Posted Aug. 4, 2003

Scott Powers earned honors last season as Eastlake High’s Most Valuable Player and Best Forward. The highlight to his junior year came after receiving the Most Potential award as a freshman. His sophomore season was lost due to a broken arm.

He jump-started what could turn out to be a very memorable senior year by getting the chance to play his beloved sport in a professional arena.

"The first time I stepped onto the rink, I remember looking up at all the seats and saying ‘Wow!’ You could see all the NHL team banners and there was one for my favorite team, the Philadelphia Flyers. It was an electric feeling," said Powers of his near-religious experience.

The Titan forward was among three players with ties to Eastlake High (joining linemate Chad McElroy and defenseman Adrian Rodriguez, who was invited to compete in this year’s Junior Olympic national championships as a member of the California State Games champion Vipers) who competed as members of the Chula Vista Golden Eagles 17 & under Bantam Division team at this year’s NARCh Finals July 17-30 at Teco Arena in Estero, Fla., the home of the ECHL Florida Everblades.

The Golden Eagles finished second in their division at the 2002 tournament but bowed out after one playoff game this year in an extremely competitive division.

"We lost some experienced players and were bringing up some players from the Pee Wee (14 & under) team. Our coach, Paul Newell, did a great job with what we had," Powers said.

The Golden Eagles posted a 1-1-2 record in preliminary round Gold Division play, defeating the Naples (Fla.) Everblades, 3-1, and tying contests against Omni St. Louis, 3-3, and the Kansas City Rage, 2-2. The Golden Eagles dropped a 3-1 playoff match to Michigan’s Motor City Rollerdogs.

Their lone loss in preliminary play was to the Michigan Timberwolves, 3-2.

"We should have won all the games before going into the playoffs. We started playing well later than earlier," McElroy said.

With 350 teams and 5,000 players, the NARCh Finals does not misrepresent itself as the biggest amateur roller hockey tournament in the world.

"It’s a challenge. It’s such a high level of roller hockey. Around here, the level of play is not as advanced. When you’re at NARCh, you’re playing against 30 teams that are at your level and well beyond," McElroy said.

"Every shift is something new. In house leagues you can take a break sometimes. There your adrenaline is pumping all the time, every shift. Some times it’s amazing when you see how the teams are organized, the systems they play and how they move the puck. It seems like every player has his own job on every shift," said Powers, who has been playing roller hockey since age 11.

This was Power’s second year as a member of the Golden Eagles elite travel team. His younger brother, Tommy Shoup, accompanied him to last year’s NARCh Finals in St. Paul, Minn., as a member of the Golden Eagles’ Pee Wee Division team.

"I wanted to explore new levels and boundaries. It was a whole new level of hockey," Powers said.

His introduction to the highest level of the sport last year brought immediate results with a coveted silver medal.

"That was a complete rush. When I first went to Minnesota (the 2002 NARCh Finals were held in the home rink of the NHL Minnesota Wild), I had never been out of California to play hockey before and it was a great experience," Powers said.

Joining the three Eastlake High players on the Golden Eagles Bantam Division team were Richard Garcia, Bryson Goon, James Arakaki, Casey Peterson, Tom Prewitt, Ryan Wiens, Joey Galeno and Jesse Parker.

The Golden Eagles Pee Wee Division team that finished second in this year’s California State Games 14-and-under division matched the older squad with a 1-1-2 finish at the NARCh Finals. Rodriguez had the honor of playing on both the 17-and-under and 14-and-under teams. He was joined on the younger team’s roster by Zach McElroy, Ryan Knight, Andy Wiens, Andrew Peede, Reed Hodges, Drew Watson, Chris Pohas and Joseph Guzman.