The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
U-16 ranked fourth in the nation
Among the legion of talented girl hockey players in the Gunnison Valley, six have extended their season another couple of weeks and are headed to the national championship tournament in Irving, Texas March 27-31.
Marissa Lambert, Sydney Archuleta and Kaitlin Stewart all play on the Mountain States Girls Hockey League (MSGHL) Rock Stars U-16 team, and Hailey Pike, Madison Lambert and Kaitlyn Seifert are on the U-14 Rock Stars, all-star teams from the MSGHL.
Both teams won their respective district hockey tournaments two weeks ago to earn a bid to the national championships.
The U-16 Rock Stars put together back-to-back wins over the region’s top-seeded team out of Arizona. They opened with a 3-2 win over Arizona during which Stewart scored on a blistering shot from the point.
When the two teams met again a day later, the U-16 Rock Stars put Arizona away for good with a 3-1 win. Marissa scored one goal and tallied two assists in the win.
“They basically got it done,” says coach Tony Lambert. “Right now, we’re one of the top 12 teams in the country.”
It’s the second time in as many years for the U-16 Rock Stars to make it to nationals. Last year, the team finished third but with his team’s one year of experience, Tony believes they can finish even better.
“We’re hoping to do better. We’ve got some big goals,” says Tony.
Meanwhile, the U-14 Rock Stars destroyed their closest opponent Colorado Select, outscoring them 12-1 over the course of two games.
While Colorado Select brings a physical game to the ice, the Rock Stars maintained their composure and took advantage of several power play opportunities.
“They had 12 minutes of penalties and I think we had one,” says coach Tim Seifert.
Pike scored one goal and got two assists, Seifert added in two assists and Madison scored one goal and one assist in the opening 8-1 win.
The U-14 Rock Stars then skated to a 4-0 shutout win in their second meeting with Colorado Select to qualify for the national tournament.
“It’s been a really good season for us,” says Tim. “We’ve had their number since the girls were U-12.”
Both teams will head to the big show in Texas on Tuesday, March 27.
