The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Or something like that
by Than Acuff
Speaking of trees, people were apparently cutting down trees in national parks during the government shutdown to gain vehicular access to areas typically meant for foot travel only.
Here’s a thought: trump has himself a win-win going on. Either the powers that be (but aren’t really beings) capitulate and trump gets $5.4 billion to build a wall (which won’t work) in an attempt to keep people out of our country. Or, trump doesn’t get his wall, the government shutdown returns, the place gets wrecked and no one will want to come to our country anyway.
Win-win for him-him.
Granted, that is wild speculation and unbelievably simplistic and erroneous but, hey, I’m just a sports reporter and wildly speculative, simplistic and erroneous and yet, still, I didn’t vote for him.
Meanwhile, one thing a wall, or a government shutdown, won’t interfere with is town league hockey and The Eldo is looking to build a wall of domination after winning town league last year and handing Alpine Lumber a 7-3 thrashing Wednesday night at Big Mine Ice Arena.
The Eldo set up shop in Alpine Lumber’s zone early in the game and had it not been for the work of Alpine goalie Lucas Mullen (or McMullen or MacMillan or Tater) the game could have gotten out of hand really quick. But Mullen, who apparently is new to the goalie thing, made the needed saves, including stopping back-to-back shots from Will “Brandon” Muller, early to help hold off the initial onslaught.
Alpine Lumber managed one counterattack and Eldo goalie Roan Pershke made that stop but when the Eldo turned back up ice once again, they found the back of the net as Muller finally broke the seal on Mullen.
About 15 seconds later the Eldo struck again when Kevin Williams uncorked a “friggin’ laser” from the point for a 2-0 Eldo lead.
But before things got too out of hand, Alpine Lumber pulled it together, anchored by the work of defenseman Ian Shaul. Shaul’s work helped create more poignant breakouts from Alpine Lumber, resulting in shots from Jake Laramie. But those subsequent shots either hit the posts or were saved by Pershke.
Alpine Lumber carried the momentum they had built at the close of the first period into the second and turned it into a goal but before they could even start to rally, Muller scored again.
Four minutes later, Anthony Poponi tacked on a fourth goal as his attempt to clear the puck during a penalty kill slid down the ice and disappeared before Mullen’s eyes, only to reappear in the back of the net.
Remarkably, Alpine Lumber responded, as Liz Welch scored after putting in the hard work up and down the ice to make it 4-2. Thomas McLean’s work at the blue line for Alpine Lumber offered up several more chances and while Pershke made several saves, including diving across the goalmouth for a stop, the pressure ultimately ended in a third Alpine goal.
Down 4-3 and full of energy, Alpine Lumber came out in the opening minutes of the third period to send two more shots off the post as the tide was turning in their favor. That is until Andrea Heilman took over. Heilman had been finding seams all over the ice all game long but never managed to find the back of the net until the final five minutes as she proceeded to score three goals in a row to record the hat trick and seal the 7-3 Eldo win.
