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The early winter season has already produced plenty of snow throughout Colorado. All that's done for the winter sports athletes – specifically the hockey players – is make them feel more at home.
As the snow has dropped, so has the puck at various venues across the state as teams begin their journey to claim the state championship in March. Competition officially started Dec. 2, and even though it's early in the season, there are plenty of teams starting to establish themselves from the rest of the field.
There are also players doing everything they can to put their teams into winning positions. With the winter break looming next week, it's a good time to look at how the season has played out early and what's in store when games get rolling again in January.
Chaparral (Parker) has gotten the attention of plenty of teams across the state after a 3-0 start to the year. That includes wins over
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) and
Ralston Valley (Arvada). The Wolverines are getting production across the lineup as
Jackson Mundell,
Andrew O'Connor and
Landon Boyd have each netted three goals.
Simon Herz has the overall team lead in points thanks to four assists.
Jackson Mundell, Chaparral
File photo by Paul Shepardson
Things aren't easy for the Wolverines before break as they'll see
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) and
Regis Jesuit (Aurora) on back-to-back nights. The Raiders entered the season as the two-time defending state champions and are looking to add a third straight trophy this year.
An early loss to
Denver East gives the rest of the state hope that Regis Jesuit is vulnerable this season. Early on, it's Jake Stordahl providing the spark for the offense for the Raiders as he's lit the lamp twice and assisted on two other goals. Stordahl is the only Regis player with multiple goals heading into the weekend, but the Raiders have also gotten a big boost from Gage Bussey in net. He's surrendered just two goals in less than 100 minutes of play.
Cherry Creek is the third top team in the Foothills Conference, making it one of the toughest leagues in the state. The Bruins are 2-2 on the young season but have seen promise out of
Hunter Fieweger and
Nicholas Hoppe. Both have totaled four points, with Fieweger getting them on three goals and an assist while Hoppe has an even 2-2 split on goals and assists.
Monarch (Louisville) has established itself as one of the consistent powers of Colorado hockey and that continues to be the case for the 2019-20 season. The Coyotes sit atop the Pinnacle Conference with a perfect 4-0 record. On top of that, they've shown no problems getting the puck in the net, totaling 29 goals in those four games which is most in the state.
Caleb Gold leads the team with six goals with
Drew Fehr right behind him with five.
Ethan Blackburn has been a wall in the net by giving up just two goals in more than 100 minutes, maintaining a .938 save percetange.
The Coyotes biggest challenge in the conference is a
Fort Collins team that is still in its relative infancy. But the Lambkins have quickly emerged as a legitimate contender in recent years.
Nolan Devine leads Fort Collins with three goals and his two assists gives him a team-high five points.
Perhaps the underrated strength for the team is its depth in goal.
Sam Simon and
Noah Winbourn have logged equal minutes thus far and have put up similar numbers, namely giving up just two goals apiece. Fort Collins and Monarch will meet on Jan. 11 in a showdown that is certain to have major implications in terms of conference standings and RPI.
Heading into the mountains,
Crested Butte has early control over the Peak Conference despite splitting back-to-backs with both
Steamboat Springs and
Aspen. Graham Barrett has shown to a menace when the Titans are on the power play as three of his team-high seven goals have come when there are opposing players in the penalty box.
Crested Butte will finish off its pre-winter break slate with a trip to the Front Range and games against
Palmer (Colorado Springs), Ralston Valley and
Woodland Park.
With each win that Denver East gets, the more impressive the Angels look. A 4-3 win against Regis Jesuit on Dec. 13 did enough to get people to keep an eye on East. They had no letdown in a 9-2 win over
Mullen (Denver) the next day, solidifying the team is every bit as good as the scoreboard says it is.
John Larchenko has been a scoring machine for the Angels with six goals. He's also notched three assists to lead the team with nine overall points. Depth is certainly a strength for East, as three other players have score at least three goals.
A southern trip down I-25 finds the second-best scoring team in the state in
Rampart (Colorado Springs).
Jordan Jeffords leads the Rams with five goals, but is far from the overall points leader. Both
Jaysen Komrofske and
Logan Matheny have 11 total points thanks mostly to their ability to find teammates who are in position score. The 27 goals for the Rams is second in the state only to Monarch.
The Rams suffered two early losses that could prove problematic down the road. They lost to rival
Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) to start the year and followed that up with a loss to Apex Conference foe
Doherty (Colorado Springs).
Pine Creek's 3-0 start to the season is welcome after missing out on the playoffs a year ago. The Eagles lost a lot in terms of scoring, but multiple players are stepping up to fill that void. The Eagles have seven players who have scored at least two goals through three games. Austin Gipson leads the team with four. He shares the overall team points lead with Mitchell Cole and Roderick Glassford.
A lot is certain to happen between now and when the playoffs begin in a couple of months, but there is no doubt that teams are doing everything they can to cement their conference positions early.
