The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Record stands at 6-0-2
After giving up a two-goal lead to finish with a tie against the Glenwood Springs Grizzlies on Saturday night, the West Elk Wolverines regrouped to hand the Grizzlies a 6-2 thumping on Sunday and are in sole possession of first place in the league.
Saturday night’s draw stung as the Wolverines were hosting Glenwood Springs at Big Mine Ice Arena, the only time all season the Wolverines would play in Crested Butte. As a result, the Wolverines were amped to show their hometown fans at the north end of the valley what they’re capable of this year.
“They really wanted to put on a show for the Crested Butte community,” says coach Joe Otsuka.
The Wolverines’ best intentions were temporarily thwarted in the first two minutes of the game as Glenwood struck first, but the goal proved to be a fluke as the Wolverines took over the period.
Jordi Nichols broke loose to get a clear line at the net only to smack his shot off the post, but the team remained focused and Nichols made good on his second look at net as he carried the puck up-ice and stopped on a dime to pick the upper corner with a quick wrist-shot.
Two minutes later the Wolverines struck again as Sam Reaman won a draw in the Glenwood zone and turned immediately to slip his shot near post for a 2-1 Wolverines lead.
The Wolverines killed a Grizzlies penalty at the end of the first period and then jumped on Glenwood in the opening minutes of the second period as Colby Archuleta slipped a pass to Brady Wilson in the slot and Wilson poked it through for a 3-1 lead.
Then, it appeared as if some complacency set in while Glenwood Springs continued to push. Pressure in neutral ice by the Grizzlies set up a two-on-one situation and they scored to pull within one.
Glenwood kept coming while the Wolverines struggled to regain their momentum from the first period and the difference came early in the third period when the Grizzlies scored a short-handed goal to tie the game 3-3.
The goal stung and you could see the Wolverines turn it around, responding a minute later by firing off a flurry of shots. Glenwood held off the initial surge but Nichols struck again, poking in a rebound to put the Wolverines back on top 4-3.
Glenwood tied the game up once again nine minutes into the third period and while the first two lines of the Wolverines were working hard, they just couldn’t find a break in Glenwood’s defense.
The Wolverines got one last chance as a Glenwood penalty set up the Wolverines for a late-game powerplay but the Wolverines continued to struggle with their game plan and finished with a 4-4 tie.
“We definitely responded well and bounced back after a couple of bad plays,” says Otsuka. “The difference was that we weren’t necessarily skating for each other, working to get open. A lot of puck watching. And we weren’t in a position mentally or physically to turn the ship around fast enough. We got a point and it is what it is.”
The team regrouped that night and came into their second game against Glenwood Springs on Sunday morning with a completely different attitude.
“I saw them for the first time the next day around 9:45 and they had an electricity about them before the game,” says Otsuka.
Nicholas Koch got things going in the third minute, charging up the boards with the puck and feeding Josh Wallin for the Wolverines’ first goal. Four minutes later Reaman circled into the high slot to fire a wrist-shot past the Glenwood goalie for a 2-0 Wolverines lead.
The Wolverines then killed off penalty, pinning Glenwood in their own zone for most of the time and took a 3-0 lead in the final minute of the first period when Archuleta followed on a rebound to score.
Glenwood replaced their goalie in the second period but it did nothing to slow the Wolverines down as Archuleta and Reaman each scored again, putting the Wolverines up 5-0 midway through the second period.
The Grizzlies finally responded, netting two goals before the end of the second period but any hopes of taking their momentum into the third were immediately quashed as Reaman scored off an assist from Isaac Evans in the first minute for a 6-2 Wolverines lead. The work of the Wolverines defenders and the penalty kill then sealed the 6-2 win for the Wolverines.
“Right from the puck drop we stepped on the gas and never looked back,” says Otsuka. “I felt like the way the game was going, that by the third period Glenwood just wanted off the ice.”
The Wolverines are now in first place in the league standings and will remain at home this weekend for two games against the Colorado Junior Eagles. They will face the Junior Eagles on Friday, February 13 at 8 p.m. in Gunnison and then will meet them again on Saturday, February 14 at 11 a.m. in Gunnison.
