The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Holding on for glory
The Crested Butte Wolfpack put an end to a two-year domination by the Gunnison Blades, at least temporarily, on Sunday, January 23, handing the Blades a 5-4 defeat at Big Mine Ice Arena.
It was the Wolfpack’s first home game of the 2010-2011 season at Big Mine and the end of a four-game stretch over two days in the Gunnison Valley. What better way to kick it off and close it down than with a dubyah?
The Wolfpack opened the weekend against the Gunnison Blades on Saturday morning in Gunnison. The Blades took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Brandon Roedder and Evan Ayers, but the Wolfpack rallied in the opening minute of the second when Sam Evans scored to cut the Blades lead to one.
Another Wolfpack shot hit the post but Gunnison took advantage of the break to skate back up the ice and score.
From that point on it was all Blades action, led by Roedder. Roedder scored three more goals and Mike Spallone added one more as Gunnison skated to a 6-1 drubbing of the Wolfpack.
“It seemed like it happened all at once,” says Wolfpack coach John Mortell. “But they gave it their all and they fought to the very end.”
Two hours later, the Wolfpack recovered from the beat-down with a 3-2 win over the Front Range Evolution.
After playing 12 minutes of scoreless hockey in the first period, the Evolution broke the seal to take a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later the Wolfpack responded as Sam Evans scored off an assist from Danny D’Aquila.
Ben Reaman scored four and a half minutes into the second period to put the Wolfpack on top 2-1, and then assisted Dylan Curtiss on a goal five minutes into the third period for a 3-1 lead.
The Evolution slipped one more past Crested Butte goalie Nicholas Mikeska, but Mikeska finished a solid showing in net with a number of big saves down the stretch to seal the 3-2 win.
“They’re a solid team,” says Mortell. “We were a lot faster than them but they had better puck control. Mikeska played his heart out in that game and he made some huge saves in the last couple of minutes.”
The Wolfpack played the Evolution the following morning down in Gunnison with a slightly different outcome.
After falling behind 2-0 to the Evolution seven minutes into the game, the Wolfpack closed the first period strong, paced by two goals from Reaman.
Despite playing a man down to open the second period, the Wolfpack struck again on a shorthanded goal by Jake Grogg to take a 3-2 lead, but the Evolution had the final say.
They tied it 3-3 midway through the second period and then scored the game-wining goal in the final minutes of the third period to hand the Wolfpack a 4-3 loss.
The stage was then set for the Wolfpack and their home opener against the Blades Sunday afternoon at Big Mine Ice Arena.
Pumped by the hometown crowd, the Wolfpack came out in the first period skating at breakneck speed. While the Blades controlled the puck a majority of the period and held it in the offensive zone most of the time, pure hustle and outstanding goaltending made the difference in the opening period.
Montana Wiggins came up with numerous saves early and the Wolfpack stuffed the slot with players to protect the front of the net.
They eventually capitalized on a Blades defensive mis-cue when Grogg intercepted an attempted clearing pass in front of the Blades net and scored, giving the Wolfpack a 1-0 lead.
The Blades got two more golden scoring chances in the period but Wiggins shut both down. More hustle created a second goal for the Wolfpack in the final five seconds when Reaman chased a puck down in the corner and fed Dakota Wiggins in the slot for a second Wolfpack strike.
Twenty-eight seconds into the second period, the Wolfpack stunned the Blades again. Sam Evans battled for the puck on the boards and skated straight to net. When the lane was shut down, Evans dodged behind the net and found Reaman crashing the slot with a pass. Reaman finished and the Wolfpack was on top 3-0.
“The Reaman, Sam Evans connection is really coming together,” says Mortell. “They can communicate just by looking at each other.”
The Wolfpack’s defense continued to shut down the lanes to their net and the shots that did get through were turned away by Montana as the Wolfpack took a 3-0 lead into the third period.
Once again, Crested Butte struck early, and once again thanks to the effort of Reaman. Reaman collected a loose puck in neutral ice during a four-on-four situation and skated right past the last two Blades defenders to net his second goal of the game and give the Wolfpack a 4-0 lead.
Then, things got scary and the Blades started showing why they have dominated the league for the past couple of years.
Spallone blasted a shot from the point and Evan Ayers followed on the rebound to score with six minutes left in the game.
The Wolfpack got a break with a powerplay one minute later but the Blades held the puck most of the time, despite playing a man down as the Wolfpack fell into the old bad habit of puck chasing.
Confusion at the blue line between two Wolfpack players let Spallone free to net; he picked the upper corner, cutting the Crested Butte lead down to two goals with just over two minutes left to play.
“Gunnison never lets down and if they’re clicking, it’s hard to keep them from scoring,” says Mortell.
The Wolfpack built some insurance one minute later, winning a face-off in Gunnison’s zone and kicking the puck out to Frame at the point. Frame sent a low slapshot through traffic and Reaman tipped it past the Gunnison goalie for his hat trick and a 5-2 Wolfpack lead.
From then on the Wolfpack held on for glory as the Blades pulled their goalie and came at them without hesitation. Cory Whinnery netted a goal with just over a minute left; 30 seconds later Spallone scored his second goal of the game to pull within one goal with 45 seconds left.
The Wolfpack packed it in and Montana came up with two more big saves. He had 44 saves on the night, to ice the 5-4 Wolfpack win.
“For them to have the feel of a home game is something they almost never get to experience,” says Mortell. “They had the home crowd and it was great. It was an unbelievable feeling for me.”
The Wolfpack return to the road for two games against both Telluride and Durango January 29-30, but they return to the valley to play Gunnison, in Gunnison, on Friday, February 4 at 8 p.m.
