The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Tony has the girls playing some very strong hockey right now”
All four Gunnison Valley girls’ hockey programs qualified for this week’s MSGHL State Playoffs being held in Denver at the Edge Ice Arena, February 25-27.
The U19 Gunnison Blades, coached by Tony Lambert, finished their regular season with 5-0, 6-3 wins against Colorado Select this past weekend in Denver. The Blades will take a 15-2-1 record and are seeded second heading into states and will play in the AA Division. Crested Butte’s Marissa Lambert finished second in individual scoring with 23 points, (14 goals, nine assists) and Jessie D’Aquila was fourth, notching 20 points (12 goals, eight assists). Goalie Karleigh Stewart had seven shutouts, a 1.11 GAA and a tidy .926 save percentage. Panther coach GJ Santelli says, “The Blades and Steamboat will play in the championship game. Tony has the girls playing some very strong hockey right now.”
Turning to U16 play, the West Elk team will head to States as the #1 seed with an impressive 12-2-2 record and is the team to beat. Individual point leaders were D’Aquila with 36 points (21 goals, 15 assists) in first, followed by Ali McGuire at 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists).
Monika Olesen carries a strong 8-1-2 record into the playoffs with 1.09 GAA and .918 save percentage. Both the U16 and U19 teams are comprised of Gunnison and Crested Butte girls.
The West Elk/Crested Butte U14 team finished their regular season this past weekend in Gunnison at the Jorgensen Ice Arena, polishing off the New Mexico Renegades 9-0, 8-0. The Panthers finished the regular season with a career-best 12-2 record and will go to States as the #1 seed. The Panthers, who are riding an 11-0 win streak, also have a very strong defensive squad and will match up against Summit in game one. Goal scorers this past weekend versus the Renegades were Hailey Pike, McGuire, Leila Nichols, Kaitlyn Seifert, Maddie Lambert, Izzie Dethloff, Kendl Santelli, Lindsay Johnson and Bradley Santelli.
The Panthers head to states in the U14 AA division with the league’s number-one scorer in McGuire with 31 points (20 goals, 11 assists) and number-two Pike, with 24 points (16 goals, eight assists). Olesen finished as the number one goalie with eight shutouts, 1.14 GAA and .893 save percentage. Coach Tim Seifert likes the girls’ chances at states.
“Our fore-check is our bread and butter,” says Seifert. Coach Santelli adds, “We have a well-balanced team with many offensive weapons. Our defense is stingy and our goalie is a big game player.”
Also heading to states is the Gunnison Blades U14 team, which will play in the A Division. Panther coach Santelli adds, “Led by Marisa Danos and Sydney Archuletta, the Blades will dominate the A Division and take home the championship.”
Good luck to all the girls at the MSGHL State Championships, and a big thank you to all the hockey sponsors out there—your support in youth hockey goes a long way.
