Eldo takes 2011 town league hockey title

Holy Smoke snuffed

If you think town league hockey players don’t take this stuff seriously, think again.
It’s been two years since the Eldo was in the town league finals and they’ve been on a quest ever since to return the trophy to team “owner,” cigar smoker and wise guy Ted Bosler.
During the draft, the Eldo had the chance to get rid of a couple of players to pick up others in an attempt to hoist the “cup” once again. Instead, they kept their core team together, opting for unity and allowing the talent to flourish over the course of the season. The move included moving one of their premier scorers into net just to keep the team together.
While the decision appeared dubious in the early stages of the regular season, in the end it made sense and they were in the finals once again.
Like I said before though, they take this stuff seriously and the team held a covert practice in preparation for their showdown with defending town league champion, the Brick Oven.
The game was initially scheduled last week but an incredible blast from Mother Nature (we are still a ski town, right?) forced players and fans to hold off until Tuesday night at Big Mine Ice Arena.
Mother Nature threw another curve ball at town league with temperatures ranging in the mid to high 30s the two days leading up to the finals. But the Crested Butte Parks and Rec crew has a few tricks up their sleeves and ultimately won the battle with Mother Nature to provide another top-shelf sheet of ice for the town league finals.
Fans, friends and families lined the snow banks and chain link fencing for the showdown and I would estimate that 90 percent were holding a tasty fermented beverage in their hands. The other 10 percent were children.
There were even fireworks, just like the good old days of Pigs hockey.
I would characterize the opening minutes of the championship game as controlled chaos as both teams were apparently attempting to implement some type of game strategy. Instead, it was a mid-ice swatathon with neither team mounting any discernable offense. Standout play came from Eldo skaters Rachael Miller and Nikki O’Connor, both of whom kept it simple and skated hard.
The Eldo was poised to capitalize on a power play midway through the first period with Paul O’Connor circling through the offensive zone and feeding the slot continuously.
But the Brick defense stuffed the slot with players and goalie Jay Harris turned away a handful of shots in close.
The break in the scoreless tie came at the hands of the Brick Oven countering during one of the Eldo flurries to net a shorthanded goal. Tyler Hammer fought through two Eldo players in the neutral zone to find Matt Gutter free up the wing and Gutter slipped the puck past Guy Cuilla for a 1-0 Brick Oven lead.
But O’Connor kept pressing and his efforts ultimately paid off in the 10th minute of the first period. O’Connor carried the puck through traffic and straight to the net. Harris denied the initial rush but Kurt Olson followed to net the rebound and tie the game 1-1.
The Eldo looked to take a lead into the second period but back-to-back saves from Harris denied shots by O’Connor and Miller in the closing 30 seconds to hold the tie.
Stout defense by Bob Piccaro led to the Eldo’s second goal of the game three minutes into the second period. Piccaro blocked two Brick Oven blasts from the blue line taking the second block back up ice to set up a counter attack. Piccaro dropped the puck back to Hank Deroche in the high slot but Harris made the save and smothered the puck.
The Eldo won the ensuing face off and O’Connor stuffed the puck off the inside post for a 2-1 Eldo lead.
The Eldo continued to post two players in the slot and feed pucks in front of the Brick Oven net into the third period, with their defense breaking up numerous Brick Oven breakouts.
Eldo defenseman Jack Gibbons clamped down the outside lane to keep the puck in the Brick Oven zone and push it up the boards to Miller.
Miller wasted no time in feeding the puck to Pete Curvin in the slot and Curvin finished to put the Eldo up 3-1 with just over four minutes left in the game.
The Brick Oven called a timeout to regroup for the final stretch but the Eldo came out of the break determined to maintain control of the puck.
Rather than sit back on the lead, the Eldo kept pushing with Matt Cahir and John Hickey smothering the Brick Oven shooters at the blue line and skating the puck up ice.
The Brick pulled their goalie for the final 20 seconds—but to no avail, as the Eldo skated to the 3-1 win and take the 2011 town league hockey title—probably the last town league title to be won in the open-air atmosphere at Big Mine Ice Arena.