Chelsea Self / Post Independent
After hosting just one legitimate home game in their inaugural varsity season last year, the Glenwood Springs boys hockey team was more than ready to give the hometown fans a show.
And the crowd of nearly 200 people situated around the rink at the Glenwood Springs Community Center Wednesday night had plenty to cheer about in a dominating 6-1 Demons win over the Standley Lake Gators.
“I like having all the energy here … and it’s good to be able to get the W for them, too,” Glenwood senior Sean Mooney said after contributing three of the Demons’ goals for the hat trick.
Senior Ryan Kotz contributed a goal of his own, and assisted on four of the Demons’ goals.
“I just love playing in front of our home crowd, with all of the cheering. It just hypes the team up,” Kotz said.
Glenwood (3-1) opened hot on a cold January night, as the wind whipped snow from an approaching storm beneath the side walls into the open-air arena.
Facility concerns by league officials last season prevented the Demons from hosting the majority of their home games. Glenwood instead donned the home jerseys at the Mountain Recreation Center in Eagle.
Not this year, as the Glenwood Community Center is set to host eight home Demons games.
Colter Strautman opened the scoring for Glenwood Wednesday, assisted by Kotz, but not until almost 12 minutes had ticked off the clock in the first period.
The goals came fast and often after that, as Strautman again found the net 2 minutes later, assisted by Kotz and Mooney.
Mooney scored only 16 seconds after that. Barely a minute into the second period, Kotz found Mooney again for the 4-0 lead.
“We had a little lull in second period,” Demons head coach Tim Cota said. “But we were consistent and dominating. We talk about puck possession, and I think our puck possession time was about 80-20. That’ll win you a lot of hockey games.”
Standley Lake (1-7) got on the scoreboard early in the second period for its only goal of the night, when Vlad Suhlodolov found the net off a pass from Gabe Schacler to make it 4-1.
Kotz scored off the long assist from goalie Hunter Hadsock with 1:41 left in the second, and Mooney got his hat trick after a scoreless 15 minutes of play in the third.
“It’s been more than a year since we had a home game, so the kids were ready for it and we had great crowd support,” Cota said. “We played well and it worked out in our favor.
“The kids had their feet moving tonight, and ‘Pony,’ that’s Kotz, and ‘Rocky,’ Mooney, they turned it up.
Along with Strautman, “that whole line is one of the better lines, when they’re playing their game, in the state. They showed that tonight,” Cota said.
Glenwood travels the short distance up the Roaring Fork Valley Friday to play Aspen at 7:30 at the Aspen Recreation Center rink, and then faces a key Western Slope League test next Wednesday, Jan. 14, when the Demons host Battle Mountain.
