DENVER — Highlands Ranch, Grandview, Cherry Creek and Valor Christian advanced to the Class 5A girls basketball Final 4 with wins in the Great 8 on Friday.
DENVER — Tanner Marsh had no desire to wait around for history to happen. He was determined to make it and it was clear from the very minute the puck dropped in the second hockey Frozen Four game at Pepsi Center.
It took less than three minutes for him smoothly glide past Chaparral goalie Joseph Holguin and get the Lambkins on the board. They controlled the game the rest of way and got a 3-2 win to advance to the first state championship game in program history.
“We knew we had to get a good start,” Marsh said. “We got off to a good start against them earlier in the year but we let off so we knew we had to keep the momentum going.”
The Lambkins will meet Valor Christian on Tuesday night at Pepsi Center. The Eagles also advanced to the state title game with a 2-1 win over Regis Jesuit earlier in the night.
Nearly 11 minutes after Marsh got his team on the board, Jason Campos buried a shot of a rebound to push the lead to 2-0. Nolan Williamson scored early in the second to make it a 3-0 game a give the Lambkins a feeling that something special was about to happen, but it still wasn’t going to come as easily as they’d like.
“We knew it was going to be close,” Marsh said. “We knew it was going to be a one-goal game for sure. It wasn’t going to be a blowout.”
Williamson followed up his goal with a slashing penalty late in the period and the Wolverines took advantage as Blake Johnson hovered around the net as the puck danced loose in front of Fort Collin goalie Sam Simon.
Johnson slammed the puck into the net to give Chaparral its first goal of the game and a bit of momentum heading into the third period.
But Fort Collins wasn’t going to allow a comeback to happen. The Lambkins had dropped a 3-2 game to Chaparral earlier in the season so surrendering a three-goal lead in the state semifinals was not an option.
“One of the things we talked about before this game is that it’s not a mistake that we’re playing in this game,” Fort Collins coach Dylan Strom said. “We battled all season to get to this point.”
Fort Collins’ regular season loss to Chaparral was followed up with a 4-2 loss to Valor Christian, the very team that the Lambkins will play for the state title.
That stretch of games near the end of the regular season resulted in three losses out of four contests. But heading into Tuesday’s state championship clash, it was a stretch that Strom hopes will pay dividends.
“We had a lull when we were playing Valor and Chaparral and Regis,” he said. “Facing that adversity and those things that we were going through, those have been keys to our success.”
The puck drops for the state championship game at 7:30 p.m. at Pepsi Center. Tickets can be purchased through the Colorado Avalanche.
DENVER — For the third time in the high school hockey season, Valor Christian and Regis Jesuit shared the ice.
For two of Colorado’s premiere programs, the third game meant so much more than the previous two. First, the winner was going to advance to Tuesday’s state championship game at Pepsi Center. But more importantly, each team was playing with a heavy heart after the sudden and unexpected passing of Cale Woodley, the son of Regis Jesuit coach, and a Raiders alumni.
Top-seeded Valor Christian won the game 2-1, but the respectful rivalry between the two teams were on display as hugs were shared after the final horn sounded.
“To be able to get involved in a game like this, just for a little bit, just to take your mind off what else is happening in life can be very important,” Valor coach George Gwozdecky said. “What he’s done at Regis and what he’s done for the state of high school hockey in Colorado is phenomenal.”
Gwozdecky was also quick to note that during the game, Woodley coached like Woodley. The Eagles got on the board in the first with a Ryan Kayser power play goal. They took the lead into the first intermission but it wouldn’t last through the second period.
An Evan Pahos cross-checking penalty in the second gave the Raiders their first power play opportunity of the game and they made sure to cash in. Just over midway through the advantage, William Laws got Regis Jesuit on the board with a laser from near the blue line.
With the game now tied, the Raiders had renewed energy and swarmed the Valor net much better than they had earlier in the game. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get the puck behind Valor goalie Trey Hirschfield for a second time.
The tie-breaking goal for the Eagles came from a hard bounce off the boards and off the skate of Regis Jesuit goalie Gage Bussey. It was off the stick of Pahos and when he initially fired it, he had no idea it would how fortunate a bounce he would get.
“I didn’t think that shot was going in,” Pahos said. “No one did. I just fired it off the boards and it went off his skate.”
While a stunner to the players on the ice, Gwozdecky’s experience coaching at both the collegiate and professional levels have made him aware of the bump the puck can take off the boards.
“I don’t want to say we were working on that play today,” Gwozdecky said. “But we were working in pre-game skate to get our defensemen to utilize bounces off the end wall.”
Pahos’ goal probably wasn’t exactly what Gwozdecky meant when he said utilize the bounce but nevertheless, the liveliness of that ricochet has the Eagles in the state championship game for the second time in program history.
