The rollercoaster ride was worth it for the Jr. Ducks’ 10U B1 team.

The 10U’s overcame a disappointing end to their SCAHA season to capture a CAHA championship on March 30 in double overtime at San Jose. And they did it with a 3-2 victory against a California Heat team that had foiled their undefeated season in the SCAHA finals one week earlier at Anaheim ICE. 

“I’m super proud of the kids; they found a way to push through,” said coach Paul Wagner. 

The Jr. Ducks edged the Heat 4 minutes and 20 seconds into the second overtime of the CAHA final on a faceoff play. The Jr. Ducks had taken a 2-0 lead only to see the Heat tie it and force a 10-minute overtime. But 55 minutes weren’t enough to settle the division’s biggest rivalry of the season. 

“I was a bit nervous but confident in our team,” Wagner said. “Our team rallied together.

“On the final play, I sent one of our D up to take the faceoff. He won it back to a winger (Nixon DeWitz) who shot the puck over the goalie’s glove. Their goalie had played great, so it was the biggest sigh of relief.”

How the 10U’s reached this point was full of momentum shifts. The Jr. Ducks went 17-0 during the SCAHA regular season, outscoring foes by a combined 150-39.

As impressive as that was, it nearly didn’t happen.

“We only had 10 players on our roster and one ended up not being able to play,” Wagner said. “You have to have 10 skaters and we only had nine. I asked all of the kids I knew of and couldn’t find that 10th player. I thought we might have to fold the team at one point.

“Then one of our players asked a rec league teammate of his from Lakewood if he wanted to play. He’d moved here from Minnesota. I explained to his parents this was travel hockey, and he ended up trying it. He was the player who scored that last goal for us. It’s incredible how that worked out.”

The Jr. Ducks won their first four SCAHA playoff games by a combined 25-8 margin to set up a final against the Heat, who were second during the regular season. 

“Everything was sunshine and rainbows,” Wagner said. “But the Heat knew how to shut us down and we lost 4-3 in the SCAHA final. It was pretty crushing.

“But it also provided motivation to push through and work harder. That week between SCAHA and states, you could see everyone was willing to work harder.”

The Jr. Ducks, who finished the season with a 25-1 record, won two one-goal games to start round-robin play at CAHA then faced the Heat again and rolled them 8-1.

“That was a statement game,” Wagner said. “It was a super exciting feeling.”

That forced the Heat to play a fourth game against Lake Tahoe to determine the Jr. Ducks’ opponent in the final. 

“It was an incredible way to end the season,” Wagner said. “I couldn’t be prouder.”

The championship roster included:
Goaltender Nico Storey and skaters George Araki, Mason Benke, Owen Combs, Nixon DeWitz, Adam Lopez, Zeke Mendoza, Zachary Preston, Robby Rabyy, Frank Shao and Jackson Vari.