Exhilarating Start to 2025 Season

Week One came with big anticipation–and the players delivered. 

Exciting plays and breathtaking saves. Physicality and grit. Dirty dangles and tasty dishes.

Both games were decided by a single goal, with players battling hard as they got to know their teammates and opponents. Week One set the tone for what will undoubtedly be a sensational summer of San Diego inline hockey.

To the fans and players, strap in for a wild ride, the second season of the San Diego Elite Draft League is officially underway.

Gameplay Recap

Leucadia Longboarders vs. Balboa Pandas

This game came with significant momentum shifts and was ultimately won by the opportunistic play of the Balboa Pandas. 

The Leucadia Longboarders controlled pace for the majority of the first half, led in large part by the vocal communication and controlled pace of Leucadia’s captain, Reed Kinsey. Despite having significant offensive zone time and using the full rink to reset plays and maintain puck possession, the Longboarders were shut down in the first half by the reliable play of Balboa Pandas’ goaltender, Tom Holsheimer, who stopped all 12 shots he faced in the opening frame to keep the score knotted at 0-0 going into the second half.

The narrative changed in the second half, with Balboa finding more puck possession and taking advantage of clearer shooting lanes. Balboa’s Quincy Maffitt broke the ice with an opportunistic shot from the top of the left circle after receiving a pass with speed from teammate Bailey Ridout. The Pandas built from this momentum and scored their second goal shortly after off a wrister from Josh Morrison, who fired his shot from the same left-circle area as Maffitt. Down 2-0, the Longboarders increased their urgency and continued to play physically, eventually tying the game with goals from Ray Kinsey and Nathan Robert. 

With the score tied 2-2 with less than a minute to play, Balboa’s Jimmy Becker beat Longboarders’ Ray Kinsey to a loose puck near the center line, hustled along the boards into the offensive zone, and cut across the crease with a bold power move before sliding the puck into the net to put the Pandas up 3-2 with thirteen seconds remaining in the game. 

For his late-game heroics and scoring the game-winning goal, Jimmy Becker was recognized as player of the game. 

Final Score

Leucadia Longboarders: 2

Balboa Pandas: 3

Cardiff Stingrays vs. Escondido Rhinos

This game was full of back-and-forth action, with everyone in attendance on the edge of their seats. Both teams showed signs of offensive prowess and defensive lapses that created exciting moments and highlighted opportunities for improvement.

The Escondido Rhinos took a 3-0 lead in the first half off goals from Matt Trostad, Jack Allen, and Anthony Dykes. After going down 3-0, the Stingrays would put their talent on display with a couple of sensational goals. The first came off a great individual effort from Cardiff’s Logan Wise, who cut through two Rhinos defenders before going bar down from a near goalline shot to make it 3-1 in the first. Then, late in the first half, Cardiff’s Joe Kubani sailed a seeing-eye lead pass from the defensive zone into the offensive zone right circle that teammate Brian Pino skated into with speed, putting him on a breakaway and giving him space to cut hard across the crease and roof a backhander to bring the score to 3-2 Rhinos at the end of the first half. 

The second half continued much the same way, with both teams battling and burying opportunities. Kubani tied it up 3-3 with a grindy goal, getting to the dirty area and tapping in a loose puck on the goalline. Then Dykes continued to find himself in the right place at the right time, scoring his second and third goals of the night off of sweet feeds from teammates Billy Metcalf and Noe Santos, respectively. 

Down 5-3 with a couple of minutes remaining in regulation, the Stingrays pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. This gave Dykes a golden opportunity to put the game away with an empty-net tally, but his surprising miss on a yawning cage led to a theatric turn of events as the Stingrays picked up the loose puck and dished it to Wise who scored his second of the game with a clean wrister from the top of the circles, bringing the score to 5-4 Rhinos with 1:28 remaining in the game. 

The Stingrays battled till the end, but the Rhinos held strong to win the game with a final score of 5-4. 

For his hat trick performance and glorious enthusiasm, Anthony Dykes was recognized as player of the game.  

Final Score

Cardiff Stingrays: 4 

Escondido Rhinos: 5

Looking Ahead: Keys to the Game

Looking ahead, these are the key components to giving each respective team an advantage, as analyzed by the San Diego Elite Draft League front office.

Leucadia Longboarders: Build upon your on-rink communication and set the pace with poise and control from the back end.   

Balboa Pandas: Take advantage of top-end talent to create opportunities off the rush. Shoot to score, and be selective of opportunities to avoid getting caught in individually fueled run-and-gun play.

Cardiff Stingrays: Trust each other to make plays and use coordinated east-west movement to create ideal matchups and odd-man opportunities.

Escondido Rhinos: Find ways to generate offensive zone cycles with gap control that prevents losing defensive zone coverage.