Ice Hockey: The championship before the playoffs
From the beginning of the season to its end, that’s how long Huntington Beach High’s ice hockey team has had to wait to get another shot at Edison.
It has been almost five months since the teams last met on Sept. 17, but they will renew their rivalry in the Surf City Face-off on Saturday.
Much has transpired since their first meeting, with the Chargers reaffirming their position as one of the powers on the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League’s Varsity Division 3 circuit.
Edison is 9-2-0-1 with 28 points. That is one regulation victory behind Servite (9-2-2-0, 31 points) for first in the Coast View Conference.
Although the Chargers have been the more consistent of the two teams, it is as people like to say about rivalry games: Throw out the records when these teams meet.
Huntington Beach (5-8-1-0, 17 points) had a rockier start. The Oilers dropped their first five games of the year, but the 3-2 loss to the Chargers during that skid was a cause to rally.
“I think that the team really came together over the rivalry,” Oilers center Tommy Lang said. “We didn’t want to see that trophy go to Edison, so that was our first match of everyone coming together as a team over something that we all really wanted.”
The game was decided in the final three minutes, with Nico Santoro breaking the tie.
Plenty of storylines surround Saturday’s game, which will be played at 6:25 p.m. at The Rinks Lakewood Ice.
The teams battle for more than bragging rights, as the winner gets to take home a prized trophy. It is a surfboard displaying both teams’ logos, and it reads “Surf City Face-off, Est. 2013.”
The surfboard spent the first part of the past year at Huntington Beach High, but it moved to a new home after Edison won the first of two meetings this season.
This game means a lot to the players. Edison forward Trevor Arsenault had this to say about the matchup after he scored two goals in the ADHSHL Senior All-Star game on Jan. 26 at Honda Center.
“Obviously, that’s a big one there at the end,” he said of the Surf City Face-off. “We’re going for the surfboard in that nice rivalry. We’ll be ready to go there by the end of the season.”
Although the schools only have to live with the result until the next time they square off, the story of Saturday’s game may last longer in one family circle.
Edison’s Jake Gealy is a senior, and this year, he has had the opportunity to go up against his cousin, Noah, for the first time in their playing careers.
Jake Gealy had two goals in the Sept. 17th game, while Noah Gealy drew an assist for Huntington Beach.
Family ties will not likely be strained, but that does not mean the two don’t have fun when they are on the ice during the same shift.
“I didn’t really go out of the way to do anything that I usually don’t do,” Jake said. “It was fun playing against him. I joked around whenever we were out there together.”
The Chargers senior has 12 goals and 12 assists this season, placing him sixth among Division 3 scorers in the ADHSHL. Arizona State and Michigan State rank high among his schools of interest, as both would give him the chance to extend his hockey career.
Saturday’s game marks the final one of the regular season for Huntington Beach. Edison will still have one game remaining against Beckman on Feb. 25 as it tries to improve its playoff seeding.
Huntington Beach captain Cole Kennedy says that having the rivalry game as his team’s final contest before the playoffs is a dicey proposition.
“It could motivate the team and give us a lot more confidence going into the playoffs,” he said. “Losing can definitely take a toll on the team because nobody wants their last game to be a loss to their rival.”
The Oilers’ season is coming to an end three weeks prior to the playoffs. Huntington Beach Coach Shawn Pitcher says that can work both ways.
“Rest is good,” Pitcher said. “It’s important that we get everyone healthy before we start the playoffs. Sometimes, when you sit too idle, the pace of that first game catches you by surprise.”
“Hopefully, we can keep the tempo up in practice and try to be as prepared as we can.”
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner