Prep Roller Hockey: The Perfect finish for Rancho Bernardo

A two in the loss column is all that kept the Rancho Bernardo High roller hockey team from being flawless last season. The Broncos made sure to finish with a perfectly round zero in that slot this year.

Goalkeeper Josh Christie turned away 25 shots and junior varsity call-up Evan Jones scored twice, as Rancho Bernardo beat Cathedral Catholic 3-1 Wednesday night to cap an undefeated season and claim its second consecutive Metro Conference championship.

It is the first time in school history the Broncos (20-0) earned a perfect record and the third time they have won back-to-back championships (02-03, 07-08). Rancho Bernardo did go undefeated in 2003, but had two ties that season.

Once the clock at Escondido Sports Center hit all zeros Wednesday night, the players stormed the rink to celebrate with the championship trophy.

“We all work so well together as a team and we all have worked so hard,” said Jones, a senior. “We have a ton of skill on this team and we kept the determination and the fight going all year.”

The Broncos showed that fight and determination from start to finish in Wednesday’s championship game, which they played without one of their top goal scorers in Alex Pelletier (shoulder injury). Rancho Bernardo killed three of four power-play opportunities for Cathedral Catholic, including one four-minute advantage held by the Dons early.

“That was crucial,” said first-year Broncos coach Joe Gelsomino, who was the junior varsity coach last season when the varsity team went 20-2 en route to the championship. “If they were to pop one in early, then maybe it would have been a different outcome.”

A big reason for the penalty kills was the play of Christie, who elevated his game for the playoffs after admittedly struggling toward the end of the regular season. He backed up his 28-save effort against Poway in the semifinals with his best game of the year in the biggest game of the year.

“This was his best game,” Gelsomino said. “Every time we played Cathedral Catholic he showed up. He was outstanding tonight.”

Said Christie: “It feels nice. We have worked really hard for this and I came out here and did a lot of extra work with my personal coach. Other goalkeepers were not here, but I was here working hard to make sure I did the best I could in every aspect.”

And the Broncos needed it.

Cathedral Catholic, who lost twice to Rancho Bernardo in the regular season, hung around the entire way and had a golden opportunity with just under 10 minutes to go in the second period trailing 2-0. The Dons had a four-minute power play, but could not slip a shot past Christie.

Instead, just over six minutes later, Jones scored his second goal of the game to make it 3-0. That was plenty of cushion with the way Christie and the defense was playing.

“Our defense has done a great job all year,” Jones said. “We did a great job keeping them out of the net.”

The only goal for the Dons came on a power play with 8:22 to go. Adam Stocker found the back of the net off a nice feed from Drew Jones. Rancho Bernardo’s first goal of the game came off the stick of senior Spencer Ridout with 8:12 to go in the opening period.

The Broncos stormed through the regular season. Their closest game was a 7-6 victory over Westview. Even in that one Rancho Bernardo was up 6-1 through two periods, before having to hang on for the victory. It was a season that will be hard to top for first-year coach Gelsomino.

“Nothing is better than this,” said the 26-year-old coach. “We have a great program, great kids, great coaches and a great administration. The kids played hard all season and they earned it.”