College Ice Hockey WESTERN CHAMPIONSHIP : Pierce Skates in Without Illusions

Al Gross won’t be full of pep talks or false hopes when his Pierce College hockey team opens tonight in the Western United States Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship.

With three-time defending champion Western Washington also in the tournament, Gross said he thinks second place is the best any other team can expect.

Pierce, which faces Cal State Northridge at 7:45 p.m., lost to Western Washington in last year’s championship game in Bellingham, Wash. Tonight’s game will be held at the Pickwick Ice Arena in Burbank.

“Nobody wants to play Western Washington,” said Gross, whose Brahmas were second to USC this season in the Southern California Collegiate Hockey Assn.

“You can either go out against Western Washington and kill yourself and lose,” Gross added, “or you can go out and have a good time and lose. We want to make it as much fun as possible.”

Before Pierce can think about Western Washington, however, there is the small matter of finishing first or second in the four-team SCCHA round-robin tournament.

The two SCCHA representatives to the championship usually are decided by now, but an inability to secure a rink has forced officials to hold both competitions simultaneously.

SCCHA teams competing for the two Western Division championship berths include USC (12-0) Pierce (8-5-2), Cal State Fullerton (6-8-1) and CSUN (6-8).

Gross said a team’s financial standing, rather than its standing among other teams, ultimately determines who qualifies for the tournament.

“It still comes down to money, to whom can afford to come,” said Gross, who added that each team will pay $375 to play this weekend.

Northridge, the host team, lost, 12-2, to USC on Wednesday on opening night.

Scheduled to participate in the invitational division with Western Washington is a team from Colorado College--which may not arrive because of financial problems--and UCLA.

The winner of the western division plays the second-place team in the invitational division, while the second-place finisher in the western division meets the champion of the invitational division.

The two winners face off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in the title game. The SCCHA “A” and “B” division champions will be decided Monday beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $2 through Sunday and $2.50 Monday night.

For Pierce to avoid meeting Western Washington before the championship game, it must defeat USC on Saturday at 2:30.

The Trojans have a two-fold advantage over the Brahmas. USC carries a 20-man roster compared to Pierce’s 13-man team and plays Saturday with a two-day rest.

“That’s an awfully tough road,” said Gross. “It makes it tough in the third period.”

A “B” team championship also will be held among teams from Pierce, Harbor College, Caltech and UC Irvine.