The first of three critical games on the road to close out the regular season went in favor of Glenwood Springs High School boys hockey on Friday at Colorado Academy.

The 3-2 win, coming on a flurry of scoring in the third period, kept Glenwood in the top spot in the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) RPI Index rankings among Class 4A teams.

And, for the first time this season, the Demons are also atop the latest CHSAA coaches’ poll that came out Monday.

---

---

Glenwood now stands at 14-3 overall and 7-1 in the 4A Mountain League, with a key league battle at Crested Butte on Wednesday afternoon.

“It was a good battle between two top-five teams,” Demons coach Tim Cota said of the non-league matchup against the Mustangs of Colorado Academy, which served to give Glenwood a taste of the coming postseason competition. 

---

---

A scoreless game through the first 24-and-a-half minutes of play was finally broken when junior Jett Weatherred nipped one in at the 11:24 mark of the second to put the Demons up 1-0.

“We weren’t supporting the puck well in the first period, an aspect of the game that we have struggled with from time to time,” Cota said in an emailed game summary.

Demons’ forward coach Jeremy Joslin addressed that with his offensive players after the first period, and the Weatherred’s goal certainly changed the dynamic from that point on.

Glenwood controlled the puck about 76% of the period, Cota said, and junior goalie Marek Senn shut down all of CA’s chances through two periods, recording 20 saves on the night.

Glenwood sophomore Brayden Dacuma got an insurance goal six minutes into the third period. Good thing, because the Mustangs finally answered with a power play goal of their own less than a minute and a half later. 

The only other Mustang goal also came on a power play with just over 3 minutes to play, but not until after sophomore Ryan Rigney scored the Demons’ third goal with 3:54 ticks left.

“We were able to handle them on the rushes once we identified their top guns and their tendencies, and the entire D core was solid,” Demons defensive coach Bryan Gonzales said.

Defending against a 6-4 advantage in the closing minutes after Colorado Academy pulled their goalie with the power play in effect, senior Carson Miller and Weatherred would win four key faceoff draws, allowing the Demons to defend on the wall.  

“I can’t stress enough how important those draw wins at the end of the game were,” Cota said. “Those types of hockey plays win close games.”

Following the Crested Butte game, Glenwood closes the league slate on the road at Summit on Friday night. Brackets for the state playoffs should be announced Feb. 20, as the Demons look to secure home ice advantage for the opening round.

Recent basketball scores

Boys: Glenwood Springs (15-7, 5-0) 57, Battle Mountain 42; Glenwood 69, Eagle Valley 67; Summit 74, Rifle (1-20, 0-12) 48; Roaring Fork (13-5, 10-1) 45, Olathe 35; Roaring Fork 64, Gunnison 53; Coal Ridge (13-7, 8-3) 63, Rifle 28; Coal Ridge 66, Basalt 60 (OT); Cedaredge 68, Grand Valley 48; Grand Valley (8-9, 7-4) 55, North Fork 54.

Girls: Glenwood Springs (15-7, 5-0) 65, Battle Mountain 20; Glenwood 75, Eagle Valley 30; Grand Junction Central 54, Glenwood 51; Grand Valley 42, Cedaredge 37 (OT); North Fork 28, Grand Valley (13-4, 12-1) 27; Coal Ridge (15-6, 6-4) 61, Rifle (7-13, 2-7) 22; Olathe 58, Roaring Fork 31; Gunnison 54, Roaring Fork (5-12, 3-9) 37.

Remaining schedules:

Tuesday, Feb. 14

Coal Ridge @ Delta

Grand Valley vs. Aspen (boys only, 7 p.m.)

Thursday, Feb. 16

Grand Valley @ Moffat County (girls only, 5:30 p.m.)

Friday, Feb. 17

Grand Valley vs. Roaring Fork (girls 5:30 p.m., boys 7 p.m.)

Glenwood Springs vs. Eagle Valley (girls 5:30 p.m., boys 7 p.m.)

Coal Ridge vs. Aspen (boys only, 7 p.m.)

Saturday, Feb. 18

Coal Ridge @ Steamboat Springs (girls 12:30 p.m., boys 2 p.m.)

Postseason note: 3A District tournament (Roaring Fork and Grand Valley) brackets and 4A/5A Regional pairings (Glenwood Springs, Coal Ridge, Rifle) are to be announced after the regular season concludes this weekend.