With regular season wrapping up this week, Wolverines have a chance to secure the top overall spot in the playoffs; Fort Collins is also looking to lock up No. 1 seed
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In its first two seasons of play, the
Chaparral (Parker) ice hockey program made some impressive strides.
The Wolverines made the state semifinals each of those years, coming within one victory of playing for the state championship. Both times Chaparral saw its season end with a resounding loss to a juggernaut in
Regis Jesuit (Aurora).
But last Thursday, Chaparral took a big step forward. The Wolverines took down the Raiders 2-0 in a Foothills League contest, splitting the season series with Regis Jesuit. That triumph has Chaparral (13-1-3, 6-1-2) within one victory of the league crown, should the team get past
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) on Friday night at the Ice Ranch.
The top-ranked Wolverines are currently second in the state in the RPI standings, just behind
Fort Collins. Chaparral defeated the Lambkins 3-2 on Feb. 8, and are looking to potentially earn the top overall seed when the state playoff bracket is released Sunday.
Valor Christian,
Denver East and
Heritage (Littleton) were ranked in the Nos. 3-5 spots in the RPI as of Monday afternoon. The six league champions earn automatic spots in the 24-team postseason field, with RPI determining the other 18 qualifiers.The final regular season games are Saturday.
Chaparral was the No. 13 seed in 2018, and was the fourth seed a year ago. Both of those postseason runs came to an end at the hands of eventual state champion Regis Jesuit, which has won three of the past four state crowns.
The Wolverines dropped their only game this season back on Dec. 21 to that same Regis Jesuit squad, but this time by just a 1-0 margin. The Raiders had outscored Chaparral 17-1 in three meetings last season. Since then, the Wolverines have gone 9-0-2 in 2020 and have won six consecutive games.
Valor Christian can claim a share of the Foothills title with a victory over Chaparral. The Eagles are riding a seven-game winning streak since a 2-2 tie with Regis Jesuit on Jan. 24, and the team defeated the Raiders 3-2 on Feb. 8. Sandwiched around the contest with Chaparral was a pair of tough non-league road games with No. 7
Ralston Valley (Arvada) and No. 4
Monarch (Louisville).
First-round playoff games are set to take place Feb. 25-26. The semifinals are March 5, with the Frozen Four at Pepsi Center on March 5, and the title game March 10.
With just a few more days remaining in the regular season, here is a quick look at the state's other five leagues:
Apex LeagueNo. 10
Doherty (Colorado Springs) has already wrapped up the league crown after running the table on the Apex. The Spartans (16-0-1, 10-0), whose only blemish was a 3-3 tie with
Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) on Jan. 22, are No. 9 in RPI.
Rampart (Colorado Springs) (10-7) is the only other Apex team currently in the top 24 of RPI, sitting at No. 21.
Highlands LeagueHeritage emerges as the league champion in the Highlands after going 8-1-1 in league play. That was just enough to hold off No. 6 Denver East at 7-2, despite the fact that the Angels blanked the Eagles 5-0 on Jan. 31. Heritage split the season series with East, with the Angels' only other league loss coming to
Columbine (Littleton) in late December.
East and Heritage were sitting fourth and fifth in RPI as of Monday. Columbine,
Kent Denver (Englewood) and
Mullen (Denver) were also in the top 24 as of Tuesday morning.
Peak LeagueSummit's title hopes came down to a clash with
Glenwood Springs on Tuesday evening. The Tigers (11-5, 7-2) were just ahead of
Battle Mountain (Edwards) (8-7-2, 6-2-1) and the Demons (10-4-2, 5-2-1), with Glenwood still having another league game remaining against
Aspen.
Summit dropped both of its league games to Battle Mountain, including a 4-3 overtime setback Feb. 12. The Huskies were swept by Glenwood Springs though, but both teams still had a shot at the league title. Those three times were ranked 13-15 in RPI, with Glenwood Springs tied with
Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) for the 12th spot as of Tuesday morning.
Pinnacle LeagueFort Collins snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 overtime victory over Ralston Valley last Saturday that locked up the Pinnacle crown for the No. 3 Lambkins. Fort Collins (14-2-1, 8-0-1) closes the regular season this weekend with Regis Jesuit and
Resurrection Christian (Loveland), but the team will still finish ahead of Monarch (10-5-1, 6-2-1) and Ralston Valley (10-6, 6-3) in the league standings.
Fort Collins was just ahead of Chaparral for the top spot in RPI going into play Tuesday. Monarch and Ralston Valley are Nos. 8 and 10, respectively.
Summit LeagueEven with two league contests remaining, Pine Creek will come away with the Summit title. The Eagles (14-0-2, 8-0) had a cushion on
Lewis-Palmer (Monument) (6-2-1 in league), with the Eagles having outscored its previous six opponents 54-7.
Pine Creek has the No. 7 spot in RPI, with Lewis-Palmer at No. 17.
