If you were to ask the Santa Rosa Junior College hockey team if it considered itself the underdogs in the 40th annual Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association tournament Feb. 14-15, you’d get mixed responses.
While some players were confident in their league prowess, others worried the inability to control rival UC Davis could keep them from another championship season.
As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the team faced San Jose State University’s Division III squad in the first round Feb. 14. SRJC didn’t expect a hard game, but the Polar Bears had trouble to start.
“The first period was really disjointed, and there was a big gap in ability,” said forward Stephen Wolmarans. “We just weren’t prepared beforehand. We had guys showing up at different times; some right before the game. It was just a haggard first game. But it was good to get it out of our system.”
Despite not throwing up the usual offensive numbers , the Polar Bears beat SJSU 9-1 behind excellent goaltending from Jacob Pavsek. “I felt really good out there. After letting in that one goal, I told myself I can’t allow another and that’s what happened,” Pavsek said. “They played a little harder than the previous game, but that didn’t slow us down, it made us work harder. I was able to see the puck, make the stops I needed, and the communication helped a lot. It felt great to get the win and put my work in to help win our third championship.”
With UC Davis’ first-round win, the two teams matched up for an intense battle the next day. Even though UC Davis was the No. 1 seed, had the league’s top scorers and took the season series 2-1, players were confident they could handle anything thrown at them. “From the moment I woke up, it seemed like I had the most energy I’d had in years,” said Josiah Nikkel. “I hadn’t ever been so excited for a game. I knew we weren’t going to lose.”
Tensions were high for most of the first period, as neither team scored for the first 14 minutes. SRJC’s penalty kill shined, getting through huge penalties to Nikkel and rookie points leader Josh Greenwell. That luck carried over offensively as defensemen Colin Ridenour slapped in a power play shot at 5:46 for a 1-0 lead. A minute later, Wolmarans tipped in the puck after a tussle in front of the UC Davis net. At the end of the period, SRJC lead 2-1— thanks in part to controlling UC Davis’ top forward Gordon Dickson.
“I just wanted to have eyes on him at all times and constantly be in front of him,” said center David Lundgren, who was one of the players charged with guarding Dickson. “I made sure I finished every check on him to wear him down as the game went on.”
As Wolmarans put SRJC up 3-1 in the second period, his teammates kept up the intensity needed to silence UC Davis. “We never gave up no matter how hard it seemed,” said defensemen Niklis Nisja.
And it did get harder.
“We made the game a lot more difficult because we couldn’t stay out of the penalty box,” said captain Blake Johnson of SRJC’s 38 penalty minutes. “It’s been a weak point in our game all year, but our penalty killers came up huge for us, especially Dom [Jones] in net.”
Jones saved 13 of 14 shots in the third period, but let by a power-play goal on a UC Davis surge.
“The end of the game was tight. Davis was playing dirty and not getting calls for anything,” said defensemen Eric Zagacki. “We shut them down in the third period. Especially in the last 10 minutes, we controlled the ice. It was a little nerve-racking, but those are the best games.”
The Polar Bears skated away with a 3-2 victory, crowning them the PCHA champions for the third straight time since joining the league in 2012.
“Winning honestly is the best feeling,” Ridenour said. “Having that satisfaction after working all season is a really great prize. We deserve it.”