The Summit High School varsity hockey team put up a valiant effort on the road at Steamboat Springs on Friday night before ultimately falling by the score of 5-4 in the final minute.
On three separate occasions the Tigers bounced back from deficits to the Sailors, including knotting the game up at 2-2 late in the second period after Steamboat raced out to a 2-0 lead.
Summit found the back of the net for the first time on the night when defenseman Foster Krueger scored at the 13:25 mark of the second period assisted by forward Dart Barson and defenseman Rudy Burki. The Tigers drew back even with the Sailors just over a minute later, when forward Zach Carleton scored on an even-strength goal assisted by Barson and forward Isaac Elan.
It seemed Steamboat would enter the third period with a lead and momentum after they scored with just under two minutes left in the period. But then Barson continued his standout offensive performance when he scored an unassisted goal with 24 seconds left in the period.
The game remained tied through the early portion of the third period until Steamboat Springs’ Tanner Ripley put the team ahead 4-3 with fewer than six minutes remaining in the game. Summit roared back, though, on a Burki score in the final minute, assisted by Barson and forward Ranger Stone. Then, in the game’s closing moments, Steamboat secured the victory on a Quinn Dorris goal. In net, Summit goaltender Maksim Rashchupkin stopped 18 of 23 shots.
The loss dropped the Tigers to 4-10-1 on the season ahead of their home game Saturday night at Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge versus Battle Mountain. It was the second consecutive loss for the Tigers after they lost on the road to Glenwood Springs on Saturday Jan. 26 by the score of 4-1. Barson scored the Tigers’ sole goal while Rashchupkin stopped 25 of 29 shots in net.
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The Tigers are scheduled to return home to Stephen C. West Ice Arena for their final home game of the regular season on Friday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. versus Glenwood Springs.
Alpine skiing
The Summit Tigers boys and girls Alpine ski teams finished in fourth and fifth places, respectively, at Friday’s slalom racing event at Howelsen Hill Ski Area in Steamboat Springs.
Summit’s top individual finish came from freshman Olyvia Snyder, who raced to sixth place on the strength of a combined time of one minute and 32.74 seconds on both of her slalom runs. That earned Summit 55 team points to combine with the 51 team points earned by freshman Jenna Sheldon (10th place, 1:34.81) and the 48 points earned by freshman Paige Peterson (14th place, 1:35.82). The girls competition was won by Battle Mountain’s 171 points, as the top three scores from each school are factored into the team competition, Summit totaling 154.
Summit’s top skier in the boys competition was sophomore Joey Hodge, who earned the team 52 of its 144 total points with a 13th-place finish and a time of 1:34.60. Hodge was joined in Summit’s top three by senior Ryan Adis (23rd place, 1:39.10) and senior Brennan Creen (29th place, 1:44.48).
The Tigers will next ski in a giant slalom on Thursday at El Dora.
Basketball
The Summit High School boys and girls varsity basketball teams both lost home games versus Battle Mountain on Friday night.
The Tigers boys team couldn’t keep pace with the Huskies offensively in the second half of their 72-50 loss. With the loss, the Tigers’ record dropped to 5-14 on the year and 0-8 in 4A Western Slope league play. Summit is scheduled to return to action Tuesday at Rifle before playing their final home game of the regular season against Eagle Valley on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Tigers girls team fell to Battle Mountain by the score of 57-22, dropping their record to 6-13 and 2-6 in league play. They will play again on Tuesday at Rifle before their final home game of the season against Eagle Valley on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.