BURNING UP THE ICE CSUN'S HOCKEY CLUB CARRIES LEGITIMATE TITLE HOPES.

Byline: Justin Frank Staff Writer

Their goal is to pile some more hardware into Cal State Northridge's trophy case, and an impressive, almost unbeaten regular-season campaign suggests they can do so. A national championship, it appears, is within reach.

We're not talking basketball.

The Matadors, pride of the sun-drenched San Fernando Valley, are a big hit on the ice these days. The CSUN ice hockey team is 18-1, ranked second in the Pacific Region and ready to make a run for the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division III title.

``This team is special, and I know we have a great chance to win,'' says second-year coach Sean McLynn, who will guide the Matadors into a first-round playoff encounter next week at the Valley Ice Center in Panorama City, the team's home rink. ``I can't tell you how excited we are.''

College hockey in these parts, unlike the upper Midwest, Northeast and in certain areas of the Rockies, is a club sport, not under the NCAA's dictate, the teams often - as in CSUN's case - holding a tenuous connection to the universities they represent.

Several Southern California schools play club hockey, including USC, UCLA, Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine. College of the Canyons, with one of the top JC club teams, handed CSUN its only defeat this season.

CSUN's club, in existence since 1972, receives no funding from the athletic department. The Associated Students Organization provides a small contribution, but players take on the bulk of the expenses. Each is responsible for a $750 club fee, and that doesn't cover travel costs.

``We spend about $2,000 a year,'' forward Manny Ibarra said. ``And with the playoffs coming this season we are going to spend even more.''

The sacrifice is easy to bear for the mix of homegrown talent - such as captain J.P. Gale, a defenseman from Highland High of Palmdale, and Ibarra, from St. Francis High of La Canada Flintridge - and cold-weather transplants, from as far away as Belarus. All play primarily for love of the game.

``I never would have guessed it when I was growing up playing roller hockey at the Burbank YMCA that I would get the chance to play college hockey,'' said Ibarra, who found out about the team through a sign-up sheet at a Northridge sporting goods store. ``Playing hockey has not only given me the chance to play college hockey, but it has also kept me committed to school.''

Gale, who played a season of junior hockey in Wisconsin, had offers to play NCAA hockey in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, but he chose to remain close to home.

``I'm not one for cold weather, and its cold (in Wisconsin),'' Gale said. ``I know I'm not gonna play in the NHL, but I love to play, and I might as well play out here.''

McLynn, who attended Burroughs High of Burbank, is a graduate student who used to play for the Matadors and still has eligibility.

``Sometimes it's really hard not to be out there,'' he said. `I'd rather be contributing on the ice. It's hard watching what you want to do. The most important thing this team needs is leadership, and I'm willing to do it.''

Leading scorer Vitaliy Tsymbalov, who has 35 goals and 40 assists in 19 games, arrived in the U.S. from Belarus when he was 10.

``We had to start life over again when we came here, but it's the best thing that could have happened for me and my family,'' said Tsymbalov, who attended Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies and West L.A. College before heading to Northridge. ``(CSUN) having a hockey team really helped me in my decision to pick a college. This has been a great opportunity for me, and it means a lot.''

Jason Bobich came to CSUN from Anchorage, Alaska, to study film. He had played junior hockey and at a Minnesota prep school but figured his days on the ice were over until a classmate who played for the Matadors sent him an instant message about the team.

``It's weird to walk in a cold ice rink from a warm outside,'' said Bobich, who has 12 goals and 22 assists. ``The winters here are like summers back in Alaska.''

This has been a breakthrough season for the Matadors, who won just two games last season but finished first in their conference, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, and will play host to the PCHA playoffs Feb. 17-20. From there, they hope, they'll be off to for the ACHA Division III nationals March 1-4 in Fort Myers, Fla.

``When I first found out I was going to play for this team,'' Tsymbalov said, ``I just expected to be playing hockey. But we're actually winning, and it feels good.''

Justin Frank, [phone]

justin.frank(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Manny Ibarra, who played roller hockey at St. Francis High, helped CSUN to a conference title.

(2) Coach Sam McLynn, left, has the Matadors 18-1 heading into the WCHA Division III playoffs.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News