Wolfpack edge out 3-2 win over Blades at Big Mine Arena

“They wanted to protect the Wolf Den”

It was a spectacular night for hockey at Big Mine Ice Arena Wednesday, December 19 as the Crested Butte Wolfpack and Gunnison Blades battled for three periods of explosive hockey before the Wolfpack skated away with a 3-2 win.
The game had it all. Frigid temperatures, big hits, great goals, great goaltending and a coach got tossed. I even heard a fan express themselves to the coaching staff of the Wolfpack, sharing some expletives of his own.
And yes, even play-by-play radio coverage.
 Of course, the only things missing were the stars overhead but if it weren’t for that roof, there wouldn’t have been any hockey so, once again, kudos to those who made the roof happen. And, as always, kudos go out to the rink crew who have prepared a fine sheet of ice for all to enjoy this season.
The Wolfpack opened up the game skating at mach speed, pressuring the puck at mid-ice and attacking the Blades’ net to fire off the first series of shots.
The hope was to disrupt Gunnison’s patented potent attack that has rattled the Wolfpack the past couple of years.
“They have really good offensive movement when they get the puck down low,” says Wolfpack coach John Mortell. “When they start cycling, we don’t want our defense chasing those pucks in the corner.”
The Wolfpack’s early pressure and hustle ultimately paid off four minutes into the game when Dakota Wiggins chased a puck down on the boards and skated it up ice to center it. His centering pass clipped off a Blades defender sliding back into the slot and slipped through for a 1-0 Wolfpack lead.
Two minutes later, Mortell’s concern about Gunnison’s attack came to fruition when a Wolfpack defenseman took off into the corner after the puck. Colby Archuleta saw a mismatch in the slot and centered the puck to Jake Wallin, who poked past Montana Wiggins to tie the game 1-1.
Thirty seconds later, confusion ensued among officials and coaches and the Wolfpack capitalized, winning a faceoff in Gunnison’s zone. Sam Reaman dished the puck back to Danny Stoneberg at the point, who fired a low wrist shot through traffic. A Blades’ defenseman partially blocked the shot but Reaman followed and punched it through to give the lead right back to the Wolfpack.
The Wolfpack survived a 5 v. 3 situation and killed another penalty midway through the period with Montana Wiggins coming up huge in net. The defensive effort swung the momentum for the final eight minutes of the first back in Crested Butte’s favor but Gunnison held off the attack due in large part to their goaltender Matt Mendelski.
The Wolfpack carried their momentum into the second period opening with a penalty kill and then setting up shop in Gunnison’s zone led in large part by the efforts of Ian Dethloff. Dethloff mixed both physical play and creativity on the ice to wreak havoc, which helped fill a gap left by an injury to captain Troy Pike.
“Ian is really coming into his own as a hockey player,” says Mortell. “He’s an all- around player.”
Numerous times they worked their offense flawlessly to find players open in the high slot for shots just as they worked on in practice.
“The two wingers make it happen and the trailer usually finds an opening,” says Mortell.
The Blades defense stayed tight though and Mendelski made a handful more saves; he finished the game with 41 saves total, and Gunnison found an opening for a two-man break. Nick Koch blasted a shot midstride from the blue line that Montana denied, but the puck bounced over his shoulder and Quinn Travis tipped the loose puck into tie the game 2-2 midway through the second period.
A swing like that can crush a team, giving up a goal after peppering the opponents net, but the Wolfpack persevered.
Again, their effort was rewarded. After the Blades held off a 5 v. 3 situation, the Wolfpack kept pressing and scored when Josh Melnick pushed a rebound off Mendelski’s pads into the back of the net for a 3-2 lead heading into the third period.
Mendelski kept the Blades in the game in the third period with another spate of great saves but the Blades struggled to muster a concerted attack on Crested Butte and the Wolfpack skated to the 3-2 win.
“They were still upset about losing the last time 2-0 to Gunnison,” says Mortell. “They wanted to protect the Wolf Den. I really liked their energy and their physical play.”
The Wolfpack suit up for the annual Alumni game at Big Mine Ice Arena on Friday, December 28 at 6:30 p.m. They head back to Gunnison on Wednesday, January 8 to play the Blades again at 8 p.m. Their next home game will be January 12-13 against a couple of Front Range teams.
“We hope those city teams come here and it’s freezing cold,” says Mortell. “A little home ice advantage.”