Area Schools Get Shot at Hockey

The game after the game. On random weekend nights, Gull fans might see a small, but vociferous, contingent of college hockey buffs filing into the Sports Arena after the main event.

If Gull fans stay to see what the fuss is about, they will have stumbled onto what is the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Assn., with which San Diego State and UC San Diego are affiliated.

The PCHA has been around 20 years, but SDSU and UCSD have been members the past three. This season, the league has been broken into Divisions I and II and a loosely organized Division III, made up primarily of junior varsity teams. The split in divisions is based on location, hockey talent and financial resources.

The Aztecs and Tritons make up part of the crowded Division II, of which Cal Tech, Fresno State, CSU Northridge, Pepperdine, Orange Coast College, St. Mary’s, USC and Whittier are members. Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA and San Jose State compose the more talented Division I.

No one’s trying to peddle the caliber of PCHA competition as first-rate, but neither is it bumbling, slapstick hockey.

“It’s fairly competitive, we can skate with any of the advanced (adult) leagues,” said Gary Dickstein, the first-year president of Aztec Ice Hockey and a right wing.

It’s fairly costly as well. The Aztecs’ 20 players (18 skaters, two goalies) shell out $425 for a 26-game season, $40 of which goes toward a team jersey. The remainder is used for ice time, referee fees and a small portion of travel expenses.

At UCSD, the cost isn’t quite so steep. Triton Coach Gary Andreassi, a Montreal native, estimates that each player pays $350, as the school subsidizes the program. Players from both schools supply their own equipment.

Dickstein, a native of Kalamazoo, Mich., was surprised when he moved to San Diego three years ago to discover SDSU offered ice hockey. The majority of his team are East Coast or Midwest transplants, although a two or three Californians grace the roster.

The Aztecs, 6-1-1 overall and 5-0-1 in league, hold the unofficial conference lead. Last year SDSU finished fourth in playoffs and second in the PCHA.

With 60 players, UCSD fields Division II and III teams. The Tritons are 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the PCHA Division II.

Both teams hope to make the round-robin playoffs, to be held April 2-4 at the Mira Mesa House of Ice, where six teams qualify.

Slim Pickings: The aspirations of the Christian Heritage men’s basketball team may exceed its talent. Last year the Hawks were 6-21, and they have one returning starter in 6-foot-2 senior guard Jeff Martin.

The team prospectus begins meekly, “The lack of experience presents challenges for the new season,” then grows bolder. “This will not prevent us from having a successful season. The Hawks will be an exciting team that will have height, speed and enthusiasm. The future of Christian Heritage is bright and the entire team is anxiously awaiting the start of competition.”

Devine More Divine: University of San Diego’s Hillary Devine set her second school record in as many weeks Saturday in a three-way meet against Pepperdine and CSU Northridge. Devine, who set the 200 individual medley mark two weeks ago, set the 100 butterfly record. Each mark erased USD bests set by Mary Bergen in 1991.

Devine will likely eliminate Bergen from the record books. She is closing in on the only record Bergen still holds, the 100 breast with a 1:08.32. Devine swam a 1:09.84 Saturday.

Final Four Forge: UCSD, champion of the Western Region, will travel to Mary Washington College of Fredericksburg, Va., this weekend for the NCAA Division III women’s soccer semifinals and finals. The 11th-ranked Tritons (12-2-2) will meet New York’s Cortland State (17-2-1) Saturday.

UCSD is making its fifth final four appearance, the most by any Division III school. The Tritons lost to eventual champion Ithaca in the 1991 semifinals and won their only national championship in 1989.

Helping Hands: USD senior setter Shannon Mutch set a three-game assist record Saturday against Portland with 52, which broke her record of 47 set in 1990 against USIU. Mutch holds the career, three-game, four-game and five-game assist records, leaving the single-season record as the only mark she doesn’t hold. She needs 92 assists in the Toreros’ three remaining games to pass the mark of 1,208 set two years ago.