Roller Hockey: Titans, RB Heading to the Semis

The Poway High roller hockey team started strong on offense and finished strong on defense to come away with a 4-3 victory Wednesday over Cathedral Catholic and advance to the semifinal round of the section playoffs. Top-seeded Rancho Bernardo High also advanced with a 13-2 victory over Otay Ranch.

The third-seeded Titans (13-7) knew they needed to control Dons standout Justin Cintas, who is already a part of the San Diego Gulls ice hockey program, if they wanted a chance at victory.

“He’s a high-caliber skater,” said Titans coach Dale Ingram. “We wanted to double- and triple-team him to take him out of the game.”

Five minutes in at the Escondido Sports Center, the Titans' Luke Richard stole the puck from a Cathedral player and lifted a shot over the top of Dons goalie John Hendrix for the game's first score.

Thirty-seconds later, Ryan Hockett added another goal off a rebounded slap shot by Kyle Ingram.

Poway was skating with confidence as they stuck to the game plan of shutting down Cintas at all costs, taking a 2-0 lead into the first break.

But Cintas began to dictate the action in the second period, scoring a goal and adding an assist to tie the score at 2-2.

“We were playing well on offense,” said Poway senior Richard. “It got close because our defense was suffering from our constant attack.”

Poway adjusted and was able to retake the lead late in the period on a goal by Conner Liebman.

Five minutes into the third period, Cathedral struck back on another goal by Cintas on a power play to pull even again, and the Dons seemed to have the momentum heading into the final minutes.

“The game could have gone either way at that point,” said Cathedral coach Luke Storno. “Poway is a good squad with a very talented coach, and we had them rattled out there.”

Titans goalie Chris Sylva took over at that point, coming up with a few huge stops down the stretch to keep the game tied. He would finish with 21 saves.

With under two minutes to go, Richard found the back of the net once more, squeezing the puck past the Cathedal goalie to provide the Titans with the winning margin.

“We played hard out there tonight,” said Cintas. “A couple of bounces the other way and the result could’ve been different.”
 
With the win the Titans move on to Monday's semifinals at the Escondido Sports Center against second-seeded West Hills (18-2), which topped La Jolla Country Day 11-4.

On the other side of the bracket, Rancho Bernardo (17-3) moved on with its impressive victory over Otay Ranch and will play Westview (14-6), a 5-4 winner over Scripps Ranch in dramatic fashion, thanks to two goals in the final minute of play.

“I see our team going all the way through this year,” said Titan goalie Sylva. “We’re already looking forward to getting some payback against RB in the finals.”

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To follow the Titans roller hockey team, visit its website.