The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
One of the best games of the season
Dragon Sheet Metal and The Last Steep faced off in the first game of the championship double header Tuesday night in a battle for third place, and the way they played you would have thought they were playing for the town league title. It was, very possibly, one of the best games of the season.
The Last Steep took control of the game in the opening minute, paced by the play of Mike Lauerman and Joe Erickson. Both players traded off shots on net that appeared meant for Dragon goalie Matt Nilson’s head rather than the back of the net.
Nilson took it in stride with a couple of saves and Dragon recoiled to fire back in the second minute of the game when Mike Wright fed Skye Houseman for the shot, goal and 1-0 Dragon Sheet Metal lead.
The Last Steep kept pressing and got an opportunity to tie it up with a power play in the fifth minute of the game. But the Dragon penalty kill was spot on, anchored by John Baron and Dom Eymere shutting down every lane to the Dragon net.
The Last Steep kept pressing after the power play was unsuccessful but with Baron directing traffic and Tyler Hammer out of the penalty box and skating roughshod all over the place, the last Steep struggled to set their offense.
Dragon Sheet Metal broke free during another penalty kill situation eight minutes into the first period, led by Baron. Baron skated to net but was denied by Shawn Harrington. Will Dujardin followed on the play to score on the rebound to give Dragon Sheet Metal the initial 2-0 lead.
Lauerman and Erickson continued to pound shots at Nilson and try to take him on one-on-one but Nilson pulled out his bag of tricks, stacking the pads, poke checking and even star fishing to make the saves and hold the two-goal Dragon lead.
The Last Steep regrouped during the break between periods and pulled their heads together to mount a series of attacks on Dragon Sheet Metal in the second period. They broke through early in the second period when Lauerman scored off an assist from Mitchell Soiland, but Dragon held on to take their tenuous 2-1 lead into the third period.
With Lauerman and Erickson focused more on scoring instead of ringing Nilson’s bell, The Last Steep took control of the game in the third period. Lauerman scored off an assist from Erickson in the fifth minute of the third period and Brandon “Lurch” Blomberg scored from the point on a power play to give The Last Steep a 3-2 lead.
They held their lead until the final two minutes and looked to seal the win, when a penalty left Dragon Sheet Metal down a man.
But the Dragon reared its ugly head for one final incredible surge in the final 58 seconds of play. Down a man and a goal, Dragon Sheet Metal threw caution to the wind to mount a comeback. Hammer took the puck off the boards in the neutral zone and drove up the wing and at the near post. Despite having absolutely no angle, Hammer flicked the puck at the net and it slipped through to tie the game with 58 seconds left.
A timeout was called and The Last Steep put their power line on the ice to finish the game off for good. They held the puck in the Dragon zone circling around the net looking for any shot on the Dragon net.
With The Last Steep pressing, the door was open for a quick counter and Dragon Sheet Metal exploited it as Dujardin broke loose and picked the upper corner to give the lead back to Dragon Sheet Metal with 32 seconds left.
The Last Steep’s power line remained on the ice to try to tie it up and force overtime, but the Dragon defense clamped down for good to seal the 4-3 Dragon Sheet Metal win.
