The Durango varsity high school hockey team earned the No. 1 seed for the Rio Grande High School Hockey League’s Year End Tournament, which will be contested Friday through Sunday in Albuquerque.
Durango is 25-2 overall, winning both the league’s mid-season tournament and also a Presidents Day tournament outside of the league.
As the No. 1 seed, the Demons earned a first-round bye. Durango will begin the tournament at 5:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of No. 4 Albuquerque Bears and No. 5 Cibola Cougars. The championship will be contested in Sunday.
Telluride scored the No. 2 seed, Los Alamos is No. 3 while El Paso is No. 6. The rest of the league will compete the following weekend in a junior varsity categorized tournament.
Durango head coach Brian Ensign said keys to being successful, are “for us, being on top of our game and not taking anything for granted, working hard and being disciplined. If the kids play to their potential, it will come out pretty well.”
The tournament is double-elimination until the championship, so the Demons can still win the tournament if someone upsets them in the opening rounds.
“If we lose we can fight back, but it’s a much harder and more draining route,” Ensign said.
The coach also said Durango is used to being the underdog, but will have a target on its back this year. Not only is Durango the No. 1 seed, it also is the league’s defending champion from two years ago. The league didn’t have a championship tournament last year due to COVID.
“It’s a special weekend,” Ensign said. “Not only is it the tristate championship, it’s also the last games for the seniors. It’s a good group of kids. I hope they end on a positive note.”
Youth teams compete around state
The Durango 14U hockey team attended the Arvada Winterfest Tournament over Presidents Day weekend. The team only had nine players, but that didn’t stop it from bringing home another championship banner.
The team went 4-1 to win the title.
In seeding, Durango beat Arapahoe 3-2, Lafayette 1-0 and Vail 4-2. The team lost to Arvada, 7-3, but it got a chance to avenge the loss in the championship and won the rematch, 5-0.
Luke Fowler, Gavin Zuber, KJ Reynolds, Brenden Johnson, Sawyer Jones, Wynn Daniels and Jakson Phetsrithong all scored goals over the weekend with Zuber, Phetsrithong, Daniels, Fowler and Johnson assisting them. Goalie Bryson Quimby earned two shutouts over the weekend. The 14U team is currently ranked No. 7 in the state and advanced to the Avalanche Cup this weekend.
Durango’s 12U-A team also attended Arvada Winterfest, but had a tough weekend and finished 0-4.
The team will head to the Avalanche Cup ranked No. 15 in the state.
The 12U-B team also went 0-4, playing Littleton, Vail, Denver Country Club and Pikes Peak.
Durango’s 10U-A team attended the Denver University Pioneer Classic, playing Vail, Glenwood, Jackson Hole, and Steamboat in the seeding round. Durango outscored its opponents 20-8 and advanced to the championship game against No. 4 DU. After a tough battle, Durango lost to DU, 3-2. Greyson Bickert, Parker Brown, Carter Lopez and Tyler Wood scored goals with Brown, Lopez, Wood, Asher Clair and Soren Vanwinkle assisting them. The team will now head to the Avalanche Cup ranked No. 9 in the state.
The 10U-B team also attended the DU classic, but struggled against some of the state's top ranked teams: Denver Country Club, Rampage, Hyland Hills and DU.
