The Durango Devils hockey team came up short at the New Mexico Interscholastic Ice Hockey League’s championship game last weekend.
The Durango High School club team finished the regular season with a league-best 14-2 record. They lost a playoff matchup to the Cibola Cougars two weeks ago, which sent the title game to Cibola’s home ice in Albuquerque, instead of Durango.
The advantage proved to be a big one as Cibola beat Durango 3-0 to win the NMIIHL title.
The game was scoreless midway through, until the Cougars finally beat Durango star goalie Robby Grogan and took a 1-0 lead. Grogan was the goalie of the year in the league, but even he couldn’t stop the high-powered Cougars offense.
The Devils offense created numerous chances, but couldn’t get the puck in the net. The hosts scored again in the third period and added an empty-net goal to seal the win late in the third.
Durango will say goodbye to longtime head coach Drew Kensinger after the season. Kensinger, the well-respected leader of the Devils, spent 12 years as a volunteer coach and played a huge role in the success and long-term development of the players.
