Gators on ice?
It’s about more growth in the state’s ice hockey community, which will add six schools for the 2006-07 season for a total of 25 teams.
The revival of high school hockey in the Denver area can be seen in Jefferson County, where Chatfield, Columbine, Dakota Ridge, Ralston Valley and, yes, Standley Lake’s Gators will field teams.
“The whole CHSAA experience is a level above anything these guys have experienced,” Standley Lake coach Scott Reynolds said. “For these kids to have a chance to play for and represent their school is a big deal.
“My goal is to start with a set of ground rules, and whether the program lasts five years or 100 years, it will have that building block.”
Don’t expect the level of play to drop off, because most of the new teams are filled with club-level players.
“The biggest difference between club and high school hockey is just the intensity of the season,” said Columbine coach Jeff Marten, who coached the previous three seasons at Colorado Academy. “It is five or six weeks long and then you’re done, whereas the club (season) is spread out over a six- month period. A lot of these guys are already asking me, ‘How come we have to do this so fast?”‘
With the change in numbers also comes a change in conference layout. The 12-team Foothills (mostly Denver area) and Peak (13, mostly Colorado Springs) conferences still will send 16 teams to the state tournament.
But the most interesting switch will be the championship game site, which has moved from the World Arena in Colorado Springs to the Denver Coliseum.
“I haven’t been in there for 20 years,” Cheyenne Mountain coach Mike Provenzano said. “I’ll be interested to see how it looks.”
Provenzano’s Indians, owners of 14 state titles and regular participants in the state’s Frozen Four since the sanctioning of the sport, are the team to beat.
With the new rules, similar to those of college hockey and the NHL that frown on clutching and grabbing and favor speed and skill, Colorado’s most gifted scorer last season, Alex Lofthus, should have more room to roam. Lofthus will center the Indians’ first line and freshman Matt Tritsch could be as dangerous on the second line.
“The skill players will be a big part of the game,” Provenzano said.
The Indians will have several teams on their heels, including newcomer Lewis-Palmer, Battle Mountain, Pine Creek, Pueblo County, Rampart and Steamboat Springs.
Ralston Valley, composed mostly from a successful AAA midget team in Arvada, has instant credibility as a team to contend with in the Foothills. The Mustangs will find out what it’s all about in their first three games, against Cheyenne Mountain, Pueblo County and Pine Creek.
“We might be good on paper, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we will be good on the ice,” Ralston Valley coach John Mc- Kibbon said. “I don’t think we are overconfident; we’ve yet to play a CHSAA game yet. We are eager for the opportunity and for the chance to come in and prove we belong.”
Usual powers Aspen (Ryder Fyrwald) and Kent Denver (goalie Tate Maris), in addition to Standley Lake, will start the season among the state’s best teams. Defending state champion Peak to Peak returns with goalie Greg Borchers.
