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  • Capistrano United's Paul Boutoussov scores on a trick shot between...

    Capistrano United's Paul Boutoussov scores on a trick shot between his legs during a semifinal game in the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League Tournament against the Corona Norco Stingrays in Anaheim on Monday.

  • The Coyotes' Alec Grollman shoots on goal during Monday's Anaheim...

    The Coyotes' Alec Grollman shoots on goal during Monday's Anaheim Ducks High school Hockey League semifinal tournament game against Corona/Norco at Anaheim Ice.

  • Capistrano United's' Connor Reed shoots on goal during Monday's Anaheim...

    Capistrano United's' Connor Reed shoots on goal during Monday's Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League semifinal tournament game against the Corona/Norco Stingrays at Anaheim Ice.

  • The Coyotes' Keenan Haase shoots and scores during a Anaheim...

    The Coyotes' Keenan Haase shoots and scores during a Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League semifinal game against the Corona/Norco Stingrays Monday evening at Anaheim Ice.

  • The Coyotes' Maximilian Kamper shoots on goal during Monday's Anaheim...

    The Coyotes' Maximilian Kamper shoots on goal during Monday's Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League semifinal tournament game against Corona/Norco at Anaheim Ice.

  • Capistrano Unified's Connor Reed squeezes through two Stingray defenders during...

    Capistrano Unified's Connor Reed squeezes through two Stingray defenders during Monday's semifinal game in the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League Tournament at Anaheim Ice.

  • Capistrano Unified's Logan Peck rips this slapshot during Monday's Anaheim...

    Capistrano Unified's Logan Peck rips this slapshot during Monday's Anaheim Ducks High school Hockey League semifinal tournament game against the Corona Norco Stingrays.

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Mark Garcia. Print Team and Sports Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Associate Mug Shot taken August 24, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ANAHEIM – In its last meeting, a little over a week ago, Capistrano United needed an overtime period to put away Corona/Norco.

Not so Tuesday night.

The Coyotes tallied the game’s first six goals – including five in the first period – to defeat the Stingrays, 10-2, and advance to the championship game of the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League’s Division 2A tournament at Anaheim Ice.

Capistrano United (16-0-0-1), which has not lost a game in regulation this season, will take on upstart Damien of La Verne on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Honda Center.

Damien (8-8-0-2) finished seventh in the 10-team league after the regular season, but have caught fire in the postseason, advancing to the championship game after victories over No. 10 Edison (4-2), No. 2 Los Alamitos (2-1), and No. 3 Huntington Beach (5-3).

“At this time of season, anybody can win,” said Coyotes coach Darren Gardner. “It’s going to be a great game.”

Tuesday night’s game wasn’t great for Corona/Norco (8-8-0-1), which – unlike its previous meeting with Capistrano United – couldn’t overcome an early deficit. In their Feb. 22 meeting, the Stingrays fell behind from the start, but rallied from a five-goal deficit to send the game into overtime.

On Tuesday, the Coyotes dominated from the beginning and never let up. Capistrano United built a 9-2 lead after two periods and held the Stingrays scoreless for the final 21-plus minutes.

“It was like déjà vu all over again,” said Gardner. “But we kept our foot on the pedal through the whole game. We learned, and that was important. We learned our lesson not to let up.”

“We tried to prepare the guys in advance that (Capistrano United) would come,” said Stingrays coach Brad Hamacher. “It was just tough to come back again.”

Capistrano United, the league’s No. 1 seed, distributed the puck nicely as eight different players scored and six others had assists.

“Everyone chips in every game. It’s definitely one of the main reasons why we win,” said senior Zach Wolivar.

Keenan Haase and Paul Boutoussov (Dana Hills), the Coyotes’ two leading scorers, led the club with two goals each. Connor Reed (Aliso Niguel), Max Kamper (Aliso Niguel), Alec Grollman, Ben Salkovitz (San Juan Hills), Jacob Fricks (Capistrano Valley Christian) and Wolivar each had one. Reed, Kamper and Bennett Curran (Capistrano Valley) led the team with two assists each.

“(Capistrano United) has 5-6 guys that can stick-handle it in a phone booth…very impressive. We got caught puck watching and they made us look silly,” said Hamacher.

Tyler Hascall and Michael Wiggins accounted for the Stingrays’ lone goals. Its top line of Brendan weir, Evan Anderson and Chad Watt were held to just one assist.

“Those three are very skilled players, capable of lighting it up,” said Gardner. “I felt confident we could match one of our top lines against there’s. We then we counted on our second, third and fourth lines to be better than their second, third and fourth lines, and that’s what really helped us create a large margin of victory.”

The Coyotes were the league’s leading-scoring team, but Gardner said it was defense that won the game for them Tuesday.

“We’re going to score goals. It’s a matter of how many we give up,” he said. “Tonight, I felt the kids really committed to defense.”

Goalie Kevin Vernon (Laguna Hills) recorded 21 saves, and Curran Allison (University) had seven in limited duty in the third period.

Stingrays goalie Kyle Hornock finished with 20 saves.

“Kyle is a very good goalie, and to see him get picked apart tonight was hard for me. Our defense definitely let him down,” said Hamacher.

Contact the writer: magarcia@ocregister.com or 949-454-7309