Tritons Advance to Semifinal
Corona, CA- The UC San Diego Roller Hockey Club advanced to the semifinal round of the WCRHL regional playoffs this past weekend, on March 5th. After finishing the season in 5th place in the division, the Tritons were able to advance as underdogs before finally falling to the eventual champions.
The Tritons’ first two games of the tournament were pool play games against 3rd place University of Arizona, and 2nd place CSU Fullerton. These pool play games, which were used to decide the elimination matchups, didn’t go as planned for UC San Diego. After the two games, they found themselves 0-2 after falling 4-2 and 4-1 to U of A and CSUF respectively. This set up the quarterfinal matchup between the two UC rivals: UCI and UC San Diego. Having lost both of the previous matchups against the Anteaters, the Tritons had their work cut out for them. The puck dropped to start the game and both teams came out hard. With neither team giving an inch, the first period came to an end with a scoreless tie. The second period saw the same defensive style of play, with the Tritons controlling the majority of the play. Finally with just 2:36 left in the frame, UC San Diego forward Grant Marcy finally broke the scoreless tie giving his team a 1-0 lead. Entering the third period with the slight edge, the Tritons did their best to counter every attack by the Anteaters. The team’s defense, backed by goaltender Peter Simonsen, was enough to hold onto the lead. The Tritons would win the game 1-0 and advance to the semifinal round against University of Arizona.
In the second matchup of the weekend between U of A and UC San Diego, the Tritons looked to get revenge for their earlier loss. The teams fought tooth and nail for any offensive opportunities, but with just 3 minutes left in the opening frame, Arizona struck first. Entering the second period the Tritons looked to tie the game, but the strong possession game of the Wildcats limited them to just 4 shots. The Wildcats on the other hand were able to muster up 14 shots and bury 2 more goals, giving them a 3-1 lead after two periods. Needing offense, the Tritons began taking chances to try and tie the game. An offensive zone penalty, however, gave the Wildcats the opportunity to put the game away, which they did by extending their lead to 4-1. The final buzzer sounded, ending the season for the UC San Diego Roller Hockey Club.
We’d like to congratulate seniors Zane Curdes and Peter Simonsen for graduating this year with bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Structural Engineering respectively. We’d like to thank them for their dedication to the team and putting in all their hard work over the last 4 years.
