The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Eldomination
There was a time when the Eldo dominated the town league ranks, with a potent mix of top-flight players and quality midrange talent who knew when to be where and how to be the most effective on the ice.
Then came the draft and personality differences, salary caps and the onset of children, leading to turmoil and leaving the Eldo to stumble around in the middle of the pack for the next couple of years.
Well, it appears the Eldo is back as they still have their core group of midrange talent, their fledgling beginners have turned into worthy town league skaters, they’ve added a couple of hot shots and still have a Milo.
Their latest acquisition, Don Turner, came to the team via the injured reserve and brings a New Hampshire style of play much like the Eaton Brothers from the days of yore. Turner’s addition creates a potent on-ice bromance with Ryan Maddux and allows Milo to continue to be Milo.
Thursday night, the Eldo provided a glimpse into their sheer power as they handed Acme Liquors a 7-2 drubbing. Granted, Acme was short some skaters but still, it was quite a display by the Eldo and had it not been for the efforts of Dom Eymere, Tom Consentino, Pittsburgh Pete Cook and goalie Shawn Harrington, it could have been a lot worse.
Acme looked as sharp as they had all season, opening the scoring four minutes into the first period. Will Dujardin skated up the wing, dropping a no-look pass to Nathaniel Akell and circled into the slot. Akell turned inside to fire off a quick-wrister and Dujardin tipped the puck five-hole for a 1-0 lead.
The Eldo responded almost immediately, led by the efforts of Mikey Weil. Weil kept hacking away at two Acme players as Acme struggled to clear the puck. Mike Preston took advantage of the chaos to skate in off the blue line and grab the loose puck, and finding Maddux on the weak side for the low-wrister beating Harrington to the far corner.
The Eldo maintained the modus operandi for the remainder of the first period with mad hustle but Acme matched them stride-for-stride and the two teams traded off odd-man rushes at the net. But both Harrington and Zach Vaughter were in the zone, turning away several shots to keep the game locked in a 1-1 draw heading into the second period.
Still, it was Turner’s first game with the Eldo and after spending the first period getting his skates under him; he opened up a can in the second period. Less than two minutes in, Turner took the puck coast-to-coast to score, putting the Eldo on top 2-1.
Acme had several chances to respond but Vaughter was in the zone, turning away a number of chances and the Acme side and their short bench continued to wear down.
The Eldo struck again seven minutes into the period when Maddux dropped a pass to Turner and Turner blasted it by Harrington for a 3-1 lead. Fifteen seconds later, Maddux and Turner were at it again as they drove straight to net. The two-man rush forced Acme to collapse and Maddux found Weil trailing the play with a pass and Weil’s one-timer picked the low corner for a 4-1 lead.
Maddux then set up Torrey Carroll in the slot for a fifth Eldo goal and Milo capped the five-goal period, scoring on a rebound for a 6-1 Eldo advantage.
Matt Cahir put the Eldo up 7-1 following in on a loose puck but Acme, tired legs and all, kept plugging away and had the last say in the scoring when Eymere fed Consentino for Acme’s second strike, but the effort of Vaughter held a couple of late-game chances by Acme at bay and the Eldo closed with a 7-2 win.
