Blades win two more on the road 2 decks

Pass first real test of season

by Than Acuff

After a couple of easy season opener games, the West Elk Blades U19 girls hockey team got their first real test of the season this past weekend when they hit the road for two games against Summit.

After winning the league and state title last season, there’s no question the team is playing with a target on their back. They cruised through their first two opponents but Blades coach Tony Lambert expected Summit to be a tough match-up.

“They’ve got some good players, good speed and match up well against us,” says Lambert.

The first game against Summit on Sunday, January 3, opened with a scoreless period as the Blades were getting good looks and dominating the play but couldn’t finish.

“The first period was a bit of a free-for-all,” says Lambert. “We just weren’t putting shots on net.”

Summit opened the scoring one minute into the second period on a power play but the Blades came roaring back to fire off two goals in two minutes. Ryan Carroll tied the game in the third minute, roofing her shot from the point, blocker side. The Blades then struck again in the fifth minute as their efforts in the offensive zone had Summit pinned.

“We were getting wingers and centers in there, doubling up on rebounds, and that forced their defense to collapse,” explains Lambert. “And our defense did a great job of holding the blue line.”

Summit has a standout player on their team but the work of Bradley Santelli and Maddie Lambert on defense had her handcuffed and goalie Anika Anderson did the rest, as the Blades finished with a 2-1 win.

“Anika was outstanding—stood on her head in net,” says Lambert.

The first game also opened up a new line for the Blades as they prepared for their second match-up with Summit that day. When Izzie Dethloff went down during the first game, the coaches moved her out to wing and placed Elizabeth Stepanek at center and the switch proved fortuitous.

“Elizabeth surprised me and was very comfortable in the center position,” says Lambert. “She provided great senior leadership in there.”

The second game played out much like the first with the Blades in control of the puck and their defense shutting down Summit’s main offensive threat. The two teams finished the first period scoreless but the Blades broke the draw three minutes into the second period. Despite being in the midst of a penalty kill, the Blades set up shop in Summit’s zone and Bradley Santelli stepped inside the blue line to fire a shot. Summit’s goaltender made the initial save but Sierra D’Aquila crashed on the rebound to score.

The back of the net continued to elude the Blades despite their efforts and it wasn’t until two minutes into the third period that they added to their lead. Carroll skated the puck up the ice, drawing the attention of Summit’s defense before dropping it back to Dethloff for a quick wrist shot under the crossbar and a 2-0 lead.

At that point the Blades were in complete control, outshooting Summit 17-1 in the third period and cruising to the 2-0 win.

“We really just wore them down in that second game,” says assistant coach GJ Santelli.

The Blades head to Telluride this weekend for two more league games and then jump into the bigger pond of girls hockey when they head to San Jose, Calif. for the annual MLK Tournament.