ARVADA — Who else was it going to be?
Pueblo County sophomore Ryan Barnes had already burned the Palmer Terrors once this season, so it was only fitting that the Hornets forward did it again.
Barnes ended a great game in double overtime when he pounded in a rebound for a 4-3 victory in the first round of the state hockey playoffs at Apex Ice Arena.
“I’m kind of tired and you really start feeling it in your legs,” said Barnes, whose team will make the long journey back to Pueblo on Friday night before returning Saturday to play the Ralston Valley-Kent Denver winner at 3 p.m. in the quarterfinals. “A win is still a win, no matter how you get it.”
Pueblo County (11-8-1), the No. 7 seed that finished the season 10-2-1 in its final 13 games, including a 5-4 victory over Palmer on Feb. 2, clearly had the ice slanted in its favor. The Hornets outshot Palmer 32-14 in regulation, but had nothing to show for but tired legs.
But a two-week break seemed to benefit Pueblo County in the extra sessions, especially on ice that was becoming incredibly slow. After killing a penalty to start the first overtime, the Hornets got two cracks with a man advantage in the extra session. Before the start of the second, coach William Harris called a timeout to draw up the winning play.
The Hornets won the face-off and got the shot they wanted for Mike Deluca, but the save was made by Dylan Slizewski. Slizewski then stopped two more point-blank rebound tries by Marcus Giebel.
“It came back out to me, and I was actually looking to pass it across the crease,” Barnes said. “But it got blocked by the defender and we just kept bashing away at it.”
Palmer coach Bob Davidson, who has been coaching for 44 years, went into the Pueblo County locker room after the game to congratulate the Hornets players and coaches for what he called the best game he’s been a part of.
“We gave it everything we had, and both of those teams played their hearts out,” Davidson said. “I haven’t seen a game like that in all my years of coaching, and all the credit to Pueblo.”
Slizewski made 40 saves to keep the 10th-seeded Terrors in the game. Palmer finished the season 12-7.
Palmer0 2 1 0 0 — 3
Pueblo County1 1 1 0 1 — 4
First period — PC: Henrich (unassisted), 4:44. Penalties — Hartman, Pal. (boarding), 6:45.
Second period — Pal.: Van Arkel (Hellesberg, Olson), 1:59; PC: Reeves (Deluca) 10:21 pp; Pal.: Hettich (Finkbeiner, Richards), 14:14. Penalties — Ward, Pal. (tripping), 5:18; Kay, Pal. (charging), 8:39; Barnes, PC (high-sticking), 10:44; Hand, PC (interference), 14:25.
Third period — PC: Barnes (Pankey) 3:37; Pal.: Richards (Finkbeiner), 6:51. Penalties — Archuletta, PC (tripping), 10:40; Pankey, PC (tripping), 14:37.
Overtime — None. Penaties — Doersch, Pal. (too many men), 1:13.
Second overtime — PC: Barnes (unassisted) 6:45 pp. Penalties — Finkbeiner, Pal. (hooking), 6:22.
Shots on goal — Palmer 2-5-7-3-2 — 19; Pueblo County 15-8-9-3-9 — 44. Saves — Palmer (Slizewski) 14-7-8-3-8 — 40; Pueblo County (Rapier) 2-3-6-3-2 — 16. Power-play opportunities — Palmer 0-for-4; Pueblo County 2-for-5.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
