EVENT RECAP

CRHL WESTERN REGION KICKS OFF WITH EVENTS OCTOBER 21st AND 28th.

The CRHL Western Region kicked off its season in Cotati, CA on October 21.

The opening weekend featured Cal Poly SLO, Chico State, Sonoma State, UC Davis, Sacramento State, and Monterey Bay.

The game of the weekend was far and away the game between Cal Poly SLO and Chico State. The game was a goaltender battle from the beginning. After the first quarter there was no score, and Chico had a slight edge on shots 15-12. SLO got on the board first with BenReed-Lunn scoring on a pass from TJ Guy. That would be the only goal of the half. Chico would tie the game halfway through the third quarter on a power-play goal by Matt Antosik. The two teams entered the fourth quarter with the score tied at 1-1. Just a minute in to the quarter, Chico pulled ahead with a short-handed goal by Doug Williams. Just two minutes later, Ian Gould would get the equalizer for SLO. Then with just over four minutes remaining in the game, Matt Jue scored the game-winner for SLO. Glenn Henz finished the game with 39 saves on 42 shots for Chico, and rookie goalie, Matt Corsetti, finished with 33 saves on 35 shots.

Cal Poly SLO and Chico State proved to be the teams to beat on this weekend, as they finished 4-0 and 3-1 respectively. UC Davis finished the weekend 2-2, along with Sonoma State. Sacramento State finished the weekend 1-3, while newcomer Monterey Bay finished 0-4.

Ian Gould, Cal Poly SLO, led all scorers with 12 points (10 goals, 2 assists). Bart Zeydel, UC Davis, was second in scoring for the weekend with 11 points, (7 goals, 4 assists). The goaltender of the weekend was Matt Corsetti, SLO (4-0 record, 1.00 GAA, 1 SO, .968 sv%, 120 saves).

This looks to be the most competitive season for the Western Region yet. There are 5 or 6 teams that have a legitimate chance to take regionals. Each team improved over the off season, and Monterey Bay looked like a team of the future.

Corona California played host to the second event of the CRHL's Western Region.

The region got its first look at it's two time defending regional champions, UC Santa Barbara. Despite losing its three top scorers from last season, UCSB looked as if they hadn't lost a step. UCSB won all four of its games. Grossmont College also looked strong in its first tournament, its only loss was to UCSB. Cal Poly Pomona looked very strong as well. Pomona lost two hard fought games, 8-5 to UCSB and 4-2 to Grossmont. San Diego's only win in the event came against UNLV, 12-3. The season got off to a very dismal start for UNLV, as they went 0-4 over the weekend.