ANAHEIM – Orange Lutheran’s hockey team captured its second consecutive state title Saturday night.
The Lancers defeated JSerra, 6-2, in the CAHA State Championship game at Anaheim Ice.
Captain Chase Young scored two goals for Orange Lutheran, which advances to the Hockey Nationals next month in Reston, Va. Jacob Heller, Chandler Ditolla, Zach Pires and Jacob Furry also scored for the Lancers (40-11-1).
“They wanted to repeat as CAHA state champions,” Lancers coach Dan Adams said. “There wasn’t much that needed to be said in (the locker room). You could just see it in their faces.”
In both state title runs, Orange Lutheran dropped its first game of the tournament before stringing together the wins it needed to capture the championship.
Last year was Orange Lutheran’s second trip to Nationals, but the Lancers went winless in group play. Goaltender AJ Frosh, who made 33 saves in the state final, believes this team will be more successful this year on that stage.
“I think mentally and as a team, we’re a lot stronger than last year,” he said. “I think we’ve all developed more. Last year’s team was great, but we were missing something. This year, we picked up some missing puzzle pieces, and we’ll be good to go.”
JSerra also received a berth into Nationals. It is the third year in a row that both CAHA State finalists earned a trip to the national championships.
Mason Pilkington and Brendan Pagani scored for the Lions.
The Nationals will be held March 17-21.
The Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League has had at least one representative at the national tournament since 2010. Santa Margarita won the national title in 2013.
