The Santa Barbara Royals Ice Hockey team earned a dominant 4-0 semifinal win over the Ventura County Poseidon on Saturday to clinch a spot in the LA Kings High School League Championship.
Santa Barbara goalkeeper Dean Wendel took center stage in the semifinal victory, stopping all 23 of the Ventura shots to maintain the shutout and secure the win.
The Royals will face off against the Burbank Cougars for the league title on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo.
Easton Petersen opened the scoring 10 minutes into the first period, finishing off a pass from Gavin Fernandez for the early 1-0 lead.
Santa Barbara carried that momentum into the second period, where Primo Steavu doubled the lead to 2-0 on an impressive individual goal. Later in the period, Everett Kuhm found AJ Sweet for the goal to make it 3-0 heading into the third.
The Royals put the finishing touches on the win in the third when Lucas Joles scored on a breakaway to bring the score to 4-0.
League awards were announced prior to the semifinal matchup, and Santa Barbara earned a trio of honors.
Kuhm was awarded the Wayne Gretzky MVP Award, Wendel received the Rogie Vachon Goalkeeper of the Year Award and Petersen was named the Luc Robitaille Freshman of the Year.
The Santa Barbara Royals are a high school ice hockey team comprised of players from all of the local high schools.