Wolfpack’s hockey season ends at state semifinals

“They played their hearts out”

After running roughshod through their league to post a record of 19-0, the Wolfpack qualified for the Midget A state tournament, along with the Gunnison Blades, the Arapahoe Warriors and a team out of Littleton.

It had been five years since the Wolfpack reached the big show and after a couple of years under different coaches, John Mortell took over as head coach last year and built the program to where it is now—a state contender.
The last time the Wolfpack reached the state playoffs, they were thumped in their only game.
This time around, coaches Mortell and Sean Kelly had the team ready as they prepared for their semifinal game against the Arapahoe Warriors.
The Wolfpack got a glimpse of the Warriors in a preseason tournament and got crushed 8-0. But that was way back in November and the Wolfpack had just a handful of on-ice workouts under their belt.
This time around, with a season’s worth of playing now under their belts, the Wolfpack was ready.
The Wolfpack did fall prey to two hiccups in the lead up to the big game.
First, strep throat was making the rounds through the team leaving it without Dakota Wiggins, Cristo Church and Peter Bright and forcing the coaches to work just two lines for the game.
Second, as the team readied itself, a referee snafu at the arena forced a two-hour delay forcing the team to reset themselves psychologically. It was then that the leaders of the team took over.
“The seniors were on fire and all of the other kids were feeding off of it,” says Mortell.
Once the puck dropped, the Wolfpack proved they were ready, taking early control of the game and trading off surges up and down the ice. The Wolfpack got some chances on goal but the Arapahoe lived up to his reputation as being tough in net.
 “Our defense was shutting them down and we were definitely evenly matched,” says Mortell.
The Warriors got on the scoreboard first in the second period intercepting a pass in the Wolfpack’s zone to take a 1-0 lead into the second period but the Wolfpack kept pressing.
The Wolfpack finally found a seam in the Warriors’ goalie on a power play in the second period. A slapshot from the point bounced loose and Collin Dill powered the puck to the goal where Ben Reaman tipped it in, tying the game 1-1.
Unfortunately, Arapahoe came back to take a 2-1 lead when a collision in the Wolfpack zone left a Warrior skater a clear lane at the net and he skated in to score.
Crested Butte started to wear out in the third period but position play, discipline and heart kept them in the game until Mortell called a timeout with five minutes left in the game.
“Running two lines was definitely taking its toll,” says Mortell.
The break allowed the Wolfpack to refocus and they came out refreshed and pushing hard for the tying goal.
Crested Butte fired off eight more shots throughout the final minutes of the game but couldn’t find the back of the net. They pulled their goalie with 52 seconds left and were on the attack but an Arapahoe player’s clearing pass slid unattended down the ice and into the empty net, dashing the hopes of a Wolfpack comeback.
The Wolfpack finished the game out-shooting Arapahoe 38-18 but just couldn’t get that final touch on the puck to light the lamp.
“We were doing everything right except putting the puck in the net,” says Mortell. “We dominated every aspect of the game. They played their hearts out.”
In the end, Mortell was ecstatic with the way the season finished and looks ahead to continued success in the years to come.
“It went way better than I could have hoped for,” says Mortell. “For the kids to take me to a 19-0 record is awesome. It’s the start of a legacy.”