Palo Verde captures roller hockey championship

Panthers defeated Durango, Shadow Ridge on the way to the title

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If at first you don't succeed ...

After playing in the high school club roller hockey championships several times, Palo Verde finally brought home the hardware this season after defeating Shadow Ridge, 12-5, in the title game on March 27 at the Las Vegas Roller Hockey Center.

The second-seeded Panthers (9-2-1) qualified for the championship by defeating Durango in the day's first semifinal, 10-2. Top seed Green Valley (10-2-1) was upset in the other semifinal, losing to Shadow Ridge, 5-4, in overtime on a goal by the Mustangs' Cody Williams.

Sixth-year Palo Verde coach Terry Bartu was happy for his team to win the title after coming so close in previous years.

"I felt that we've had the team that probably should have done it three of the last four years and didn't make it, so it was nice to win," Bartu said. "We had made it to the championship game three or four times prior to this but couldn't bring it home."

Bartu said this particular group has been together a while, so earning a first championship was especially sweet for his players.

"They were happy that they all got to play together in a championship tournament, unlike what we've had throughout the rest of the year. We've never had the whole team at once together, so they were glad to play with each other," Bartu said. "They have played ice hockey together off and on with each other for the past four years."

Leading the way for the Panthers in the postseason -- where they blasted their opponents by a 22-7 margin -- was Ryan Schaffer.

"Ryan Schaffer was the biggest offensive player in the playoffs," Bartu said. "He's actually a defenseman but steps up into the offensive play at the right times. And he can put the puck in the net. Roller hockey is a lot of cycle (passing) between defensemen and offensive players."

Providing an almost impenetrable force in the net was Palo Verde goalie Steven Bolton.

"Steven's a very solid goaltender," Bartu said. "We could make mistakes and he'd save us. Fortunately we scored a lot of goals, too, which helped him. He just gives the kids a lot of confidence when he's in the net."

Bolton gave up just 20 goals (1.67 goals per game) on the entire season, the lowest total of any goalie in the league and also was tied for the league lead in shutouts with three.

Besides Shaffer and Bolton, the Panthers -- whose two losses came at the hands of Cimarron-Memorial in a forfeit and to Green Valley, 6-4 -- relied heavily on Shawn Light, the team's leading scorer with 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) and the second-leading scorer in the club league this past season.

Rounding out the championship roster was Chris Rial (22 points), Kris Karter (19 points), Dylan Bunker (16), who had to sit out the championship game with a knee injury, Alex Yug (14), Torey Bartu (7), Kyle Karter (7) and Nick Schaffer (4).

Finishing atop the league standings with 21 points and 10 wins was Green Valley, led by the league's leading scorer Ryan Hedderly, who had a league-high 31 goals and 16 assists for a total of 47 points. Teammates Matt Hedderly and Justin Campanelli each tallied 19 points on the season while Gators goalie Shon Ben Kely went 10-2-1 with a 3.85 goals against average and posted two shutouts.

League runner-up Shadow Ridge (7-5-1) was led in scoring by Williams, who scored 20 goals and had 11 assists for 31 points, and Craig Mills (25 points). Mustangs goalie Matt Williams went 7-5-1 on the season and tied Palo Verde's Bolton for the league lead in shutouts with three.

Despite being bounced by eventual champs Palo Verde in the semifinals, Durango (7-3-2) was the third seed in the league and was led in scoring by Nick Washington (26) and Tim Lydon (23). Trailblazers netminder Tim Tallagades registered an impressive 7-3-2 record and allowed an average of 3.33 goals per game.

Cimarron (3-9-0) was led in scoring by Emmanuel Banez (24) and Matt Frady (12), while Coronado (2-10-1) was led by Derek Combs (20) and Marlon Mantle (19).

Cheyenne went 0-4-2 in the league but was forced to pull out after not having enough players, while defending champions Centennial did not field a team this season.

Unlike regular hockey, which is played on ice with five players and a goalie, roller hockey is usually played on a surface called Sport Court and is played with just four players -- two defensemen and two forwards -- and the goalie.

Although it's not sanctioned by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association as a high school sport, the roller hockey league has been around for more than 10 years, according to Bartu, and has remained popular among its participants. Three girls even played for various teams in the prep club league this season.

"It's stayed about the same," Bartu said of the growth of the sport, which doesn't allow checking or fighting. "It's hard to grow. There are only about 600 youth hockey players in the city. But I think it can grow and Dan (Las Vegas Roller Hockey Center operator Dan Corsatea) will have a lot to do with that."

The Las Vegas Roller Hockey Center is located at 800 Karen Ave. For more information, visit www.lasvegasrollerhockey.com or call 349-6526.