The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“We’re just a bunch of no-name beer drinkers”
The Red Ladies opened the 2009-2010 season in Gunnison last weekend at the Puckasso Tournament. The tournament brought in three men’s “beer league” teams, two from Gunnison and one from Crested Butte South, and the Crested Butte Red Ladies women’s team.
After losing the opening game 3-0, the Red Ladies faced Crested Butte South in their second game of the day.
With past Red Ladies’ coach Bob Piccaro suiting up for the Crested Butte South squad, Lisa Lynch took over on the Ladies’ bench, barking out orders to her team.
The Ladies responded, playing tight defense through the opening minutes of the first period, looking for the occasional odd-woman rush to the Crested Butte South net.
After 12 minutes of scoreless hockey, Red Lady Hillary Buscovick broke out of the defensive zone with the puck and threaded her way through neutral ice and onto the Crested Butte South net.
Buscovick drew two defensemen and dished the puck weak side, but the pass slid through the slot unattended. Buscovick circled back and a futile clearing attempt left the puck back on her stick. Buscovick fired a low wrist shot through traffic and past the stick of Crested Butte South net minder Kurt Lafoe, giving the Red Ladies a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.
Down 1-0 after one, a Crested Butte South player put the game situation into perspective.
“We’re just a bunch of no-name beer drinkers,” he said.
Nevertheless, after Red Ladies’ goalie Sandy Robinson turned away a flurry of shots early in the period, Dave DiBerardino tied the game, skating onto the weak side to settle a loose puck and blast it past Robinson.
Tied 1-1 heading into the final period, Lynch had some key words for her squad, emphasizing short shifts, and the Ladies followed suit.
Robinson shut down another one-on-one rush and the Red Ladies turned up the heat with fresh legs.
A Ladies breakout midway through the period caught the Crested Butte South defense cheating in setting up a two-on-one attack.
Wendy Buckhanan carried the puck to net, drew the lone defender and found Suzy Parker alone skating to net. Parker took the pass midstride and flipped a wrist shot over the pads of Lafoe to retake the lead.
Faced with the reality of losing to the Red Ladies, Crested Butte South regrouped to regain control of the game, holding the puck in the Red Ladies zone. Shots were fired and all were saved until DiBerardino struck again from the weak side, tying the game 2-2 with 50 seconds left.
A last-second breakaway from James Brennan looked to bust the tie for good and seal the win for Crested Butte South, but Robinson shut off the near post to block the shot and preserve the 2-2 tie.
The Red Ladies took everything positive they had from the two previous games that day to close the tournament with a win, defeating a Gunnison “beer league” team 2-1.
