The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“They’re getting it”
By Than Acuff
The start of the season may not have been the best for the Crested Butte Titans hockey team but that was back in November and after a concerted effort in practices, the return of several players and a reminder about the importance of composure, the Titans bounced back to win two games on the road Friday and Saturday, December 5-6.
First up was the Liberty High School Lancers out of Colorado Springs. The game would prove to be a big test for the Titans, but they set the tone early as 25 seconds into the game Max Dukeman fired a shot that the Lancer goalie mishandled and Luke Hartigan slapped the puck out of the air and in for an immediate 1-0 Titans’ lead.
While Crested Butte hung tough with Liberty, the Lancers picked off a breakout pass to set up a goal nine minutes into the first period and the two teams would go into the locker room tied up 1-1.
“We were a little sloppy in the first period doing a lot of puck watching but we talked about it in the locker room and got better,” says head coach Paul O’Connor.
The Lancers had their chances as did the Titans and Liberty looked to take the lead during a powerplay three minutes into the second period. Crested Butte’s penalty kill was on point generating a couple of shorthanded opportunities while holding the Lancers to nothing.
Crested Butte had a similar chance on the powerplay one minute later but struggled to score as well and after another five minutes of back-and-forth hockey Crested Butte struck again. Emery White won a faceoff in the Lancers’ zone and skated out to fire a shot. The Lancer goalie made the initial stop, but Hartigan was there again to stuff home the rebound for a 2-1 Titans’ lead that would hold the rest of the second period.
The Titans then jumped on the Lancers in the first minute of the third period as hustle by Jake White and Hartigan kept the puck in the Lancers defensive zone. Jake fired a shot from the point that landed at Dukeman’s feet. Dukeman spun to fire a backhand that was blocked but Ethan Suazo was there to stuff home the puck for a 3-1 Titans’ lead.
Ryder Church came up with a couple of big saves during a melee five minutes into the third period and when the whistle sounded and the officials conferred, the Titans were handed a penalty.
This time Liberty took advantage and scored 20 seconds into the powerplay pulling back to within one of the Titans with 12 minutes left in the game.
Crested Butte remained diligent in their plan though to protect their one-goal lead for the next 10 minutes until the Lancers pulled their goalie looking for that last game-tying goal. The Lancers got an open look on net down the stretch, but Church made the save and after a couple of icing calls, the Titans finally sealed the deal as Cole Hawley scored an empty net goal for the 4-2 win.
“We had a lockdown effort on our defensive end,” says O’Connor. “We showed mental and emotional discipline, were getting our heads up and moving the puck and that’s what we’ve been working on. They’re getting it.”
Crested Butte stayed the night in Colorado Springs to face the Woodland Park Panthers on Saturday, and it was a pleasant change of intensity for the Titans after the big win the night before.
Crested Butte jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first period on two goals from Emery, a powerplay goal from Hartigan, one from Floyd Sedunov and a shorthanded goal by Charlie Reamer.
The early lead gave the coaches an opportunity to get players key varsity time as they put John Dempsey in net and limited shifts for the top two lines. Dukeman would make the most of his penalty kill shift scoring a shorthanded goal two minutes into the second period, Reamer netted his second goal of the game and Jackson Moore scored off an assist from Hartigan for an 8-1 lead heading into the third period.
Dukeman and Jason would then score the last two Titan goals in the third period putting the finishing touches on the 10-1 win.
“It was a great opportunity to play the third and fourth lines a bunch,” says O’Connor. “Great efforts from everyone all weekend.”
The Titans now have a massive week ahead of them with a game on the road against Aspen and then two home games against the defending state champions, Steamboat Springs, on Friday and Saturday, December 12-13 at Jorgensen Ice Arena. The puck drops Friday night at 7:15 p.m. with the game on Saturday starting at 12:30 p.m.
“It’s about keeping our heads, keeping everyone healthy and happy,” says O’Connor. “We’ve got lots of good things to move forward on. We just have to bring our best game.”
