IHF Alumni Return to Compete in WCRHL
All-Star Action This Weekend
by Jay Piz
February
8, 2008
Returning
to the old home rink at the 949 Roller Hockey Center in Irvine for a weekend of
collegiate roller hockey competition beginning Saturday are the names and faces
many of you will know. If you don’t know them, this weekend is a great
opportunity to visit the rink and observe as the Western Collegiate Roller
Hockey League (WCRHL) puts on a show to demonstrate to the hockey community and
to high school players that next level of competition.
The
weekend-long event begins with pucks dropping for 19 colleges and universities
at 8 a.m. on Saturday, and the action continues through Sunday afternoon. The
marquis All Star event on Saturday for Division II/B is scheduled for 4 p.m.,
and the Division I/III All Stars for 7 p.m.
All
Stars in the Division I/III feature former IHF high school standouts Captain
Ryan Burrows of Esperanza, goalie Jeff Aoki of Fountain Valley high school, and
Josh Hackworth of Los Alamitos high school, all of whom represent Long Beach
State, and Sam Robinson of Marina representing Cal State Berkeley. Ryan Burrows, along with Charlie Middleton of
UC Irvine, were also recently named to the Division I first team All-American
mid-season list by the Independent Rankings Committee (IRC), an independent
roller hockey ranking group.
“We
are finally starting to get some college recognition out west with the play of
some of our players and some of our stronger teams,” says
Burrows,
also a long-time coach in the Esperanza high school club program that competes
in the IHF league, stressed the importance of the high school league program as
players mature and graduate to play college level hockey.
“My
The
proud father of Ryan Burrows, Burrows senior busts his
buttons when speaking of his son, and rightly so.
“I’m
very proud of how he has played at the college level, and I believe that both
the IHF and his many years of club hockey helped pave the way,” he says.
Schools
competing in the WCRHL’s All Star weekend include: Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, Chapman, Chico State, Claremont, CSU Monterey Bay, CSU San
Bernardino, Evergreen, Long Beach State, Sonoma State, UC Berkeley, UC Davis,
UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Univ. of San Diego,
UNLV, and USC. The schedule for the weekend games can be viewed online at the
WCRHL’s website; simply click on the All
Star Weekend event calendar. Admission to the event is free.
Youth
and high school players alike in attendance will have a unique opportunity to
witness first hand just how far they can move up in this sport over this weekend.
Perhaps they’ll even meet some new role models and start setting goals for
their future. Or maybe they’ll just cheer on their former teammates and friends
while having some good fun watching top level college roller hockey
competition.
Whatever
your reasons, please join in by welcoming the return of our IHF alums and cheer
them on – again!
Returning IHF Alums
|
Name |
College,
Univ. |
Position |
High
School |
|
Jeff Aoki |
|
G |
|
|
Justin Barney |
|
D "A" |
Esperanza |
|
Ryan Burrows |
|
F "C" |
Esperanza |
|
Bryce Courtney |
|
F |
|
|
Greg Davis |
|
F |
Esperanza |
|
Doug Dunbar |
UC |
F |
Tesoro |
|
Joshua Hackworth |
|
F |
Los Alamitos |
|
Andy Huynh |
|
D |
Esperanza |
|
Brett Middlekauf |
Cal Poly |
F |
|
|
Kevin Middlekauf |
Cal Poly |
F |
|
|
Sam Robinson |
UC Berkeley |
F |
|
|
Jay Schoen |
UC |
G |
Tesoro |
|
|
|
F |
|
If
you are the proud parent or relative or know of an IHF alumni who has moved onto
collegiate roller hockey in the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association
(NCRHA) or one its conferences, please contact the IHF (www.ihf-hockey.org) and let them know by sending
their name, current school team and former high school to add to this list. A
roster of current WCRHL players is available at their website or at their sister conferences across
the country.
Established
in 2003 and headquartered in
Established
in 1998 in