Roller hockey team wants national championship

Daily 49er: "Patrick Creaven
Issue date: 3/29/07 Section: Sports"

When thinking of spring break destinations, one usually thinks of sunny places like Cancun, Miami and Rosarito. But the Long Beach State club roller hockey team is headed to landlocked Missouri, and there is no place on earth they would rather be.

Beginning April 4, a group of Southern Californian's and a Mexican goalie will represent LBSU in the 2007 Division II Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships.

The 49ers are coming into the tournament with an 18-1 league record and are the No. 2 team in the county. LBSU automatically qualified for the 20-team national tournament by beating UC San Diego, 7-2, in the Western Collegiate Roller Hockey championship game on March 4. The tournament is held in St. Peters, Mo., which is just outside of St. Louis.

"I think we can take [the national championship]," said sophomore defenseman Justin Barney, who is the club president. "We have a good mix of experience from going to the national championship last year. Plus we have brought in a lot of talented freshmen."

LBSU has climbed to the top of the collegiate roller hockey world incredibly quickly. Four years ago, there wasn't even a club roller hockey team on campus. Matt Durham, who is now a high school teacher, started the club and posted fliers around campus trying to recruit players for his team.

One of those fliers caught the eye of Eric Aho, who has been on the team since the beginning.

"We were pretty average that first year," Aho said. "Some of the kids weren't as serious about it, but we got better and the serious players stuck with it."

The 49ers went 11-7 in their first year, and in their second year improved to 15-3 and made their first trip to the national tournament. But LBSU lost in the first round to Maine.

This season, LBSU has brought in some explosive freshmen, led by the team's top scorer, Ryan Burrows.

"I love playing roller hockey," Burrows said. "I knew some of the older people that went to my high school were playing at Long Beach State, so I knew I would be able to play here. Plus, Long Beach has a good business program, which is what I want to do."

Esperanza high school in Orange County, where Burrows graduated from, has been a farm system of sorts for the roller hockey team at LBSU.

Aho and Barney both went to Esperanza, along with defensemen Matt Shaw and Greg Davis.

"We had a roller hockey team at [Esperanza]," Aho said.

"So we have been playing together for a while which has helped us."

All of the players come from Southern California with one noticeable exception.

LBSU's backup goalie Eduardo Juarez, a Mexico native, said he came to LBSU because he read the school had a roller hockey team.

"I sent an e-mail saying I was interested in joining the team and they said I could," Juarez said. "So that's why I came to Long Beach."

Juarez said the level of competition is at a higher level than in Mexico, and the facilities are vastly better.

"In Mexico, we just play on a sheet of concrete," Juarez said. "Here we play indoors and have better equipment."

LBSU will start the group play portion of the tournament next week against Albany. The other teams in the 49ers group are St. Louis and West Chester.

"I'm stoked for next week," Burrows said. "If we play smart, I think we are going to bring home a championship."

Media Credit: Chay Chhuon
Practice - Ryan Burrows shoots toward goal during a practice game last Friday

Media Credit: Chay Chhuon
Scrimmage - Cal State Long Beach roller hockey team practicing at their training facility in Huntington Beach, CA last Friday