Midget-A 2005/2006 Ice Hockey Team
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BLUE DEVILS |
HOCKEY ASSOC. |
SABERS |
RIPTIDE |
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BLACKHAWKS |
BLUE DEVILS |
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SABERS |
RIPTIDE |
| Date | Day | Time |
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Result |
| 7-Apt-06 | Friday |
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L, 2-3 |
| 7-Apr-06 | Friday | 7:15 PM |
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W, 7-3 |
| 8-Apr-06 | Saturday | 6:00 PM | |
Tri-Valley Blue Devils | W, 5-1 |
| 9-Apr-06 | Sunday | 1:00 PM | |
Tri-Valley Blue Devils | W, 2-1 |
Threepeat is Sweet - Hawks are Champs!
April 9, 2006In a start-to-finish nailbiter, the Santa Clara Blackhawks claimed the club's third consecutive CAHA Midget-A State Championship, nipping the Tri-Valley Blue Devils, 2-1. The Blackhawks' route to the State Championship was a much tougher road than the one they traveled to win NORCAL, as they had to overcome an opening game loss in order to earn a spot in the finals, and then they had to come from behind against a very talented and motivated Blue Devils squad to win the title. Santa Clara's depth has been one of the primary keys to their success all year long, and never was that more evident than today. Both goals in the championship game were scored by Jason Pacheco, who registered his first points of the tournament. The Hawks also stuck with their hot hand between the pipes, in deciding to go with goaltender Sam Boyer over one of the team's most valuable players, Devon Luna. Their depth in the net also worked to their advantage on this day as Boyer was rock-solid, denying 22 of 23 shots and giving up almost no rebounds. The Blackhawks' defensive work was stellar in front of Boyer as well, particularly during a 1:35, two-man advantage for the Blue Devils in the second period.
Championship intensity was evident in this game from the first drop of the puck. Tri-Valley's first shot produced a routine save by Sam Boyer at 12:44. Santa Clara's first scoring opportunity came when Phillip Wong zipped a pass inside to Anthony Dragotto. But Dragotto's one-timer was rejected at 11:45. At 7:23, the Devils caught the first break when the Blackhawks committed a minor penalty. Jeremy Mamon and Brian Quirolo keyed a solid penalty kill effort and Boyer chipped in with a glovehand snag at 5:57. The first goal in any game is huge, and in a playoff game it looms even larger, and it was the Blue Devils who struck first when a Blackhawks outlet pass was intercepted in the right slot. The Blue Devils' skater moved in undefended and slipped a backhand shot past Boyer at 5:13, and Tri-Valley had drawn first blood. The Devils then rode the momentum of that first goal to outshoot the Blackhawks, 9-4 in the period. But Sam Boyer stopped everything that came his way. A very nice wraparound attempt was smothered by Boyer at 3:45, and then Boyer snagged a slapshot off the next face-off with the big chopper. Santa Clara generated a decent scoring chance at 2:01 when Dustin Holt ripped a slapshot that produced a short rebound. But his teammates could not get to it and the Devils regained possession. Boyer came up with another big save at 1:30, this time kicking a shot aside with the pad, and the period wound down with the Devils leading, 1-0.
Santa Clara got themselves in a jam early in the second period, and Tri-Valley's failure to capitalize may have cost them the game. The trouble started on a sequence deep inside the Blackhawks zone when a Devils skater got to a loose puck out in front and snapped off a shot that Sam Boyer rejected. But the Blackhawks were whistled for their second penalty of the game, giving the Devils another shot on the power play. The Hawks then made matters worse when they took a delay of game penalty just twenty-five seconds later, giving the Blue Devils a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:35. Anthony Dragotto joined blueliners Kevin Brown and Nick Lavarias on the penalty kill and they proceeded to eat up the clock. First, Brown blocked a shot that Dragotto was then able to ice. With thirty-eight seconds left on the two-man advantage, Sam Boyer gained a stoppage of play with a glove save. Patrick Castagna replaced Dragotto on the penalty-kill unit and the Captain proceeded to eat up most of the remaining time with a face-off win and an end-to-end rush with the puck. The Devils had time for one more rush, but Boyer rejected a slapshot that Castagna was able to get to and send the length of the ice. The Blackahwks then quickly changed-up and shortly after Phillip Wong exited the penalty box, Nick Lavarias spotted him with a long pass to center ice. Wong deflected the puck ahead into the Devils' zone and that allowed him to sidestep his defender and break loose on a 2-on-1 with Jason Pacheco. Wong moved in on the rush and then passed across the slot to Pacheco, who tipped it just beyond the goalie's outstretched leg for the score.
The sudden turn of events was huge for the Blackhawks and it loomed as an even larger missed opportunity for the Blue Devils. But Santa Clara proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot when they committed their fourth penalty of the game at 9:41 of the second period. This time, a strong penalty-kill effort by Phillip Wong caused the Blue Devils to commit a penalty of their own at 8:47, cutting short the Tri-Valley power play. When the Blackhawks' penalty expired at 7:41, it left them with an abbreviated 54-second man advantage, their first of the game. After stellar work on the penalty kill, the power play unit showed their talent, needing just forty-two seconds to score what would ultimately turn out to be the game winner. Jeremy Mamon got things rolling with some good puck control in the Tri-Valley zone. Mamon eventually sent a pass to Nick Lavarias and Lavarias ripped off a slapshot from the right point that went wide of the net. As it came flying past the post, Brandon Shore tipped it and the puck wrapped all the way around the boards to Kevin Brown at the left point. Brown slid inside with the puck toward the center point position and then fired a shot on goal. The Devils' goalie made the pad save, but Jason Pacheco was first to sniff out the rebound, and he buried the biscuit at 6:59 to give Santa Clara a 2-1 lead. The Blackhawks had a chance to extend their lead later in the period, with 1:29 of 5-on-3 time of their own. But Tri-Valley's goaltender was superb, making several strong saves. The Blackhawks' best chance came after a Dustin Holt slapshot produced a rebound right in front. Anthony Dragotto had an opening to shoot at and he tried to gather in the puck to lift it top shelf, but in doing so he lost control and the puck slid behind the net. The Blue Devils escaped further damage and the players headed to the locker rooms at the end of the period for a fresh ice cut with the Blackahwks leading 2-1.
The third period was textbook defensive hockey for the Blackhawks. Santa Clara only generated four shots on goal in the final period, but more importantly, they allowed only five. Tri-Valley did get one more chance on the power play, their sixth of the game, at 13:50. They wasted no time generating a good scoring chance on a howitzer of a slapshot at 13:42. But Sam Boyer gobbled it up and gained a stoppage of play. At 13:16, a Devils' skater got around a defender and it required Boyer to come up with back-to-back saves of the game. First, Boyer stuffed the initial open shot from his front porch, and then he stretched the pad to the post to deny a great rebound opportunity at 13:16. As play continued, Santa Clara's Patrick Castagna almost gave the Blackhawks some breathing room at 11:22, but his hard wrister rang off the post. Phillip Wong, Anthony Dragotto and Nick Costa culminated a very solid shift with a backhand shot from the center slot by Dragotto at 9:03, but his scoring chance was snuffed by the goaltender. The Blackhawks defense iced the Devils the rest of the way, allowing almost nothing to get through to Boyer. The Devils did manage to squeeze off a snapshot at 7:19, but the Hawks' netminder vacuumed it up. From that point on, the Blackhawks took control, preventing any kind of shot and dumping the puck deep inside the Tri-Valley zone, and then controlling it there for extended periods of time. Tri-Valley pulled their goaltender late in the game, but they had to return to 5-on-5 hockey after a stoppage of play in the Devils' zone. Santa Clara then ran out the clock, never allowing the puck back into the Blackhawks' zone in the last thirty seconds of play.
The CAHA Championship gives the Blackahwks the trifecta they sought from their first day of practice. They went undefeated in capturing the NORCAL regular season title. They swept the field in winning the NORCAL Tournament Championship, and now they have won the club's third consecutive CAHA State Championship. Congratulations to all on a fantastic year!
BOX SCORE
TEAMS 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL Tri-Valley 1 0 0 1 Blackhawks 0 2 0 2 Scoring Summary
First Period
Scoring: 1, Tri-Valley, Sexsmith (unassisted), 5:13. Penalties: Gagliardi, Santa Clara (holding), 7:23.Second Period
Scoring: 2, Blackhawks, Pacheco 1 (Wong, Lavarias), 10:08. 3, Blackhawks, Pacheco 2 (Brown, Shore), 6:59 (pp). Penalties: Kiernan, Santa Clara (crosscheck), 12:49; Wong, Santa Clara (delay of game), 12:24; Wong, Santa Clara (slashing), 9:41; Harrison, Tri-Valley (crosscheck), 8:47; Hamilton, Tri-Valley (interference), 3:06; Block, Tri-Valley (roughing), 2:35; Venosta, Santa Clara (crosscheck), 0:38.Third Period
Scoring: None. Penalties: Yedlicka, Santa Clara (charging), 13:50.SHOTS ON GOAL
Power-play Conversions: Santa Clara: 1 of 3; Tri-Valley: 0 of 6. Goalies: Santa Clara, Boyer (23 shots, 22 saves; record 2-0-0). Tri-Valley, Carey (20 shots, 18 saves).
Tri-Valley 9 9 5 --23 Santa Clara 4 12 4 --20 Plus/Minus: +1(Brown, Lavarias, Mamon, Pacheco); even(Castagna, Fredericks, Gagliardi, Kiernan, Quirolo, Shore, Venosta, Yedlicka, Wong); -1(Costa, Dragotto, Kotval, Holt); DNP(none).
Game Winning Goal: Pacheco (1)
Three Stars of the Game
Jason Pacheco - In a full team effort, Pacheco grabs the headline scoring both goals in the title game
Sam Boyer - Under extreme pressure, Boyer was as cool as a cucumber, stopping 22 of 23 shots for the win
Phillip Wong - Capped a great CAHA tournament with the key assist on Blackhawks' game-tying goal
April 8, 2006Despite a slow start, the Santa Clara Blackhawks put together another strong effort against the Tri-Valley Blue Devils, winning by a 5-1 margin and earning a berth in the California Midget-A Championship game, to be played tomorrow. Their opponent will be these same Tri-Valley Blue Devils, a club that has to be smarting after three straight playoff losses to the Blackhawks. Santa Clara will need to make if four straight wins if they are to be successful in their primary goal for the year, and Tri-Valley will certainly pull out all the stops in an effort to make sure it doesn't happen.
Santa Clara came into tonight's game knowing that they controlled their own destiny. For Tri-Valley, they had to be looking at this game as an opportunity to get rid of the Blackhawks before the championship game. The Devils came out of the gate strong, while most of the Blackhawks continued to digest their Hash House mega-meal. Fortunately for Santa Clara, their Hash House Host, goaltender Sam Boyer, had their backs, or perhaps it was their stomachs that he had. Either way, Boyer was smothering every shot that came his way. Tri-Valley earned a power play at 14:22 and Boyer was called on right away to stop a tough shot at 14:13. Back the other way, Patrick Castagna was denied on a one-timer off a feed from Kyle Yedlicka. Tri-Valley came right back with a flurry of scoring chances. One shot glanced off the post, another went just wide, and finally Boyer ended the frenzy with a save and cover in front of the net at 12:54. Back at even strength, Boyer had more work to do. He rejected one shot after a good move inside at 10:23, and then he gloved a hard slapper off the ensuing face-off. Finally, the Blackhawks got what they needed to ease the pressure on their goaltender - the go-ahead goal. Carrying the pucck into the Devils zone, Vitto Gagliardi tipped a pass outside to Dustin Holt, who moved wide looking for space to shoot. Holt finally found a seam and let go a shot that was saved off the goaltender's pad to Kyle Yedlicka, and Yedlicka pounded the rebound home. The Blackhawks then extended their first-period lead to 2-0 at 5:44, once again spreading the ice and using their blueliners to contribute. Kevin Brown started the scoring play with a shot from the point that went just wide. Brandon Shore grabbed the puck behind the net, and then centered a pass out front that Jeremy Mamon one-timed into the back of the net. Sam Boyer kept the Blue Devils off the board the rest of the way, with a save at the post at 5:14 and then a glovehand snag at 2:36 on a Tri-Valley rush.
Santa Clara opened the second period with another 2-on-1 rush by Kyle Yedlicka and Patrick Castagna. This time Yedlicka took the shot, but once again the dynamic duo was foiled by a nice save from the Devils' netminder. Sam Boyer remained sharp, making a nice save on a 2-on-2 rush, moving side-to-side to deny a scoring chance at 11:37. Santa Clara was whistled for another penalty at 10:09 and once again the Blue Devils attacked on the power play. Backstop Boyer was ready, making a sharp save at 9:53 and then getting the pad out to kick aside a great rebound chance. At 9:48, Tri-Valley committed a minor penalty, cutting their power play short. On the ensuing four-on-four, Anthony Dragotto spotted Phillip Wong with a breakaway pass, but Wong's shot was rejected with a nice save down low. Back the other way, Boyer made yet another sweet save, rejecting a 2-on-1 scoring chance. With a 2-0 stalemate in progress, the next goal was going to be huge, and it was Blue Devils who finally nailed it. The goal was scored at 4:48 on a backhand shot from in close after Santa Clara coughed up possession of the puck in their own end. With Santa Clara's lead cut to a single goal, they responded in the best way possible, with a quick strike the other way. Phillip Wong started it with a face-off win in the Devils' zone that Anthony Dragotto chased into the corner. While Dragotto tangled with a defender, Wong sped in and grabbed the puck and then spun back out toward the left circle before passing out to the center point for Kevin Brown. Brown one-timed a pass right back towards the net, where the ever-hustling Anthony Dragotto was already heading after his altercation in the corner. Dragotto collected the puck as the goaltender dropped into the butterfly, and then he deftly lifted an over-the-shoulder wrister top shelf for the score. The goal came just forty-six seconds after Tri-Valley's score, and it put a damper on the Blue Devils' comeback hopes. The period ended with the Blackhawks still clinging to their 3-1 lead.
Sam Boyer helped preserve Santa Clara's two-goal cushion by snagging a rising slapshot that was hammered at him at 10:39 of the final period. Boyer then gloved another slapshot, this one through a screen, at 8:24. The Blackhawks finally pounded a stake into the Devils' heart with their fourth goal, coming at 6:40. Anthony Dragotto started and finished this scoring sequence. He started it by being quick off the bench at the start of a line change, rushing into the Tri-Valley zone to battle for a puck along the side boards. Linesmate Phillip Wong then joined him, collecting the puck after Dragotto pushed it into the corner. Wong sent the biscuit right back to Dragotto who was moving in towards the right face-off dot. Dragotto collected it and sent a centering pass for Nick Costa, but the pass was out of his reach and it drifted out Kevin Brown who was at the left point. Brown sent a shot in through traffic that resulted in a pad save that deposited a fat rebound out front. Anthony Dragotto popped the loose change home before anyone else had a chance to react, giving the Blackhawks a 4-1 lead. It was Dragotto's second goal of the game, and Kevin Brown's third assist. Brown added the exclamation point to his three-assist playmaker at 2:51 when he one-timed a canon of a slapshot past the Devils' goaltender during a Blackhawks' 5-on-3 power play. Jeremy Mamon and Brandon Shore recorded assists on the play, each contributing their second points of the contest.
Tri-Valley gets one more chance at the Blackhawks tomorrow, and with nothing to lose, they are certain to be sky-high and loose. The Blackhawks will need to match the Blue Devils' intensity from start to finish if they hope to be crowned California Midget-A Champions for the third consecutive year.
BOX SCORE
TEAMS 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL Tri-Valley 0 1 0 1 Blackhawks 2 1 2 5 Scoring Summary
First Period
Scoring: 1, Yedlicka 2 (Holt, Gagliardi), 7:40. 2, Blackhawks, Mamon 1 (Shore, Brown), 5:44. Penalties: Kotval, Santa Clara (tripping), 14:22; Kiernan, Santa Clara (interference), 5:14.Second Period
Scoring: 3, Tri-Valley, Munze-Long (Vaughan), 4:48. 4, Blackhawks, Dragotto 2 (Brown, Wong), 4:02. Penalties: Pacheco, Santa Clara (crosscheck), 10:09; Munze-Long, Tri-Valley (holding), 9:48; Munze-Long, Tri-Valley (roughing), 7:31; Harrison, Tri-Valley (hooking), 3:09.Third Period
Scoring: 5, Blackhawks, Dragotto 3 (Brown, Wong), 6:40. 6, Blackhawks, Brown 2 (Mamon, Shore), 2:51. Penalties: Kiernan, Santa Clara (high-sticking), 8:24; Block, Tri-Valley (high-sticking), 8:24; Harrison, Tri-Valley (high-sticking), 6:25; Creighton, Tri-Valley (roughing), 4:41; Hamilton, Tri-Valley (tripping), 3:41.SHOTS ON GOAL
Power-play Conversions: Santa Clara: 1 of 6; Tri-Valley: 0 of 3. Goalies: Santa Clara, Boyer (28 shots, 27 saves; record 1-0-0). Tri-Valley, Carey (37 shots, 32 saves).
Tri-Valley 10 8 10 --28 Santa Clara 12 10 15 --37 Plus/Minus: +3(Brown, Lavarias); +2(Costa, Dragotto, Wong); +1(Castagna, Gagliardi, Pacheco, Yedlicka); even(Fredericks, Kotval, Holt; Kiernan, Mamon, Shore, Quirolo); -1(Venosta); DNP(none).
Game Winning Goal: Mamon (1)
Kevin Brown - Defensive leader had a great game at both ends, with one goal, three assists and a plus/minus of +3
Anthony Dragotto - Scored two huge goals for the Blackhawks including a nifty, top-shelf goal to give Hawks a 3--1 lead
April 7, 2006In a must-win game, the Santa Clara Blackhawks skated with passion Friday evening, dominating the SCAHA-Champion South Coast Sabers 7-3 to stay alive in their battle for a California State Championship. The Blackhawks will meet the 2-0-0 Tri-Valley Blue Devils tomorrow in what is pretty much a must-win game. The Blackhawks can advance to the title game with a win combined with a Channel Islands Riptide loss. They can even potentially advance with a loss, but more on that later. Should the Blackhawks and Riptide both win on Saturday, there would be a three-way tie between the Blackhawks, Blue Devils and Riptide. Head-to-head results would not settle the tiebreaker, so goal differential in the games played between the three teams would rule. In that case, the Riptide would likely be eliminated. Their goal differential is -4 in games played between those three teamms and they have already played both Santa Clara and Tri-Valley. A Santa Clara win means that their goal differential would be no worse than even. Now, if Santa Clara should happen to lose, Channel Islands advances with a win over South Coast. But if the Hawks and Riptide both lose, there would be a three-way tie for second place amongst Santa Clara, South Coast and Channel Islands. In that event, the goal-differential tiebreaker would also decide, and Santa Clara's goal differential in games played between those teams is +3. Channel Islands is +1, but by losing to South Coast, they could not improve upon that and would be eliminated. South Coast is -4, so they would have to beat Channel Islands by at least seven goals in order to have a chance in this scenario.
The fire that Santa Clara needed in their game against South Coast was evident from their first shift tonight, and a rifle snapshot from the left slot by Kyle Yedlicka found the back of the net just thirty-six seconds into the game. Yedlicka's goal was assisted by Patrick Castagna and Vitto Gagliardi. At 11:06, the Hawks extended their lead to 2-0. The goal was set up by a dominating shift by the Phillip Wong, Anthony Dragotto, Nick Costa line. This unit was in control in the Sabers' zone for about a minute before South Coast finally pushed the puck barely out of the zone. Santa Clara got fresh legs on the ice in the form of Vitto Gagliardi and he danced with the puck back into the Sabers' zone. Deking around a tired defense, Gagliardi drew a delayed penalty and that allowed defenseman Robert Kotval to pinch-in from the blueline. Gagliardi spotted Kotval with a pass in the center slot and Kotval slipped a shot through the five-hole for the score. Trailing 2-0, South Coast then changed goalies, something that they would do throughout the night after every couple of goals allowed. The Sabers then temporarily derailed the Blackhawks' steamroller with a long wrist shot goal on a power play, that hit off goaltender Devon Luna's pads and got by him at 9:13. The Sabers were further aided when a Blackhawks' goal by Nick Costa was waived off, ruling that Costa had kicked it in with his skate. Costa came back with another scoring chance at 5:40 on a one-timer, but he was denied by a nice save in front. The Blackhawks would not be denied that third goal of the period however, and it finally came at 0:33 off the stick of defenseman Kevin Brown. Phillip Wong started the play with a nifty move to stay onside before walking into the zone with the puck. Skating along the right side boards, Wong passed to Anthony Dragotto near the right face-off circle. Dragotto faked the slapshot, then centered a pass behind his back to Nick Costa that Costa and a defenseman poked out towards the blueline. Kevin Brown loaded up there and sent a shot on goal that got through a Nick Costa screen before lighting the lamp for the Hawks.
It took awhile for the Blackhawks offense to get untracked in the second period and goaltender Devon Luna helped to preserve the lead with a great side-to-side save on a quick, one-timer strike at 12:25. Santa Clara finally added to their lead on a power play goal by Nick Costa at 6:26. The sequence started with a strong play by Brian Quirolo to hold the zone along the left boards, allowing Mitch Venosta to dig it out and skate towards the middle. Venosta dropped a pass back for Quirolo and Quirolo sent a shot on goal that Costa redirected past the netminder. Once again, Costa's work in front of the net and the Blackhawks' use of their points resulted in a goal. The 4-1 lead just seemed to fuel the Blackhawks to work harder and it paid off with a shorthanded strike at 2:52. Dustin Holt got this one started by taking the puck away from the Sabers and flipping it out to the neutral zone, where Jeremy Mamon raced to it and then powered into the South Coast zone on a two-on-one, with Anthony Dragotto joining him on the rush. Mamon went straight for the net and then passed across at the perfect time for Dragotto, who banged home the one-timer. The Sabers came back on that same power play to score on a nice shot just inside the post at 2:17, narrowing the gap to 5-2 to close out the period.
Santa Clara had a good chance to extend their lead early in the third period, but Jason Pacheco's one-timer off a feed from Jeremy Mamon was denied. South Coast then struck for their third goal of the game at 11:31, on a shot that Devon Luna deflected up into the air before it floated over his own shoulder and landed in the net for the score. It was a rare night for Luna when he was not seeing the puck well and it promoted Coach Nunn to make the switch to Sam Boyer. Boyer then picked up the save for Luna, stopping all six of the shots he faced, including a couple that were great scoring chances. But first, the Blackhawks erased any possible misconception that the Sabers were going to get back into the game. At 7:44, defenseman Nick Lavarias took a feed from Phillip Wong and fired another shot through traffic from the blueline that Wong deflected into the back of the net. Just over a minute later, Dustin Holt made it three goals for the defense, ripping a howitzer of a slapshot from the left point that twisted the twine. Patrick Castagna notched one assist for his face-off win to Robert Kotval, and Kotval picked up the second assist for his quick cross-ice pass to Holt. Sam Boyer then stepped up with a great save, using the pokecheck to deny the Sabers on a breakaway at 5:02. Boyer followed that up with a smothering save at 4:36, and then a two-on-one rejection at 1:59.
The rugged Tri-Valley Blue Devils now lie in wait for the Blackhawks. Santa Clara defeated the Devils twice in the NORCAL Tournament and they will probably need to beat them twice more in the next two days in order to win a CAHA title. That is a tough order for any team, but it is one that a determined, playoff-ready team can accomplish.
BOX SCORE
TEAMS 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL South Coast 1 1 1 3 Blackhawks 3 2 2 7 Scoring Summary
First Period
Scoring: 1, Yedlicka 1 (Castagna, Gagliardi), 14:24. 2, Blackhawks, Kotval 1 (Gagliardi), 11:06. 3, South Coast, Crun (unassisted), 9:13 (pp). 4, Blackhawks, Brown 1 (Dragotto, Costa), 0:33. Penalties: Dokken, South Coast (slashing), 10:02; Shore, Santa Clara (tripping), 9:48; Pacheco, Santa Clara (slashing), 9:28; Dokken, South Coast (roughing), 6:59.Second Period
Scoring: 5, Blackhawks, Costa 1 (Quirolo, Venosta), 6:26 (pp). 6, Blackhawks, Dragotto 1 (Mamon, Holt), 2:52 (sh). 7, South Coast, Case (Marshall), 2:17 (pp). Penalties: Castagna, Santa Clara (boarding), 14:34; Gagliardi, Santa Clara (leg check), 11:02; Chamchuen, South Coast (hooking), 9:48; Case, South Coast (high-sticking), 7:01; Costa, Santa Clara (interference), 6:13; Kotval, Santa Clara (tripping), 4:07; Castagna, Santa Clara (slashing), 0:40.Third Period
Scoring: 8, South Coast, Decarlo (unassisted), 11:31. 9, Blackhawks, Wong 2 (Lavarias), 7:44. 10, Blackhawks, Holt 1 (Kotval, Castagna), 6:27 (pp). Penalties: Chamchuen, South Coast (interference), 7:06; Dans, South Coast (high-sticking), 4:07; Dokken, South Coast (unsportsmanlike conduct), 3:35; Yedlicka, Santa Clara (double minor, holding, unsportsmanlike conduct), 3:35; Wong, Santa Clara (roughing), 1:15; Fredericks, Santa Clara (boarding), 0:41; Golding, South Coast (unsportsmanlike conduct), 0:16.SHOTS ON GOAL
Power-play Conversions: Santa Clara: 2 of 6; South Coast: 2 of 9. Goalies: Santa Clara, Luna (15 shots, 12 saves; record 1-1-0) and Boyer (6 shots, 6 saves). South Coast, Mendel (16 shots, 12 saves) and Gregory (19 shots, 16 saves).
South Coast 6 7 8 --21 Santa Clara 14 9 12 --35 Plus/Minus: +3(Lavarias); +2(Castagna, Dragotto, Gagliardi, Kotval, Holt; Wong; Yedlicka); +1(Costa, Brown, Venosta); even(Fredericks, Kiernan, Mamon, Pacheco, Quirolo); -1(Shore); DNP(none).
Game Winning Goal: Costa (1)
Nick Costa - His high-octane pressure and work around the net earned him an assist and the game winning goal
Vitto Gagliardi - Hawks' top line was shot out of a canon, propelled by assists on first two goals by Vitto G
Kevin Brown - Blueliners cashed in for 3 goals and 4 assists, including Brown's big goal to give Hawks a 3-1 lead
April 7, 2006Being a heavy favorite in a short championship series paints a big, fat target on that team's back with every opponent looking to prove themselves against the best. The Santa Clara Blackhawks used that sort of edge to get past the Oakland Bears last year on their way to a California State Championship. This year the Blackhawks came into the CAHA playoffs as the favorites and they stumbled in their opener, losing to the Channel Islands Riptide by a 3-2 margin. SCAHA's #1 seed, the South Coast Sabers, met a similar fate, losing to the Tri-Valley Blue Devils in the other late morning contest, 3-1. With upsets in both openers, one of the #1 seeds is likely going to be eliminated from championship contention before the weekend even starts. Santa Clara and South Coast face off at 7:15 tonight in a do-or-die game for both teams.
Santa Clara was clearly the quicker, more talented squad in today's contest, but their offense looked rusty, perhaps coming off a 3-week layoff and a long-distance travel schedule. Despite playing much of the game in the Sabers zone, Santa Clara was outshot, 27-24. Neither team was able to score in the first period, though the Hawks looked strong early, not allowing a shot on goal until the 8:57 mark. The Riptide had the best chance of the period however, when a neutral zone turnover gave them an open breakaway at 0:41. But goaltender Devon Luna was able to come up with the big save, mano-a-mano.
The longer Channel Islands kept today's game close, the better their chances were to get a good bounce or deflection that would catapult them into the lead. That's exactly what happened when a Riptide slapshot from the blueline deflected off a stick and landed in the back of the net at 12:20 of the second period. There was no further scoring in the period and Santa Clara was once again unable to find the net, even after earning 1:22 of 5-on-3 time when Channel Islands took back-to-back penalties at 11:22 and 10:44. The Hawks' two-man advantage was cut short at 9:54 when they took a minor penalty of their own. The Blackhawks best chance of the second period came at 3:17 on tic-tac-toe passing from Anthony Dragotto to Nick Costa, to Phillip Wong. But Wong's one-timer was rejected and the period ended with the Riptide still clinging to a 1-0 lead.
In the third period, Santa Clara began to play with more of a sense of urgency, moving the puck quickly up the ice with each possession. Jeremy Mamon wristed a hard shot on goal for the Blackhawks that was sticked aside at 14:22. The better offensive pressure also left them more vulnerable to transition plays and Channel Islands generated a good scoring chance of their own at 11:11 after a change of possession. Devon Luna came up with the save however, and Santa Clara went back on the attack. At 8:55, the Riptide were whistled for a minor penalty and the Blackhawks responded with the equalizer just eleven seconds later. Phillip Wong won a face-off in the Riptide zone over to Anthony Dragotto, who circled the left face-off dot and then moved through the center slot. As he neared the right face-off circle, Dragotto sent a shot toward the net that Phillip Wong redirected past the goalie for the score. With the game tied at 1-1, Channel Islands committed another minor penalty at 8:24. Once again, Santa Clara responded with a power play goal. The play started on a dump-in and a line change by the Riptide. Goaltender Devon Luna played to puck to Robert Kotval, who then fed a pass to Brandon Shore in the neutral zone. Shore zig-zagged through the slot and then wristed a top shelf wrister, stick-side, past the Riptide netminder at 6:56. In a span of just 1:48, Santa Clara went from a position of desperation to gain their first lead of the game. But that lead was short-lived. Channel Islands tied it back up just twenty-four seconds later after Santa Clara won the ensuing center-ice face-off and took the puck deep into their own zone and then turned it over. The Riptide were eventually able to generate a long shot that Devon Luna appeared to cover. But no whistle came, and when Luna lifted his glove to look for the puck, a Riptide skater spotted it, and popped it into the back of the net to make it 2-2. After tying it up on a fluke goal, the Riptide won it on another with just 1:34 left to play. The game winner was scored on a shot from behind the Blackhawks' net that deflected off of Luna before landing behind him and between the pipes. It was a great play by the Riptide skater and it earned them a huge, 3-2 upset win over the Blackhawks.
Santa Clara will need to win their final two games and probably get a little help along the way if they now hope to advance to the CAHA title game. They wont need to wait long to get back on the ice, as they face-off against the SCAHA-champion South Coast Sabers in just a few short hours.
BOX SCORE
TEAMS 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL Blackhawks 0 0 2 2 Channel Islands 0 1 2 3 Scoring Summary
First Period
Scoring: None. Penalties: Castagna, Santa Clara (hooking), 4:43; S. McNally, Channel Islands (crosscheck), 1:33.Second Period
Scoring: 1, Channel Island, S. McNally (unassisted), 12:20. Penalties: S. McNally, Channel Islands (holding), 11:22; Robertson, Channel Islands (holding), 10:44; Castagna, Santa Clara (interference), 9:54; Quirolo, Santa Clara (holding), 0:10; Robertson, Channel Islands (holding), 0:10.Third Period
Scoring: 2, Blackhawks, Wong 1 (Dragotto), 8:44 (pp). 3, Blackhawks, Shore 1 (Kotval, Luna), 6:56 (pp). 4, Channel Islands, G. McNally (unassisted), 6:32. 5, Channel Islands, S. McNally (unassisted), 1:34. Penalties: Tedesco, Channel Islands (delay of game), 8:55; G. McNally (high-sticking), 8:24.SHOTS ON GOAL
Power-play Conversions: Santa Clara: 2 of 5; Channel Islands: 0 of 2. Goalies: Santa Clara, Luna (27 shots, 24 saves; record 0-1-0). Channel Islands, Tedesco (22 shots, 20 save).
Santa Clara 7 8 9 --24 Channel Islands 9 8 10 --27 Plus/Minus: even(Fredericks, Lavarias, Brown, Yedlicka); -1(Castagna, Dragotto, Costa, Gagliardi, Kiernan, Quirolo Mamon, Pacheco, Shore, Venosta, Wong); -2(Kotval, Holt); DNP(nonee).
Game Winning Goal: S. McNally (Channel Islands)
Brandon Shore - Found the top-shelf corner with his wrister from the slot to give Hawks a brief, 2-1 lead
Derek Fredericks - Steady defensive play and good puck movement at the offensive end - no goals allowed while on D
CAHA Playoff Stats - Skaters
Player # Games Goals Assists Points GWG +/- PIM Kevin Brown 42 4 2 4 6 0 +5 0 Patrick Castagna 17 4 0 2 2 0 +2 8 Nick Costa 3 4 1 1 2 1 +1 2 Anthony Dragotto 11 4 3 2 5 0 +2 0 Derek Fredericks 61 4 0 0 0 0 even 2 Vitto Gagliardi 26 4 0 3 3 0 +2 4 Dustin Holt 23 4 1 2 3 0 -1 2 Billy Kiernan 15 4 0 0 0 0 -1 6 Robert Kotval 24 4 1 2 3 0 -1 4 Nick Lavarias 2 4 0 2 2 0 +7 0 Jeremy Mamon 22 4 1 2 3 1 even 0 Jason Pacheco 12/9 4 2 0 2 1 +1 4 Brian Quirolo 33 4 0 1 1 0 -1 2 Brandon Shore 10 4 1 3 4 0 -2 2 Mitch Venosta 13 4 0 1 1 0 -1 2 Phillip Wong 89 4 2 3 5 0 +3 4 Kyle Yedlicka 6 4 2 0 2 0 +3 6 Goalies/Others - 4 0 1 1 0 - 0 Team Totals - 4 16 29 45 3 +19 48 Click on Player's Name for Individual bio
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99 | 8 | 91 | 91.9% | 2.00 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
CAHA Playoffs - Records Teams Record Points Place Santa Clara Blackhawks 3-1-0 6 1st Tri-Valley Blue Devils 2-2-0 4 2nd South Coast Sabers 1-2-0 2 3rd Channel Islands Riptide 1-2-0 2 4th
CAHA Playoffs
Schedule And Game Results
April 7 Tri-Valley Blue Devils -3
South Coast Sabers -1Channel Islands Riptide -3
Santa Clara Blackhawks -2Santa Clara Blackhawks -7
South Coast Sabers -3Tri-Valley Blue Devils -5
Channel Islands Riptide -0April 8 Santa Clara Blackhawks -5
Tri-Valley Blue Devils -1South Coast Sabers -6
Channel Islands Riptide -4
CAHA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
April 9, 2006 - Escondido IceoplexSanta Clara Blackhawks -2
Tri-Valley Blue Devils -1
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