SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Roller Hockey

2005-06 CIF/Metro Conference
Scripps Ranch's Reinhold sizes up as sport's unsung hero

By Phillip Brents

A team doesn’t go 59-6-2 over the span of three years -- winning three conference championships and two Kiwanis Cup titles -- without its share of warriors and leaders ... and unsung heroes.

Scripps Ranch senior defenseman Andrew Reinhard likely fits into all categories. A fierce competitor for the two-time defending Kiwanis Cup champion Falcons, he owns the reputation as the least favorite player to play against in the CIF/Metro Conference, the state’s only CIF-sanctioned roller hockey circuit.

That is a compliment to both his style of play and the contribution he has made to not only the team but to the entire conference, which is now in its sixth season of operation.

The Falcons won a hard-fought 2-1 overtime decision against top-seeded Poway to claim last year’s Kiwanis Cup title. Reinhold scored the game-winning goal 1:40 into overtime to avenge two previous regular season setbacks against Poway.

“It was definitely a hard challenge but we made it,” Reinhold said in reference to repeating as Kiwanis Cup champions last year.

A native of Littleton, Colorado, Reinhold began playing roller hockey in the third grade before moving to Southern California where found himself smack dab in the middle of a hotbed for the sport. He has rolled along ever since in a game he said he thoroughly enjoys.

“It’s fast and physical. It’s always been my favorite sport to play. I’ve played a lot of other sports. This is the only sport I play now,” said Reinhold, who said he would like to continue playing roller hockey at UC-Santa Barbara.

This is Reinhard’s fourth year on the Falcons. In three prior seasons, he has helped Scripps Ranch finish 17-4-1 (2002-03), 22-0-0 (2003-04) and 20-2-1 (2004-05). Thus far, no other team in conference history has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons, nor finished undefeated through the Kiwanis Cup playoffs. Those are impressive numbers in a game that can often hinge on inopportune bounces, ineligibilities and illness that can suddenly sideline a team’s best intentions.

With the losses to graduation (Andrew Woodfine and goaltender Drew Yamada) and gains from incoming players (Eric Brody and goaltender Max Balaban) seeming to balance out, the fortunes of this year’s Scripps Ranch team once again seem bright. The Falcons were undefeated at 7-0-1 through their opening eight conference games this season, including a 2-0-1 mark in rugged North County League play.

“It’s pretty much the same group. C.J. Ruhwedel and Brandon McMenemy are both playing a lot better. Matt Comrie and Ryan Knight are getting most our goals,” Reinhold said.

Comrie (19 goals, 13 assists) and Knight (21 goals, 13 assists) have developed as one of the conference’s top scoring duos with 40 goals and 66 points between them through the team’s first eight games.

Reinhold had three goals and six assists by comparison but ranked third overall in the conference with 20 penalty minutes.

“Everyone seems to play their best against us. Our goals are to go undefeated and do the best we can … and beat Poway and Westview,” Reinhold said.

North County League teams will play one another three times to determine a league champion. Scripps Ranch and Westview tied 5-5 in their first meeting on Jan. 4, with the Falcons scheduled to match up in their first encounter against Poway this season on Jan. 9. Poway defeated Westview 8-5 in the teams’ first go-around on Jan. 2.

League play ends February 16 in advance of the Kiwanis Cup championship playoffs that will take place from February 20 to March 1.

Poway took a conference-best 8-0 record into its Jan. 9 game against the Falcons while Westview was 6-1-1.

As a fourth-year player, Reinhold has assumed the role of the team’s captain this season. After serving as an assistant captain last season. He said he is taking the new duties to heart this year.

“My job is making sure everyone shows up at practice and to keep everyone in check. My job is also to keep the lines of communication open between the players and the coach and to keep everyone playing together on the same page,” Reinhold said.

“So far, we’re undefeated. We’re playing as a team. The first couple games we weren’t doing a lot of that but we’re playing as a team now. We have good chemistry in our lineup,” he said.

In a game in which ice hockey skills can add a lot of extra intangibles to propel a team to the top, Reinhold stands out as one of the Falcon’s three non-ice hockey players. His coach, Greg Friedman, felt the Falcon defenseman did not receive due recognition as a selection on last year’s all-conference team, perhaps due to being overshadowed by ice hockey talent.

“He’s done surprisingly well for someone who doesn’t play ice hockey. It’s tough. You play against guys who are playing (both ice and roller hockey) seven days a week. He plays three months out of the year and can still hold his own with those guys,” Friedman said of Reinhold.

That compliment stands as tribute to Reinhold’s playing stature as one of the CIF/Metro Conference’s unsung heroes.