Southland Hockey Warms to Occasion

Martin Galstyan doesn’t care if the other teams have him figured out.

That’s because they don’t.

“Other teams think that California is a lot of surfers and people at the beach--you don’t really get respect,” Galstyan said. “But I think that’s changing.”

If it is, Galstyan and his teammates on the Bay City Hurricanes--a USA Hockey club team based in Lakewood--have a lot to do with it. The Hurricanes will be playing in the USA Hockey Midget Tier 1 National Championships that start in Washington D.C. today.

The Hurricanes advanced to the tournament--which includes 10 teams from different regions and runs through Sunday--by winning the USA Hockey Western Regional tournament in Seattle last week.

“The word is that all the good hockey is back East or up north and in Canada,” said Curtis Young, an 18-year-old right wing. “I think we proved there’s good hockey here by winning at Seattle.”

But earning respect for Southern California takes a back seat for the Hurricanes.

“The only reason this team is here is so [the players] can move up to Junior-A, college and eventually maybe even the NHL for some,” says Erik Hokom, a 15-year-old goalie from Thousand Oaks.

If that takes some of the romance out of it, it still underscores the seriousness and commitment of a team that has caught the notice of scouts and colleges on its run to the national tournament.

The Hurricanes are an all-star team of Southern California teenagers that plays against similar teams such as the Junior Kings or Junior Ice Dogs. One difference is that the Hurricanes are self-sponsored.

Coach Brian Schoenle started putting together the current 20-member team, which plays primarily in tournaments, last summer after coaching the Junior Ice Dogs. He told about 10 players that he knew from coaching last year that he would try to put together an unaffiliated team if the players were willing to make a commitment to the team--including $2,500 to cover costs.

Those players agreed and started recruiting players they knew from Southern California leagues.

Twenty--including the original 10--were chosen from the 80 that showed up for tryouts and it took time for the team to mesh.

The Hurricanes practice or play games and tournaments at least three times a week. But the players also have conditioning routines they are required to do at home and many attend weekly clinics to improve their skills. Some even get special coaching at 6 a.m. and may not get home from practice until after midnight. That can make it hard on the homework and the typical team member has missed almost two weeks of school because of the travel.

The team came together quickly and swept the state playoffs to qualify for the regional tournament in late March.

At Seattle, the Hurricanes were 6-0 and earned the attention of a lot of scouts.

“I think every kid on our team has now been scouted,” Schoenle said. “My goal is to try to get these kids the attention of colleges so they can go on to play there and get an education.

“I’m not a big proponent of sending kids away to play hockey. Here we can give them 85% of what they get in more traditional hockey towns--that 15% represents the very top level of play and about one to two hours of ice time per day.”

Despite some inherent disadvantages, Schoenle does not see his team as a Cinderella.

“I told people that if we stick together and work hard, we can make nationals. Some looked at me like I was crazy. Well, now we’re in the nationals and we’ve beaten teams that have beat some teams that are in, so . . . “