SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Roller Hockey

CIF roller hockey is a howl -- finally -- for West Hills Wolf Pack

By Phillip Brents

With each goal and with each save, the cheers eminating from the West Hills High School bench seemed to grow louder, ending in a crescendo of hoots, hollers, high-fives and hugs and as the final scoreboard buzzer officially signaled the Wolf Pack’s first-ever CIF roller hockey victory -- 10-3 against the La Jolla Vikings.

The scene - which could only produce a smile on the face of anyone watching the game - was played out Nov. 30 at Skate San Diego in National City as West Hills scored its first on-court victory in the CIF-Metro Conference, the state’s only CIF-sanctioned high school roller hockey league.

The Wolf Pack became the six-year-old conference’s record-breaking 19th member as the 2005-06 season faced off with an unprecedented line-up of top heavy talent that clearly puts the CIF-sanctioned loop in the lead against the senior club-based San Diego County High School Roller Hockey Conference as far as where the best high school teams now play. That couldn’t be said two years ago, but now it can be said.

Players, coaches and parents associated with the new West Hills team, in particular, cannot be happier after the team made the jump to CIF-sanctioned play after three years of competing in the club-based SDCHSRHC, which is fielding about a dozen teams this season.

The Wolf Pack becomes the first team from the Grossmont Union School District, which encompasses San Diego’s East County, to enter into CIF play.

“When we approached the administration at the school, it was like ‘Please tell us you want to go CIF this year,’” said Richard Lopez, who serves as co-head coach of the Wolf Pack along with Henry Delgadillo. “The school administration seemed to be totally behind us going CIF. In fact, we were encouraged to go CIF rather than club.”

Said Delgadillo: “They were thrilled when we told them we wanted to go CIF.”

Lopez said paperwork to join the CIF/Metro Conference was started in June 2005. The team held its first players/parents informational meeting on Sept. 23. Practice for winter spots began on Nov. 12. The team’s first on-court victory came on Nov. 30. (Officially, the Wolf Pack received a forfeit victory a day earlier when the Montgomery Aztecs failed to put a full team together to take the court.)

The 2005-06 West Hills team looks to be competitive in its first season of CIF play and should only grow in terms of talent in the coming seasons with just two seniors on this season’s team. "We feel we're where the top talented players and teams are now. We want to build to that level," Lopez said.

Both Delgadillo and Lopez are assisted on the coaching staff by Tom Blaettler, a former goaltender on the school’s club team.

Team members include seniors Johnny Baxter and Brian Cordes, juniors Tucker Lopez, Travis Peters, Andrew Delgadillo and Alex Smion, sophomore Josh Shute and freshmen Kellen McManus, Cameron McIntyre, Matt Gage, Keith Gurr and Trevor Hannon.

As for that history-making win?

Baxter scored the first CIF goal and CIF hat trick in team history as the Wolf Pack opened up a 9-0 lead against the Vikings, a playoff qualifier a year ago. Peters and Delgadillo each scored two goals and one assist while Gurr scored two goals. Cordes started in the net for West Hills and was relieved by McIntyre. McManus also contributed a goal and assist in the win.

Baxter smiled when chided by the team’s coaches that his name will forever be associated with the trivia question of who scored the team’s first CIF goal. “I feel great. It’s something to cap off my senior year,” said Baxter, who has played on all four West Hills teams (club and CIF combined).

West Hills jump-starts the season with five non-league games against teams from the Sweetwater Union High School District-based Mesa League and South Bay League before opening league play in the six-team North County League on Dec. 14. The North County League produced three of the four semifinalists in last season’s Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs, including the two finalists: Scripps Ranch and Poway.

“We want to be very competitive with the South Bay teams (in the Mesa and South Bay leagues). When we play the North County teams, we’ll be challenged,” Lopez said.

One of the team's other goals is to qualify for the Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs at the conclusion of regular season play. Twelve of the conference's 19 teams will advance.

That is altogether not an improbable task. The Wolf Pack improved to 3-0 following its 8-1 non-league win against Southwest on Dec. 5 as Peters registered the team's second hat trick in as many games. Hannon and Lopez each contributed two goals while McManus scored once in the victory against Southwest (1-2).

Whatever happens this first season of CIF play, the team’s coaching staff is stressing the squad’s future potential as well as a future in the sport, noting that West Hills graduate Matt Bickel is now playing collegiate roller hockey as one of 75 players on three teams at Cal Poly.

“He encouraged our boys to keep playing inline hockey because there is a future outside high school now. We keep telling that to our players,” Delgadillo said.

CIF notepad
Poway defeated Castle Park 36-0 on Dec. 1 to post one of the highest-scoring victories in conference history, if not the highest ever. Twelve Titans scored at least a goal or assist in the game, with four players registering at least five goals. Adam Gould led the Poway scoring parade with 10 points on five goals and five assists, followed by teammates Matthew Pecenco (five goals, four assists), Gregory Gershman (five goals, two assists), Kevin Ingram (three goals, four assists), Stephen Lockwood (six goals), Zachary Porter (two goals, three assists), Chase Liebman (three goals, one assist) and Garrett Sheehan (three goals, one assist). Darren Barnes, Zachary Vachris and Christopher Van Holle were each credited with one goal to round out the Titans’ blockbuster showing on the scoreboard.

Ryan Knight scored the game’s opening three goals, all assisted by Matt Comrie to lead the tow-time defending Kiwanis Cup champion Scripps Ranch Falcons to a 6-1 win agaisnt Bonita Vista on Nov. 28. Matt Nafarrete, Zack Johnson and Johnathan Reyes each scored single goals to lift the second-year Otay Ranch Mustangs past the Vista Panthers, a semifinalist in last season’s Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs, by a 3-2 score on Nov. 28.

Johnny Simkin scored five goals and one assist and Mikael Levin added six points on one goal and five assists to lead the San Diego Jewish Academy Lions to the conference’s first win of the season, 10-2, against the Sweetwater Red Devils on Nov. 28. Aaron Shinoff scored the season’s first goal at the 1:34 mark of the first period, assisted by Levin. Gabe Nussbaum scored twice for SDJA, which put the game out of reach with five third-period goals. Robert Felizardo scored both Sweetwsater goals.

CIF/Metro Conference scoreboard
Nov. 28 at Skate San Diego: San Diego Jewish Academy 10, Sweetwater 2; Scripps Ranch 6, Bonita Vista 1; Otay Ranch 3, Vista 2; Poway 10, Hilltop 0.

Nov. 29 at Skate San Diego: Rancho Bernardo 9, Eastlake 1; West Hills def. Montgomery (forfeit); Westview 28, Castle Park 0.

Nov. 29 at Castle Park High School: Mar Vista 15, Chula Vista 0; La Jolla 19, Southwest 1.

Nov. 30 at Skate San Diego: Southwest def. Montgomery (forfeit); Scripps Ranch 18, Eastlake 0; Vista 12, Bonita Vista 1; West Hills 10, La Jolla 3.

Dec. 1 at Skate San Diego: Otay Ranch 19, Chula Vista 0; Poway 36, Castle Park 0; Rancho Bernardo 17, Hilltop 2; Westview 10, Mar Vista 2.

Dec. 5 at Skate San Diego: La Jolla 11, San Diego Jewish Academy 8; West Hills 8, Southwest 1; Rancho Bernardo 4, Mar Vista 3; Scripps Ranch 27, Castle Park 0.