By Phillip Brents

Posted Dec. 30, 2004

While the San Diego Gulls have made a rapid rise toward the top of the ECHL’s West Division standings in recent weeks, the Mar Vista High School roller hockey team has done the same in the CIF/Metro Conference standings. With a victory against Hilltop on Jan. 3 (5:30 p.m. at Skate San Diego in National City), the Mariners, in fact, can clinch this season’s South Bay League championship — the first league title in the program’s five years of existence.

Jeremy Tanaka (pictured at right) should know something about both the Gulls’ and Mariners’ turn of fortunes this season. He serves as one of the Gulls’ stickboys as well as one of Mar Vista’s scoring leaders.

The sophomore skater had six goals and two assists in the Mariners’ 12-2 victory against Otay Ranch on Dec. 16 as Mar Vista extended its unbeaten start to the season to 6-0-0, 5-0-0 in league play. It was the best game of his two-year career in what stood perhaps as the team’s most inspired performance in school history.

Tanaka’s cousin, Ian Nicklen, had four goals in the game, while another cousin, Marcos Rodriguez, was named the team’s Player of the Game for his defense of Otay Ranch’s Adrian Rodriguez, who had entered the week as the conference’s top scorer.

Nicklen has since taken over the top scoring role with 24 goals and 15 assists. Tanaka ranks third in league scoring with 18 goals and nine assists. Tanaka’s emergence as a goalscorer has taken some of the pressure off of Trevor Stutzman — last season’s leading scorer — who has become the team’s all-around playmaker this season with eight goals and 12 assists.

The Mariners’ desire to elevate their game to three full periods of high-energy play against the Mustangs was a tribute to how far they want to go this season. Mar Vista lost in overtime in last year’s postseason Kiwanis Cup tournament semifinals. With the addition of five North County teams into the conference this season, playoff victories are going to be even harder to come by.

The wheels appear to be turning in perfect synchronous fashion this season for the Mariners, who have outscored opponents 68-9.

"We felt that this would be a difficult game for us. We knew that Otay Ranch would be gunning for us to avenge that first game (a 12-6 Mar Vista victory). We felt we had to play our best to win. I asked our players to play their best and to give me an early Christmas present — a win — and they did. I was proud they kept up their energy throughout the game and kept their heads up all three periods. I have to give respect to Otay Ranch. They’re a great team. The scoreboard does not reflect how good a team Otay Ranch really is," Mar Vista coach Ron Cole said.

Otay Ranch’s Rodriguez finished with a brilliant goal in the game by weaving through the entire Mariner defense and firing a shot while being leveled, he was limited on the score sheet by both aggressive defense and the equally brilliant play of Mar Vista netminder Mike Gisi, whose quick glove save on a low liner ticketed for the corner struck by Rodriguez on another scoring chance was the stuff reserved for the proverbial highlight reel.

"Our player of the game was Marcos Rodriguez," Cole said. "Here’s a sophomore who played defense on the best player in the league."