After losing a nail-biter 2-1 at Crested Butte in their first meeting, the Durango High School hockey team came back Wednesday and beat the Titans 2-1 on its home ice to even the series.
“We played pretty well the first time we played them,” DHS head coach Brian Ensign said. “We out shot them, had opportunities and had a good defensive structure like we did last night, we just couldn’t pull it out.”
One of the main differences in the two games, the coach said, was DHS committed more penalties in the first game, forcing them to play a man short for much of the contest.
Durango also worked hard Wednesday and got to the puck first most of the night. The Demons also took time and space away from the Titans during the game.
The teams were scoreless after the first period in the rematch.
In the second period, Zach Griswold fired a hard shot with Mateo Bubulo screening the goalie and scored to put the Demons up 1-0.
In the third, Lucas Betz scored what ended up being the game-winning goal for the Demons.
“That line was working really hard and created an opportunity for Lucas to come in from the high spot,” Ensign said.
With time running low, Crested Butte pulled its goalie in the final two minutes and managed to score one goal but not an equalizer.
“They pulled their goalkeeper and put a big push on us,” Ensign said. “The kids got excited and were trying to hit the open net. That created more time for them and they got a shot in with a deflection, but the kids withstood the push and got a big win.”
The Demons improved to 6-7-2 overall and 3-5-2 in the 4A Mountain league with the win while Crested Butte slid to 12-3-1, 5-2-0.
Zealand Eaton and Owen Blount assisted Durango’s goals. In goal, Luca Remec made 35 saves to get the win for DHS.
“Our goaltending has been outstanding,” Ensign said. “Luca and Evan (Brock) are some the best in the league, and we’re in every game because of them.”
The Demons will conclude their regular season with a pair of home games this weekend against Pueblo County (3-11-1). The Demons will host the Hornets at 5 p.m. Friday for the team’s senior night, then square off with PCHS again at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.
The top-10 teams in Class 4A will advance to the state playoffs, and the win over Crested Butte likely solidified a spot for the Demons. In the CHSAA’s ratings percentage index on Thursday, the Demons were No. 7. DHS also has wins over No. 8 Battle Mountain, No. 9 Summit and No. 10 Liberty. Crested Butte was No. 4 while Glenwood Springs topped the RPI with a 13-3-0 record.
The top two seeds will receive a bye in the first round while No. 10 will play No. 7 and No. 9 will play No. 8 in play-in games. If DHS gets the No. 7 seed when the brackets come out Monday, it will host a playoff game.
The semifinals, meanwhile, will be held at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs on March 4 and the finals will be at the University of Denver on March 7.
“We’re on a good streak and playing well,” Ensign said. “I just want the kids to continue to improve and develop. That’s my goal every game.”
