Gaslamp Holds On. Riptide Cruise for Fourth Consecutive Win.

Two games. Twenty goals. One shutout. All teams played with energy, but the games started to tilt as elite scoring chipped away at the defenses' armor. There was a buzz going into Game Three, with teams eager to break ruts and players looking to shine. And after the night's action came to a close, one question remained: will anyone be able to solve the La Jolla Riptide? 

Torrey Pines Talons vs. Gaslamp Guardians 

Both the Torrey Pines Talons and the Gaslamp Guardians took the opening minutes of the game to feel out the opposition. After some back-and-forth play, the Talons broke open the scoring off a tenacious effort by captain Ray Kinsey. Kinsey hunted down the puck after it bounced off the end wall on a shot by Jason Effertz; he took a couple of quick jabs at it, pulled it across the crease, and outwaited the goaltender before ripping it into the net. 

Soon after the Talons took the early lead, the Guardians went on a tear. First, it was a speedy coast-to-coast goal by Logan Wise, who retrieved the puck off a broken play, cruised up the rink, and released a slick wrister using the Talons' defensemen as screens. 

Next, Bailey Ridout got his first goal of the season after picking up an errant Talons pass off the boards, barreling into the offensive zone, and rifling a far-side shot that found twine. Soon after, Zach Nolte received a drop pass from Anthony Mata and circled through the neutral zone, picking up speed and weaving through the Talons before finishing the play off with a quick snapshot from between the circles. Minutes later, Eli Hoffmann won a puck battle along the boards in the Talons' zone, circled to the top of the circles, and wired a top-shelf shot that beat the goalie glove side, putting the Guardians up 4-1.

The Talons got the next goal off a beautiful pass from Colton Grover. Grover streaked into the offensive zone on a two-on-one opportunity, with a Guardians backchecker hot in pursuit. Instead of forcing a shot or pass across, Grover found Kinsey coming in as the high third man. The pass fooled the Guardians' defense, allowing Kinsey to fire into a yawning cage for his second of the game, pulling the score to within two.

But then the Guardians stormed away.

Rebound goal by Mata off a shot by Wise.

Three-on-none Guardians rush that resulted in Ridout passing it across to Kyle Agnello, whose quick shot beat the goalie. 

Coming out of the intermission with a 6-2 lead, the Guardians' Oren Berengolts tracked down his own shot behind the Talons' net and gave a sweet centering dish to Zac Miszkiewicz, who potted a goal from top of the crease.

Soon after, Mata fed a seeing-eye, behind-the-back pass to Andrew Day in the high slot. Day received the biscuit and sent it right into the basket, putting the Guardians up 8-2 with 12:33 remaining in regulation. The Guardians got eight goals from eight different scorers, a testament to the depth and skill across their lineup.  

With a surge of late-game energy, the Talons were able to get two more on the board. Their third goal of the game came off a well-executed two-on-one, with Chris Sidner sending a nice sauce over to Kinsey, who caught and released the puck in one fluid motion for the hat trick goal. Late in the game, the Talons converted on another nice passing play off the rush, this time between Brian Pino, Jason Effertz, and Grover. Pino passed it across to Effertz and then continued toward the net, pulling a Guardians defenseman with him. Then Effertz moved it across to Grover, who snapped off a shot that squeezed through the goaltender. 

The game ended 8-4 Guardians, but the Talons were building momentum as both teams look ahead to Game Five.  

Final Score

Torrey Pines Talons: 4
Gaslamp Guardians: 8

Keys to the Game

• Torrey Pines is building momentum off the rush, but still needs to find a higher gear defensively to make it more difficult for opposing players to gain access to prime scoring areas.  
• Gaslamp finding balanced scoring, but should be aware of the potential for misfired shots to turn into opportunities going the other way.

La Jolla Riptide vs. Old Town Outlaws

Both the La Jolla Riptide and Old Town Outlaws came out of the gates flying; both teams wanted to gain the early advantage, players on both sides showcasing physicality and tenacity. 

The Outlaws had their chances to get the game's opening goal, but Zach Cummings—the Riptide goaltender—was a brick wall as Riptide's last line of defense. Cummings made early saves to keep the Outlaws from taking the lead; he made great saves to end the first half, not allowing the Outlaws to build momentum going into the second; and he made excellent saves toward the end of the game to ultimately secure a shutout victory, the first goalie to do so this season.   

There were three penalties (two for Riptide, one for Outlaws) and multiple opportunities before a goal scorer emerged. Eventually, the Riptide broke the 0-0 tie when William Anderson found himself with some space in the high slot after receiving a pass from Reed Kinsey, and he ripped a seeing-eye shot low glove that made it 1-0 Riptide with 4:10 left in the first half.

Not long after, Anderson's shooting prowess was again on display. Nate Kallen grabbed the puck in the offensive zone and cut across the tops of the circles, drawing the attention of three Outlaws before dishing off a nice drop pass to Anderson. With space to walk into the middle of the circle, Anderson rifled a calculated shot that went far side, beating the goalie's glove. 

A couple of rushes later, Kallen went from playmaker to top sniper. Dillon Bilek forced an Outlaws turnover in the neutral zone and then found Jake Betsch streaking into the offensive zone. Betsch and Bilek came down on a flat-footed Outlaws defense, and Betsch passed it back to Kallen as the high third guy. Kallen had time and space to pick his spot, and he finished the play with a blocker-side snipe that put the Riptide up 3-0. 

The Outlaws took another penalty late in the first half, forcing them to start the second half on the penalty kill. 

On the man advantage, Riptide set up in a diamond formation with Kallen at the point. Kallen passed the puck to Anderson at the left circle, and then the puck traveled cross rink to Noah Meni at the right circle. Meni received Anderson's slick dish and snapped it into the Outlaws' goal. 

A few minutes later, Betsch passed it ahead to Kallen, who used speed to make a beautiful outside-inside move—a backhand toe-drag to separate from the defender, followed by a hard cut to regain center position—before cutting across the crease and stuffing the puck into the back of the net.

Minutes later, Kinsey and Riptide captain, Nik Olsson, found themselves on a two-on-one. Kinsey passed it across to Olsson, who then buried his first of the game. 

A little while later, Kallen was wheeling in the offensive zone, pulling Outlaws players’ attention, and found an open Anderson in the high slot area. Again with time and space, Anderson wired in a shot to complete the hat trick. 

And finally, Betsch got the final goal of the game after Bilek sent a pass up the boards out of the Riptide defensive zone. From there, Betsch carried the puck into the offensive zone with speed, going one-on-one against an Outlaw defenseman; Betsch made the Bombay 1-2 deke before firing a wrister that found the back of the net. Final score, 8-0 Riptide.

Despite the lopsided scoring, the Outlaws had their chances and played with heart. Had they scored first, or even at the end of the first half, the game could have taken on a completely different shape. 

But that's not how the story unfolded. So with four games in the books, all teams are still seeking to solve the juggernaut that is the La Jolla Riptide. 

Final Score

La Jolla Riptide: 8
Old Town Outlaws: 0

Keys to the Game

• La Jolla dominating play. Skill, size, depth, this team is the Season 3 Juggernaut.
• Old Town playing with fire and spirit and using speed to create opportunities, but they need to avoid puck watching on the defensive side to ensure they maintain their coverage and take away space from opposing teams' top players.