DENVER — Fossil Ridge girls basketball came out on fire in Friday’s Great 8 matchup with Fruita Monument.
The Sabercats, seeded No. 8, upset the top-seeded Wildcats 58-52 thanks in large part to a 12-0 run they had to start the game in the Class 5A quarterfinals at the Denver Coliseum.
“They took the lead from the start and never let off the gas,” said Fossil Ridge coach Chad Salz.
“I don’t think we thought we were going to come out that way,” added Fossil Ridge guard Katey Guzman. “But we knocked down shots that we knew we could make.”
Fruita Monument clawed its way back after playing catch-up the whole game — cutting the margin to 45-42 with 2:12 to play, and 50-47 with a minute left — but Fossil Ridge closed the game out with some clutch free-throw shooting and game management.
Included was senior Reilly Dunn draining two free throws with 22.3 seconds left to make it 54-49.
“Defense was the key to us winning,” Guzman said.
Fossil Ridge’s early run was keyed by defense and 3-point shooting. Guzman, the team’s senior point guard, played a big part with nine first-quarter points. She finished with 15.
Ashley Steffeck also had a big game for Fossil Ridge with 15 points, while Sophia Hadad added 12, and Dunn scored 10.
“We shot lights-out the first half,” Salz said. “I don’t think we’ve shot like that all year.”
And though the Wildcats did bounce back — Fruita didn’t hit its first field goal until 2:10 remained in the frame, but trailed 16-7 after the first quarter — they never did get comfortable against Fossil’s pressing defense.
“We hang our hat on our defense, all of our different traps,” Salz said. “We controlled the tempo, and that’s what we wanted.”
“Our press was annoying them,” Guzman added.
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Fossil Ridge held a 27-18 lead at halftime, which Fruita Monument cut into to make it an eight-point game at one point, but the Sabercats again hit big shots when they needed them and led 39-25 after three.
Fruita trimmed that margin to 39-33 in the fourth quarter, but Fossil’s smothering defense clamped down — and its offense pushed the lead to 43-33 with five minutes to play.
Fruita Monument turned the ball over 22 times, and Fossil Ridge was also effective on the boards, holding a 31-26 advantage, including 13 offensive rebounds.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Evergreen girls basketball’s title defense will continue.
The Cougars, seeded No. 6 in the Class 4A state tournament, knocked off No. 3 Air Academy on the road on Friday, 50-36.
Air Academy led 15-10 after the first quarter that included a 7-0 start, but Evergreen rallied to make it 22-21 at halftime. thanks in large part to two 3-pointers from Hannah Kennedy.
“Our team usually steps it up,” Kennedy said. “I wasn’t worried with our first half because I believe and trust in my team to pick it up.”
And the Evergreen girls did exactly that. The Cougars’ defense stepped up, and their offense came out shooting. By the end of the third quarter, they had a lead of six points and continued to add to the scoreboard, and ultimately came out with a win.
Air Academy finishes the year 24-2 and had a great season that included a 21-game winning streak.
Evergreen was led in scoring by Claudia Dillon with 14 points. Kristina Schreiber, Baylee GalanBrowne, and Haley Dillion each added nine points.
“We really prepared for this game and we are just trying to repeat what we did last year,” said Kennedy. “This is just one more step to furthering that goal and making history with a repeat.”
Evergreen will face No. 15 Widefield at the Denver Coliseum on March 2.
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(8) Mesa Ridge 66, (1) Pueblo West 63
(@MRHSGRIZZLIES/Twitter)
The Grizzlies knocked off the top-ranked Cyclones to move on to the Denver Coliseum next week.
Mesa Ridge trailed 53-43 heading into the fourth quarter, and chipped away at Pueblo West’s lead. Eventually, the Grizzlies tied the game at 61 with two minutes to play.
They closed out the comeback in the final minute to advance to the Final 4.
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(15) Widefield 50, (10) Golden 49
(@whsgladiators/Twitter)
Aaliyah Ricketts hit the game-winning shot as the Gladiators pulled off the upset in the quarterfinals.
The game was close throughout with the two teams trading the lead, but Widefield built a 48-40 advantage with six minutes to play.
Golden rallied to go ahead 49-48 with less than a minute remaining before Ricketts hit the winning shot.
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(12) Pueblo South 70, (20) Sierra 39
Gabi Lucero exploded for 40 points, as the Colts rolled into a Final 4 appearance.
Drea Nelson added 11 points for Pueblo South, and Maya Austin had 8.
Pueblo South built a 19-10 lead after the first quarter, and was up 41-22 at halftime.
DENVER — Lakewood didn’t have much of a problem with the rubber-match against Class 5A Jeffco League rival Ralston Valley on Friday night.
“If we play like this I think we are unstoppable,” Lakewood’s 6-foot-5 senior Camilla Emsbo said. “If we keep this love between us we are going places.”
The No. 2-seeded and last year’s 5A state runner-up sprinted out to a 15-0 lead in the opening minutes in the girls basketball state quarterfinal game and never let off the gas. The Tigers (23-3 record) ended up with a 61-37 victory.
“They are surpassing my expectations,” Lakewood coach Chris Poisson said after the 24-point victory. “It’s nuts what they are doing.”
Friday’s all-Jeffco state quarterfinal was the third time Lakewood and Ralston Valley had met this season. The Mustangs won the first go-around 59-45 in the 5A Jeffco League opener on Jan. 4. The Tigers got revenge Jan. 26 with a 50-44 win at Ralston Valley.
It was all Lakewood in the Great 8 game. The Tigers’ five starters — Emsbo (13 points), Jessica Woodhead (6 points), Hannah Renstrom (11 points), Nadia Trevino (16 points) and Sassy Coleman (5 points) — looked like a well-oiled machine on both ends of the court. The Tigers’ defense held the Mustangs (21-5) to 23.8 percent shooting in the first half.
“It’s great to know that your teammates have your back,” Emsbo said. “It feels a lot different that last year. I had a lot more on my shoulders last year. Everyone is carrying their load, which is fun. Everyone was doing their part and that is a championship team.”
Lakewood was money from behind the arc going 9-for-16 from 3-point range. On the flip side, Ralston Valley was just 3-for-12 from long distance.
“Nadia is on fire,” Poisson said of the Tigers’ sophomore guard that was 4-for-5 from 3-point range through the first three quarters. “We aren’t just Camilla. We are a team and a collection of kids. They are all playing out of their minds.”
Lakewood and Ralston Valley have dominated the 5A Jeffco conference for the past decade.
“It’s about our intensity,” Trevino said of the Tigers’ start. “We come out so strong and are determined to win.”
The Mustangs were led by freshman guard Sydney Bevington, who finished with a team-high 15 points. She was the lone Ralston Valley player in double-digit points.
Lakewood is set for a rematch against No. 6-seeded Regis Jesuit. The Tigers and Raiders met up earlier this season at the La Jolla County Day Tournament in California. Regis took a 59-42 victory.
“We are in this tournament to play great teams,” Emsbo said of facing the Raiders. “I couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Ralston Valley’s Shelby Nichols (15) gets off a shot. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Regis advanced to the Final 4 in the first quarterfinal of the night at the Denver Coliseum. The Raiders overcame a slow start against No. 3 Horizon to eventually take a 57-43 victory. Freshman Avery Vansickle led the way for the Raiders with 12 points.
“Coming into the tournament they were the best team,” Poisson said of Regis. “When we played them in California we were different then we are right now. They are going to be better too. We’ll get ready.”
This is the second straight Final 4 appearance for the Tigers. Last season, Lakewood got wins over Highlands Ranch and Cherry Creek down at the Denver Coliseum to advance to the Tigers’ first girls basketball state championship game.
Grandview ended the Cinderella story by taking a 61-32 victory over Lakewood in last year’s 5A title game.
Lakewood senior Sassy Coleman, left, has her shot challenged by Ralston Valley freshman Sydney Bevington. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
DENVER — Alisha Davis held the game in her hands. Grandview was trying to wind the clock down and take the last shot of the game and it was Davis who grabbed the offensive board and had a put-back opportunity.
She got fouled.
She made one of two free throws and Highlands Ranch couldn’t convert in the last nine seconds. The Wolves came away with a 57-56 win and are back in the Class 5A girls Final 4.
“I knew I had to make it, but I knew I had a great team behind me,” Davis said. “I don’t know what to say other than we work so hard in practice and we’re such a good defensive team.”
The Wolves held a lead for much of the first quarter, but Tommi Olson and the Falcons clawed their way back to take a 10-7 lead. The quick pace that both teams established early held through the second quarter and it wasn’t until Landri Hudson buried a 3-pointer for the Wolves that they were able to regain the advantage.
“I give my kids credit,” Grandview coach Josh Ulitzky said. “We haven’t been in that situation a ton and they showed some good discipline. It was great to see.”
Heading into the locker room at halftime, the Falcons held a 31-30 advantage, despite Grandview shooting with better efficiency and having a 16-13 rebounding edge.
The difference was in the Wolves’ ability to take care of the ball. The turnover margin was just enough to give Highlands Ranch the lead, a lead that they extended to seven by the end of the third quarter.
Having only connect on the one 3-pointer from Hudson, Grandview needed to start knocking them down from long range so that’s what Allyah Marlett did. Her two long range shots pulled the Wolves to within two.
Leilah Vigil worked her way to the free throw line with 2:56 left and hit one of two to finally pull the Wolves even. Vigil, a former student and player at Highlands Ranch wore her emotion on her sleeve as the Wolves took the lead and looked like they were in a position to get the win.
“To me, I thought about it the whole week, it’s just another game,” she said. “A lot of emotions went into leaving. For me to win this was a statement.”
With the score finally even again, a steal and score by Alisha Davis gave Grandview the lead, forcing a Falcons timeout.
Olson made her own way to the charity stripe to to tie the game at 54 with two minutes remaining.
The teams traded baskets and with less than a minute left. Davis was fouled with nine seconds left and sank one of two free throws. Highlands Ranch couldn’t convert on the final possession and the defending champions live to fight another day.
The Wolves will face Fossil Ridge next week in the Final 4. The winner of that game will meet the winner of Lakewood and Regis Jesuit. The Final 4 and championship games will be played at the Denver Coliseum.
Sweet enough to give you a cavity! Man, there was a ton of great action in our big school 5A/4A boys hoops this past Wednesday and has set up what will surely be an epic “Great 8” in both classifications.
Let’s take a look at how it played out and preview what’s to come!
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Class 5A Great 8
Denver Coliseum
Chuck Williams Region:
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
The two highest seeds advanced and rose to the top of this region in No. 1 Rock Canyon and No. 8 Overland. The Trailblazers used an extremely DEFENSIVE effort to stifle Regis’ offense on Wednesday night winning 63-39 in blowout fashion!
As Overland took down a Continental League foe, Rock Canyon returned the favor making a comeback on Eaglecrest and prevailing in overtime. The Jags were down late in the fourth quarter but were able to extend the game and hit two 3-pointers early in overtime to seal it. The Raptors hit a late 3 that made it a 65-64 final.
Rock Canyon and Overland will be a rematch of the December 7 bout won by the Jags 62-56. That game was pretty tight the entire way with Overland making a bit of a fun in the fourth but came up short on their home court. Overland is much better than they were on Dec. 7, playing tough Coach Fisher defense, but the Jags have been here and have the veteran Coliseum experience. It’ll be a good one!
Richard Tate Region:
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Our top seeds in this region have advanced as well, No. 2 ThunderRidge and No. 7 Doherty. ThunderRidge absolutely destroyed a balanced Fruita Monument team in a blowout our Fever Crew certainly didn’t see coming. Poised senior guard Tyson Cruickshank paced the Grizzlies scoring 17 and fellow senior leader Kaison Hammonds added 13.
Back in December T-Ridge and Doherty tangled in tournament play and the Grizzlies pulled away by 17. The Spartans started winning the first quarter by 4 but T-Ridge used a 21-7 second quarter advantage to never look back. Always tough to beat the same team twice in same season…we have another rematch!
Chauncey Billups Region:
(Marcus Gipson/Jmariahimages.com)
Again, out top two seeds in this region, No. 3 Chaparral and No. 6 Grandview, advance to the region final. Fitting that a young man who has Chauncey as a mentor is “going OFF” in this region. Our Fever Crew had a chance to sit down the Billups Elite product Ronnie DeGray III for a Fever “chat” last night and the excitement for the tourney is shining through this “quiet” young man.
“This season has been unbelievable. All the offseason work my team and I put in is showing and we are reaching our goals one day at a time”, said DeGray who EXPLODED for 38 points in Chap’s 92-83 track meet win over rival Mountain Vista. “We are pumped to be playing in the Great 8. It is our first time, but we will be ready for Saturday. Going after the title and 5-0 in the playoffs is our goal. One game at a time, and Grandview is the next,” said the star junior who is laying a strong claim on CO Player of the year.
Bright future for this young man, and hard to argue that anyone in the state is playing as hot as “Lil Ronnie” right now. Thanks for the “chat,” Silent Assassin!
Grandview faced a battle against Rampart and it was tight all the way through until the Wolves seized control in the fourth with a 15-7 advantage that shut the door on Rampart’s upset bid. Eight Grandview players were in their balanced scoring column with junior Davon Walker leading with 10.
This will be the first match up of Wolves’ this season and the marquee match up will be between stud juniors DeGray III and Grandview’s Dayne Prim who is averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds per game. A wild card here could be the possibility of sharp shooter Joseph Dalton returning to the Chap lineup after a foot injury. Let’s go!
Maceo Brodnax Region:
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
This is our only 5A region where the two highest seeds did not advance to the final stage. That is because Smoky Hill played their best basketball of the season at the right time Wednesday night at the famed “ThunderDome” beating the No. 4 seed East 76-72 in a heated (on the court, sidelines, and stands) battle where Smoky led throughout. You can check some exciting game highlights here.
Kenny Foster, who had a nice break away dunk to give Smoky a key 4-point advantage late vs. East, will be called on heavily as the Buffs now face super athletic (and deep) roster of George Washington.
The Patriots used a dominating second quarter to pull away from Liberty and eventually made it look easy winning by 30. It has been argued that these are the two most talent laden squads in our state and the rematch comes on the big stage!
Round 1 was played back in December with Smoky winning by 9 at home. Foster, PG Quentin Rock, and big John Harge all scored in double figures that night and they’ll likely need that again to keep up with the pace of GW led by seniors Jon’il Fugett and D’AunTray Pierce on the inside.
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Class 4A Great 8
Games hosted by highest seed
Larry Brunson Region:
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
The top overall seed, No. 1 Pueblo South, has advanced to see No. 9 Valor in this region, who knocked off the 8 seed Evergreen. Pueblo South “locked down” Montrose only allowing 26 total points and held them to single digits in three quarters. Hunter Schkapich led four Eagles in double figure scoring with 20 as Valor cruised as well to a 31-point win over the higher seed Evergreen.
Pueblo South feels it’s their turn to raise the Golden Ball at the Coliseum as Valor did one year ago. The Colts will lean on two-sport stud Marcell Barbee and his 18 points per game to make that happen.
Mark Randall Region:
(Kelsey Lowry/CHSAANow.com)
No. 2 Lewis-Palmer and No. 10 Widefield are the two rising to the peak of this region. LP had a rematch with Palmer Ridge in order to advance, and Widefield had to pull the upset on the 7-seeded Silver Creek squad, 54-51. TJ Davis (20) and Tre Pierre (17) stepped up their scoring to help secure the road win for Widefield.
On paper these two squads looked evenly matched both scoring 67 points per game. The battle inside vs. Joel Scott and Tre Pierre (both averaging 20 points per game) will be well worth the price of admission!
For Pueblo West, it was their star NieYeme Smeyer-Williams who usually averages 15 points per game but exploded for more than 30 in the Cyclones impressive 2-point win.
Pueblo West has the experience of late season 4A success while Ponderosa is out to prove they belong after battling in the 4A/5A Continental league vs. some of the state’s best 5A teams.
Ron Vlasin Region:
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
No. 4 Falcon and No. 5 Longmont had some tough ones along the way but survived as the highest seeds in this region and will face off.
Longmont’s claim is as a hard working, “blue collar” squad who leans on their senior star Luke Johnson for a lot of scoring and he did just that putting up 27 points in the win over Windsor. Falcon has a few scorers of their own and on this night Brendan LaRose led with his own 28 in the win over D’Evelyn to reach this point.
Can Longmont stop the “3-headed” scoring of LaRose/Warren/Martinez from Falcon? Falcon has the scoring power but do they have the depth? Can’t wait!
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The only regret our Fever Crew has is not being able to watch all eight 5A/4A games! We will catch all the 5A and be keeping an eye on the 4A action for next week. The Coliseum “Great 8” is one of our most fun days of the year … get out and enjoy our state’s best, folks!
DENVER — Jon’il Fugett hit a floater with 3.5 seconds to play, and George Washington boys basketball emerged with a dramatic win in the Class 5A Great 8 on Saturday.
Fugett, a senior, drove to his right down the lane, and let a shot go in the final moments. It danced upon the rim, then dropped. Winner. George Washington would move on with a 42-41 win over Smoky Hill, and return to the Final 4.
“That’s what I go to practice for everyday — test those shots,” Fugett said. “It was good defense, on both sides. It was just a better shot. Feels great.”
Fugett’s final shot came in heavy traffic.
“It was just a spot I had to get it to,” Fugett said. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to drop it in all net, so I just had to touch it on the rim. Once it hit the rim, I was happy. I couldn’t really see it after it left my hands. Once I hit it twice, I knew it was going in.”
George Washington advanced to last year’s state title game. Coach Reggie Hammons said that experience helped on Saturday.
(Marcus Gipson/Jmariahimages.com)
“With Jon’il being in there last year, and the experience being there, he stepped up and hit that shot,” Hammons said.
The two teams battled all night. Smoky Hill edged out in front with an 8-0 run to start the third quarter, going up 25-20, and later 28-22, before George Washington close the frame with nine unanswered points.
Included were seven straight points from Shawn’Trell White, a 6-foot-1 senior guard for the Patriots. He had a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left in the third quarter, and then had a layup at the buzzer after stealing Smoky Hill’s last possession. That gave the Patriots a 31-28 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
But Smoky was unfazed.
Kenny Foster, the Buffs’ leading scorer, hit a 3-pointer as the fourth quarter opened to tie the game at 31.
Smoky Hill and Foster then turned a parade to the line, as well as a few turnovers, into a 37-31 advantage with 6:17 to play.
Again, George Washington battled back. This time, it was senior Jon’in Fugett leading the charge. He hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 37-34, and later had a spinning layup that gave his team a 38-37 lead with 3:53 to go.
“That’s how we’ve been the whole year: battling back,” Hammons said. “Get down, and fight our way back.”
By the time 1:29 remained, George Washington led 40-39, and had a chance to extend that lead, but missed three consecutive free throws. Smoky Hill tied the game at 40 with just over a minute to play, and then took a 41-40 lead when Quentin Rock hit 1-of-2 free throws with 32 seconds to play.
The teams struggled to find their offensive rhythm in the fast-pace game in the first half. Smoky Hill shot just 22 percent — and George Washington wasn’t much better at 30 percent from the field, including 1-of-9 from 3-point.
Mo Diallo led George Washington with 12 points. Fugett had nine, and White added 7.
Rock led Smoky Hill with 10 points. Foster had nine, and Eric Williams scored eight.
George Washington entered the tournament as one of 5A’s hottest teams, winning 13-straight games.
In three seasons under coach Anthony Hardin, Smoky Hill has made remarkable strides. In Hardin’s first season, Smoky Hill was 4-19.
DENVER — Sometimes when Bailey Verk gets the ball right under the hoop, he can’t help make sure that he doesn’t screw it up.
After Doherty’s Kyrele Benford got a friendly role on a 3-pointer to tie the game, Verk found himself with the ball right under the ThunderRidge basket.
He didn’t screw it up. He got his shot off and the Grizzlies came away with a 45-43 win over the Spartas to advance to next week’s Class 5A Final 4.
“Every time you get the ball like that (thinking about screwing it up) always goes through your head,” Verk said.
The Spartans looked intent to play a physical style of basketball. They worked the ball inside to Joe Golden, who ended up carrying them offensively for the first half.
Doherty led 12-9 after the first quarter with Golden accountable for seven of the Spartans’ points. The physicality translated to the defensive side of the ball as they held Kaison Hammonds scoreless in the first quarter.
“We were expecting them to come out like that,” Verk said. “We were just trying to play our game and get our shots.”
But the ThunderRidge senior got on track in the second, shooting 3 for 4 from the field and helping the Grizzlies get into halftime trailing just 25-24.
Verk and Austin Holt led ThunderRidge in the third, combining for 10 of the teams 12 points. They adjusted defensively, packing into a zone limiting the impact that Golden was able to make on the inside.
“They kind of got out of sorts and weren’t going to Joe anymore,” ThunderRidge coach Joe Ortiz. “Bailey did a good job of battling him and holding his own, but Joe was a force.”
The Spartans sputtered in the fourth, letting the Grizzlies take a four-point lead at 38-34. Golden found Alijah Bates slashing to the basket to cut the lead in half. Shortly he after, he hauled in a defensive rebound and drew a foul from Hammonds. Golden hit just one of two free throws, but Hammonds was forced to the bench with four fouls.
After he checked back into the game, Hammonds was fouled by Duke Carey and made both free throws to push the lead to three.
Holt made a four-point game, adding two free throws after getting fouled by Bates who subsequently fouled out of the game.
D’Angelo Shepherd cut that lead to one after burying a huge three from the corner.
More free throws made it a three-point game again, but Benford got a friendly role to tie the game.
But it wasn’t meant to be as Verk got the ball under the basket and put it in to give the Grizzlies the win and a trip back to the Coliseum next week.
“We learned a lot from today,” Ortiz said. “We’ll talk about it, it’s still kind of shocking right now. I’m not there yet. I’m thinking about postgame.”
Ortiz says he and the team will have plenty of time to recover from the crazy ending of Saturday’s game and should be prepared when they face the winner of Chaparral and Grandview next week.
DENVER — Tim DeBord lit Valor Christian’s offense afire, and the Eagles are now headed to their first state hockey championship game in program history.
DeBord, a senior, had a hat trick in the second period as the Eagles built a 3-0 lead on Monarch. They went on to defeat the Coyotes 4-0 in the state semifinals on Thursday at Pepsi Center.
“They really came out hard, and we weathered the storm,” DeBord said. “We just came out in the second period knowing what we had to do. We just found a way.”
After a scoreless first period, DeBord provided a spark with an unassisted tally just 55 seconds into the second period. He also scored at 11:39, and then again at 15:54 of the frame — prompting Eagles fans to shower the ice with their hats.
“Honestly, I don’t even know how I scored,” DeBord said of his first goal. “I just saw it go in the back of the net, and we lost our mind, and we just got a ton of momentum from there.”
“Timmy DeBord was terrific in the second period,” said Valor Christian coach George Gwozdecky. “Once we got that first one, it really gave us a boost. It got us some adrenaline surge on that bench, and you really saw us start to play a little bit faster, and with a little bit more urgency.”
Gwozdecky pointed to DeBord’s third goal as a key, as well. That came with 1:06 left in the period.
“I think that took a huge bit of momentum out of them and gave us a little bit of a jump,” Gwozdecky said.
Colton Carlson added an empty-netter for the Eagles with 1:37 to play to ice things.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
The win avenged Valor’s a 6-3 loss to Monarch to end the regular season on Feb. 10. The Eagles are now 20-2-0 this season.
“We were really unhappy not only about losing to them, but how we lost to them,” Gwozdecky said. “We felt we made the gave very easy for them, and they’re a hard enough team to play against when you make the game difficult for them.”
Valor will have a chance to avenge its only other loss next Tuesday in the championship game against Regis Jesuit. The Raiders, who beat Chaparral in Thursday’s other semifinal, beat Valor Christian 2-1 on Dec. 16.
It will be the first time Valor Christian has reached hockey’s championship game, and signals the program’s next step under Gwozdecky, now in his third season as coach.
“It’s amazing,” DeBord. “We’re so blessed that it’s us, and we get a chance to bring our first championship to Valor.”
“It’s uncharted territory,” Gwozdecky said. “I’m really proud of our kids, excited for them, excited for the students. … This is big. This is big for the school, this is big for the program, this is big for this group of kids in that locker room, and I’m excited and proud of them.”
Gwozdecky, the former DU coach who led the Pioneers to two national championships, took over a team that was 3-15-0 the season before his arrival.
Under Gwozdecky, the Eagles have gone 46-15-2 since 2015-16.
DeBord entered the game with 25 goals. He’s now tied for the team lead with Luke Wheeler at 28.
Valor Christian goalie Trey Hirschfield had an outstanding game, including an important save on a one-timer that came across his crease in the first period that kept the game scoreless. It was his fourth shutout of the season.
Monarch, the defending champion, ends the season at 19-3-0. The loss snapped an incredible streak of five consecutive appearances in the state championship game.
DENVER — For the third season in a row, Regis Jesuit will be playing for a state hockey championship.
The top-seeded Raiders got off to a sluggish start, but came out firing in the second period to get a 7-1 win over Chaparral on Thursday at Pepsi Center in the state semifinals.
The Raiders last won the state title in 2016 by beating Monarch, but the Coyotes walked away the victors a year ago. Now, Regis has a chance to go for its second title in three years.
“It makes us want to go even harder,” Raiders senior Connor Kilkenny said. “I know the feeling of winning and I know the feeling of losing. I think it just drives us to have that (2017 ) loss in the back of our mind.”
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Kilkenny put the Raiders on the board just under seven minutes into the game, scoring on a power play opportunity.
Chaparral, an underdog throughout the tournament as a No. 13 seed, briefly pulled even thanks to Dorian Perret scoring on the Wolverines’ first power play of the game.
“We hung,” Chaparral coach Ryan Finnefrock said. “But we didn’t play our best and that’s what it takes to beat a good team like Regis.”
The Raiders regained the lead just 20 seconds later thanks to an unassisted goal by Kale Lone. The Raiders came out of the first period with the lead, but the offense had stalled overall.
That wasn’t the case at the start of second period. Kilkenny added his second goal of the game just 16 seconds into the period and the Raiders fed off that momentum. Justin Lico, Nicholas Schultz and Shane Ott all found the back of the net for Regis and by the end of the second, the Raiders had their sights set on Tuesday’s championship game.
“The second period, that first shift getting the first goal and going up with two more really quick ones afterward, I think it shut them down mentally,” Kilkenny said.
Once Regis had taken a five-goal lead, the experience factor took effect and coach Dan Woodley went into management mode.
His goal for the third period was to keep his players loose and time constantly moving.
“We were just trying to keep the clock running,” Woodley said. “That was our goal to keep it going, respect our opponent and respect the process.”
The Raiders put the game in cruise control in the final period, but overall for the game, they outshot the Wolverines 30-12.
In terms of a program’s first season, Chaparral’s was remarkable for several reasons. Despite a few hiccups in the regular season, the Wolverines hit their stride in the tournament.
As the No. 13 seed in the bracket, they took down No. 4 Fort Collins and No. 5 Steamboat Springs to reach the Frozen 4.
“We always had the potential, we just didn’t put 51 minutes of good hockey together,” Finnefrock said. “It took us until playoffs to put 51 good minutes of hockey together and staying in it forever. We saw what can happen.”
In its search for the program’s fifth state title, Regis will meet the winner of Thursday’s late game between Valor Christian and Monarch.
