The No. 6 Durango High School ice hockey team faced off with a tough No. 6 Cheyenne Mountain squad Tuesday in the Class 4A state quarterfinals in Colorado Springs.
DHS head coach Brian Ensign said the team prepared well for the game, showed up to Robson Arena at Colorado College early and had a good meeting ahead of the contest.
When the puck dropped, however, the Red-Tailed Hawks were able to take a big early lead.
“We actually came out flat and on our heels a bit, and they came out with a big push,” Ensign said.
After about five minutes of play, Cheyenne Mountain had built a 3-0 lead. The Demons were able to match up with the Red-Tailed Hawks better after that, but Cheyenne Mountain prevailed 5-0 to advance to the state semifinals.
“It was hard to come back from that,” Ensign said. “We recovered and held them to one (goal) in the second and one at the end of the third when we trying to push. We just didn’t have it that day. The effort was there, but sometimes this game is hard, and everything was hard that day.”
He said the Demons created some scoring opportunities and had Cheyenne Mountain on its heels for parts of the second and third periods. DHS, however, was unable to find the back of the net and the early deficit proved to be a game-changer.
The Demons were also without some key players, like senior Mitch Rhodus, but the coach said some younger players stepped up and now have some good minutes of playoff hockey under their belts.
“We were without a couple of our top players due to injury and other reasons, but had some good practices without them, so we were confident,” Ensign said.
The loss ends Durango’s first season as a sanctioned team in the Colorado High School Activities Association with an 8-8-2 overall record.
Cheyenne Mountain (16-3-1) will play No. 2 Steamboat Springs (15-4-1) in one semifinal and No. 1 Glenwood Springs (16-4-0) will take on No. 4 Colorado Academy (16-4-0) in the other.
The Demons previously competed as a club team, unaffiliated with the high school, in the Rio Grande High School Hockey league with teams from southern Colorado, New Mexico and West Texas. Ensign coached the team to a Rio Grande title last season.
“The quality of competition in the Rio Grande was sometimes not as consistent, but that’s why we transitioned,” Ensign said. “It’s about developing and being competitive. It will be about winning, but we want to play the best competition we can and moving to CHSAA is giving us that opportunity.”
Durango combined its forces with Telluride this year, which is common on the Western Slope. Crested Butte’s team includes players from Gunnison, Aspen athletes play for Glenwood Springs and players in the Eagle Valley compete for Battle Mountain.
“It’s a good union, the kids really gelled,” Ensign said. “It added competition in the team for varsity spots and added depth so we can compete with other teams that have also combined.”
The coach said having a high school team will hopefully help keep players here instead of leaving to play for travel teams.
The support from the community and student body also stood out to the coach.
“The school and community and student body at homes games was high school hockey comparable to Minnesota,” he said. “Other venues didn’t have the same excitement and community engagement.”
DHS had five seniors on its roster this season, and Ensign called them great leaders: Rhodus, Nick Best, Pol Cavaller, Kai Kusuno and Jake Martin.
“We had two strong goaltenders, a good core group and great leadership,” Ensign said. “Overall this season, I’m proud. It was our first year. Not knowing what to expect, everything was a learning experience. I like the position we’re in moving forward. It’s only going to get better from here.”
