Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sunday Locals: EWU men’s club hockey 4th nationally in final poll

Eastern Washington University’s men’s club hockey team ranked fourth in the final American College Hockey Association Division 2 poll after advancing to the semifinals in the national tournament last month in San Jose, Calif.

The Eagles, 28-8-1-1 overall, went into the tournament as the No. 1 seed from the Western Conference and tied for first during pool play with a 2-1 record.

EWU beat New Hampshire 4-1 and Miami of Ohio 3-2 around a 5-3 loss to Central Michigan.

In the semifinals, Eastern scored early in the third period to claw within a goal of Grand Valley State of Michigan, 4-3, but a late breakdown cost the Eagles an 8-3 loss. Grand Valley went on to win its first national title.

Kris Boyce of EWU tied for seventh in tournament scoring with five goals and two assists in four games for seven points. Ryan Pajimola of Spokane had four goals and an assist for five points, tying for 14th.

Pajimola led EWU during the regular season with 27 goals and 25 assists for 52 points. Alex Arnold and Boyce each had 26 goals.

The goaltenders, Cash Ulrich (13-3-1 with three shutouts and a 2.28 goals-against average) and Jason Greenwell (13-4, 2.77) had similar records. Both are freshmen from Spokane.

EWU will lose seven seniors – Arnold, Boyce, Josh Pickens, Derek Salminen, Ryan Schank, Kevin Ogle and Chris Rector.

College scene

Katrina Schwab, a Seattle University junior from Mead, was the first Redhawk to receive a Great West Conference women’s tennis player of the week award last week after posting key victories in singles and doubles as Seattle went 5-1 on a spring break trip to Las Vegas.

Schwab won five straight singles matches. Her only loss came in a doubles match.

• Three athletes with area ties earned athlete of the week honors from the Northwest Conference last week.

Emilee Lepp, a Linfield junior from Colville, was honored in softball after adding six home runs to her league-leading total of 16 and drove in 16 runs to run her RBI total to 44 while batting .722 for the week.

Whitman senior Elise Otto (Lewis and Clark) was the women’s tennis selection after going 3-1 at No. 2 singles and 2-2 at No. 1 doubles for the Missionaries.

Brianna Nap, a George Fox senior from Deer Park, earned recognition in women’s golf after claiming medalist honors on a wet Santa Cruz, Calif., course to lead the Bruins to victory in the eight-team tournament. She was the only player with sub-80 rounds on either day.

Hockey

The Spokane Jr. Chiefs’ Pee Wee B team gave the Spokane American Youth Hockey Association a second state championship in the 12-and-under division by winning the title last month in Seattle.

Following the lead of the organization’s Tier II Pee Wee team, which won earlier in the Tri-Cities, the Pee Wee B team went 6-0 in its state tournament, outscoring its opponents 36-7.