Ralston Valley hockey still steamrolling Colorado foes

As the victories pile up, both the crucial and the pedestrian sort, the question becomes more legitimate. Can anyone get in the Ralston Valley (Arvada) hockey team's way this season, even for one game?

With sports being the ultimate don't-look-ahead-or-you'll-get-burned activity, you won't hear the Mustangs (14-0 overall, 9-0 Foothills League) crowing much about it. Not after demolishing No. 2 Monarch (Lafayette) 4-1 on Jan. 14. Not after Wednesday's convincing 3-0 romp over perennial power Regis Jesuit (Aurora).

But even for the most reasonable, team-focused player, the prospect of an unscathed season at least enters the back of the mind.

"Definitely," forward Austin Resseguie said. "Going into every game, we know we have to leave it all out there. Because going undefeated and winning another state championship would be amazing."

Ralston Valley has gone 20-2-1 each of the past two seasons, the initial two for coach Matt Schoepflin. The first culminated in a 3-2 title-game loss to Regis Jesuit, but the Mustangs captured state last season with a 5-1 win against Monarch. They had been 0-3 in title contests before routing the Coyotes.

Schoepflin understandably doesn't beam as brightly as some of the players about the prospect of an undefeated season. Quite simply, if the Mustangs drop one of their five remaining regular-season games, it will do nothing to tarnish the ultimate goal of repeating as state champs.

"For me personally, it doesn't," Schoepflin said when asked if an unscathed season comes to mind. "I can't speak for all the individual players, but I know as a team it hasn't really been brought up. We've had several team meetings throughout the year where we made a road map of what our goals are and what we want to achieve, and that was on the backburner.

"If it happens that's great, but at the end of the day there are a lot of other goals that are held much higher."

The Mustangs have operated at peak efficiency throughout the season, having outscored the opposition 75-12. Burly senior forward Greg Dyba has led the way with 13 goals and 14 assists, Cody Noel has added 11 goals and six assists and Ressuguie has contributed eight and 10. Victor Lombardi has pitched in with eight goals and nine assists.

Goalies Zack LaRocque and James Madok have been staunch in the nets, helping the Mustangs overcome some key graduations from the title team. Included was leading scorer Charles Joly (23 goals, 19 assists).

"Last year we definitely had a lot of talent, but this year's team has the heart and the work ethic to get there," said Dyba, who had 19 goals and 14 assists as a junior. "We might not be as talented as last year, but we're definitely as hardworking, if not even more."
For Schoepflin, it was a pleasant surprise that his team continued to steamroll its way into this season. But it didn't qualify as a shocker considering plenty of talent was still in the fold.

"From year to year, especially at the high school level when you have kids moving on, I think that every year is really different," he said. "Last year we were young defensively and goaltending-wise we were young. This year, it's a stronger place for us. We have five or six returning defensemen and a couple goalies returning."

The Mustangs' closest calls this season came on successive days, when they eked out one-goal wins against Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) and Columbine (Littleton) on Jan. 9 and 10. Otherwise, it's mostly been smooth sailing.

Ralston Valley currently is operating on a string of three straight shutouts and has blanked seven – or half – of its foes this season.

"We did lose a lot of really good players," Resseguie said. "But honestly, I do think our team is more together because we've all played a lot more and a lot longer together. I think we know how to pick one another up when we're down, or just push each other."