SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Roller Hockey

CIF-Metro Conference 2K3 Playoffs

Division I

First round

Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Skate San Diego, National City

#6 Hilltop 8, #3 Castle Park 7/OT

Carl Horten scored the game-winner 26 seconds into sudden-victory overtime after Castle Park had rebounded from 6-0 deficit to force overtime. Donny McGraw led all scorers in the game with six goals and one assist. Horten had five goals and one assist for Hilltop, which received standout play from goaltender Chris Romero for the first half of the game before the Trojans made their mad dash to tie the game with seven goals in the final 19:11 — scoring four goals in the final 4:11 of the second period to trail 6-4 entering the third period.

Hilltop advances to play top-seeded Scripps Ranch Thursday at 5 p.m. in the semifinals.

The Lancers built a 3-0 first-period lead and upped the margin to 6-0 behind the play of Romero. Joe Casillas got the game’s jump-goal with Horten and Erick Morgan following with unanswered goals. Horten scored twice, with Morgan adding a second goal, to give Hilltop its commanding 6-0 edge.

The Trojans responded with four goals to end the middle period, as McGraw got the first with 4:11 to play and Richard Garcia got the next 1:11 later. McGraw scored an unassisted goal with 1:37 remaining to continue the roll and Castle Park got a realistic glimmer of hope when McGraw added a hat trick goal with just five seconds left in the period.

The Lancers appeared to regain control when Horten scored on a power play to increase their lead to 7-4 but it only made it slightly more difficult for Castle Park to complete its comeback. McGraw scored less than a minute after Horten’s power play goal to trim the score to 7-5. The Trojans went on the power play with 6:30 to go in the third period and McGraw made it 7-6 with 5:13 left on the scoreboard clock. McGraw’s goal with 4:34 to play in regulation time tied the game at 7-7. Caslte Park scored seven goals in a span of 15:37.

Horten scored the game-winner on a back-hand shot on the first shot in overtime.

“Can you get any better than that?” asked Hilltop coach Dan Vaccaro after the contest. “We were up 6-0 but I told Paul (assistant coach Paul Newell) that those guys can score six goals in four minutes. I knew that six goals wouldn’t be enough. Castle Park has to be the best offensive team in the conference. I just think that at full strength that we can compete with anybody.”

“I thought we knew we were going to pull it out the way it had been going,” said Horten.

“I scored the first goal. That started us coming back. Slowly we worked our way up. We tied it 7-7,” McGraw said.

The game ended in furious fashion as both teams held nothing back on the court.

“At the end, that was the only way it matters. We just got too tired at the end,” McGraw said.

#5 Bonita Vista 6, #4 Eastlake 3

The Barons made a push to reach their third consecutive Kiwanis Cup championship game by scoring the upset win. Eastlake had defeated Bonita Vista in three previous games in the regular season. James Arakaki had two goals and three assists for the Barons, who also received three goals and one assist from Joey Galeno and a goal from Austin Ball and assist from Reuben Felizardo. The four players comprise BV's top line.

Bonita Vista advances to play second-seeded La Jolla Country Day Thursday at 6 p.m. in the semifinals.

The playoff mystique continues for the Barons, who were keyed by standout goaltending from senior rookie Shaun San Agustin. “We started coming together the last six games of the season. This is our third year in the playoffs. We have a knack of clicking. Eastlake had beat us all season. We had to put it together. We won the one that counted. It’s in the playoffs that it’s most important,” said BV coach Keith Quigley.

Semifinals

Thursday, Feb. 27 at Skate San Diego, National City

#1 Scripps Ranch 7, #6 Hilltop 0

Scripps Ranch snapshot: Dan Comrie had four goals and one assist and Geoff Bjork got things rolling with the jump goal on a nice back-hand shot to lead a Falcons team hitting on all cylinders. The Lancers were forced to play without play-maker Erick Morgan, who was ill, leaving Carl Horten to carry the offensive load. However, Scripps Ranch effectively marked Horten out of the game and after Lancer goaltender Chris Romero eventually proved beatable, the Falcons poured in the goals in what might be their best overall performance of the season.

#2 La Jolla Country Day 11, #5 Bonita Vista 3

La Jolla Country Day snapshot: Nathan Sigmund led the Torres with four goals and four assists while teammate Chris Bartlett was credited with three goals and an assist in another standout effort. Goaltender Ben Bartlett dominated the position in the game, helping his team to post leads of 7-0 and 10-1. "We just came to play today. We really worked well as a team and everyone got into it, not just Nathan. Chris had one of his best games of the season and it never hurts when Ben decides to have the game of his life," said LJCD senior captain Frankie Warren. "We just tried to play the body and man up ... force those outside shots."

Tuesday, March 4

Championship game

#2 La Jolla Country Day (16-6) 7, #1 Scripps Ranch (17-4-1) 5

Division II Playoffs

Wednesday, Feb. 26 @ Skate San Diego, National City

Mar Vista 7, Sweetwater 4

Montgomery 7, Chula Vista 4

Sweetwater 4, Southwest 0

Mar Vista 3, Montgomery 1

Chula Vista 6, Southwest 0

Friday, Feb. 28 @ Skate San Diego, National City

Montgomery 5, Sweetwater 2