Their opponents had been practicing since August, and competing since September — all in comfortable indoor rinks.

The Glenwood Springs Grizzlies had been practicing at the outdoor Glenwood Springs Community Center ice rink for just two weeks, with many players not yet suited up due to football commitments.

None of this mattered to the Grizzly Hockey Midget Major A team, which picked up a 6-2 win over Regis and lost a hotly contested battle with Boulder, 3-2.

All told, 10 different players recorded goals or assists for the Grizzlies during the two weekend contests.

Grizzlies beat up on Regis

It took only three minutes from when the puck dropped against Regis on Saturday for the Grizzlies to set the tone for the new season.

Just moments into that new season, Grizzly defenseman Grant Wood launched a slap shot from just inside the blue line that was redirected by teammate Tony Bosco for the Grizzlies' first goal.

Bosco scored again just over a minute later for a 2-0 Grizzly lead after a period of play at the Ice Ranch.

Glenwood came out fast again in the second period when Dan Abshire scored just over two minutes into the frame on a feed from Bosco.

Regis quickly responded to close the score to 3-1.

The goal only seemed to fire up the Grizzlies even more, as Abshire scored the next two goals (to complete a hat trick) — one on a pass from defenseman Cam Dacuma and another on a two-pass play from Dylan Cook to Bosco that must have had the Regis goaltender wondering if the Grizzlies had too many players on the ice.

Regis scored just before the end of the second period to close within three at 5-2.

The score remained the same until, with about 20 seconds left in the game, Jake Bair broke up a Regis attack and passed to a breaking Ryan Young, who directed a wrist shot just under the crossbar to round out the 6-2 Glenwood triumph.

Boulder upends Glenwood with late goal

On Sunday morning, the Grizzlies traveled to Boulder for a game at the Boulder Valley Ice Rink.

Boulder came out fast and strong in the first period, but was unable to get anything past goaltender Alex Parrish, who did his best to frustrate the Boulder attack.

The period ended just as it began — in a scoreless tie.

Just over two minutes into the second period, Abshire broke that tie, leading a charge into Boulder's zone. When the defense converged to Abshire, he backhanded the puck to defenseman Quenton Henry, who released a one-timer that bounced to Bosco, who in turn fired a shot off the goalie's pads. Abshire corralled the ricochet and found the back of the goal for his fourth goal of the weekend.

After finding itself behind against a smaller Grizzly team, Boulder responded with a great deal of pressure and outshot Glenwood 12-3 in the second period. Two of those 12 shots found their mark as Boulder took a 2-1 after two periods.

With less than two minutes left to play, it looked as if the game would end with that score intact.

But Tanner Wood won a battle for the puck in Boulder's zone and passed to Bair, who made some eye-catching moves in front of the goal and released a wrist shot just under the crossbar to tie the game.

The Grizzlies' hopes were dashed, though, as Boulder scored with just 30 seconds remaining to escape with a victory.

On deck

The Grizzly Midget Major A team is on the road again next week, with games against Littleton and University of Denver Youth Hockey.

Visit www.grizzlyhockey.org for more information.