DENVER – For a new program, the Durango ice hockey team wasted no time climbing to the top of Class 4A.
The sophomore CHSAA program won its first Colorado high school ice hockey state championship with a 4-2 victory over Summit on Tuesday night at the University of Denver's Magness Arena. But while it may seem like Durango has risen to the top quickly, his hockey program's success in one form or another has been accumulating for a long time.
“We're in the southwest corner, so we worked with teams in Texas and high schools in New Mexico before CHSAA,” Durango head coach Brian Ensign said. “We had a couple of Rio Grande High School Hockey Championships. It was a little less competitive there. People were going to AAA or doing other things. So we brought this team here. I'm really glad I was able to come.
“It sounds like a second-year program, but we’ve been building hockey in the Four Corners for a while.”
Henry Howe of fourth-seeded Durango gave the Demons an early lead with a goal off an assist from Dylan Labord with 13:30 left in the first period. With 9:01 left in the second period, Brady Holbrook put the Demons ahead with a goal assisted by Lucas Beta and Mason Rodas. Just 16 seconds later, Wynn Daniels scored on assists from Loudon Doemlund and Bryson Quimby, extending Durango's lead to 3-0.
Summit, No. 10, scored with 5:10 left in the second period when Cole Stuckey scored and an assist from Eli Powers cut the Demons' lead to 3-1. Summit got close to scoring with 17 seconds left when Graham Shuman scored on an assist from Jevin Palmquist, but the Tigers were unable to score the tying goal, and with 1 second left, Durango's Lucas Betts gave the Demons four points. Added eyes.
Not bad for a Durango team that barely even practices as a full team, as its lineup is made up of players from both Durango and Telluride.
“Most of the week we practice in two separate sessions, but sometimes we get together and practice for more than three hours,” Ensign said. “A lot of my coaching happens on the bench. I coordinate with the Telluride coaches who are on our roster and they know what we are working on and know about our practices. We’re there, so we’ll go from there.”
To advance to the championship game, Durango defeated last year's state champion (No. 5 Cheyenne Mountain) in the quarterfinals and this year's top seed (No. 1 Glenwood Springs) in the semifinals.
Holbrook led the CHSAA postseason with seven points. Howe was second with six.
A win at Tuesday's Summit would also mark the Tigers' first ice hockey title.
Cheyenne Mountain is Colorado's all-time leader with 16 state championships.
On the other side, in the semifinals, Summit defeated No. 3 Liberty 4-3.
