La Vista

By Camille Juton
Staff Writer

The whoosh of the blades gliding through the ice, the buzzer when it rings after a goal is scored; from the end of March to the end of June, the Mira Costa ice hockey team competes against local South Bay teams.

“I joined hockey because my brother played hockey,” player Doc Gentzler said.”My travel season for club ice hockey is not year round so I also wanted to keep my skills up by joining the team.”

All practices for the team are at the El Segundo Toyota Center. The team practices about once a week, which includes skating drills, puck handling and scrimmaging.

“This could be a very promising season for us,” Gentzler said. “We’ve only had several practices so far this year but we are already showing much more improvement from last year. We’re expecting a championship this year and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”

All games will take place at the Toyota Center. Although not every high school in the South Bay has an ice hockey team, Costa primarily has games against local schools.

“All of the schools we play are in the South Bay including teams from Palos Verdes High School, El Segundo High, Loyola, and South Torrance,” Vitta said.

The varsity team is led by senior forward Doc Gentzler, senior forwardJake Vitta and senior defender Dylan Fair who is a defender.

“I joined the team because most of us play on our club teams throughout the school year so its a cool experience to be able to compete with other classmates,” Vitta said.

Mira Costa has not won a championship in five seasons, and last year lost in the semi finals, but expects to bring one home this year.

“We’re going to play really well this season because of all the talent we have on our team this year,” Gentzler said. ” We have a lot of old and young talent, we’re really fast and we have a lot of goal scorers. ”

By Katie McGregor
Staff Writer

Although the replacement of a coach usually calls for a rebuilding year, the Mira Costa hockey team is determined not to be fazed by the changes coming this year.

The new coach, Ralph Barahona, is a Southern California native hockey player who was in the NHL with the Boston Bruins for two years. Barahona also played for teams in the American Hockey League, the International Hockey League and Roller Hockey International.

Leland Lesnever/La Vista

“Being new and not knowing much about Costa’s competitors, I’m going into this season with an open mind,” Barahona said. “I’ll definitely make sure the kids are competitive but also having fun.”

The hockey team began its season on March 27 and will play other local hockey teams including South High, El Segundo and Junipero Serra.

Costa had its first game on March 30 with a 6-2 win over Venice High School. The team has an abundance of veteran leadership, with eight seniors returning.

“I think this year will be really successful,” junior Tomas Sholl said. “We have a lot of talented players and a new coach, which could be what Costa needs to make our team the best we can be.”

Barahona was able to assess a few of the Mustangs’ hockey skills because he has previously coached club teams like the traveling Los Angeles Jr. Kings.

“Ralph was my coach earlier this year for my club team,” senior Patrick Fuesterer said. “He has a great coaching style, he’s motivating and he really helps his players develop their skills.”

Many of the players on Costa hockey also play on youth hockey league teams in the off season in order to continue improving. Sholl, junior Connor Ferrera and senior Patrick Salmas have all played at the highest youth level in hockey, AAA, for three years. These leagues often produce players who are recruited for college, junior teams or the NHL.

“Playing on a club team requires a lot of dedication to keep up with the demanding schedule,” Salmas said. “But it [also] allows us to gain year-round experience, which will hopefully help us do well this season.”

Although the Costa hockey team is seeing many changes this year, its players still feel confident that their season will continue as planned.

“All of the seniors this year are talented, and I think we can go really far into the playoffs, especially with the help of Ralph,” senior Trevor Amos said.