Crested Butte Blizzard headed to states

Put an end to Durango domination

The Crested Butte Blizzard Pee Wee hockey team earned the privilege of competing in the state tournament by beating the Durango Steamers in the Frozen Four final game this past Sunday evening, March 6.
The two teams traded wins earlier in the tournament, with the bid to the state tournament up for grabs in the final meeting. The outstanding community support was evident as parents and players from the Bantam and Wolfpack teams, which had finished their seasons earlier in the day, packed the rink.
Crested Butte struck early in the first period, with Ben Barrett scoring unassisted. Crested Butte held the slim one-goal lead until the eighth minute of the third period, when Durango tied the game up.
The tides turned in favor of the Blizzard when Gage Meredith poked the puck away from a Durango defender and skated in on a breakaway to deke the goalie for what ended up being the game-winning goal.
The Steamers’ fate was sealed four minutes later when Patrick Seifert assisted Barrett with Crested Butte’s third goal. The Blizzard held off a Durango two-man advantage in the third period to seal the 3-1 win, ending Durango’s domination of the RMYHL for the past three years. Goalie Cameron Curtiss played a tremendous game with 14 saves on 15 shots.
The team heads to Denver for the Avalanche Cup March 19-20. Congratulations to the entire Pee Wee team for an unbelievable end to their regulation season.