Titans hockey open season with win over Summit Tigers

“They came out hard in the third period and really wanted to make a statement”

[ by Than Acuff ]

After a successful fall season of club hockey and weeks of preparation for the upcoming high school hockey season, the Crested Butte Titans hockey team opened the 2021 high school season with a road win taking down the Summit Tigers 7-2 on Saturday, January 30.

“It was awesome,” says coach Billy Watson about getting back into action. “It was a lot of fun and I know the kids really enjoyed it.”

Being the first game of the high school season, the first period was a mix of excitement and nerves. The Titans struck first when Rowan Piccaro scored followed by a goal from Jack Lambert. Summit responded with a goal and the Titans finished the first period up 2-1.

“They came out flying for the most part and were really excited but maybe gripping the stick a little tight,” says Watson. “But I thought they handled it pretty well.”

Watson and the coaching staff looked to calm the Titans down a bit heading into the second period with a few changes but reminded them to stick to the systems they knew and had been working on.

Adam Collins put Crested Butte up 3-1 but Summit followed that with their second goal of the night to stay within striking distance. The Titans did connect for a fourth goal as Lambert netted his second of the night for a 4-2 lead at the end of the second period but Watson admits he, the other coaches and the players knew Summit had no business being that close to them.

“We’ve seen these kids with so much potential and we wanted to see it in the third period,” says Watson.

The Titans answered the call scoring three more goals in the third period with Lambert completing the hat trick and Joseph Stock and Grady Lipoma adding one each for the 7-2 win.
“They came out hard in the third period and really wanted to make a statement,” says Watson. “That led to some great goals and a lot of other chances. They did a great job of making a statement.”

Crested Butte will be at home this weekend when they host Aspen at Jorgensen Ice Arena Friday, February 5 at 5:45 p.m. and then again on Saturday, February 6 at 12:30 p.m. JV games will follow the varsity contests and while fans are not allowed, you can catch the action on Facebook Live on the Crested Butte Titans Athletics Facebook page with local announcer John Solanik calling the game.