The Santa Rosa Junior College ice hockey team is one of the hottest teams on campus, boasting a 10-3 record with huge wins over UC Berkeley, Stanford University and UC Davis. This weekend the team will host its third annual Wine Country Collegiate Classic, a showcase featuring some of the best teams in collegiate hockey.

On Nov. 7, College of the Canyons, UC Davis and the University of Northern Colorado will come to Snoopy’s Home Ice in Santa Rosa for a three-day showcase that will surely test all teams as each look to gain a step on the path to a national championship.

The showcase will kick off with the Polar Bears taking on UC Davis at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. SRJC faced their PCHA rival in early October, just barely claiming an 8-7 victory. This time the Polar Bears will face Davis for the first time at home, and are confident they will once again come out on top.

“The trouble we had was from penalty minutes. This is not an excuse, but we had to battle Davis and the refs all at once,” said forward John Keshishian. “It should be different this time with a little more discipline on our part and playing our game.”

College of the Canyons will close out day one of the showcase against the University of Northern Colorado at 9 p.m.

Day two will feature a match between Colorado and UC Davis at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Polar Bears playing CoC at 8 p.m.. This marks the second game these two teams have played this season; SRJC played the Southern California team two weeks ago in a 10-4 win.

The last day of the showcase will pit the Polar Bears against Colorado at 5:30 p.m., a team they have yet to play. With an impressive 11-1-1 record, Colorado has won their last nine games including a 15-5 victory over Creighton University last weekend. The final game of the night will be CoC against UC Davis.

With the first set of league rankings coming up in the next few weeks, SRJC needs to find the consistency and control they displayed to begin the season. Since starting out 8-0, the team has gone 3-3 in the last six games. The team knows this showcase will be a huge factor as the rest of the season unfolds.

“We’ve had these three showcase games circled on the calendar from the beginning of the year,” said head coach Tom Billeter. “We expect Northern Colorado and College of the Canyons to be ranked with us, so there will be a lot riding on those two games. Three wins this weekend could solidify our ranking as a top 10 team.”

The Wine Country Collegiate Classic will be an exciting time for fans as it is one of the last home matches before SRJC breaks for winter. The Polar Bears hope all fans come out to a game to help them conquer this competition.

“Our annual showcase brings some of the top ACHA teams to Santa Rosa to play our highly-talented team. The brand of hockey that takes place at our showcase is top notch and an extreme rarity for our area,” Billeter said. “I would encourage all hockey fans to make an effort to come experience these great games taking place right in our backyard. Even members of the community that have not been to a live hockey game should come enjoy the experience; they won’t be disappointed.”

For more information about the Wine Country Collegiate Classic and the SRJC Polar Bears hockey team, please visit www.santarosahockey.com