The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“The season ahead is a mountain to climb, and we’re all climbers”
By Than Acuff
The season for the Crested Butte Titans hockey team actually started back in July with dryland training as coach Paul O’Connor, after years of coaching youth hockey in the valley, decided to take the high school head coaching job and hit the ground running, literally.
“I stepped in after years of being with these guys and knowing the potential that lies within them,” says O’Connor. “The dryland training saved us a month of conditioning.”
That work then led to moments of ice time, albeit brief moments, in other towns and eventually flowed into the fall club season during which O’Connor had as many as 17 players out training and playing in three different tournaments throughout the fall.
“The fall season was a great development season,” says O’Connor. “I saw a huge amount of progress, learning and getting better. We saw a lot of different levels at the tournaments and saw the level of competition we’re going to face.”
But it’s now the high school season and O’Connor has Bob Piccaro back in the fold as an assistant coach along with Shane McGuinness while Justin Biehl is working with the goalies.
“Bob has an unfathomable amount of years coaching, is a wealth of knowledge and was coaching when they went to the state finals,” says O’Connor. “Shane has been with the program the past five or six years and is the greatest player this valley ever produced, and Justin is absolutely needed to work with the goalies.”
In addition, with fall sports now over, O’Connor’s roster is now up to 24 players with Luke Hartigan as the captain and Jake White, Max Dukeman and goalie Ryder Church as alternate captains. The team is getting in four practices per week, including a 6 a.m. workout on Mondays, and O’Connor sees the recent influx of players as a tremendous addition to the team’s chemistry and energy.
“It’s more competitive now with the new players,” says O’Connor. “We’re working on a lot of stuff and strategy is a part of it.”
While it is way too early to predict how the season will unfold, the Titans do have the foundation for success. Having to play in the 4A class against bigger programs can be a bit daunting but the Titans have players from both Crested Butte and Gunnison High School to draw from, and O’Connor sees potential in a key part of their roster.
“I think we will have a good third line, a third line that can be competitive,” says O’Connor.
But it may take some time for it to come to fruition against their long list of opponents, many of whom have been getting consistent ice time throughout the entire fall.
“We’re coming in with a four-month deficit, so we got a lot of making up to do,” says O’Connor.
The Titans open the season at home this weekend as they face Standley Lake on Friday, November 21 at 4:30 p.m. at Jorgensen Ice Arena and then Colorado Academy on Saturday, November 22 at 1:30 p.m. also in Gunnison.
While excited for the first games of the season, O’Connor admits he is headed into a bit of no man’s land regarding the opponents.
“As a new coach I can’t say I know a ton about those teams but really our biggest concern is playing our game,” says O’Connor.
In addition, illness and injury hit the team earlier this week but he is hoping for a speedy recovery.
“We may be starting the season a little wounded,” says O’Connor.
As for expectations for the team, O’Connor sees massive potential but it’s going to be tough.
“I’m looking forward to the season,” says O’Connor. “We have an incredible coaching staff and a great group of players and if we play our absolute best game, we can play with anybody. But it’ll be a playoff run all the way. Every game counts and every game is a challenge. The season ahead is a mountain to climb, and we’re all climbers.”
