Who can complain about a six- hour bus ride to Steamboat Springs in the winter?
Bet your bottom dollar there isn’t going to be so much as a grumble on the Rampart team bus Friday, when the No. 6-seeded Rams travel to Routt County for the state hockey playoffs at Howelsen Ice Arena in Steamboat.
“We like our chances against anyone,” Rampart coach Glenn McIntosh said. “We feel like we can play with anybody.”
McIntosh took over the Rams five years ago and until this year, “it was a struggle,” he said.
But the culmination of four years of hard work and diligence on and off the ice has turned a laughingstock into a contender.
An odd couple plus one first line of Donald Geary (29 goals, 11 assists), Jameson Vance (four and 15) and Kyle Ochsie (four and eight) have been the catalysts for an offense that has outscored opponents 89-57.
“This group is just good together,” McIntosh said. “It’s just a good group of guys – a little bit strange – but all in all a good group.”
The goaltending duties will fall to Jeremy Byrns, a freshman McIntosh says is eager to prove himself in the playoffs.
If the Rams need more incentive to succeed, they can look no further than McIntosh. After the coach survived colon cancer four years ago, the disease resurfaced in June, spread to his lungs and liver, and his oncologist gave him the news that he had six months to live.
“I’m not one of these coaches that lives and breathes hockey,” he said. “My reward is simply in the participation.”
Rampart and 14 other teams will be trying to track down the favorites from Cheyenne Mountain. Coach Mike Provenzano’s Indians, 30-for-30 in trips to the state semifinals, are 18-0-1 this season and have a chance to finish as the state’s first unbeaten team.
“We have a bunch of wolves clicking at our heels,” Proven- zano said. “But if we play up to our capabilities, we are going to be pretty tough to beat.”
Led by the state’s leading scorer, Alex Lofthus (24 goals, 32 assists), Cheyenne Mountain opens against Doherty on Friday at the Family Sports Center and would advance to the semifinals with a victory over Kent Denver or Regis on Saturday.
Superior Ice Arena in Lafayette will host eight teams, including second-seeded Pueblo County (16-3). The Hornets, who have won just one playoff game in their seven years, open against Palmer. Peak to Peak will play Pine Creek.
Defending champion Air Academy and Bishop Machebeuf met in a thrilling semifinal a season ago, and a quarterfinal duel is looming if both get to Saturday.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
