| by the CMM.com Editorial Staff (posted 11/13) – College football has the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) to determine who gets to play for the NCAA national championship. It’s a system that is full of….. full of – well you know what it’s full of. They pre-rank the teams before the season even starts and those preconceptions can have a direct effect on the final results. California 16AA hockey at the end of just one of four designated playing weekends is somewhat in that same situation. Teams ranked high in the standings could merely be there because they had a favorable draw in CAHA #1. Other teams thought to be under-achieving or struggling could merely be victims of getting bushwhacked by superior opponents at Valencia. By Sunday night, we’ll be more than half way home (thanks to the scheduler giving six teams five games last month) and the picture of who are contenders and who will just be playing out the string in January will come more into focus. I realize that the BCS was a really crappy segue into CAHA hockey, but watching the way college football handles its business really pisses me off. They need an eight-team play-down and a four-team playoff, just like California Tier II hockey. Now that’s a segue we can live with….. California Heat 5-0-0 (1st place) in CAHA; 14-4-0 against CAHA 16AA teams; 16-6-1 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 2-4 loss v Stars Black, 4-1 win at Gulls, 4-0 win at Saints Weekend Schedule: Jets (Sat), Jr Ducks (Sat), Wild (Sun), Gulls (Sun) The Heat rolled through second division competition on its home ice last month like (the same thing the BCS if full of) through a goose, at a 39-6 goal differential. They face a much stiffer test in San Jose, including what should be the game of the weekend on Saturday night against the Jr Ducks. We’ll go on record in saying what happens to the Heat will be the story of the weekend. If they play well and come away with 3 or 4 wins, it legitimizes their Top 3 rating once and for all. But should they lose their first three games (not out of the realm of possibility), we’ll have to scrutinize this squad’s legitimacy. Not that it really matters – the Heat own that golden ticket straight to the District championships. California Wave 4-0-0 (2nd place) in CAHA; 7-4-1 against CAHA 16AA teams; 10-7-1 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 1-1 tie at BCL93; 4-6 loss v BCL92 Weekend Schedule: Ice Dogs (Sat), Jets (Sat), Cougars (Sun), Jr Kings (Sun) Like the Heat, the California Wave rolled up a perfect record against second division competition at Valencia last month. But unlike the Heat who will draw a formidable slate of games at San Jose, the Wave again, get a relatively easier assortment, with the downside being a steady 2-2-0 rather than a disasterous 1-3-0. They’ll face their Waterloo in January at Escondido. On the other hand, the Wave games since Valencia have been anything but awe-inspiring. They tied the Lightning 93s 1-1 just two weeks after knocking them around 9-1 at CAHA. They followed that up by dropping a 6-4 decision to the Lightning 92s. The Wave better figure out a way to turn the switch back ON for San Jose or the consequences could be dire. Los Angeles Jr Kings 4-0-0 (3rd place) in CAHA; 15-2-1 against CAHA 16AA teams; 19-3-1 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 8-0 win v BCL92; 4-2 win v Ice Dogs Weekend Schedule: Stars Red (Fri), Saints (Sat), Cougars (Sat), Wave (Sun) The Jr Kings continue to roll along their merry way toward an eventual berth in the CAHA playoffs. Their 4-0-0 record compiled at Valencia should stretch to 8-0-0 by Sunday evening and to 11-0-0 going into their final game at Escondido. They’ll close the season with a tough stretch but even if they lost them all, 11-5-0 will easily rank as one of the top seeds in the play-down. California Stars (Black) 4-1-0 (4th place) in CAHA; 10-4-1 against CAHA 16AA teams; 11-4-1 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 4-2 win at Heat; 1-7 loss at OCHC Weekend Schedule: Jr Ducks (Fri), Wild (Sat), Stars Red (Sat), Gulls (Sun) For the Stars1 at San Jose, the theme will be for them to put-up or shut-up. This very talented team is also very young and the bane of youth is inconsistency. Will it be the team that beat the Heat 4-2 that shows up this weekend or will it be the one that got thumped 7-1 by the OC and 3-0 to the Saints at CAHA #1? They chowed-down on a pretty light menu at Valencia so it’ll probably take a 3-1-0 record at CAHA #2 to silence the critics, at least for a couple of months. We’ll get a good indication of which Stars traveled north on Friday night when they face off against the Jr Ducks. Anaheim Jr Ducks 4-1-0 (5th place) in CAHA; 12-1-0 against CAHA 16AA teams; 13-6-2 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 1-1-2 record at Nike Bauer AAA in Chicago; 3-1 win v Gulls Weekend Schedule: Stars Black (Fri), Titans (Sat) Heat (Sat), Saints (Sun) How many times do we have to say it? Despite the loss to the Jr Kings at CAHA #1, CMM.com still considers the Jr Ducks as the top seed and the team to beat for the CAHA championship. Between the CAHAs, they traveled to Chicago and came away with a very respectable four points in four games against AAA competition. Like last month, the Jr Ducks get a nice assortment of games this weekend with all eyes looking toward their games against the Stars Black and Heat. But there is no reason to believe they won’t sweep up four wins. Vacaville Jets 2-1-1 (6th place) in CAHA; 3-2-2 against CAHA 16AA teams; 5-3-4 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 3-3 tie at Cougars; 8-3 win v Jr Sharks Weekend Schedule: Heat (Sat), Wave (Sat), Stars Red (Sun), Cougars (Sun) Going into CAHA #1, we mentioned that what we knew about the NORCAL teams could be written in a matchbook with a grease pencil. Well the Vacaville Jets had a very nice weekend in Valencia, playing four very tight games against a nice cross-section of teams, coming away with an excellent 2-1-1 result. This weekend they play close to home and again will draw a very nice mix of opponents, getting two undefeated teams right off the bat. Saturday will be the true litmus test for the Jets and will determine whether they get to sleep upstairs with the aristocracy or down on the straw covered stones with the rest of the serfs. Beach City Lightning 92s 2-2-0 (7th place) in CAHA; 5-11-0 against CAHA 16AA teams; 6-12-1 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 0-8 loss at Kings; 3-0 win v Ice Dogs; 5-7 loss v Gulls; 6-4 win at Wave Weekend Schedule: Stars Red (Sat), Titans (Sat), Jr Sharks (Sun), BCL93 (Sun) The BCL 92s have lived in the shadow if their younger brothers since Lightning tryouts in June, standing by while the 93s made plans to conquer the hockey world. Employing the “win the games you can win” strategy, the 92s are on the brink of something special. At San Jose, they draw four very, very winnable games after which they could find themselves in the upper echelon with a 6-2-0 record. Imagine that. They’ll have to keep their minds on each game and fight off the urge to think about the late Sunday showdown against the 93s. You’ve got to win the games you can win, keep collecting those valuable points in the standings and hope you’ve got enough to make the California play-down in February. Southern California Titans 2-2-0 (8th place) in CAHA; 4-10-2 against CAHA 16AA teams; 4-11-2 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 6-6 tie at Wild Weekend Schedule: Jr Ducks (Sat), BCL92 (Sat), Ice Dogs (Sun), OCHC (Sun) In their first game at San Jose, the Titans will have their complete roster available for the first time this season. Multiple injuries have all finally healed so the team looks to make a statement. Unfortunately, the first game out of the blocks is against the Jr Ducks – they’ll need every last man to fight off that flock. Afterward however, the schedule lightens considerably and the Titans have a chance to make a little noise. Like the Lightning 92s, they’ll need to win the games they can win. In that regard, the middle games against BCL92 and the Jr Ice Dogs are all-important. Orange County Hockey Club 2-2-0 (9th place) in CAHA; 8-5-1 against CAHA 16AA teams; 9-7-1 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 6-2 win at Wild; 7-1 win v Stars Black Weekend Schedule: Cougars (Sat), Jr Sharks (Sat), BCL93 (Sat), Titans (Sun) The OC has to be one of the most schizophrenic teams in the league and you never know which self will appear on a given day. They enter CAHA #2 carrying some nice momentum after two decisive wins against worthy opponents. OC has the ability to sweep the four game weekend but they could also easily drop a couple of them. We’re not PhD’s so will refrain from predicting what will happen. Most likely it’ll be something we don’t expect. Stand by….. Inland Valley Wild 1-2-1 (tied 10th place) in CAHA; 5-4-2 against CAHA 16AA teams; 7-10-2 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 2-6 loss v OCHC; 6-6 tie v Titans Weekend Schedule: Jr Sharks (Sat), Stars Black (Sat), Heat (Sun), Saints (Sun) The Wild (the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle) have a very impressive entry on its results page, a win over the California Heat. Unfortunately that entry was etched into the record way back on September 20th. Since that time, the Wild has not beaten another team of real consequence. They get a chance to re-write history this weekend with games that include a Heat rematch and a new edition of an old grudge match with the Stars1. The team just added a skater to the roster for some much needed depth and they must get on a roll to get back into this race. But it’ll require a real effort to pull out more than four points this weekend. San Jose Jr Sharks 1-2-1 (tied 10th place) in CAHA; 3-5-1 against CAHA 16AA teams; 5-9-2 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 3-8 loss at Jets; 1-3-0 at a Phoenix Veterans Day tournament Weekend Schedule: Wild (Sat), OCHC (Sat), BCL92 (Sun), Ice Dogs (Sun) We gotta give the Sharks a lot of props – there they sit in NorCal with no steady supply of 16AA games, but they don’t whine about it. They’ve played more games than 90% of the teams in the league because they aggressively find them. This past weekend they played in Scottsdale, Arizona in a Veterans Day weekend event organized by the Jr Coyotes. They pretty much got hammered by a nice cross-section of teams from western states, but they’re staying busy. They get the added advantage of playing on home ice for CAHA, something the Heat parlayed last month into five wins. Not much chance of that happening, but they could squeeze out four points - though two or zero is more likely. California Cougars 1-2-1 (12th place) in CAHA; 4-4-2 against CAHA 16AA teams; 4-5-2 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 3-3 tie v Jets Weekend Schedule: OCHC (Sat), Jr Kings (Sat), Wave (Sun), Jets (Sun) What we said about the Jr Sharks hunting for games wherever they can find them goes also for the Cougars. In October they flew to Utah for a weekend of getting pounded by the host AAA team and they’re doubling up at Thanksgiving, attending both the San Diego holiday event as well as the Vegas Silver Stick regional the week after. The Cougars had a disappointing weekend in Valencia last month and it’ll only get worse at San Jose where a possible 0-fer looms (though they and the Jets seem to have a knack for tie games). San Diego Saints 1-4-0 (13th place) in CAHA; 4-11-0 against CAHA 16AA teams; 6-11-0 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 5-1 win at Stars Red; 0-4 loss v Heat Weekend Schedule: Jr Kings (Sat), Gulls (Sat), Jr Ducks (Sun), Wild (Sun) The Saints certainly got CAHA #1 off with a bang when they upset the Stars Black 3-0 on Friday night. After that though, the team dropped games to teams not nearly as good as the Stars and finished the weekend a disappointing 1-4-0. Things will remain ugly this weekend and that four game losing streak most likely expands to eight. The best shot for a win ironically comes against their homeys, the Gulls – a team thought to be a contender but one that suddenly forgot how to win. They’ll remember how against the Saints. Beach City Lightning 93s 1-4-0 (14th place) in CAHA; 6-9-3 against CAHA 16AA teams; 6-14-3 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 0-4-0 at Nike Bauer; 1-1 tie v Wave Weekend Schedule: Gulls (Sat), Ice Dogs (Sat), OCHC (Sun), BCL92 (Sun) If the BCL93s were a college football team, they’d be the University of Tennessee Volunteers, ranked in the pre-season polls as the #18 team in the nation and looking to strongly compete for an SEC title. After half the season though, Tennessee’s record stands at 3-7 (1-5 in the SEC) and their coach will step down after the season. Truthfully, things aren’t as dire for the Lightning 93s, but it sure points out how expectations can weigh you down. They entered the season full of piss and vinegar with a Nike-Bauer invite in their back pocket. But things somehow began to unravel early on. At CAHA #1, the 93s only managed a win against the Stars Red and otherwise lost rather decisively to a strong slate of opponents. This weekend, they draw a much more manageable group of games and will either steady their listing ship or continue the journey down to Davey Jones’ locker. SoCal-Hockey Jr Ice Dogs 1-4-0 (15th place) in CAHA; 3-10-1 against CAHA 16AA teams; 6-11-1 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 0-3 loss at BCL92; 2-4 loss at Jr Kings Weekend Schedule: Wave (Sat), BCL93 (Sat), Titans (Sun), Jr Sharks (Sun) The scheduler certainly did the Jr Ice Dogs no favors at CAHA #1, saddling the canines with the toughest set of games imaginable. Employing the “win the games you can win” theory, the Dogs did their job by knocking off the Saints in the middle of a terrible beating (in some cases, literally) by three, possibly four playoff teams. The good news is that the rest of the CAHA weekends will be a relative cakewalk. And with a few notable exceptions, Ice Dog games tend to be low scoring affairs – they generally don’t give up a lot of goals. Look for the Dogs to pick up a couple of wins this weekend. San Diego Gulls 0-4-0 (16th place) in CAHA; 4-2-2 against CAHA 16AA teams; 8-7-2 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 1-4 Loss v Heat; 7-5 Win at BCL92; 1-3 Loss at Jr Ducks Weekend Schedule: BCL93 (Sat), Saints (Sat), Stars Black (Sun), Heat (Sun) This Flock of Seagulls certainly didn’t expect to find themselves in this position, not 0-4 after the first CAHA. Starting the season 7-1-1, the Gulls since sport a 1-6-1 record; what the heck happened? They drew a very tough schedule at Valencia and actually had a chance to win every game, but to no avail. Their games since CAHA #1 have been equally tough, close games – but the trend continued. Life as a Gull doesn’t get much easier in San Jose, not with a schedule that includes the Heat and Stars1. Splitting four games this weekend won’t do much to pull them out of the funk – a much stronger statement is required. The Gulls need to learn how to win again. California Stars (Red) 0-4-0 (17th place) in CAHA; 0-15-0 against CAHA 16AA teams; 0-15-0 Overall Games since CAHA #1: 1-5 loss v Saints Weekend Schedule: Jr Kings (Fri), BCL92 (Sat), Stars Black (Sat), Jets (Sun) Things look pretty bleak in the Stars Red camp right now, with no real prospects for turning things around in San Jose, not with the draw they got this weekend. The four teams they’re set to face possess a combined 12-4-1 record. The boys get a lot of credit for keeping their chins up and giving a good effort every time out. When you see them play, they really don’t look like a team that should be winless right now. They just need a break to go their way – unfortunately it won’t be coming this weekend. The CAHA scheduler picked a good weekend to hold the 16AA weekend at San Jose. College football has no real marquis match-up on Saturday (I wonder where the ESPN College Gameday crew will be camped out that morning?) meaning I won’t be spending all day watching TV at Stanley’s Sports Bar upstairs. It’s supposedly going to be hotter than hell this weekend – isn’t it November, what’s going on? We can stay cool inside Sharks Ice and watch a lot of good hockey games. I wonder if it’s too late to get Gameday to come to San Jose? Jr Ducks v Heat is better than anything they have to offer. Personally, the game I’m anxious to see is the Lightning 93s v Lightning 92s on Sunday afternoon. There’s a score to be settled. See y’all this weekend….. |
| CAHA Tier II Weekend #2 - Preview |
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