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2005 Kiwanis Cup CIF/Metro Conference Playoffs

Posted Feb. 21, 2005

In the Hilltop Lancers’ Feb. 3 inter-league matchup against the Rancho Bernardo Broncos, it was apparent to anyone who watched that game that the Lancers were just an inch or so away from connecting on passes or beating the Broncos netminder throughout the game. Close does not count, however, and the result was an 8-2 Hilltop loss.

The Lancers hit all their marks in Monday’s opening round of the Kiwanis Cup CIF/Metro Conference championship tournament and it was a beautiful sight to behold for coach Dan Vaccaro as 10^th-seeeded Hilltop skated to a surprising but nonetheless impressive 9-5 upset victory against seventh-seeded Rancho Bernardo.

It had to rate as the Lancers’ biggest victory of the season.

"There’s not a doubt that it was," the Hilltop coach said. "This team had beaten us a couple weeks earlier in every shape and form. I guess Hilltop realized they can play hockey with anybody. I’m real proud of our team. Rancho Bernardo was seeded seventh and we were seeded 10^th. But we controlled the game from the start. Our goalie played excellent. It’s a good boost for us at the end of the season."

The playoff rematch was a tale of two completely different teams. Hilltop, which had finished regular season play with a losing record at 9-10-1 and 1-5-0 inter-league mark, apparently brought its game to the rink; the Broncos, who finished 5-1-0 in inter-league play with a robust 66-20 goal-differential, apparently didn’t.

The game was a mismatch on the scoreboard from the onset despite North County teams having finished with a cumulative 38-8-2 record against South County teams in three weeks of inter-league play. Hilltop freshman Ruben Benavides scored the first goal of the game with 4:00 elapsed and three other Lancers – Nick Donahue, Cory Garvin and Austin McDonald – each added goals of their own before the opening period was over to carve out a commanding 4-0 lead. Both goals by Garvin and McDonald came on breakaways set up by perfect passes by teammates.

Hilltop led 6-1 after two quick goals to open the second period and pulled away with a much-needed power play goal by Donahue after the Broncos had narrowed the score to 6-3 late in the period.

The Lancer lead would grow to 8-3 and 9-4 before Rancho Bernardo’s Corey Grahl completed his hat trick on a goal with 15 seconds to play.

Garvin, who paced Hilltop in regular season scoring with 29 goals and 23 assists, finished with game with three goals and one assist for Hilltop while Donahue was credited with two goals and two assists. Brian Mark had two goals and one assist for the Lancers, who played a near-flawless positioning game by fluidly filling in space on the court.

Broncos team captain Justin Michitsch had two goals and one assist in a losing effort. Rancho Bernardo finishes the season 11-9-1.

The victory advances Hilltop to Thursday’s quarterfinal-round contest against second-seeded and defending Kiwanis Cup champion Scripps Ranch (17-2-1). The Falcons finished inter-league play with a 6-0-0 record and 41-8 goal-differential against the best that South County had to offer..

"So we play Scripps Ranch next. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, this is a great victory for Hilltop to enjoy," Vaccaro said.

Ricky Gutierrez scored his second goal of the game 6:10 into the sudden-victory overtime period to lift first-year Otay Ranch past 2004 Kiwanis Cup runner-up Eastlake. Gutierrez, who was positioned at the near post, scored after taking a pass-out from behind the net by teammate Matthew Nafarrete.

The teams had skated in a 2-2 deadlock for 28 minutes after Nafarrete had tied the score with 8:30 to play in the second period. Both teams had equal opportunity to win the game in the extra period before Gutierrez snapped the tie to give the Mustangs their first-ever playoff victory.

"I was just trying to play my game, skate hard," said Gutierrez, who had joined the team late in the season. "We were all tired at the end of the game. But we kept pushing. We gave it all we had."

All four goals in regulation came on power play tallies. Chipper Castro gave eighth-seeded Eastlake (11-9-1) a 1-0 lead when he scored off a feed from Zack McElroy just 3:26 into the game. Penalties for high-sticking and cross-checking gave the Mustangs a two-man advantage with 5:32 to play in the period and Gutierrez placed ninth-seeded Otay Ranch (14-6-1) into a 1-1 standoff by redirecting off a pass from conference scoring leader Adrian Rodriguez with 45 seconds gone in the penalties.

Eastlake’s game plan, according to coach Jeff Mechling was to contain Rodriguez, who had scored all four Mustang goals in a 4-1 Otay Ranch victory against the Titans in the teams’ only regular season meeting.

Rodriguez was limited to the one assist in the game after being shadowed effectively throughout the contest by Patrick Johnson. But the attention directed at Rodriguez, who finished regular season play with 62 goals and 39 assists for 101 points (five points per game average), allowed the Mustangs to show they were more than a one-man army.

The game also allowed Otay Ranch to show it could battle it out against a quality opponent after sputtering with a 1-3-0 record in inter-league play. If anything, Eastlake had appeared to gain momentum with each hard-fought inter-league game against North County teams.

The Mustangs took a 2-1 lead with 8:30 left in the second period when Nafarette, set up by with a pass credited to Gutierrez, beat Titan goaltender Orlando Villela with a power play goal.

The Otay Ranch lead was short-lived, however, as Kyle Hughes, one of Eastlake’s hardest-working but overlooked players, finished off a court-length rush less than two minutes later when he whipped off a shot from beyond the face-off circle that found nothing but net between the xx pad of Mustang goaltender Victor Holland and the near pipe.

The teams then settled in for an end-to-end but bruising standoff for the remainder of the middle period and the entire third period that gave true meaning to the type of excitement reserved specifically for playoff games.

Both teams were whistled for eight penalties apiece with nervous moments abounding for each squad throughout the tension- and thrill-filled contest.

"It was exciting. The boys played hockey. It was a physical game. We had been working on our penalty kill and we sure needed it in this game," Otay Ranch coach Lyn Dyer said. "We got real tired. We had to shorten our bench. We’re enjoying this – our first playoff win in school history."

The Titans were hampered offensively when Chipper Castro, the team’s second-leading scorer with 33 goals and 11 assists during the regular season, picked up his fourth penalty and was handed an automatic game ejection with 4:16 left in regulation play.

McElroy, who led Eastlake in scoring with 26 goals and 22 assists, was held to just the one assist in the game by Otay Ranch. Kyle Wagner, who ranked right behind Castro in team scoring with 23 goals and 16 assists, was held off the score sheet completely by the overachieving Mustang defense.

"Goaltending has been the one thing that has been consistent for us all season. We don’t have that one player who can go out and dominate in scoring," Mechling said. "We had a game plan and our team stuck to that game plan all the game. Patrick played a fantastic game in containing Adrian."

Rodriguez, in fact, appeared in danger of an early exit from the game after picking up two penalties in the first period. Gutierrez came close with three minor infractions.

"We told our guys to play hard but play smart," said Dyer, whose team draws top-seeded Poway (18-2-0) in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Manny Alvardo led the Panthers (15-4-2) with five goals and one assist while teammate Lukas Smith also registered six points in the game with three goals and three assists. Vista led 5-2 after the opening period and never looked back by holding a 10-3 lead heading into the final period.

Six players scored goals for the Panthers. Matt Apperley, Andrew Peattie and Kona Bilancia each scored twice while Andy Dimento picked up one goal. Peattie finished the night with four points by also adding a couple of assists.

Ryan Purdy led the Vikings (7-14-0) with one goal and one assist.

Vista advances to face fourth-seeded Mar Vista (15-3-2) in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

The Wolverines received goals from eight players, including hat tricks by Dan Luczak and Drew Ness, in recording the shutout win against the Torreys. The victory, which was the third this season against LJCD, pushes sixth-seeded Westview (14-5-2) into Thursday’s quarterfinals against third-seeded Bonita Vista (17-2-1).

Matt Durschlad had one goal and three assists for the Wolverines while Jason Diehl had one goal and two assists. Andy Wiens scored twice in the contest while picking up one assist. Three players finished with a goal and assist: Ryan Aguirre, Mark Baker and Leo Scheiler.

Westview led 4-0 after the opening period and 9-0 after two periods.