Ice Hockey: HB takes back the Surfboard
LAKEWOOD — At one time or another, a team can look back on a particular game as a defining moment of its season.
Huntington Beach High’s ice hockey team has its signature victory now, as the Oilers finished their regular season on Saturday by defeating Edison, 3-2, at The Rinks Lakewood Ice.
Josh Marin had 31 saves, and a three-goal second period lifted the Oilers (6-8-1-0, 20 points) to a split of the Surf City Face-off series this year.
“We had a really good defensive stand,” Marin said. “We only let them shoot from the point.”
“I think I was able to get a lot of saves because they were shooting from outside the house, so I was able to stand on my head that way.”
One could get a sense of the significance of the game, as Huntington Beach fans began to voice their approval after their team recaptured the surfboard trophy from its crosstown rival.
It began with a single shift.
A successful forecheck in the neutral zone yielded a 2-on-1 breakaway. Tommy Lang’s shot was fought off by the shoulder of Savannah Gutierrez (nine saves).
The battle that ensued in the left corner was symbolic of the way that the Oilers have had to win their games all year. They have had to grind away, hoping that their hard work will pay off.
Huntington Beach won the battle, and the team was rewarded as the puck found the team’s star forward, Kyle Baker, with time and space.
The speedster came out of the corner and crossed the crease, making Gutierrez range to her left, before tucking the puck across the goal line. That tied the game, 1-1, just 4:15 into the second period.
In the 21 minutes that had been played before the tying marker, Edison looked and played like the better team. The Chargers (9-3-0-1, 28 points) gained the offensive zone with ease, and they kept the Oilers under constant pressure.
Ryan Osterkamp and Trevor Arsenault assisted on a goal by Jake Gealy, as Edison’s top line provided the only scoring of the first period.
Huntington Beach was playing without brothers Andrew and Evan Stapleton. Andrew had been involved in a fight the previous game against Woodbridge. Evan had jumped in as a third man to try to break up the skirmish, and he also received a one-game suspension for his part.
Baker, a member of the Anaheim Jr. Ducks 15U AAA club team, appeared to be the only player capable of giving the Oilers a spark. Once he did so, the floodgates opened. He had five of his team’s 12 shots on goal.
“To have him step up tonight the way that he did, he really puts the other team on their heels,” Oilers assistant coach Bob Bayer said. “When you’re out their playing defense, this guy might be the fastest guy at the rink.”
“The defense’s gaps widen because if you have a tight gap on him, he punches it by you and he’s gone. It really kind of helps the other kids, and it facilitates some confidence in them.”
The second period was a microcosm of the Oilers’ season. As a team that is not blessed with a lot of club talent, Huntington Beach has had to rely on blue-collar effort. Blocking shots and clearing rebounds will hopefully lead to just enough scoring chances to win.
Only five shots were put on the Edison net in the second frame, but in a quick spurt, it appeared that Gutierrez had been rattled.
Five minutes after the tying goal, Chris Bos-Teruya fed a centering pass to Jake Piekarski on the doorstep. The freshman jammed the puck in at the right side of the net for the 2-1 lead.
It was the first time that Piekarski has been a part of a victory in the Surf City Face-off.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” he said of contributing in the rivalry. “Everyone worked really hard. We all deserve that trophy. Not just me, we all deserve it.”
Lang potted the eventual game-winner. He grabbed the puck after a shot wrapped around the defensive zone. As he neared the offensive blue line, he crossed the formation from right to left.
That left him on his off-wing. He fired a wrist shot towards the near post, and it found space between the body and the blocker to make it a two-goal advantage.
“I just saw the shot come around the boards from the other end,” Lang said. “When I took it up, I could see the defense starting to back off.”
“It created some space for me. When I got in there, I had a shot, and I just let it go and it went in.”
Edison turned on the pressure in the third period, authoring 16 shots in the direction of Marin. The Chargers were only able to get one past the Oilers netminder with 2:10 remaining.
Arsenault dissected the defense with a cross-ice pass. Charley Lowe struck a one-timer off the inside of the far post, and Nico Santoro tapped in the rebound to close the gap.
In holding on for the win, Huntington Beach earned a momentous victory after a disappointing loss to Woodbridge (2-9-0-2, eight points) the previous week. They will have three weeks off before the playoffs begin.
Edison is now locked into the No. 2 spot in the Coast View Conference. The Chargers will finish their regular-season schedule with a game against Beckman (4-7-1-1, 15 points) on Feb. 25.
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
