The city-unified Fort Collins hockey program, in its fourth year of existence, is not letting age dictate expectations.
The Lambkins are legit.
No. 3 Fort Collins earned a 3-2 victory against No. 2 Chaparral on Thursday night in the CHSAA state semifinals at Pepsi Center. All of the Lambkins goals arrived in the first period with widespread scoring from Jason Campos, Tanner Marsh and Nolan Williamson. And, Fort Collins did not feature any seniors on the ice.
“We’re a very young team,” Fort Collins coach Dylan Strom said. “It almost works to your advantage in some occasions where you’re naïve how big the moment actually is, and we try to use that to our advantage.”
Fort Collins (18-3-1) will now face Valor Christian (19-2-1) on Tuesday for the Lambkins’ first shot at a state title.
Fort Collins was bolstered in the semifinals by excellent goaltending from Sam Simon, whose .949 save percentage before Thursday night ranked second-best in the state. Chaparral (16-3-3) scored on a second-period power-play goal from Blake Johnson with a five-on-three advantage. The Wolverines added another goal in the third period from Jackson Mundell, but were unable to complete the comeback.
“(Simon) is the anchor of our team,” Strom said. “There is a reason why he is wearing the ‘C’ and itap very nontraditional for a goalie to be wearing (it). But thatap where our leadership comes from in the club.”
