Halloween matchup versus Tritons is spooky good time for SDSU Aztecs’ first win of the season

Halloween has become a festive event in recent years with colorful and imaginative costumes and parties for those who have passed the trick-or-treat age.

The San Diego State University and UC San Diego men’s ice hockey teams got together on the evening of Oct. 31 at the Kroc Center Ice Arena to engage in the Battle for San Diego between the cross-town rivals.

The SDSU Aztecs earned the treats with a 6-1 non-conference victory that doubled as the team’s first win of the season following a 0-7-1 start in Division I ACHA play. The UCSD Tritons got the trick while falling to 0-6 at the ACHA Division II level.

The contest didn’t carry a lot of pressure for either team. The Aztecs rested their top line to allow other players on the team to get more ice time. In fact, two SDSU players got to make their season debuts.

For the Tritons, several local county products got to lace up their skates against friends wearing Red and Black uniforms.

Senior Logan Okanski paced the Aztec ice men with two goals while Eastlake alum Braden Mayer collected one goal (on the power play) and two assists. Captain Ryan Elleraas contributed one goal and one assist.

“It feels good to get that win,” Okanski said. “The best time to get a goal is in the first five minutes. We set the tempo. We set the pace. In the NHL, 64 percent of the teams that score the first goal in a game go on to win the game. It gives us momentum for the next game. IIt gives us a boost. It shows we can win.

The Aztecs scored the game’s opening goal at 3:33 to take a 1-0 lead as Okanski scored off passes from Mayer and Noah Robinson.

SDSU doubled the score to 2-0 at 12:06 as team captain Ryan Ellerasas put the puck in the net off as a pass from Tim Mehrer (Alpine).

The Aztecs finished the period with a 15-9 edge in shots. SDSU broke the game open in the second period with a commanding 31-6 shot barrage and 5-0 lead.

Drew Gunderson made the score 3-0 at 2:36 of the period, assisted by Connor Hennigan and Nicholas Heinzle. Okanski notched his second goal of the game at 4:11 to raise the Aztec lead to 4-0. Assists went to Garrion Barber and Mayer. Kolby Hennessy put away passes form Elleraas and Nicolas Grigoroupolos with 1:39 remaining in the middle stanza to up the SDSU lead to 5-0.

Mayer scored a power play goal 3:29 into the final period to lift the Aztec lead to 6-0.

The Tritons broke SDSU goaltender Nicholas Heinzle’s shutout bid on a goal by Logan Defreitas with 3:45 to play to play in the third period. Sean Miller was awarded the assist.

The Aztecs out-shot UCSD 65-21. Triton netminder Matthew Mahlow (Westview High School roller hockey) starred for his team with 59 saves.

A total of 11 Aztecs collected points in the contest. Mayer led the way with three points while Okanski and Elleraas each picked up two points. Nine players each had one point: Robinson, Gunderson, Hennigan, Heinzle, Barber, Mehrer, Hennessy and Grigoropoulos.

Heinzle finished the game with 20 saves on 21 shots (xx save percentage).

Mayer ranks in a three-way tie for second place in team scoring with Elleraas and Cameron Ferraz, both with two goals and three assists.

Mason Brown leads the team with six points (two goals, four assists).

Brown, Ferraz and Brandon Grant (two goals, one assist) did not play in the Halloween clash.

Okanski raised his season total to four points (three goals, one assist). The three goals top the Aztec roster.

Heinzle improved his record to 1-0 with a 2.53 goals-against average and 0.914 save percentage.

Mayer is playing forward this season after suiting up on defense last season.

“I like the move,” he said. “Being a center, I can still be defensively responsible. But now I can take the puck the other way.”

“He’s got some scoring touch,” SDSU head coach Dean Wilson said in regard to Mayer. “He always does something positive every game.”

That can be said of a number of the team’s younger players.

“I like the experience the guys are getting this year,” Wilson said. “But the game was a little sloppy. Our guys need to take the puck deep and pressure the other team’s defense. Instead, we tried to make too many cute plays.”

Mehrer, who attended El Capitan High School, played high school hockey for San Diego United Hawks in the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League and youth hockey for the San Diego Saints 18U-AA before spending the 2023-24 USPHL season on the Elite Prep Northern Cyclones roster.