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Abshire shines in big win for Glenwood Grizzly Midget Majors

Peter Tibbetts
Special to the Post Independent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado

The Regis Midget Major A hockey team fell victim to the Glenwood Springs Grizzlies for a second time at the Glenwood Springs Community Center ice rink on Saturday.

A barrage of goals lifted the Grizzlies to an 8-2 win.

Grizzly Jake Bair started the scoring just over two minutes into the game, when he took advantage of teammate Grant Wood’s slap shot off the Regis goaltender. Bair gained control of the puck and deftly maneuvered for a clear shot and goal.



The Grizzlies maintained pressure on Regis and it paid off as Dawson Quint capitalized in his first game as a Midget Major, placing a perfect pass right on Tony Bosco’s stick that Bosco easily deflected in for Glenwood’s second goal.

Ahead 2-0, the Grizzlies found themselves on a power play. Glenwood captain Dan Abshire patiently controlled the puck and looked for this teammates to get open. Seeing an opening in the Regis goal, he released a wrist shot just over the goalie’s stick and between his legs for a commanding 3-0 lead.



Regis finally put a goal on the board when it took advantage of a skater vacating the penalty box to set up a breakaway on Grizzly goaltender Alex Parrish.

Glenwood continued its dominant play in the second period, finding itself with another power-play opportunity. Dylan Cook capitalized this time, scoring his first goal of the season on a pass from Levi Fetterhoff.

Regis responded with its second goal to make it 4-2 after two.

The Grizzlies left no doubt in the third period, with Abshire leading an offensive charge.

Less than a minute into the third, Ryan Young and Quenton Henry set up Abshire’s second goal of the evening.

Slightly more than two minutes later, Bosco and Abshire combined on Abshire’s third goal – and second hat trick of the season.

Leading 6-2, Glenwood kept the pressure on.

Grant Wood launched a shot-on-goal from the blue line that Quint was able to deflect in for his first goal as a Midget Major and then, appropriately enough, Abshire added an unassisted goal just beneath the crossbar to round out the scoring.

Next up for the Grizzlies is a Dec. 16 game against Aspen at Lewis Ice Arena. The puck drops at 7:45 p.m.

The Glenwood Springs Grizzly Squirt B and Squirt C youth hockey teams traveled to the Front Range this past weekend for games in Greeley and Lakewood, respectively.

The Grizzly B team dropped two games each against the Greeley Stampede and the Mountain State Renegades.

Joel Rothman netted two goals for the Grizzlies, with assists coming from Matt Heim and John Jensen.

Lucca Trapani stopped 75 of 117 shots on goal throughout the weekend.

The Grizzly Squirt C team scored three goals against the defending champion Junior Eagles, of Lakewood, but it wasn’t enough as the Junior Eagles outshot the Grizzlies, 46-8, in the two games.

Jacob Barsness scored two goals for the Grizzlies, with assists by Tevin Baker and Josh Cook. Matthew Thrun also scored an unassisted goal for Glenwood.

Three different Grizzly Bantam B players scored in Sunday games against Pueblo, but it was not enough, as Glenwood suffered a pair of early-season losses.

Ryan Fitzgerald started the scoring early in the first game, with assists by Chaz Apostolik and Cole Guy.

In the second game, Guy tied up the game with assists by Tucker Jenkins and Fitzgerald. Jenkins and Fitzgerald combined again later, this time with Jenkins scoring and Fitzgerald providing the assist with help from Sam Carmer.

Next up for the Grizzly Bantams are Saturday and Sunday games with Denver Country Club at the Glenwood Springs rink.

The Glenwood Pee Wee hockey team created a lot of heat at a cold and snowy Glenwood Springs Community Center ice rink against visiting Vail/Eagle on Monday.

With Grizzly goaltender Jake Fegan coming up strong, the first period ended in a scoreless tie.

Glenwood took the lead in the second period when Noah Jesuroga scored on a pass from Ian Rothman. The 1-0 advantage held until Vail/Eagle responded with a power-play goal.

Vail/Eagle continued to pressure Fegan until it eventually scoring the winning – and final – goal. Fegan stopped 25 of 27 shots.

On deck for the Grizzly Pee Wees is a visit from Aspen on Sunday.

The Glenwood Springs Community Center ice rink was filled to capacity on Saturday, as the Glenwood Grizzly Mite hockey team hosted the annual Mite Jamboree. Hundreds of players and their families (from Grand Junction, Aspen, Eagle and Breckenridge) participated in the event, established for 7- and 8-year-old hockey players.

The event is organized by the Glenwood Springs Youth Hockey Association, with all support and complimentary refreshments provided by Grizzly Mite families and other Grizzly Hockey players.


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