The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Happy Froghog Day! It’s good to be seen.
[ by Than Acuff ]
One time, 20 or so years ago, I had the most debilitating toothache. Apparently one of my wisdom teeth, which I neglected to get pulled when they came in (hard to get tooth care on tour), formed a cavity that was digging through the bottom of my tooth, into my jawbone and on into the bowels of my soul.
Once it started to interfere with my bar time, I decided it was time to deal and I went to local dentist Ned Targos. He mentioned a massive, multi-tiered and expensive procedure as one solution and then, after a pregnant pause, he calmly said, “Or, I could just pull it out right now for 75 bucks.”
Done and done.
The 48 hours following that tooth pull were the greatest 48 hours of my life. Ok maybe not as great my wedding day or the birth of our child but pretty damn close. Though, to be honest, watching the birth of our child was more confusing than exhilarating, at least it was for me. Even more so when my wife and I watched a birthing video from the ‘70s of an “alternative” home birth to prepare for the big day, you can’t unsee that. And further confirmation that we would in fact be heading to GVH for the birth of our child.
You can blame Kevin Van Horn for those first three paragraphs as he showed up to play town league hockey Monday, February 1 and told me that he had two fillings done earlier that day which reminded me about my tooth experience which then reminded me of my wedding and the birth of our child. Not that getting married or having a child is like getting a tooth pulled. It’s the bliss afterwards.
Make that four paragraphs.
At any rate, Kevin Van Horn and the rest of the Lacy’s Construction hockey team showed up Monday night at Big Mine Ice Arena to face the Last Steep in town league hockey and what transpired was nothing if not awesome as the teams battled through three periods in front of one of the largest crowds I’ve seen in a while before the Last Steep emerged with a 7-5 win.
The Steep showed up with a short bench but long on talent and opened the scoring two minutes into the game when Megan Paden followed up on a shot by Mark Goldberg to poke the puck past Montana Wiggins.
The Steep continued to attack but got caught playing a little too greedy as Lacy’s hot shot Sam Kay slipped behind their defensemen at the blue line to take a long pass from Ryan Fitzsimmons and beat Steep goalie Devon Carillo one-on-one.
Shortly thereafter Kay worked his magic again to set up a goal by Edward “PNut” White to put Lacy’s on top 2-1. Wiggins then proceeded to stand on his head, almost literally, in net to fend off a Last Steep assault with the assistance of defenseman Nathan Lacy who swept the puck off the line when it trickled past Wiggins.
But, the constant Steep pressure eventually bore fruit as Shane McGuinness scored off an assist from James Brennan to tie the game once again 2-2. That score stayed true as both Carillo and Wiggins continued their theatrics between the pipes until the final 40 seconds when Goldberg scored to give the lead back to the Last Steep heading into the second period.
But it didn’t stop there.
The two teams continued to slug at each other through the next two periods giving the fans more than their money’s worth.
Carlee Drobnick inspired a Lacy’s surge early in the second period with her one-woman show resulting in a goal from Kay to tie the game again. Then, Mason Miller, the silent assassin, went to work. Mason had been relatively quiet all game long but cycled back to help get the puck out of the Steep’s defensive zone and skated up ice to take a pass from McGuinness and score for another lead change.
But the Last Steep had the last say in the second period as McGuinness McFinished a pass from Paden to put the Steep back on top 4-3.
But it didn’t stop there. Fitzsimmons netted a short-handed goal for Lacy’s to tie the game one last time before goals from McGuinness and Mason finished Lacy’s off for good as the Last Steep took the 7-5 win.
