West Hills One of Favorites in Roller Hockey Playoffs

In the more than two decades since the school opened, the West Hills High athletics program owns league championships in almost every sport, plus an array of CIF San Diego Section titles.

The Wolf Pack earned the opportunity to add to its impressive ledger later this month in another sport: roller hockey.

West Hills will be one of the favorites when the Kiwanis Cup playoffs open next week after the school moved into position to capture the inaugural Central League crown with a victory over St. Augustine last week at Skate San Diego.

Toss in earlier triumphs over powerful Rancho Bernardo and Scripps Ranch and it makes the Pack one of the postseason favorites.

"And when we have our additional players, our team is something to behold," said first-year head coach Steve Baldwin.

Unlike other CIF sports (notably soccer), where it's illegal to play on high school and club teams concurrently, roller hockey is considered different from ice hockey, so many of the top players miss Thursday's inline game to practice with travel ice hockey teams.

But with the playoffs looming, Wolf Pack stalwerths like Spencer Gaalaas and Eric Baldwin will be available. However, the depth of the Wolf Pack features several others who make the team a top contender.

Cory Dermody, who scored the game-winner to stop Scripps Ranch, is joined on the forward line by Zach Peters. On defense, West Hills features Joe Swanson, Jared Wiese and David Baldwin, all playing in front of goaltender Danny Aylesworth.

"Rancho Bernardo will be the team to beat," noted Swanson, a senior, about the playoffs. "But Poway and Westview are tough, too. But unlike other years, our team has plenty of experience, including a lot of players who've also played ice hockey for many years."

Swanson hopes to earn an ice berth with the Junior Gulls travel team next season.

The word is starting to spread around campus about the Roller Pack.

"We're getting recognized more and our school is getting recognized more," said Peters, a centerman. "The playoffs will be challenging, but we should be able to hold our own."

West Hills closes the regular season with games against La Jolla Country Day (Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.) and Eastlake (Thursday, 6:30 p.m.), both at Skate San Diego (located one block north of Sweetwater High School).

CIF playoff dates are Feb. 21, 23, 28 and March 2 (finals).