Sockers 2 West Conference Final Match Preview

San Diego travels to Colorado Springs for the M2 Cup Western Conference Final match against the #1 seed Colorado Inferno on Saturday, March 24, 6:00 p.m. PT (Streaming on Facebook Live). The winner of the game will advance to the M2 Cup Championship Final to meet the Eastern Conference Champions on Sunday, March 25, 12:00 p.m. PT (Streaming on Facebook Live & MASL.TV). The loser will play in the 3rd Place game at 9:30 a.m. PT. The Sockers 2 are seeking their first-ever win against the Inferno after losing both regular season matches.

Colorado enters the contest with home-field advantage, but they will not have played a competitive game in 21 days. Their last game was an 11-5 win over their rival the Colorado Blizzard on March 3. The Inferno is a talented offensive juggernaut averaging over 10 goals per game. MASL 2 MVP candidate forward Thomas Hoang leads the attack 43 points on 33 goals and 10 assists. Francisco Rivas (29 pts) and Jario Gomez (20) support Hoang. On the backend, goalkeeper Justin Dzuba had a solid season finishing with an 8-0-1 record and a 7.50 GAA.

Unlike the regular season, San Diego must keep the Inferno offense in check. Colorado averaged 9.50 goals in the two regular season games. The Sockers 2 offense had a 7.30 GFA during the campaign which may not be enough if Colorado is on their game.

Forward Andy Lorei topped San Diego's scoring categories with 19 goals and 24 points. The dynamic sharpshooter spent time with the first team in the MASL. The offensive production drops off significantly with only four players having 10 or more points. Chad Hagerty and Evan Myers compiled 11 points, while Eli Galbraith-Knapp and Mike Mercuriali had 10 each.

San Diego had a carousel of goalkeepers throughout the season, but Ramon Torres stepped up near the end of the season to earn the starting role. He had a 3-1 record with an impressive 4.48 GAA.

COLORADO WON THE SEASON SERIES 2-0

FEBRUARY 2, SAN DIEGO @ COLORADO

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	T
Inferno FC	1	1	2	6	10
Sockers 2	0	0	1	1	2

JANUARY 12, COLORADO @ SAN DIEGO

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	T
Sockers 2	2	5	0	1	8
Inferno FC	1	5	0	3	9

TEAM STATS

SAN DIEGO
GOALS FOR AVERAGE: 7.3, GOAL DIFFERENTIAL: +24, POWER PLAY: 56%, PENALTY KILL: 40%

COLORADO
GOALS FOR AVERAGE: 10.2, GOAL DIFFERENTIAL: +32, POWER PLAY: 88%, PENALTY KILL: 59%

LEADERS

SAN DIEGO

#	Name	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	PPGA	PIM	S%	GWG	F	BC	BkS	PPG	Sh
18	Andrew Lorei	F	10	19	5	24	2.4	0	.346	4	10	0	1	3	81
89	Chad Hagerty	M	8	6	5	11	1.4	0	.240	0	2	0	2	0	37
17	Evan Myers	D	12	5	6	11	0.9	2	.556	0	4	1	6	0	13
13	Eli Galbraith-Knapp	D	11	6	4	10	0.9	0	.200	0	13	0	6	1	51
23	Mike Mercuriali	D	10	4	6	10	1.0	6	.200	0	8	3	8	0	32

COLORADO

#	Name	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	PPGA	PIM	S%	GWG	F	BC	YC	RC	BkS	PPG	SHG	Sh
10	Thomas Hoang	F	12	33	10	43	3.6	16	.371	4	17	9	0	0	15	5	1	121
7	Francisco Rivas	M	12	20	9	29	2.4	0	.313	1	12	0	0	0	4	3	1	84
9	Jairo Gomez	F	10	16	4	20	2.0	6	.333	0	18	3	0	0	2	5	0	59
20	Armando Gonzalez	D	12	12	5	17	1.4	15	.240	1	20	5	1	0	10	1	1	72
6	Ismael Morales	M	12	3	10	13	1.1	4	.120	0	8	2	0	0	4	1	0	34

GOALKEEPER STATS

SAN DIEGO

#	Name	GP	W	L	OTL	SA	GA	GAA	Sv	Sv%	MP	G	F
32	Jeff Hughes	2	1	0	1	30	7	3.50	23	.767	120:00	1	1
61	Ramon Torres	5	3	1	0	60	16	4.48	45	.750	214:14	0	0
31	Aaron Fenlason	2	0	0	0	7	5	8.65	2	.286	34:41	0	0

COLORADO

#	Name	GP	W	L	T	OTL	SA	GA	GAA	Sv	Sv%	SO	MP	PIM	G	A	F	BC	YC	RC
1	Miguel Reyes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	.000	0	00:00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Justin Dzuba	12	8	3	0	1	250	90	7.50	161	.644	0	720:14	0	0	3	0	0	0	0