SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Roller Hockey

Monarchs’ tradition is alive and rolling

By Phillip Brents

Updated Dec. 16, 2002

Huckleberry, the original rubber chicken mascot that used to hang behind the Monte Vista High School roller hockey team’s bench during games at the La Mesa Sports Center, may no longer be in active service but tradition continues to fuel the Monarchs in their eighth season of play in the club-based San Diego County High School Roller Hockey Conference.

There has been much change since that first puck dropped but the links to the past remain very firm for what was the conference’s first bona fide dynasty with three championships in four successive title game appearances.

"The guys who were around when we had our dynasty still going are seniors now. We’re trying to get them to instill some fire into the team and get the pride back," said Monte Vista coach Kyle Trelford. "We had a dominant team then and we want to be dominant again. We have some great young players who are enthusiastic about trying to do that."

With a 2-1-2 start to the 2002-03 season, the "new era" Monarchs appear to be doing their best to duplicate the magic of seasons past.

Monte Vista won championship titles in the conference’s second, third and fourth seasons after finishing runner-up to Valhalla in the ground-breaking circuit’s inaugural campaign. The Monarchs were bidding for an unprecedented fifth consecutive championship game appearance before a bout with food poisoning ended the team’s playoff run in the semifinals. Monte Vista missed the playoffs last season with a 4-5-2 record but appears ready to rebound with another solid performance befitting the team’s tradition.

That message was delivered loud and clear as the Monarchs scored twice in the final 41 seconds to come away with a dramatic 6-6 draw against undefeated Vista Panthers in a cross-league game played Dec. 9 at Skate San Diego in National City.

The dramatic comeback helped erase the sting of a forfeit loss the previous week to Carlsbad – the only blemish on Monte Vista’s early season record.

The Monarchs followed that inspirational win with a 26-0 victory against first-year entrant Mission Bay on Dec. 16.

"If we can keep certain people on the team, we’ll be fine," said Monarch senior goaltender Tommy Prewitt.

Monte Vista competes in the 18-team conference’s Southeastern League alongside squads representing West Hills, St, Augustine, La Jolla, Mission Bay and Point Loma high schools. Teams like the Monarchs that compete at the club level are self-funded and do not receive support in terms of rink time and playing equipment from school districts.

Vista and Carlsbad compete in the conference’s North County League alongside Escondido, Rancho Buena Vista, Fallbrook and San Marcos.

The conference’s 2002-03 membership is rounded out by the Inland League that includes La Costa Canyon, defending conference champion Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Mt. Carmel, San Pasqual and Torrey Pines.

Vista (3-0-1), Escondido (4-0-0), St. Augustine (3-0-2) and Rancho Bernardo (3-0-1) have all opened their seasons with promising undefeated starts.

Monte Vista opened the season with a 3-3 tie against Fallbrook and a 13-1 league win against Point Loma. Last season’s Monte Vista team was hit hard with a short bench but with 15 players on this season’s squad, that does not appear to be a problem.

Prewitt said the best could still lie ahead for the team despite its relatively strong start.

"We had a rough time getting people organized. We have a lot of new people," said Prewitt, who along with senior teammate Spike Timmins helped the Chula Vista Golden Eagles Bantam Division travel team earn a prestigious runner-up finish in this summer’s NARCh Finals in Minnesota. "We’re still trying to get comfortable with each other. A lot of the lines are new."

The Monarchs, who now play their home games in National City following the suspension of the La Mesa Sports Center’s hockey program, trailed the Panthers by two goals on three separate occasions in the high profile Dec. 9 matchup before senior defenseman A.J. Seeger scored Monte Vista’s final two goals to erase a 6-4 deficit. Seeger’s first goal brought the Monarchs to within one goal at 6-5 with :41 to play in regulation. His second goal was even more dramatic. It came with 11 seconds left and came after Monte Vista had pulled Prewitt in favor of an extra attacker with two men in the penalty box for each team.

The game-tying goal came on a slap shot from just inside the red line after Tony Mauro had won a face-off to the left of Vista goalie Tom Holsheimer.

Justin Spears and Brandon Schaeffer each matched Seeger with two goals in the game. Schaeffer scored the Monarchs’ first two goals while Spears’ initial tally tied the game at 3-3 with one second remaining in the second period.

"It’s been a lot better than I thought with all the new guys coming in. We play a team game. It’s not one guy but everyone contributing," Trelford said.

Both Prewitt and Timmins also play ice hockey. Prewitt comes from a primarily roller hockey background (eight years) as opposed to ice hockey (two years) while Timmins has played ice hockey 10 years, winning two state championship titles.

They reflect the consensus of the team in terms of their motivation to represent their school.

"Playing against these teams, it creates rivalries like football. It gives us a place where we can show our skills," said Timmins, who is playing his second year with the Monarchs.

Seeger, one of seven seniors on the Monte Vista team, has been playing roller hockey since he was 10 — displaying the experience level rampant throughout the squad. Other returning key players include senior forwards Tony Mauro, Brandon Schaeffer, junior defenseman Mike Beckstrand and sophomore defenseman Kody Carpenter.

This year’s Monarch team features three full lines, plus an alternate line.

Spears and Matt O’Brien, both juniors, easily rank as two of the squad’s more enthusiastic players – both of whom have received increasingly significant playing time.

Spears recalled making the Monte Vista varsity team as a freshman to be among the highlights of his career thus far. "There were a lot for tryouts. It was harder then. I was real proud because the three years before that they had won championships," said Spears, who plays center on the team.

This is O’Brien’s first year on the varsity team after being sidelined the past two seasons because of a knee injury. He pointed to the large embroidered "MV" on his jersey and smiled. "That’s a big deal," he said.

Fire away

Timmins (6 goals, 2 assists) and Spears (4 goals, 7 assists) led the offensive assault against Mission Bay (0-4-0) while Schaeffer (4 goals, 1 assist), Seeger (3 goals, 3 assists) and Mauro (3 goals, 2 assists) each contributed hat tricks of their own. Prewitt shared the shutout with freshman netminder Gordon Smith.

Pack attack

West Hills (1-3-1) recorded its first win of the season by defeating Point Loma, 10-5, in a game played Dec. 16 at Skate San Diego. Matt Bickel racked up a game-high seven goals for the Wolf Pack, which also received two goals and one assist from Thomas Blaettler and three assists from Bree Stevens. Casey Peterson scored one goal for West Hills while Skip Bartholomew and Kenny Gurr each contributed one assist.

Alex Kanakaris paced the Pointers (0-5-0) with three goals while teammates Jacob Kalmonson and Bryson Goon each added a goal and assist.