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PCH IN IRVINE KICKS OFF NEW ERA IN RINKS HISTORY
By Nick ‘Gismo’ Gismondi
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 IRVINE, California – Call it a new era, call it a new sheriff, call it whatever you want but anyone in attendance this past weekend in Irvine recognized the profound difference that was present at the 949 Roller Hockey Facility, formally known as California Roller Hockey Center.
As is the recent news, changes in the rinks ownership group forced managerial changes which saw Doug Jones, who was the GM of the center for over a decade exit, and Eddie Limbaga enter. The adjustment has been well received and the facility has a noticeably shiny glow to it. The general and majority consensus paid compliments to the amount of staff, cleanliness, and atmosphere upgrade that the newly named 949 Hockey showed. To be fair, however, Eddie is free from the shortsighted, absentee ownership that handcuffed Doug throughout his tenure.
On to the tournament now, a solid event spread across the span of Saturday gave teams a chance to get back to tournament action after the holiday break. The event also served as a good chance for teams to fine tune before the NARCh Winternationals this week in Phoenix, AZ.
 In the squirt elite division Scott Accongio and the Mission AKS 94’s set the bar with an undefeated record of 4-0 while scoring 23 goals and giving up just 9. The California Mission Wolves would take second splitting their record at .500 with a 2-2 conclusion scoring 14 goals and giving up 15. The division’s high scorer was a tie between Trevor Riffey and Steve Verstegen, each with 6 points. Top goalie honors was captured by David Mastro with a .871 save percentage. In squirt select, Shane and the Capitals took 1st place with Team Warrior 97 in 2nd place. Evan Somoza, of Warrior 97, was the high scorer with 4 points on a balanced 2 goals and 2 assists. The Capitals Ryan Lucero earned the top goalie award.
Accongio and AKS were again nothing less than perfect in the Pee Wee division as well sailing to yet another 4-0 record to claim first place honors there as well. AKS continued to be heavy on the scoring and solid on defense giving up similar numbers of 21 goals for and 9 against. CDU Sowers finished in a close second as they concluded the event with a 3-1 record right on the Heels of AKS 93. The Yuma Blaze who made it in all the way from Arizona took a respectable third. Stephen Verstegen of AKS was the divisions high scorer with 8 goals and 2 assists for 10 points while Blake Ducker of AKS was the top goaltender with a .816 SV%.
 Alex Carrol of Marvel had 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points to be the division’s high scorer in Bantam AA but it would not be enough to take first place away from the Mission Raiders who boasted top goalie Taz Gohr. The Raiders, 3-0-1, were the only undefeated team and the eventual champion as they over took the Tour Outcasts, who the Raiders tied, finished in second with one loss. Marvel finished in third. And Gohr posted a .828 SV%, his second tournament in a row as the divisions top puck stopper.
In Bantam A-1 the Piranhas ate their way through the competition unscathed with a 3-0 record good for first place in the division over the Pee Wee AA Force who had a single loss. The Devil Dogs finished in third at 1-2 while the Inland Valley Hawks went 0-3. Michael Sathre of the Piranhas had an astounding 13 points as the high scorer, 10 goals and 3 assists, while his teammate and goaltender Zac Larson was top goalie.
And in Bantam A-2 The Rollerplex Panthers from AZ finished as the top team edging out the Mission Jr. Habs who with the loss to Rollerplex fell to third place behind the HB Vipers. Rollerplex went 4-0 while the Vipers finished at 3-1 and the Habs at 2-2. Mission dropped close games to both Rollerplex and the Vipers. Anthony Squirek of the Mission Jr. Habs and Alec Bejarano of Rollerplex tied for top scorer with 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points. Brett Valez of Rollerplex stopped .808% of the shots he faced for top goalie honors.
 Stay tuned to www.pacificcup.com for more on upcoming tournaments, this blogger and coach is now off to Phoenix, AZ for the 2007 NARCh Winternationals. Stay current with that event at www.narch.com for more articles from myself and my long time wingman and close friend Jim Anderson who is re-uniting with me this weekend. Maverick and Goose return!
As a side note, Mr. John Black will be in attendance as well, in fact he and I are making the 5 hour drive out to Arizona together…male bonding, all the beef jerky, jolt soda, and hockey talk we can muster, look for videos from the trip online soon! See you in the desert. And if you don’t see me in Phoenix, John got mad and kicked me out of the car. Please come look for me. Thanks.
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