kyle Christi, an assist by Neal Macpherson and 22

saves by Kyle MacLeod.

For the Sharks, who finished in sixth place during the regular season

but reached the postseason title game, Parker Ransom scored off a Kyle

Langley assist and Ian Arnold recorded 18 saves.

* MIKE SCIACCA is the education and sports reporter. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at [email protected].