On the road Saturday afternoon for a matchup with the Steamboat Springs Sailors, the Glenwood Springs Demons varsity hockey team had trouble staying out of the penalty box on the day, but in the end junior Ryan Kotz’s hat trick helped Glenwood rally from a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3.
Glenwood took 10 penalties on the day, resulting in 34 penalty minutes, but the Demons were able to kill off 2 of 7 powerplays for the Sailors.
Kotz got the Demons on the board just 37 seconds into the game, slipping a shot past Steamboat goaltender Patrick Sumner off of a feed from Colter Strautman, getting the Demons off to a fast start.
Steamboat wasn’t rattled though as Micah Crum answere back at the 11:41 mark of the first period with an even strength goal off of assists from Zachary Walsh and Daniel Kempers, knotting the game up at 1-1 heading into the first intermission.
The Sailors quickly made it 2-1 at the 1:38 mark of the second period as Cameron Colombo scored on the power play off of assists from Daniel Thiel and Griffin Maltby. That 2-1 lead held up into the second intermission with the Demons in a hole with one period of play left.
Sean Janka stretchedh the Sailors lead to 3-1 at the 2:31 mark of the third period with a power play goal past Glenwood goaltender Hunter Hadsock, thanks to assists from Walker Ripley and Tanner Ripley.
Glenwood didn’t fold though as Kotz made it 3-2 with his second goal of the game at the 11:27 mark of the third period on the power play, thanks to assists from Strautman and Dylan Webster, before Nolan McPherson scored the equalizer at the 12:43 mark with an even strength goal off of feeds from Jacob Fowler and Owen Mangeot, sending the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, Kotz capped off the great day with his hat trick goal just 38 seconds into overtime, giving the Demons a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Sailors at Howelson. In the win, Hadsock stopped 18 of 21 shots for Glenwood, while Sumner took the loss in net for Steamboat despite stopping 21 of 25 shots on goal.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Cedaredge 58, Coal Ridge 49
Despite 16 points from sophomore center Taylor Wiescamp, and the return of standout senior point guard Alyssa Wenzel, the Coal Ridge Titans girls basketball team dropped a tough 58-49 decision Saturday afternoon at home to the visiting Cedaredge Bruins in 3A Western Slope League action.
The Titans trailed 26-22 at the half and put up a fight in the second half, but ultimately fell too far behind in the second half to rally for the win despite scoring 17 fourth-quarter points.
“We struggled today,” said Clyde Morgan, Coal Ridge’s head coach. “Cedaredge is a tough team, but the girls played hard and they didn’t give up. Hopefully we can learn from these games and grow.”
Coal Ridge had a tough time slowing down the duo of Kammie Henderson and Courtney Freeman, as the sophomore and senior scored 17 points each to pace the Bruins’ attack.
Wiescamp tried to match the dynamic Cedaredge duo, scoring 4 points each in the second and third quarters, and 6 points in the fourth quarter, but Cedaredge’s depth and balance was too much for the Titans.
Along with Wiescamp, senior guard Alyssa Wenzel added 9 points, while Vargas scored 6 points in her return.
Coal Ridge (9-6, 3-3 3A WSL) travels to Eagle Valley Tuesday for a non-league matchup with the Devils at 5:30 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Coal Ridge 70, Cedaredge 35
Junior Austin Gerber found himself in a scoring groove early from the beyond the arc, and that groove led to the sharpshooting guard tying the school’s single-game 3-point shooting record, hitting 8 3-pointers in Coal Ridge’s 70-35 win Saturday afternoon in New Castle over the visiting Cedaredge Bruins.
Gerber came out red-hot, hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter, before adding one 3-pointer in the second and third quarters, and two in the fourth quarter, finishing with a career-high 29 points in the win.
“[Gerber’s performance] reinforced that a kid who works hard, has a good attitude, and is a genuine, nice persoan can succeed too,” said Paul Harvey, Coal Ridge’s head coach. “It was refreshing to see Austin and the group who started for us tonight come out and play with passion and togetherness.”
Without senior center Kevin DiMarco for the first half and missing the service of senior guard Jan Hernandez on the night, Coal Ridge turned to its depth and roared to the 35-point win at home.
Along with Gerber’s career night, senior guard Aaron Arreola added 12 points for the Titans, hitting four 3-pointers. DiMarco came into the game in the second half and scored 10 points for Coal Ridge, while senior Payton White added 8 points for the Titans.
Coal Ridge (12-3, 3-3 3A WSL) travels to Eagle Valley Tuesday for a non-league matchup against the Devils at 7 p.m.