Cabrillo Roller Hockey Winter 2008-09

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The team staged a late two goal rally to tie San Luis Obispo 3-3.

Down 3-1 after two, Cabrillo's defense keyed by Andrew Lowes and Joseph Kotowski shut the San Luis offense down.

Alex Thumm scored off of a great Jake Burritt pass with five minutes left to pull within a goal (3-2). Two minutes later, Kyle Thumm used another Burritt pass to score and tie the game.

Burritt and Aaron Chappel assisted on the first Cabrillo goal of the game, which Andrew Lowes finished for the score.

Goalkeeper Ben Steele, the backbone of the defense, had another great game, stopping 34 shots on goal. He is averaging 2.7 goals against and 30 saves per game.

The squad is 3-1-1 in its last five games, losing one tough game and gaining the tie with San Luis Obispo. After winning back-to-back 3-2 games against San Luis Obispo and a tough Arroyo Grande team, they beat Paso Robles 5-4 with a last second goal from Kyle Thumm.

Cabrillo, which consists of nine players from both Cabrillo and Lompoc High Schools, three of whom are new to hockey.

The team, coached by VCC golf guru Bob Kotowski, consists of Andrew Lowes, Alan Gray, Joe Kotowski, Jake Barritt, Aaron Chapel, Alex Ortega, Ben Steele, Kyle Thumm, and Alex Thumm.

They play Paso Robles Saturday at the Central Coast Sports Arena in Santa Maria.

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Coach Bob Kotowski liked the the second one better. His Cabrillo roller hockey squad struggled through a 9-4 loss to #1 SLO in the top half of a double-header at Santa Maria's Central Coast Arena. But his kids hung tough and played what he described as their best game of year in a 4-3 barn-burner victory over Paso Robles.

The team, as they have become accustomed, battled from behind several times in game 2, before Jake Burrit closed it out by driving home a stupendous Kyle Thumm pass for the winner with 5.4 seconds left in the game. Joe Kotowski opened the Cabrillo scoring in the first, but they fell behind in the second period before Andrew Lowes slapped one in from the point off an Alan Grey assist. They also fell behind in the third, but Messieurs Burrit & Alex Thumm set up Alex Ortega for a nifty wrist shot to tie.

The last five minutes were a mad scramble, with both goalkeepers under attack until Burrit's game-winner. Ben Steel lived up to his name between the posts for the locals - registering 30 saves. Whiles Lowes recent emergence, his goal was a follow-up to a "hat-trick" against Arroyo Grande, has provided the offensive unit a boost.

Cabrillo next plays on 21 Feb., having qualified for the playoffs.

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The winter season renaissance of the Cabrilo Roller hockey squad was brief, but memorable. After a slow start, they rebounded to make the playoffs, but were bounced in the first round by the San Luis Obispo Gold.

The Gold, who won the Championship, made the game a microcosm of the season for Cabrillo, putting the locals 2 goals down in the first period. Cabrillo rallied to tie with two scores in the second. First, Aaron Chapple and Kyle Thumm set up Jake Burritt, then Alan Gray fed the puck to Alex Ortega for a nifty finish.

It was anybody's game at that point. Unfortunately it was SLOG that was able to score with about five minutes left. They tacked on the clincher for the 4-2 win with an open-netter in desperation time after Cabrillo pulled Ben Steele, their goalie. Steele had 35 saves in the game.

Cabrillo wraped up their season with a 6-5-1 Central Coast Northern League record.