{"id":804230,"date":"2020-02-15T20:30:08","date_gmt":"2020-02-16T03:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=379096"},"modified":"2020-02-15T20:30:08","modified_gmt":"2020-02-16T03:30:08","slug":"summit-high-hockey-celebrates-seniors-in-home-win-over-woodland-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-high-hockey-celebrates-seniors-in-home-win-over-woodland-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit High hockey celebrates seniors in home win over Woodland Park"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Senior Nick Davis is introduced for the Summit Tigers as they take on the Woodland Park Panthers in varsity hockey on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge.<\/strong>
Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 Going into back-to-back games Friday and Saturday night, the Summit High School varsity hockey team knew they were heavy favorites at Liberty and home against Woodland Park if they played to their capabilities. A combined scoreline between the two eventual wins of 20-3 spoke to that, the Tigers topped the Lancers 12-2 on the road Friday night and the Panthers 8-1 at home at Stephen C. West Ice Arena Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

But Friday and Saturday night\u2019s contest were about much more than Summit improving their record to 12-5 en route to potentially hosting a state playoff game later this month for the first time in program history.<\/p>\n

It was about celebrating the special group of nine seniors who have put the Tigers in a position to win a Peak Conference championship on Tuesday at Glenwood Springs. And it was about celebrating the parents and Summit Youth Hockey coaches who cultivated the on-ice skills and off-ice specialness of this tight-knit group.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenior night is a great thing for the parents,\u201d Head coach Joey Otsuka said. \u201cThe amount of sacrificing every single hockey parent makes is substantial compared to regular field sports. That was the number one message every senior had, was thanking their parents, thanking the coaches they had along the way. and it\u2019s a testament to how good Summit Youth Hockey is. Chris Miller, the director, he runs a good organization, runs a tight ship. Wren (Arbuthnot) too, they do such a good job at lower ages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Otsuka, the assistant Arbuthnot and the rest of the Tigers coaching staff made it a point Saturday to play each and every senior, and to have each and every senior who was not a goaltender register a goal or assist. That didn\u2019t fully come to fruition, but senior reserve goaltender Shannon O\u2019Brien started the game in net and registered a win as Summit scored six first-period goals, while O\u2019Brien turned around a pair of Panthers shots to pick up the win.<\/p>\n

In the first period, junior Ryley Cibula got the party started with an even-strength goal at the 4:40 mark, assisted by senior captain Isaac Eland and junior Jack Sherlock. Max Bonenberger then scored two minutes later assisted by Summit senior Sophia Fondl, who has come back to contribute to the team after suffering an ACL tear at the end of last season. The night prior against Liberty, Fondl scored an impressive goal in the Tiger win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was super cool,\u201d Bonenberger said. \u201cShe was right in front of a defender, then got a pass and then she was facing our net then spun and scored in the bottom left corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

During Saturday\u2019s win in the first period, the Tigers grabbed three more goals from seniors over the next six minutes, including a tally for Eland, a goal for defenseman Rudy Burki and another tally by Bonenberger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI picked the puck up in the defensive zone and I just saw a lane,\u201d Burki said of his goal. \u201cSo I went and the rest is history, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

The junior Sherlock tacked on a final goal at the end of the period before Stephen C. West Ice Arena hosted the Tigers\u2019 senior night festivities. After a red carpet was rolled out onto the ice, each senior was joined by their mother at center ice where they gave their parent flowers. Summit\u2019s seniors this year include the captain Eland, captain and goaltender Jake Mallory, captain Nick Davis, Bonenberger, Fondl, Taylor Ash, Burki, Marco Vogelbacher and O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

In the second period, Vogelbacher manned the net for Summit and stopped two shots. Tigers freshman Finn Theriault scored the lone goal in the second period, assisted by Eli Ash at the 14:11 mark.<\/p>\n

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