The Aspen High School hockey team jumped out to a two-goal cushion against visiting Resurrection Christian on Saturday, but was left to hold on for a 2-2 non-league tie inside the Aspen Ice Garden.
Aspen’s Ethan Hunt gave the Skiers a 1-0 lead after a period, and a goal by Dominic Lanese early in the second period made it 2-0. But the Cougars answered with two goals in the span of about three minutes late in the second period, the first coming off a wild deflection, to bring the game even.
Both teams had numerous chances in the third period and overtime, including a late goal by Resurrection Christian that was called off because the net wasn’t in place.
“They played hard, competed well. Just some stuff we continue to need to work on. But not a big deal,” Aspen coach Dru Lucchesi said of the tie. “We had a bunch of chances, just couldn’t bury them. When you give a team hope like that, they are going to come back. They had two pretty soft goals and thankfully one that didn’t count.”
It was the final home game of the regular season for Aspen, and the only one played at the Ice Garden. The Skiers (5-4-3 overall) will close out the season with six straight games on the road, next up being a trip to Summit on Friday before a game at Mountain Vista on Saturday.
The remainder of the schedule includes a game at Battle Mountain on Feb. 1, back-to-back games at Crested Butte on Feb. 8 and 9, and the regular-season finale on Feb. 16, a rematch against Resurrection Christian.
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As it stands, Aspen is in a strong position to host a first-round playoff game.
“Once again, they are competing and they are looking good,” Lucchesi said. “We feel good. I’m excited about the schedule coming up and the teams we are going to play. There are no nights off, no easy teams.”
The Cougars are 4-5-1 overall after Saturday’s draw with Aspen.
Aspen basketball falls twice at Grand Valley
The Aspen High School boys basketball team lost Saturday at Grand Valley, 47-45. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Skiers, who fell to 4-7 overall.
The AHS girls lost 51-33 to Grand Valley, with coach James Aldridge saying “they fought tough” and noting the Skiers lost to that same team 54-7 only a year ago. Aspen is now 3-6 overall.
Both teams had been scheduled to host Gunnison on Friday, but those games were postponed because of the weather. Those games have been rescheduled for Tuesday in Aspen, with girls varsity scheduled for 4 p.m. and boys varsity at 5:30 p.m.
Basalt basketball swept against Gunnison
The Basalt High School basketball teams hosted Gunnison on Saturday. The BHS boys lost 67-50 to fall to 2-10 overall. The BHS girls lost 48-43 to fall to 1-11. The Longhorns are scheduled to next host Cedaredge on Friday.
Also Saturday, the BHS wrestling team competed in a dual tournament hosted by Rifle, going 3-2. The Longhorns lost 54-24 to Glenwood Springs and 39-27 to Moffat County. The wins came over Coal Ridge (54-9), Grand Valley (36-31) and Rangely (45-12).