2023-2024 Regular Season and Playoff Recap

St. John Bosco had a successful 2023-2024 regular season which ended with a record of 14-4-0 and the team placing 5th in the Varsity, Division 3 - Ridge Conference with 43 points. The season started with a 5-0 shutout against Villa Park and a successful Game 2 against Yorba Linda Hockey Club (W 6-2). After facing their first loss of the season in Game 3 against Servite 3, St. John Bosco used that unfortunate loss as fuel for their seven-game winning streak which spanned over Game 4 through Game 10. This winning streak ended after they faced a tough battle against Stockton in Game 11. However, this did not stop them from their three-game winning streak which spanned over Game 12 through Game 14. After losing their last game of the 2023-2024 regular season against Corona Norco 3 who had been hot all season long, they used that determination and hunger to win to fuel the team during the 2023-2024 playoffs. Semifinals: Both goaltenders had very strong performances throughout all three periods of the semifinals which remained scoreless and forced the teams to go into an intense overtime. St. John Bosco did have puck possession during overtime, however, Bishop Gorman 3 was able to score after capitalizing on their power play opportunity. Goaltender Nicholai Rubio’s determination to not let any goals in and keep the game 0-0 throughout all three periods of the game and most of overtime was remarkable. St. John Bosco’s efforts during the 2023-2024 regular season and playoffs were impressive despite the challenges they faced during the regular season and the semifinals.

Notable Players:

The most notable players during this past 2023-2024 regular season include Patrik Cech (63 PTS), Nicholai Rubio (0.929 SV%), and Zavyer Ballon (0.903 SV%). 

Patrik Cech played a major role in St. John Bosco’s success during the 2023-2024 regular season. His 63 total points was made up of 50 goals scored, 13 assists, and 11 total hat-tricks during the regular season. Cech had a great presence throughout the whole regular season as he always recorded points during every game. His impressive 11 hat-tricks occurred during the following games: Game 2 (1 HT, 3 G), Game 4 (2 HT, 6 G), Game 5 (1 HT, 5 G), Game 8 (1 HT, 3 G), Game 9 (1 HT, 3 G), Game 10 (1 HT, 4 G), Game 12 (1 HT, 3 G), Game 13 (1 HT, 4 G), Game 16: (1 HT, 4 G), and Game 17: (1 HT, 3 G). Cech’s presence in Game 18 would close out his 63 total points for the 2023-2024 regular season. After a rough playoff game, Cech remained with no points recorded after St. John Bosco was shut out by Bishop Gorman 3, however, this does not diminish his outstanding performance during the 2023-2024 regular season. 

Goaltenders who stood out this season include Rubio and Ballon. Nicholai Rubio had an impressive 2023-2024 regular season save percentage of 0.924 and a GAA of 1.82 after he faced a total of 158 shots against in 336 minutes played. Rubio won 4 out of 10 games played. He started the season strong with a 5-0 shutout in St. John Boscos’ season opener against Villa Park. Rubio was in net for St. John Boscos in the 2023-2024 semifinals where he had an impressive save percentage of 0.960 and a GAA of 0.94 after facing 25 shots against and playing 54 minutes. By the end of both the regular season and playoffs, Rubio had a save percentage of 0.929 and a GAA of 1.70. Zavyer Ballon also had an impressive save percentage of 0.903 and a GAA of 1.83 after he faced a total of 113 shots against in 306 minutes played. Ballon won 5 out of 9 games played which were all high-scoring games. 

St. John Bosco’s perseverance and determination throughout the series as a whole were commendable. It is evident that no matter what challenges they faced, they were able to make some type of comeback during the 2023-2024 regular season. This mindset as well as their notable players contributed to their success throughout the season.