The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Teams battle inch of snow on ice
Despite my wife having contractions every 15 minutes I maintained my commitment to local hockey action and headed to Big Mine Ice Arena to catch the opening game of the 2009 Crested Butte Town League hockey season between the Eldo and Mikey’s Pizza.
In the end it was all worth it as the teams played to a dramatic 3-3 tie and my wife had not progressed any further with the birth of our first child.
Mikey’s Pizza, formerly the Troutfitter, owned the opening minutes of the first period eventually converting a breakout into a goal as Chris Eaton skated onto a pass from Paul Moscatelli to score.
Eldo goalie Tom Brother did his job holding off a flurry of Mikey’s Pizza shots to keep the game close.
The Mikey’s Pizza assault continued at the start of the second period looking to bust the game open but the Eldo refused to fold.
The Eldo regrouped midway through the second period to turn the tide in their favor and tie the game 1-1 when Guy Ciulla pushed a duster through the snow past Mikey’s goalie Reed Schaub.
Ciulla struck once again at the end of the second period on a breakaway beating a defender to find a seam to the net. Schaub denied Ciulla’s first two attempts but the layer of snow and human chaos shrouded the puck in front of Schaub and Ciulla pushed it by giving the Eldo a 2-1 lead.
Things truly heated up in the third period as both teams found their rhythm on the ice with play flowing from end-to-end.
Moscatelli pulled Mikey’s Pizza even with the Eldo with a goal three minutes into the third period. The Eldo responded 15 seconds later when Kurt Olson punched in a goal on a pass from Bob Piccaro to give the Eldo the lead back.
Schaub came up with two big saves down the stretch for Mikey’s Pizza and Eaton fed Mike Larson with a pass for Larson to stuff away tying the game once again with one minute left in regulation.
Mikey’s Pizza played the final 36 seconds of the game with a power play but failed to connect for the game-winning goal leaving the 2009 opener in a 3-3 tie.
