Paul Kahler of IPME and Scott Sengpiel of LVE each scored two goals Wednesday in leading the East squad to a 6-3 victory over the West in EDPA Hockey Extravaganza IV at City National Arena in Las Vegas. The East leads the series 3-1.
Kahler, who established himself as a force to be reckoned with in past EDPA hockey games, displayed exceptional speed and agility on the ice, breaking away from the pack on several occasions and attacking the net with the furor of a tiger on the loose. The word “ringer” circulated around the players’ boxes.
“When I saw the blue line and the opportunity to step up and get the puck, Paul was gone,” Kahler describes his play in third person.
Sengpiel, the size of a refrigerator, opened the scoring for the East less than four minutes into the game. Sean Clarke of CVS Studios tied it for the West about two minutes later.
Goalie Marc Tannenhaus of Moon Lab made a few stellar saves for the West, and Cameron Marino of IPME came to the bench bleeding from a cut on his left ear after giving the West its only lead, 2-1, with 2:37 left in the first period.
“Is it gnarly?” Marino asks about the cut, dabbing it with a towel. “That’s hockey, baby.”
East goalie Frank Panico (Exhibitor Source) was seeing stars and needed assistance getting back on his feet after a violent collision with Marino and Craig Rapoza (IPME) at the net. “I didn’t mean to,” pleads Marino.
East center Patrick Hudgin (Elevation 3D) made it 2-2 with a goal early in the second period, and Kahler’s first goal put the East squad in front despite an initial stick save by Tannenhaus.
“I think they’re underestimating our talent,” Hudgin says in a pregame interview. He was on the losing side in two previous EDPA games. “We’re going to surprise the West … short shifts and cycle the puck and pucks on the net.”
Clarke, who traveled from Toronto, tallied his second goal for the West with an assist from Rapoza to tie the game at 3-3 with half a minute remaining in the period.
The third period belonged entirely to the East. Jorge Navarro (Design Factory LV) scored early in the period, Kahler slammed home his second goal with about four minutes left, and Singpiel concluded the scoring a minute later.
The EDPA charity event has grown in each of its four years. Roughly 150 members and guests attended a pregame pizza party that coincided with a watch party for the Vegas Golden Knights opening against Colorado in the NHL Western Conference finals. The bar area was packed at City National Arena, where the Knights practice.
“I’m very excited to see the growth, not only the members but the nonmembers coming together,” says Derek Blake, president of the Southern California EDPA chapter. “Cindy (Hinchliff) has been on all four winning teams. She’s the lucky charm.”
Players were categorized by level of play and selected by random drawing in a livestream “draft.”
Team East roster
25 Corey Johnson
22 Ray Cielo
69 Josh Frisbie
37 Nic Poort
13 Paul Kahler
24 Scott Sengpiel
7 Cindy Hinchliff
19 Patrick Hudgin
29 Paco Collazo
7 Jorge Navarro
3 Frank Panico
