JSerra ice hockey coach Mike Perkins never plans for his team to get off to a slow start, it just ends up that way.
But what the Ice Lions are starting to become more known for is their improvement throughout the season, and it has certainly showed again over the past two months.
After a 2-4 start in the Ducks High School Hockey League, the Ice Lions have turned it around and are now 5-1 in their last six league games after a dominant 6-2 victory over Division 1 rival Servite at the Honda Center on Saturday afternoon.
The win puts JSerra in a tie for third place with Santa Margarita at 21 points in Division 1.
“Since I’ve been at JSerra, our teams have always progressed throughout the year with our development and it’s showing again this year,” Perkins said. “Our players are buying in and I have a great coaching staff with Jeff Noviello and Leo Fenn; they deserve a lot of credit as they’ve helped that process.”
Forward Sage Fleming became Division 1’s leading goal scorer after his three-goal performance against the Friars, giving him 13 on the season.
Ian Gilbert, Kyle Pellegrino and Jake Lauricella all scored even-strength goals in the first 3:26 of the second period to give the Ice Lions separation with a 4-1 lead.
Fleming scored JSerra’s first goal in the first period and put it out of reach with two more in the third. Fellow forward KC Ozinuka chipped in with three assists.
“I think our game plan is always to be the aggressor and get the puck and when we do that, we’re successful,” Perkins said. “It’s part of the process and it takes some time to get to that point, but once we start playing hockey that way, we’re going to have success.”
As a team, JSerra was more aggressive, taking 38 shots to Servite’s 22 and racking up 16 penalty minutes to Servite’s six.
Between the pipes, Nick Valdez stopped 20 of 22 shots in his best performance of his four starts. Servite’s Jacob Long scored both goals for the Friars.
Forwards Francis Lemay and Zach Brunnelle, defensemen Zack Fiedler and Eric Phillips and goaltender Lucas Franssen have also played significant roles for the Ice Lions, a team that has no seniors this season.
The 5-1 swing began Nov. 8 during a weekend trip to San Jose for two games against Bellarmine College Prep at Sharks Ice, which strengthened JSerra’s team chemistry. The Ice Lions won both of those contests, 5-2 and 6-4.
“Every time we get on a bus and take a trip, it allows us to get to know each other better than we already do,” Perkins said. “In an environment like that, the team is the only thing you can turn to. Our trips to San Jose and Phoenix are very beneficial in bringing both varsity and JV teams together.”
Up next for the Ice Lions will be a Western Prep Hockey League matchup against Brophy Prep of Arizona at Lakewood Ice, 1:20 p.m. Friday. Perkins said that the competition in the Western Prep is still a work in progress, but adding out-of-county teams with similar professionalism makes the league exciting.
JSerra will also play league-leading Fountain Valley of Colorado at 10 a.m. Saturday, Santa Margarita on Saturday afternoon and Fountain Valley again Sunday.
All remaining games in ADHSHL Division 1 are against the top three teams in the standings.
“We have to top out when it comes to the Division 1 schedule; every game is going to count,” Perkins said. “We have some guys who are stepping up and we’re going to look to them to help us get the job done.”
CAPISTRANO UNITED STANDS ALONE
With its 8-5 come-from-behind victory over La Jolla Country Day on Sunday afternoon, the Capistrano United hockey team is now the only remaining unbeatean team throughout the ADHSHL.
The Division 2 team stands alone after St. John Bosco’s junior varsity team fell over the weekend.
Against the Torreys, Capistrano United scored five goals in the second period to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 6-5 lead. The Coyotes have dominated in the middle frame all season – their 45 second-period goals are more than the total goals of seven other teams in Division 2.
Jack Lippis, Cameron McCartin and Mike Boutossov each scored twice against La Jolla Country Day, while Niko Grollman assisted on two scores. Braydon Doppert earned the victory after making nine saves on 11 shots in two periods of work.
The Coyotes will be out of action until Jan. 31, when they take on San Diego Union at the Kroc Center.
Contact the writer: 949-492-5135 or npercy@ocregister.com
