July 31, 2010
2010 will be tough to top for Winters
Corona's Josh Winters won a gold medal at the AIHL Minor Division national championship tournament and a silver at the the FIRS junior men's world inline hockey championship for Team USA. (Photo: Phillip Brents)
Corona’s Josh Winters has had quite a run so far in 2010 with a gold medal at the American Inline Hockey League’s Minor Division national championship tournament as a member of the Junior Ducks and a silver medal at the FIRS junior men’s world inline hockey championships as a member of Team USA. There is the possibility for even more.
“It would be so cool to win a third medal this year at NARCh,” said Winters, a current student at UC Riverside.
Winters served as a co-captain on Team USA along with San Jose’s Jacob Hickey and was among seven Californians on the U.S. roster that competed June 27 to July 2 in Duesseldorf, Germany. The 19-under American squad advanced to the championship game, dropping a 6-2 decision against the Czech Republic, which repeated as gold medalists.
In late May, Winters helped the Junior Ducks, based out of The Rinks-Corona Inline, capture a thrilling 7-6 overtime victory against the Long Island 495ers to cap a whirlwind first season in the AIHL.
Many of his teammates from both the Ducks and Team USA will be competing in elite Platinum divisions during the final week of this year’s NARCh Finals in San Jose. Winters also played for the San Diego Rockets in the Midget Platinum Division. There’s a possibility, he said, he may also compete in the Junior Division.
The 2010 NARCh Finals wrap up Sunday at the Silver Creek Sportsplex.
Winters and Hickey were among two of three returning veterans on the Team USA roster. It was the last time both Golden State natives would be eligible to compete internationally at that age level.
Team USA finished 7-1, winning all fiveof its pool games and advancing past Colombia (10-4 in the quarterfinals) and Switzerland (5-3 in the semifinals) in the eight-team playoffs before finally tasting defeat at the hands of the crafty Czechs.
In 2009, Winters and Hickey were members of the Americans’ bronze medalist team.
Winters called the international exposure the highlight of his inline hockey career thus far.
“Being on that stage representing your country meant a lot,” Winters said. “Once I put on that USA jersey, I was really proud,” Winters said. “I wanted to go out there and win for my country. I wanted to go for gold. There’s no other feeling quite like it.”
A defenseman, Winters might not be the most vocal player on the playing court and prefers, in his words, “to lead by example” when on the floor.
He admitted he was a bit uneasy at first about being approached to help fill the captaincy slot, but he thought he did a good job.
“I wasn’t going to tell the coach (Jeff Bond) no,” Winters said. “We had a lot of good team chemistry, especially among all the Cali players, so it was pretty easy to connect with everybody. We hung out as a group at the games and also away from the arena. We had to come together quickly as a team.”
The California contingent had a major impact on Team USA’s silver medal fortunes at this year’s FIRS junior men’s championships. Campbell's Daniel Inouye led the Americans in scoring through round-robin play with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists), just ahead of Escondido's Casey Escarcega, who ranked second on the squad with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists). Hickey was third in team scoring with 11 points (five goals, six assists) while Costa Mesa's Brett Olinger ranked fourth with eight points (three goals, five assists).
In fact, Team USA's top four point-getters were all from California, as well as six of the top eight and seven of the top 10 to make a bold statement for talent from the Golden State.
Winters collected two goals and two assists as a member of the team’s all-California first line while teaming with Inouye, Escarcega and Olinger. Together, the Golden State foursome collected 19 goals and accounted for 22 assists -- about 55 percent of the entire U.S. offense.
“The first line did almost all the scoring for us in the tournament,” Winters said.
The team’s second line included two Californians: Hickey and San Jose's Jacob Gibb. They were paired with J.T. Bovee and Jeff Carlo, both Colorado products. The two NorCal players accounted for a eight goals and seven assists -- 60 percent of the second line's total of 13 goals and 12 assists.
Overall, California players scored 27 of Team USA's 36 goals in five round-robin games -- an impressive 75 percent total.
“I think we (California players) responded quite well to the challenge,” Winters said. “We all knew each other either by playing together or by playing against each other. We all pretty much knew everyone else’s style.”
“The California players were a large part of our success,” underscored Team USA goaltender Carl Weedman, a native of Cincinnati.
According to Winters, the Ducks expect to lose just one player for the 2010-11 AIHL season as the team readies to defend its national championship. “I think everyone is looking forward to coming back as much as I am,” he said.
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