Page 15 February 9, 2017 EL SEGUNDO HERALD Hockey Champs from page 5 goal. Elle Muller and Lucas Loiacano pounded shots on goal and one went just over the net while the other hit the side bar and bounced away. On the other end as time was winding down, a frantic shot by Jordan Lyles just missed as it was smothered by Lucas Bryant before it could be scored. In the sudden death period, each team played tight defense. It all ended with 14:48 left in the first sudden death period. Brayden Vanek pushed one past the diving Red Rockets goalie for the winning score and a 4-3 championship win for the Fantastic Beasts. Afterwards Brayden Vanek, in his third year of playing in-line hockey, said he was “really happy to get the winning goal but it was a team effort.” In the Squirt Division and game two of Championship Saturday, the Green Hornets and Blue Lightning faced off in another exciting game. The Green Hornets got five goals from Lincoln Brown and edged the Blue Lightning 5-4 in game that nearly went to overtime. The Green Hornets were the top-seeded team and drew a bye in the playoffs. The Blue Lightning, led by a hat trick from Dylan Pilkvist, scored a 7-1 win over the Devils to advance. The matchup between these two teams meant that one of the Squirt Division’s top goalies--the Blue Lightning’s Ryan Pilkvist, and the top scorer in the Green Hornets Lincoln Brown--faced off against each other. Brown scored the first of her four goals when she broke away and slid the puck by Pilkvist. Later on in the first half, Brown was in the right place at the right time. She took a caromed rebound and shot it past Pilkvist, to the back of the net for a 2-0 Green Hornets’ lead. Pilkvist caught Mason Smith’s hard slap shot, or otherwise it could have been a larger lead. Trailing 2-1, the Blue Lightning tied the game with just nine seconds remaining in the first half. Dylan Pilkvist found an opening in front of the net and got it past Green Hornet goalie Ben Siniawski to even up the score at 2-2. In the second half, the energy level kicked in for both teams. Lincoln Brown took a pass from Jacob Silveria and powered it to the back of the net for a 3-2 Green Hornets lead. A scrum for the puck in front of the Green Hornets goal to tie the game proved fruitless when the puck was kicked out. Green Hornet James Silveria broke away and headed towards a possible score, but Zak Lachance raced the other way and broke up the possible shot attempt. In the final four minutes of play, there were four goals scored. With 4:00 remaining in regulation, Lachance was in position to take a rebounded shot attempt and then banged it to the back of the net to tie the game at 3-3. Less than a minute later, Brown put the Green Hornets in the lead again with a powerful forehand shot to make it 4-3. Then as time was winding down and the intensity grew wild, Jaiden Rico took a pass from Dylan Pilkvist and scored the gametying goal with 1:02 left. After a timeout, the Green Hornets had one final push and Lincoln Brown found a tiny opening. She fired the game-winner into the net with a mere 19 seconds remaining. The Blue Lightning couldn’t get off a final shot attempt in the final seconds and the Green Hornets came away with the championship win. Lincoln Brown was all smiles after the game. Though she scored all the goals for her squad, she said it was total team effort. “We played hard as a team and we passed great and that was the difference,” she said. “They’re a real good team [Blue Lightning] too.” In the final game of the day, The Silver Team outplayed the Pony Team in an 11-4 win in the Pee Wee Division finale. Trevor Wessel led The Silver Team with four goals while Larry Klingaman had a three-goal hat trick himself. Cory Yeaton was one of his team’s top defenders and also scored a goal. Kai Paranal found the goal twice and Tillman Cummings had one goal. The Pony Team, which was shut out in the first half, was led by Austin Kehl who scored late in the game. He was also one of the team’s top defenders, breaking up breakaway attempts. Mathew Riley, Alex Rubin and James Matulich each scored one goal for The Pony Team. So there you have it--the winter season session of the El Segundo In-Line Hockey Association is in the books. The winning team names will forever be inscribed on the vaunted El Segundo Cup that is a replica of the Sir Stanley Cup. The Cup will be displayed at City Hall for the community to view. • The Fantastic Beasts celebrate their win. Ayden Loiacano breaks away on offense for the Red Rockets. The Green Hornets surround the El Segundo Cup for winning the Squirt Division. Lincoln Brown scored five goals in leading the Green Hornets to the Squirt Division championship. The Silver Team won the Pee Wee Division with a 11-4 win over The Pony Team. The Blue Lightning’s Ryan Pilkvist stops one of 17 shots on goal.
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