News release
A Burbank youth hockey team that includes five players from the Santa Clarita Valley earned its way into the state Peewee (12U) A-level California Amateur Hockey Association championship game Sunday at The Cube in Valencia.
The California Golden Bears team, which is comprised of players born in 2012, played “up” an age group in CAHA, against teams comprised of players born in 2010 and 2011. The five SCV players, who began playing hockey at Ice Station Valencia before it became The Cube, are Donovan Chavez, Austin Cugno, Santana King, Logan Lora and Austin McDermott.
The team’s head coach is former L.A. King Alexander Frolov and the assistant coaches are SCV residents Eustace King and Lonnie McDermott.
In last weekend’s CAHA state playoffs, the Bears opened with a 3-2 loss to the Roseville-based Capital Thunder before beating the Cupertino-based California Cougars, 12-1. The Bears’ round-robin finished with a 4-2 loss to the Bakersfield Jr. Condors.
In the semifinal single-elimination game on Saturday, the Bears avenged their round-robin opening loss, beating the Capital Thunder, 5-1, to advance to the state championship game.
The championship game ended with a second loss to the Condors, 7-4, and the Bears finishing as the state runner-up in the 12U A division. The team finished the season with an overall record of 46-8-2, and myhockeyrankings.com ranked the Bears among the top dozen of all U.S. teams in its computerized rankings for the 2012 birth year. There are hundreds of teams in the rankings.
“This 2012 team is ranked 12th in the country,” Bears Hockey Director Justin Dyke said in a prepared statement. “Many of the kids have been invited to very selective camps and tournaments in North America including Edmonton last year and Toronto this upcoming April. They are a team to follow.”
