MONUMENT – In perhaps the unlikeliest of places on the unlikeliest of nights, the spirit of high school sports was perhaps more alive than ever.
Waiting in line for a ticket for Lewis-Palmer’s hockey opener against Pine Creek was akin to venturing down I-25 a few exits not too long ago to wait behind countless cars for a taste of In-N-Out Burger. The fans were loud, and the Monument Ice Rinks were rocking with fans of both teams itching to get glimpse of some quality hockey.
They weren’t disappointed. Lewis-Palmer jumped out to a fast lead and battled through some physicality and late Pine Creek goals to get a 5-2 win to open the season.
But doing so in front of a crowd that L-P athletic director Nick Baker said he hadn’t seen since maybe 2012 made it all the better.
“It was fun, and it was the most (fans) that I think I have seen at a Lewis-Palmer High School game,” Rangers coach Scott Bradley said. “What a great crowd. Our guys were energetic to start off and they just kept going through the third. It was a ton of fun.”
What a freaking crowd for an early December regular season tilt. #copreps pic.twitter.com/evXqsMWRh7
— Daniel Mohrmann (@DanMohrmann) December 4, 2021
It was easy for the crowd to stay in considering the Rangers (1-0-0 overall) took the early lead thanks to goals from Trevor Bradley and Cooper Cieslielski in the first period. The Rangers kept the puck in the Pine Creek zone for much of that 17-minute stretch, although the Eagles (1-1-0) had a great look early from Boston Kellner, but his shot was turned away by L-P goalie Cameron Hurt.
Pine Creek found a little more rhythm in the second period and knocked the Rangers out of sync for a good chunk of it, but they still couldn’t manage to get the puck by Hurt and into the net. While they couldn’t cut into the lead, they weren’t letting it get any bigger until Andre Lemaire jabbed the puck by Eagles goalie Stratton Miller with 35 seconds left in the period.
“A two-goal lead isn’t always the best,” Lemaire said. “When I buried that third one, it felt like a sigh of relief and it really shifted momentum because we were all buzzing the net.”
A bit of sloppiness in the third period gave Pine Creek an early power play opportunity and they cashed in on the chance. Kenneth Bagley got the puck in a bit of space and just ripped a shot just over Hurt’s glove to get the Eagles on the board. Zach Rodgers got the Eagles their second goal of the night, but at that time it was 4-2 with just three minutes left in the game. Erik Jonasson tossed the puck down the ice to hit the empty netter to get the Rangers their first win of the season.
“It’s our first game and I think they were already one in,” Bradley said. “We were working through our first-game jitters, gripping the stick too hard and we were just a little rusty.”
Lewis-Palmer began the season sitting just outside the CHSAANow.com Class 5A top 10 and the win over the Eagles could help them crack it next week. The real test comes on Saturday when the Rangers head to Mountain Vista.
The Eagles are also in action as they’ll head north to take on Valor Christian.