Total Team Effort Leads Reno to Sweep of San Diego

By Phillip Goodman

March 17, 2025

The Reno Ice Raiders used a balanced attack from all lines combined with nearly flawless goaltending to defeat the San Diego Hockey Club 7-1 and 5-1 on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Festive fans clad in kelly green filled The Jennifer M. O’Neal Community Ice Arena to capacity on both nights of the St. Patrick's Day weekend series presented by Reno Tattoo Removal.

On Friday, Justin Sand stopped 30 of 31 shots, six different Ice Raiders tallied goals, 10 had at least one point. Jack Walsh made several tremendous saves for the SDHC preventing the game from being an even bigger blowout.

From behind the net, Johnny Garrity found an open Zeph Fagergren to put Reno up 1-0 early. Through the first period San Diego employed a zone defense and sprung wingers hoping for breakaways. The strategy worked for SD even while shorthanded, sneaking a shot over the pads of Sand for their only goal of the night to tie the score 1-1.

From there, it was all Ice Raiders:

0:44:28 Phillip Buque and Matt Robinson work the 2-on-1 and Buque's pass deflected off a defender then Robinson with the putback, 2-1 Reno
1:05:23 Matt Robinson's backhand pass to Phillip Buque earned the Goettl Air Assist of the Weekend, 3-1 Reno
1:08:04 Justin Sand makes the Maxwell's Barber Shop Close Shave Save of the Game denying a one-timer
1:16:06 Hunter Sine snipes in Reno's 4th goal
1:19:46 Buque and Robinson work another 2-on-1 and Buque's pass is perfect for Robinson to finish, 5-1 Reno
1:31:45 Roger Hutchison and Cole Diamond drop the mitts for the only BJ's Nevada BBQ Kickass Fries Kickass Fight of the Weekend
1:37:27 Bobby Watson pots a shorty, 6-1 Reno
2:14:15 Julian Herrera deflects in Andrew Peterson's blue line shot, 7-1 Reno

Reno was 0-for-2 on Brewer's Cabinet Power Plays and 5-for-5 on Peterson Wealth Management Penalty Kills. Reno won 61 percent of the faceoffs (39-25).

Five minutes into Saturday's affair, Bobby Watson found Phillip Buque cutting through the slot and Buque picked a corner over Walsh for the 1-0 lead.

Reno never looked backed nor was ever dangerously tested en route to the 5-1 win. The other four goals:

0:48:28 Julian Herrera takes the puck away and dishes the Goettl Air Assist of the NIght to Jake Minton, 2-0 Reno
1:18:27 Will McDonnell snipes a corner, 3-0 Reno
2:01:27 Matt Robinson finishes a the odd-man rush with Bobby Watson, 4-0 Reno
2:06:38 Bobby Watson lasers one through the glove of Walsh, 5-0 Reno

James Spaargaren broke Gyori's shutout bid with six minutes left on SD's 27th shot of the game. It took a partially screened, sharp-angle snipe to beat Gyori late in the game.

Reno outshot San Diego 42-29 plus had the upper hand on faceoffs 36-27 (57.1%). Each team marked only 4PIMs and neither team converted their only power play of the night.

Reno improved to 13-2-1 at home and 18-5-3 overall with the series sweep. The Ice Raiders have won seven of their last eight tilts at home.

The '24-'25 regular season wraps up when the McCall Mountaineers bring their 12-2 record to Reno Ice. Back in November at McCall, the Mountaineers squeaked by the Ice Raiders 5-4 and 6-5. The way the Mountain Hockey League stands at the moment, Reno could face McCall in the first round of playoffs on April 18 and 19. Reno would have home ice advantage as the no. 1 seed. The Ice Raiders will pay homage to the Reno Aces Senior A club of the 1970s with special jerseys presented by TNT Yard Service.