The 2023 Class 4A Frozen Four was played at the Broadmoor World Arena on Saturday afternoon. Glenwood Springs and Cheyenne Mountain advanced to the championship games by eliminating Colorado Academy and Steamboat Springs, respectively.
#1 Glenwood Springs 3, #4 Colorado Academy 1
Colorado Springs – Glenwood Springs denied Colorado’s Academy’s bid for a return to the 4A ice hockey state championship with depth and poise from its players throughout its semifinal win, which secured the Demons first appearance in a title game in program history.
In their previous and only other postseason appearance in the program’s short history, the Demons reached the second round of the CHSAA hockey state championships in 2020. Since then, they’ve had two six-win seasons (2021 and 2022), the former of which was a COVID-shortened campaign.
This year, the Demons could triple that win total with a win on Tuesday at Denver’s Magness Arena in the 2023 4A hockey state championship game.
“We’ve been working towards this,” Demons head coach Tim Cota said. “We know we had a potential to build something last year to make a run at the playoffs. How deep (we would go) was the question mark, so to get to where we are right now is definitely a great feeling. The kids have put in the work.”
The Demons looked the part of a No. 1 seed on Saturday. After taking the first 12 minutes of the first period to settle in, they took an early lead with a goal by sophomore Jacob Roggie off an assist from junior Jett Weatherred at the 2:01 mark. The Demons kept that lead for those final two minutes, ending the period with eight shots on goal to the Mustangs’ two.
The Demons added to that lead once Roggie used a ricochet off the goal post to score his second goal with 2:53 minutes left in the second period. A minute later, sophomore Jacob Stockdill’s score made it 3-0 Demons.
The Mustangs tried to build some offensive momentum towards their first score in the early part of the second period but the Demons’ defense and junior goalie Marek Senn continued to impress.
“We always talk about our depth as a team and how we can wear down the opponent, especially the top line, and take advantage of some matchups that we like to see,” Cota said. “We have four lines that can forecheck well and get the job done. I feel they did that as the game went on and our possession time started to tilt better for us to create more opportunities.”
Roggie helped the Demons capitalize on those opportunities with his play in the latter half of the first and second periods. He came into Saturday’s game tied for third in team goals with nine and ranked second in assists.
“(Jacob) is that type of player that everybody wants to play with,” Cota said. “He has a high hockey IQ and tends to find the right areas on the ice and exploit them. He’s very crafty with the puck and usually doesn’t make a mistake when he has it next to his stick. That showed today.”
Senior Brogan Andrus nearly gave the Mustangs their own early lead in the first period but that attempt was thwarted by Senn.
Senior Asher Stull scored the Mustangs first and only goal at the 4:49 mark in the third period. Senior Elliot Rutherford was credited with the assist.
Colorado Academy reached the 4A state ice hockey title game last year but lost 4-0 to Cheyenne Mountain.
#3 Cheyenne Mountain 7, #2 Steamboat Springs 1
Colorado Springs – The hockey program with the most championships in Colorado history, Cheyenne Mountain, used an offensive-driven second period to defeat Steamboat Springs in what was a rematch of their semifinal matchup from a season ago.
The Red-Tailed Hawks started the game with two quick scores against the Sailors, both of which came within minutes of each other in the first period. Senior Matty Kelleher scored with 11:04 remaining in the period and at the 9:17 mark, senior Kaden Ochsendorf scored off a lightning-fast assist from Cole Taylor.
At the 11:04 mark in the second period, Taylor again showed off his quick stick with a score to give the Red-Tailed Hawks a 3-0 lead. Kelleher nearly made the score 4-0 with nine minutes remaining in the second but his shot clanked off the frame of the goal post.
The Sailors’ Landon Smith answered Taylor’s goal with his own once he curved from behind the goal and delivered a shot past goalie Jeremy Renholm to cut their deficit to 3-1.
The Sailors looked poised to stage a potential comeback after that score as they appeared much more comfortable offensively and had eight shots on goal in the second period. But the Red-Tailed Hawks emphatically denied any chance of a Sailors comeback with two goals in a span of 14 seconds in the final minute of the second. Sophomore Sammy Bonnett delivered that second goal.
The Red-Tailed Hawks repeated that feat in the third period with scores from senior Philip Bramble and Alex Hansen, both of which came in a span of nine seconds between the 6:02 and 5:51 marks of the period.
“I think we can be dangerous,” Red-Tailed Hawks head coach Erik Austin said. “If we connect on a couple passes, regroup well and then make that extra pass, I think we can score (at a high rate).
“Goal scoring is something that we’ve done well, but I thought the way we defended today was really good.”
Outside of Smith, no other Sailor was able to connect on a score, even Andrew Kempers, who came into the matchup with nine goals and a team-leading 17 assists on the season.
“Holding (Kempers) without a goal — I mean, he’s arguably the best kid in the state, so I thought it was a good defensive effort,” Austin said. “I thought our team handled the pressure well.”
The Sailors did well placing shots on goal but had trouble finishing. They had 20 shots on goal to the Red-Tailed Hawks’ 21.
Last season, the Red-Tailed Hawks won their 15th hockey championship after playing nearly two decades without one. Their win on Saturday gives them a chance to match what the program accomplished between 1996 and 1997, when it last won back-to-back titles.
“We graduated nine guys off last year’s team and then we asked a bunch of sophomores and freshmen to come in and make quality plays, and they (did that today) against a really good hockey team (in Steamboat),” Austin said.