Caltech Hockey Club Prepares to Face MIT in Beaver Cup IX

PASADENA— The Caltech Beavers and the MIT Alumni Beavers face off in Beaver Cup IX, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Sunday, March 26, 1995, at the Pasadena Ice Skating Center. The Caltech Beavers have a record of 4W-8L in the Central Division of the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association (PCHA) against rivals San Jose State, UC Davis, Fresno State, and UOP in the Northern Division, UCLA and USC in the Central Division, and San Diego State, University of San Diego, and Orange Coast College in the Southern Division. The Caltech Beavers are a club team, drawing players from members of the Caltech community, including undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The Caltech Beavers are led by player/coach Pavel Svitek (Staff). Svitek leads the team in scoring and penalty minutes. Svitek had a season high six goals in a 7-4 win over UOP in October. As a youngster growing up in Czechoslovakia, Svitek made it down to the final forty cut for their Junior National Team. Other leading scorers for the Beavers are Svitek's linemates Bob Lane (Grad) and Captain Steve Chase (Soph). The second line of Mike Slessor (Grad), Daniel Maskit (Grad), and Maxim Lyutikov (Grad) has also had a strong season. Frank Monzon (Grad) is the leading goalie with four wins. The defense is anchored by Mark Stewart (Soph), Chris Claypool (Grad), Biff Yamazaki (Staff), Jon Hodowany (Grad), Pete Seidel (Grad), and Hafen McCormick (Staff). Assistant Coaches Ron Siefert (Grad) and Haj Sano (Staff) are also expected to lace up their skates for this annual grudge match. Others that have made contributions to the team are: forwards Sean Suchter (Fr), John Anderson (Staff), Mike Tierney (Grad), and goalie Rico Attanasio (Staff).

A recent addition to the team, Kobie Boykins, has added some needed punch to the offense. Boykins is at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on a co-op assignment from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Kobie is a player on the RPI hockey team, a perennial NCAA Division I powerhouse. Completing the RPI connection is Rene Fradet, who has been assisting Svitek, Siefert, and Sano with the coaching duties. Fradet, a prominent JPL engineer, was the starting goalie for RPI on their national championship team in the early 1980s.

The MIT Alumni Beavers are once again led by the dynamic duo of Rick Russell '86 BS '88 MS and Dale Archer '86 BS '88 MS on defense. Others flying in for this contest include: Tom Dorf '88 (Boston), Dr. Brian Fabes '84 BS '87 PhD (Chicago), Pat Foley '82 (San Jose), Pete Gasparini '87 (Chicago), Dennis Clarke '84 (New Jersey), Heinz Kochling '84 '95 PhD (Boston), Mike "EC" Westphal '89 (Albuquerque), Gary Zentner (Chicago). Several of the MIT Alumni have been playing with PCHA rivals of Caltech. Russell and Joe Minahan '82 are starters for USC, and Foley is the Captain for San Jose State.

The Beaver Cup started in 1987 when Sano, an MIT graduate then working for JPL, and Russell, then an MIT graduate student, originated the concept as a way to draw the Caltech and MIT communities together in a unique way. Beaver Cup I was played in front of a capacity crowd of 350 at the Pasadena Ice Skating Center, with the MIT varsity emerging triumphant, 11-3. Caltech traveled to Cambridge for Beaver Cup II, which was also played in front of a capacity crowd—of 1100—at MIT. MIT was again victorious, 13-0. The first two Beaver Cup games set attendance records for both rinks.

Starting with Beaver Cup III, the MIT Alumni Beavers have flown into Los Angeles from around the country annually to play the Caltech Beavers. Though Caltech has yet to register a victory in the Beaver Cup, there have been many closely played contests. The event has become an annual highlight for the MIT Club of Southern California, MIT's second largest alumni club.

Admission is $5 for the general public; $3 for members of the MIT and Caltech community with ID; $1 for MIT and Caltech students with ID. All gate proceeds will go toward the Caltech Hockey Club to help defray the cost of putting on the game. Additional donations are welcome. The Pasadena Ice Skating Center is located at 300 E. Green Street.

Contact: Sue Pitts (818) 395-3227