CENTENNIAL — Resurrection Christian is moving on in the hockey playoffs after upsetting No. 3-seeded Doherty in the first round on Friday afternoon.

The Cougars (15-5-0), a No. 6 seed out of the Foothills Conference, got two goals from Kyle Lish, went 2-for-4 on the power play and outshot Doherty 42-22 in the 3-0 win.

“Not seeing them all year, it’s kind of an unknown,” said Resurrection Christian coach Jake Pence. “They have some big scorers on their team. You watch their film and they’ve got some really good players.

“We wanted to go in like we were playing against the best team in the state. That’s playoff hockey. You play your best, and survive and advance.”

Lish scored the first goal 8:15 into the first on the power play. He was headed for a line change, but rocketed a shot from along the right boards — and beyond the faceoff circle — before he did. It rippled the top-right corner of the net after deflecting off the glove of Doherty goalie Jack Gault.

“I was ready to get off, and I just ripped a shot and it went under the bar,” said Lish, who now has 23 goals this season. “I think it calmed the nerves and helped the boys to get at it.”

Doherty responded with a number of chances in the second period, but wasn’t able to break through.

“That second period came around and they had a lot of opportunities,” Pence said. “I thought (we) weathered the storm really well. They jumped in front of a lot of shots to block them, and they just weathered the storm. That’s huge.”

Quinn Finer added a second power play goal with a nice deflection in front of the net. Lish then added the final score with 4:56 to play when he corralled a loose puck in front of the net and backhanded it home along the ice.

“He’s been just a force for us scoring goals,” Pence said of Lish. “He’s been consistent all year long with that.”

Doherty went 0-for-2 on the power play. Combined with the two power play goals that continued Resurrection Christian’s success in that area — the Cougars scored on 38 percent of power plays during the regular season — it made for a good special teams outing.

“Special teams is a big focus for us,” Lish said. “We have a good power play because our PK gives us a good run for our money in practice.”

Dylan Griffith stopped all 22 shots he faced for his fifth shutout this season.

Doherty ends the year 15-4-1.

Resurrection Christian advances to play No. 2 seed Regis Jesuit in Saturday’s second round. The Raiders beat Heritage 8-0 in the first round on Friday.

The two teams met during the regular season, a 7-1 Regis win on Feb. 7.

“Regis is a really disciplined team,” Pence said. “We lost to them pretty bad earlier in the year, so we need to come back with a different mentality against those guys.”

LAKEWOOD — Lakewood girls basketball coach Chris Poisson has no issue with going to his bench, even when a playoff game is on the line.

The No. 2 seed Lakewood Tigers held just a 44-39 lead going to the fourth quarter Friday night against No. 7 seed Legend Titans. With the second-round Class 5A playoff game in the balance, Lakewood got some much-needed contributions from role players.

“That’s our team,” Poisson said after nine different Tigers scored in the 67-50 victory on Lakewood’s home court. “We’re deep.”

To start the fourth quarter, Lakewood’s two leading scorers Mackenzie Forrest and McKenna Bishop were actually sitting on the bench. However, the Tigers started the quarter on an 8-0 run without Forrest and Bishop on the court to get their lead back to double-digits.

“I wasn’t really nervous because I have confidence in all our players,” said Forrest, who finished with a game-high 20 points. “We are pretty deep. I knew somehow we’d find a way to pull it out.”

Juniors Madeline Miller and Anissa Barela were huge contributors for the Tigers (19-5 overall). Miller (15 points) hit three 3-pointers in the first half. She also went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line during the Tigers’ 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

Barela had a pretty quiet first three quarters, but broke out for an 11-point fourth quarter that included a pair of 3-pointers and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.

“I got on her (Barela) because her defense was off tonight,” Poisson said. “In the fourth quarter she was playing terrific on both ends. I think that lit a spark in us.”

Barela’s first 3-pointer pushed the Tigers’ lead to 51-39 with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter. Her second extended Lakewood’s lead to 59-44 midway through the final quarter.

“They felt like good shots,” said Barela, who finished with 12 points. “Coach (Poisson) always tells us to take great shots. I felt like they were good enough.”

Lakewood’s freshmen twins — Camilla and Kira Emsbo — were more than capable in playing key minutes off the bench. With Bishop in foul trouble early in the second quarter, the 6-foot twins saw plenty of playing time.

“We’ve been telling them (Camilla and Kira) for a little while now that they aren’t freshmen. Tonight they weren’t,” Poisson said. “They were terrific on defense and hit some shots on offense a month ago they wouldn’t have even taken.”

The twins combined for 10 points, but their presence in the middle on defense was invaluable. The Titans (15-10) were held to just two field goals in the fourth quarter when Lakewood outscored Legend 23-11.

Legend seniors Joey Sale (14 points) and Kristen Gallagher (13 points) led the Titans. Legend finished tied for sixth in the Continental League. The Titans used a big third quarter in their playoff opener Tuesday to take a 71-51 victory over Gateway.

Lakewood came in Friday on a 10-game winning streak. The Tigers’ last loss was a 28-point defeat to 5A Jeffco rival Ralston Valley. Lakewood avenged that setback by thrashing Ralston Valley by 29 points in their second conference meeting.

The victory over Ralston Valley allowed the Tigers to repeat as conference champions and grab the higher seed for the state tournament.

No. 3 seed Grandview (20-4) is up next for Lakewood in the Sweet 16. The Wolves and Tigers square off Tuesday, March 3, at Lakewood High School. Grandview defeated Palmer 75-48 on Friday night to advance.

“We’ll get ready to run and jump against the state’s best athlete (Michaela Onyenwere),” Poisson said of Wolves’ sophomore who averages more than 22 points and 10 rebounds per game. “That’s a good team. It’s the state tournament. Everyone is going to get better every round.”

ARVADA — Two-time defending hockey champion Ralston Valley began its title defense with a 10-0 win over Pine Creek in the first round of the state tournament on Friday.

Jeff Moffat had two goals and two assists, while Tony Salazar and Matt Trubacz each had a goal and two assists. Dominic Gomez stopped all eight shots he faced for his third shutout of the season.

ARVADA — Sean DeKramer made a great individual move with 1:25 to play and scored what proved to be the game-winning goal as Cherry Creek hockey edged Lewis-Palmer in the first round of hockey’s playoffs on Friday.

The Bruins added two empty-net goals to win 4-1.

The game was evenly matched throughout. Nick Chavez gave Creek a 1-0 lead with a power play tally in the first period, but Zachary Williams responded for Lewis-Palmer midway through the second.

They remained deadlocked — both teams had their chances — until DeKramer’s late goal.

Tim Keohane and Pieter Gesink scored the empty-net goals.

Brady Mielnicki made 25 saves for Cherry Creek, while Lewis-Palmer’s Marcus Smith stopped 26 shots.

Cherry Creek took down two-time defending champion Ralston Valley in the quarterfinals of hockey’s state tournament on Saturday.

The Bruins (17-4-0) jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Max Tennant and Jack Venuto in the first period. That would be all they needed, as the No. 5 seed held on for a 2-1 win over No. 1 Ralston Valley.

It is the biggest win for Cherry Creek since the program was revived following a 25-year hiatus in 2012-13.

Cherry Creek was also in the semifinals last year, where the Bruins lost to Ralston Valley 6-2.

Bruins goalie Brady Mielnicki had a huge game — including a big penalty kill late in the third period.

Ralston Valley (18-2-1) scored with eight seconds left in the game.

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(2) Regis Jesuit 3, (6) Resurrection Christian 0

Regis Jesuit is back in hockey’s semifinals for the eighth consecutive season following a 3-0 win over Resurrection Christian in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

The Raiders have advanced to the state semifinals every year since 2008, and won championships in 2008, 2009 and 2012.

Saturday, second-seeded Regis (19-0-1) took a 1-0 lead on Cade Alcock’s goal 9:32 into the first period. It then added a power play markers from John Kane and Jack Jordan in the second to grab the three-goal lead.

Sam Gartner notched his fourth shutout this season, and second of the playoffs, for Regis.

Resurrection Christian, a No. 6 seed, ends its season 15-6-0.

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(3) Dakota Ridge 3, (2) Air Academy 2

Dakota Ridge built a 2-0 lead after the first period, added another goal midway through the second, and the Eagles beat Air Academy 3-2 in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

It’s just the latest in what has been a banner year for the Eagles, who started their program in 2007. Last season, Dakota Ridge qualified for the postseason for the first time in program history. On Friday, the Eagles won a postseason game for the first time.

Now, Dakota Ridge is in the semifinals — another first for the program.

Saturday, Zach Williams and Reed Hoogenboom staked Dakota Ridge to the 2-0 lead. Air Academy cut it to 2-1 on Jonathan Valtin’s unassisted power play goal 9:48 into the second, but Dakota Ridge answered with Graehm Konsella’s goal just 58 seconds later.

Air Academy did make it a one-goal game with another power play goal later in the second period, but the Kadets couldn’t score again.

Joey Owston was a star in net for Dakota Ridge, making 41 saves. Air Academy’s Jason Stolz stopped 26 shots.

Dakota Ridge will face Cherry Creek in the semifinals.

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(4) Monarch 3, (1) Mountain Vista 2

Monarch (16-3-1) returned to the state semifinals for the third consecutive season after knocking off No. 1-seeded Mountain Vista. Find a full recap of the game here.

The Coyotes rallied from down 2-0 with a big second period to secure the win. Mike Van Haute scored 21 seconds into the second period on the power play, then Jake Young tied the game 2:09 into the frame. Andrew Pickner added a tally late in the period which proved to be the difference.

Reid Goodman and Jordan Cox scored for Mountain Vista (17-2-1).

Monarch will face Regis Jesuit in the semifinals.

BROOMFIELD — No. 5-seeded Castle View upset No. 4 Legacy in the second round of the Class 5A girls basketball tournament on Friday.

Shaina Smidt led the way for Castle View with 20 points, four assists and four steals.

Kyle Goodwin has always known how to keep his eye on the prize. After all, the three-time defending champion in boys diving from Regis Jesuit has known that high school state championships were just his starting act for a long time now.

“The point of Mile High Diving club,” which he’s been a member of since he was nine or ten, Goodwin said, “has always been about getting kids college scholarships. So I kind of knew early on that that goal was out there.”

That ambition was finally realized in October, when Goodwin selected Missouri to continue his diving career over four other power programs at California, Auburn, Texas, and Ohio State. The latter school was the eventual landing spot of Sean Moore, the last Regis diver to win the state championship (2007) until the start of Goodwin’s run of dominance as a freshman. Moore has since gone on to capture a national title with the Buckeyes.

Goodwin remembers that freshman season as the beginning of an amazing quest.

“I remember my first meet (freshman year), my coach asked me what I wanted to do while I was here,” Kyle said. “I remember telling him that a four-peat would just be so cool.

“After we won the first one, I think that was when I realized that there was a possibility.”

But now, with the boys swimming season set to start up March 5, Goodwin makes sure his sights aren’t too far ahead.

Anyone trying to get in touch with Goodwin will get the picture of an athlete making the most of his senior year. He practices with coaches and teammates, attends banquets for school, and makes sure he makes time for friends without having to worry about the extra attention that comes from chasing the first ever four-peat in Colorado boys diving history.

Goodwin insists he can make it all work though, even with a grueling training schedule that started way back when he was just 12 years old. At that time, a growth spurt of five inches forced an already nationally ranked Kyle to go back to fundamentals and completely re-learn how to dive.

His struggles were profiled by our own Ryan Casey back in 2011, but Goodwin believes that age has given him a better perspective on those frustrating times.

“Now that I’m older I’ve seen some other kids go through the same thing, and it’s honestly cool to see them do it,” Goodwin said. “But for me it helped me to go back and re-learn the basics, which helped me long term. So even though it was not a pleasant experience at the time, it was a good experience.”

Kyle returns to a Regis team that brings back four of the seven returning all state swimmers at the Class 5A level; the others being Christopher Morales (senior, relays), William Pieseski (senior, relays), and Quinlan Stuart (senior, relays/100 breast). The other three are Kyle Colley (senior, relays), Eric Fuqua (senior, relays), and Hunter Fuqua (sophomore, relays), all of Cherry Creek.

Whether it’s talking about the state championships on May 15 and 16 or the direction his diving career could take at Mizzou though, Goodwin prefers to take it one day at a time.

“I have great coaches here that I can always still learn from,” Goodwin said. “And when I get to Missouri I’m sure I’ll sit down with (head diving coach Jamie Sweeney) and see what kind of direction he has for me.”

Big things are in store for Kyle Goodwin. And we’ll certainly see him at the state championships too.

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Boys swimming preview

Class 5A

Season begins: March 5

State meet: May 15-16, Air Force Academy

Returning all-state athletes: Kyle Colley, senior, Cherry Creek, relays; Eric Fuqua, senior, Cherry Creek, relays; Hunter Fuqua, sophomore, Cherry Creek, relays; Kyle Goodwin, senior, Regis Jesuit, diving; Christopher Morales, senior, Regis Jesuit, relays; William Pieseski, senior, Regis Jesuit, relays; Quinlan Stuart, senior, Regis Jesuit, relays, 100 breast.

Class 4A

Season begins: March 5

State meet: May 15-16, VMAC (Thornton)

Returning all-state athletes: Tommy Baker, junior, Air Academy, relays; Jack Dangremond, senior, Air Academy, relays; Hunter Doerr, senior, Air Academy, relays; Daniel Graber, senior, D’Evelyn, relays/200 IM/100 breast; Caleb Hicks, junior, Air Academy, relays; Tyler Lis, senior, Silver Creek, 200 free; Michael Loyd, senior, Air Academy, relays; Alexander Moreland, senior, D’Evelyn, relays; Jack Thome, senior, Thompson Valley, 100 butterfly/100 back.

COLORADO SPRINGS — It seemed like the time between the Class 5A state tournament bracket was released and Tuesday night’s game between Arapahoe and Doherty took forever.

It didn’t help that the game was delayed an hour as the officials’ arrival to the game was delayed by the weather.

But that didn’t seem to affect the No. 7-seeded Doherty Spartans (14-10 overall) as they were rolled to a 73-55 win to advance to the second round of the 5A state tournament.

“It was my first career playoff win here in Colorado,” Spartans coach Jarris Krapcha said. “It was also the first playoff win for a lot of the guys out here. We got that monkey off our back tonight.”

The Spartans were paced early by junior guard Dalven Brushier who scored 17 of Doherty’s 28 first half points. He finished the night with a game-high 23 points.

Doherty firm control of the game in the second quarter, building a 28-20 lead with the final seconds ticking away. But a Ryan King 3-pointer for No. 10 Arapahoe (7-17) cut the Spartans lead to only five at the half.

The Warriors hoped to seize the momentum, but in the second half, the shots just didn’t fall.

“We were 4-22 from 3 and 18-42 from two,” Warriors coach Brad Jansen said. “There was a point there where we missed three layups in a row. That’s six points and I think it would’ve cut it to a five-point game if we make those.”

The Spartans built a a commanding 47-33 lead after the third quarter. If the deficit and the missed shots weren’t enough for the Warriors, the fourth quarter finally saw the offensive breakout of Doherty guard Tynan Velasquez.

The junior scored 13 of his 20 points in the final period, with six of those points coming from the free throw line.

“We have three guards that can really fill it on any given night and go for 20,” Krapcha said.

On this night, it was Brushier that scored the crucial points when the team needed them. In the first and second quarters when the game was tight, the Spartans knew that his shots were falling so they made a point of getting the ball into his hands.

“I was trying to get in the paint on long close-outs,” Brushier said. “My teammates kept trusting me and giving me the ball because I was hot. That’s a big shout out to them.”

For the Warriors, a disappointing season has now come to an end. They didn’t make it as deep into the tournament as they were used to, but Jansen knows that his team is young and is looking forward to the next few seasons.

“It was a young squad,” he said. “We had zero returning varsity experience and we dealt with some key injuries at the beginning of the year. That was the best thing for us this year was to get the experience and see what happens.”

Next up for the Spartans is a road trip to Highlands Ranch to take on the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles. In their final two games of the season, the Golden Eagles knocked off, then-No. 2 Regis Jesuit and No. 1 ThunderRidge.

“We’re about to play a darn good basketball team,” Krapcha said. “We’re going to have our hands full. They’ve been there and done that.”

Tip-off for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

LITTLETON — Highlands Ranch didn’t look like a No. 10 seed in the Class 5A boys basketball state tournament Wednesday night.

The Falcons cruised to a 56-38 road victory against No. 7 seed Chatfield (12-12 overall) in the opening round of the state tournament. Highlands Ranch (9-15) used a 13-0 run in the first half to eventually take a 21-point lead at halftime.

“The kids really played well tonight,” Highlands Ranch coach Bob Caton said. “They did what they needed to do.”

Senior Pat Sullivan had a monster first half for the Falcons. Sullivan had 22 points after two quarters, including five 3-pointers. He had just one point after halftime, but still finished with a game-high 23 points.

“My teammates kept giving it to me and we executed really well,” Sullivan said. “We got the win, which is what we needed. We are moving on. We’ve got to focus on Rangeview now.”

Highlands Ranch senior Keith Coleman Jr. dominated down low with 14 points and junior Jack Fiddler added 10 points for the Falcons. Chatfield was never able to cut Highlands Ranch’s lead to under double-digits in the second half.

“Our seniors really came to the forefront,” Caton said. “Patrick and Keith really did a tremendous job, then Fiddler with his rebounds and hustle plays.”

No. 2 seed and East Metro champion Rangeview (18-5) will host the Falcons on Saturday in the second round of the state tournament.

Highlands Ranch finished 10th in the 11-team 5A Continental League. The Continental was the toughest conference in 5A this season with two No. 1 seeds (ThunderRidge and Regis Jesuit), two No. 2 seeds (Mountain Vista and Legend) and two No. 3 seeds (Rock Canyon and Chaparral) for the state tournament to come out of the league.

The Falcons upset Mountain Vista for one of their two league wins. Highlands Ranch came into the state tournament having a 2-8 record in its final 10 regular-season games.

“We have a good league and it prepares us for these games,” Caton said. “We get to practice tomorrow. That’s the fun part.”

The goal for the Falcons now is to finish the season one-game below .500. That would mean six straight playoff wins and a state title.

“We can beat anybody we think,” Sullivan said.

Chatfield came into Wednesday game having won seven of eight, including a 10-point win over 5A Jeffco champion and No. 2 seed Dakota Ridge. The Chargers had some taste of the Continental League having non-league games against ThunderRidge, Chaparral and Mountain Vista. Chatfield dropped all three of those games before winter break.

“I don’t think we came out prepared as we needed to be,” said Chatfield senior Colin Downs, who led the Chargers with 18 points in the season-ending loss. “I don’t think we quite wanted this one as much as Highlands Ranch did.”

Downs was one of just four graduating seniors for Chatfield. The Chargers finished third in the 5A Jeffco this season.

“It was a great season,” Downs added. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world, ever.”

Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler admitted he was “disappointed.” The Chargers’ 38 points was their lowest scoring output of the season.

“When you shoot the ball that poorly you’re not going to advance,” Schimpeler said. “I think our youth showed tonight.”

Despite the loss, Schimpeler believed a stronger performance against Highlands Ranch could have been achieved.

“Continental in a good league, but we can compete with Continental teams. We’ve got to play better,” Schimpeler said. “I think it was just one of those nights. I give Highlands Ranch credit. Their guys stepped up when they needed to.”

DENVER — Jack Buckmelter was 4-of-4 from 3-point and scored 26 points to lead No. 6 Denver East to a 69-39 win over No. 11 Fairview in the first round of the Class 5A boys basketball state tournament on Wednesday.

Jordan Willis added 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks; while Brian Carey had 10 points and nine assists.