Wolfpack Alumni win first game in long tradition

Who’s who of former high school hockey greats

Ironic that this year’s Wolfpack Alumni hockey game fell on Friday, December 26, the same day as Boxing Day. What is Boxing Day? Honestly, I don’t know, don’t really care. Though I did find a Google listing that said Boxing Day is celebrated in Canada by shopping post-Christmas sales and watching hockey all day, so it was only appropriate to finish up Boxing Day by watching the annual Wolfpack alumni hockey game.

The alumni team is always a s**t show. Former Wolfpack players are back for the holidays, reconnecting with old friends and enjoying what Crested Butte has to offer them now that they are young adults, i.e., legal. And while the talent level is relatively high, with some even fresh off the fall season of college intramural or club hockey, other alumni haven’t opened their hockey bags since the alumni game the year before.
As a result, they’ve got close to 20, sometimes more, players on the bench at a variety of fitness levels chomping at the bit to exercise some latent high school hockey demons upon the current Wolfpack team, which results in complete chaos, some highlights and eventually a loss.
This year was a bit different, though. It appeared, at least from my perspective, that BAC (blood alcohol content) levels were non-existent, or at the very least, very subdued. Also, there was some, though limited, organization on the bench with Sean Norton at the helm. Those adjustments, coupled with another top-notch game from Wolfpack alumni goalie Zach Van Dyke, resulted in the first-ever alumni win in the history of the prestigious occasion.
And, for the most part, the alumni are still young. The oldest one is original Wolfpack coach Tim Clark. Other than that, I believe the oldest player out there is Rask Dietrich, with Jeff Snyder not too far behind. Then you get into the Wolfpack “eras,” who are not that far removed from their high school days. The list goes on and on but includes the Robbie Holleran/John Tharpe/ Mo Gillie era, the Troy Pike/Ben Frame/ Sam Evans/ Ben Reaman era and the Wiggins/Ben Reaman again/Ian Dethloff/Danny D’Aquila/Liam Mortell era. Throw in Jake Sunter, Daniel Hargrove and Collin Dill and you got a pretty good, not too old, roster.
Granted, there were some other limiting factors for the current Wolfpack team. For one, they are now the Wolverines and are a combination of Gunnison and Crested Butte players. The Gunnison players did not make it to the alumni game (rumor has it they had their own Blades alumni game the same night) and thus lines were a bit of a mixed bag on the Wolfpack team.
That has a rippling effect because typically, the alumni come out hot, score a few and then start to disintegrate as the Wolfpack start passing the puck, working their systems and basically skating the alumni into the ice to pull off the comeback win.
But with a mix of lines, systems were disjointed and the Wolfpack, to help fill in holes, called upon a couple of high school players who have moved away from town. Granted, the addition of Jack Collins and Summit Wallace helped tremendously but was not a cure-all. The Wolfpack also had the advantage of alumni goalie Montana Wiggins in net for two of the three periods, which helped, but also was no cure-all.
The game started as all alumni games do, with the alumni riding an adrenaline wave while the Wolfpack skated around confused, trying to make sense of the alumni team’s unconventional style of play. The alumni’s efforts ramped up a couple of minutes into the first period when Van Dyke pulled off a couple of big saves and the alumni struck first as Holleran broke free (speaking of unconventional) and skated to goal.
Wolfpack defenseman Danny Stoneberg got back in time to cut him off but Holleran dropped the puck to Reaman following the play. Reaman had a clear look on net and fired by Wiggins, who stacked the pads to make the save. Holleran wheeled around for the rebound and stuffed it home for a 1-0 alumni lead midway through the first period.

Forty seconds later the alumni struck again as Reaman capitalized on a mad scramble in front of the Wolfpack net to push the puck through traffic, putting the alumni up 2-0.
This was no different from any other reunion game, though and as the Wolfpack relaxed and started moving the puck, the alumni looked gassed. The effort offered up a couple more chances for the Wolfpack at the end of the first period but Van Dyke was lights out that evening and made two more saves to deny Sam Reaman in close and hold the 2-0 alumni lead heading into the second period.
Wolfpack coach Todd Carroll pointed out where the Wolfpack would find success, explaining that if they would just get skaters in front of the net, the goals would soon follow and the truth was clear when one Wolfpack player pointed out, “They’re done, they’re out of shape.”
Nevertheless, heart can make up for where lungs come up short, and the alumni were riding on pure heart and a little bit of muscle memory.
They tacked on a third goal early in the second period when Gillie wheeled around on a pass just inside the blue line and fired a shot on goal, picking the upper corner.
The Wolfpack maintained almost complete control of the game though using their lungs and legs to skate circles around the alumni. Once set up in the alumni zone, the Wolfpack worked the puck around the scrambling alumni players with precision, but without skaters in front of the net, they struggled to find the back of the net.
Short shifts proved the saving grace for the alumni as they continued to hold off the Wolfpack and counter with some flash and dash. After an extended session of Wolfpack possession, the alumni pushed the puck up-ice and managed to get another key shift change in. The switch paid off immediately as they set up in front of the Wolfpack net and dropped the puck back to the blue line. A quick pass cross-ice found Pike alone at the point and he drove a low, hard shot into the mix. Holleran spun and slapped his stick blade to the ice, tipping the shot past the Wolfpack goalie for a 4-0 alumni lead.
Tired legs and compromised lungs soon took hold of the alumni once again, though, resulting in a couple of penalties, including a couple of back-to-back infractions from Clark.
Yet, with Van Dyke standing on his head in net and the Wolfpack powerplay a mix of different players, the Wolfpack failed to score during the spree of powerplay minutes, including close to a minute of five on three.
Things were unraveling for the alumni in the third period, though and the Wolfpack looked primed for another classic comeback. They got the key first goal in the second minute of the third period when Isaac Evans scored off an assist from Sam Reaman. They pressed for a quick second goal, knowing that two quick goals would turn the game around but they just could not break it open.
Van Dyke continued his unconscious ways in net, flopping for glove saves and shutting down open looks on net and the alumni’s hearts proved too strong to succumb to the fresh legs, lungs and minds of the Wolfpack as they held on for the 4-1 win and the first alumni win ever.