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Lightning PeeWee squad STRIKES Aspen

After sweeping a two-game series against defending league champ Aspen Saturday at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge, the Summit Lightning peewee B squad now stands at first place in the conference standings.

The Lightning had a dominating defensive performance in shutting out Aspen 3-0 and 6-0 in the two games.

Both teams played some tight defense in the early going of Game 1, but Summit's Sean Costello broke the game open with two first-period goals.

Carter Flavell added the Lightning's third and final goal in the second period, and goalie Wyatt Dickerson was flawless in earning the 3-0 shutout.

The afternoon game wasn't as close.

Summit opened up the ice to take advantage of its speed, coach Robert Chestnut said, and the strategy worked.

Summit blue-liner Emily Burch scored three goals in the Lightning's win, while teammates Brendan Greenberg, Costello and Flavell each added a goal a piece. And for the second time in the day, Dickerson recorded a shutout — his fourth of the season.

The Lightning now stand at 4-0 on the year and head into a weekend battle with the Greeley Renegades (4-2) for sole possession of first place.

Costello currently leads the league in scoring, while Carter ranks fifth. Dickerson's shutout total is also tops in the league.

Bantams come back to tie Vail

Trailing 4-2 heading into the third period, the Summit bantam A hockey team charged back to earn a 5-5 tie in its first league game of the season against Vail/Eagle Sunday at the Stephen C. West Ice Area.

Summit fell behind early in the matchup, when Vail/Eagle connected on a powerplay goal in the first period, but Peter Grotemeyer answered for Summit only minutes later to tie the game.

Then Summit took, what would ultimately be, its only lead of the game, when Connor Hebert tapped in a rebound off a shot from teammate Sean Farley late in the period.

Vail/Eagle owned the second period, however, scoring twice and putting Summit in a big hole. But Grotemeyer cut the lead to one on an end-to-end rush, and Farley finished off his own rebound only moments later to tie the game at 4-4.

After Vail/Eagle once again took the lead, Summit answered with only 1:30 remaining in the game. Farley scored his second goal of the game when he rifled a shot from the point over the goalie's shoulder and into the top corner of the net.

Just as the final score was, the shots were dead even for the game at 21 apiece.

Hunter Marsh back-stopped the Summit tie between the pipes making 16 saves.

Summit is back in action Saturday, when the team travels to Lakewood for a game against the Jr. Eagles.

Squirt C off to a strong start

Behind 26 saves from goalie Kyle Rogers and a third-period scoring rally, the Summit Lightning squirt C team earned an impressive 2-2 tie in its first game of the season, Sunday at home against the Northern Colorado Youth Hockey Team.

The visitors from Fort Collins started the game on the attack, scoring two goals in the opening two periods of play, before Summit responded.

First, forward Bryce Hayter got the Lightning on the board with only 6:04 remaining in the game. The goal, assisted by Will Neumaier, cut the lead to 2-1.

The Lightning would get the equalizer only minutes later when Ben Carlson took a pass from Kai Theriault and buried a shot past the Northern Colorado goalie to tie the game at 2-2.

The rally, helped in large part by Rogers in goal and the suffocating Summit defense, helped the Lightning get its season started on a high note.

The team now preps for its game Sunday against Highland Hills No. 1. The game is slated to start at 10:30 a.m.

Bantams at Aspen Fall Face Off

In an action-packed opening weekend, the Summit Hockey bantam ‘A' started its 2009-10 season by finishing 2-2 in the Fall Face Off last weekend in Aspen. Playing four games in three days, the team showed that it certainly has some fire power this season.

Kicking off the tournament on Friday, Summit faced off against the Front Range Panthers and quickly fell behind. The Panthers were ahead 2-0 midway through the second period, when defenseman Sean Farley got Summit on the scoreboard. Blake Horan assisted on the goal.

Summit continued to press but couldn't find a way to beat the Panthers' goalie for a tying tally. And despite outshooting Front Range 30-14 in the game, Summit had to settle for a 2-1 loss.

Any frustrations on the offensive end were quickly washed away with a scoring barrage Saturday morning against the Jr. Eagles from Northern Colorado.

Horan struck first for Summit, scoring on a blast from the point on his team's first powerplay opportunity. George Kasch helped set up the play with an assist. Luke Egging then increased Summit's lead when he finished off a breakaway for a goal. Summit's powerplay worked once again later in the game, when Farley netted his second goal of the weekend off a pass from Kasch.

Summit did run into some trouble late in the game when one of its players was given a game-misconduct penalty, forcing the team to skate a man down for the final seven minutes.

However, Summit added two shorthanded goals in that time from Bjorn Bredeson and Peter Grotemeyer and cruised to a 5-2 win.

Things weren't quite as easy in Summit's third game of the weekend, which was against Littleton. Skating with only nine players due to the previous game's misconduct penalty, Summit fell behind 3-0 early.

That lead would stand for nearly the entire game, before Summit finished with a flurry. Egging — on assists from Grotemeyer and Bredeson — scored with just 2 minutes remaining, and Horan made it a one-goal game with only 1:28 left in the game. Despite pulling the goalie, Summit couldn't get the equalizer and finished with a 3-2 loss.

Summit finished up the weekend with another romp over the Jr. Eagles. Egging got Summit started with an early goal off a pass from Grotemeyer. Then, Grotemeyer scored one of his own on a rebound off a shot from Forrest Dickerson. Bredeson then scored the team's third goal — assisted by Sam Herwig — before both he and Grotemeyer chipped in the team's final two goals. Summit finished the game with another 5-2 win.

Part of Summit's success on the weekend was due in part to the play of defensemen Ben Schoeffield and Levi Ascher, as well as goalies Reiker Edstrong and Hunter Marsh.

Summit is back in action Sunday at 11:45 a.m. against Vail at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena.

Summit Hockey Classic April 2nd & 3rd

Summit Hockey will present the second annual Summit Hockey Classic today and Friday at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge.

Four teams representing Beaver Run Resort, Copper Mountain Resort, PeakOne Surgery Center and Vail Summit Orthopaedics will compete.

Today, Beaver Run and Copper Mountain will face off at 5 p.m., while Vail Summit Othropaedics and PeakOne Surgery Center will play at 7 p.m.

Each team consists of local hockey talent and two celebrity players.

This year the celebrities will include: Greg Adams (NHL — New Jersey, Vancouver, Dallas and Phoenix), Rick Boh (Colorado College and Minnesota North Stars), Peter Geronazzo

(Colorado College, IHL and ECHL), Nick Larson (University of Denver, NCAA Champion), Don Mercier (DU and Calgary Flames), Trevor Pochipinski (Colorado College and L.A. Kings), Doug Smail (Winnipeg, Minnesota, Ottawa and Quebec) and Marty Wakelyn (Colorado College and N.Y. Islanders).

On Friday, the consolation game will be played at 5 p.m. Immediately following this game there will be a celebrity shoot out with the championship game being played at 7 p.m..

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. All proceeds from the Summit Hockey Classic benefit Summit Youth Hockey, a nonprofit organization offering the opportunity for boys and girls to participate in both recreational and competitive hockey programs.

Midgets in Taos

The Summit Lightening Midget team, with player support from the Bantam A team, traveled to Taos, New Mesico for a tournament this past weekend. Their first game on Friday was against Los Alamos. Evan Streit , assisted by Dak Dice, started the scoring effort with a top shelf goal :40 seconds into the game. Mitchell Stashick collected a pass from defenseman JP Schoeffield for a slapshot goal from the point. To finish the first period, Dice recovered a rebound from Streit for the 3-0 lead. Streit , assisted by Dice and George Gruber, was in action in the second period as he found the puck amidst a scrum in front of the net for his second goal of the game. Dice also received his second goal by wrapping it around the net and sneaking it by the goalie. Gruber has a one timer from the point and Bobby Ruddle finished off the scoring effort when Peter Grotemeyer sent him the pass and flick shot it in for the 7-O win. Philip Contos was in goal for the Summit team and saw only ten shots on goal thanks to the defensive efforts of the entire Summit team. Summit returned to the rink on Friday evening but lost to Vail 4-0.

On Saturday afternoon Summit faced a combo team from Greeley and Glenwood Springs. Ruddle, assisted by Michelle Warpecha, put the Lightening on the board first. Drake Blass took a shot on goal which was rebounded to defenseman Mac Pitts who found the back of the net. With :07 seconds remaining, Ian McCluskie took a wrist shot off the pass from Pitts for a 3-0 first period lead. Peter Grotemeyer had the lone goal in the second period when the Greeley/Glenwood defense misplayed the puck and he picked it up and slid it through the five hole. In the third period, Streit scored his third goal of the tournament, assisted by Blass and Pitts. Gruber scored off the rebound of Kole Morrell and Grotemeyer for the sixth goal and Dice finshed up the scoring efforts for the 7-0 win. The defense of Stashick, Zach Dobson, Gruber, Pitts and Ruddle held the team strong defensively in front of goalie Contos who received his second shut out of the tournament giving the team a two point advantage in the tournament.

Saturday evening Summit faced the team from Amarillo, Texas. The Lightening took advantage in the first period on a power play with Streit again starting the scoring momentum for the Summit team by sneaking the puck under the glove of the goalie with a pass from Dice. Defensemen Pitts and Schoeffield teamed up for goal two when Pitts shot from the top of the circle to put the puck in the bottom left corner. Streit capitalized on Amarillo's eleventh penalty in only two periods with a bouncing puck goal. The final goal of the game came shorthanded from Captain Kole Morrell, assisted by Robby Courtney, to backhand in for the 4-1 win as Amarillo served their 15th penalty of the game (Summit had eight penalties).

With eight points (two points for shut outs from Contos), the Summit team faced Colorado neighbor Vail in the championship game. A tripping call on Summit led to a Vail power play in the first period in which they capitalized to take a 1-0 lead. The Summit team persevered although faced with a defensive player serving a ten minute penalty at the end of the first period and being ejected near the end of the third. A bad line change resulted in a breakaway for Vail and they pulled ahead 2-0. Pitts, from Blass. was able to score in the second period. Summit pulled Contos in the effort that the extra man could help find that tieing goal, but Vail was able to snag the puck and dump it in for an empty net goal. Summit lost 3-1, but left New Mexico with the second place trophy due to the combined efforts of the Summit Midgets (Leah Wickham, Dice, Courtney, McCluskie, Dobson, Contos, Warpecha, Morrell, Schoeffield and Ruddle) and Summit Bantam A Team (Grotemeyer, Streit, Blass, Stashick, Pitts and Gruber).

Summit Hockey has come to an end for the 2008/09. Summer hockey opportunities will be available at the Stephen C West Ice Arena and play will resume in September.

Summit County youth hockey

Summit squirts shut out Grizzlies

The Summit Hockey Squirt B team shut out the Glenwood Springs Grizzlies in back-to-back battles on Saturday at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge.

Both games ended in an 11-0 victory for Summit with Luke Marsh and Noah Hernandez each scoring Hat Tricks in both games.

Summit goalie Wyatt Dickerson is credited with his first shut-outs of the season.

Scoring summary for Summit in Game 1: Luke Marsh (3 pts.), Noah Hernandez (2 pts.), Johann Westerhoff (1 pt.), Brendan Greenberg (1 pt.), Sean Costello (1pt.), Parker Rothey (1pt.), Hanna Markel (1 pt.) and Carter Flavell (1 pt).

Scoring summary for Summit in Game 2: Noah Hernandez (4 pts.), Carter Flavell (2 pts.), Brendan Greenberg (2 pts.), Kenady Nevacosi (1 pt.), Johann Westerhoff (1 pt.) and Sean Costello (1 pt.)

Summit has a record of 2-3-2 for the season with its next game scheduled against Vail-Eagle, in Eagle, on Dec. 6 at 11:30 a.m.

Bantams earn back-to-back wins

The Summit Bantams defeated the Jr Eagles from Lakewood 3-1 on Saturday.

The defensive effort of the Summit team was strong in the first period, keeping the Jr Eagles away from goalie Hunter Marsh for the first eight minutes of the game— not a single shot on goal.

When the Eagles were whistled for too-many men on the ice, Summit had a power play opportunity which resulted in a goal by Sean Farley, assisted by Peter Grotemeyer.

Evan Streit finished the first period with an unassisted goal.

The second period saw a role reversal with Summit struggling for the first seven

minutes to find a shot on goal.

At 7:41 of the second period, a player from the Jr Eagles was ejected from the game for fighting. While shorthanded, the Eagles scored their only goal of the game.

Summit immediately answered with a goal from the blue line by defenseman Austin

Hackett-Klaube to finish off the scoring.

On Sunday the Bantams earned a 4-2 road win over Steamboat.

With both teams evenly matched, the puck went from end to end during the first period with even shots on goal.

Noelle Herrick guarded the net for the Summit team in this game.

The Summit team took advantage of a power play in the second period with Streit, assisted by Drake Blass, producing the first goal for the game.

Two minutes later, Farley tapped in a goal for the 2-0 lead.

Steamboat started the third period with a short handed goal and really started putting pressure on the Summit team.

Summit held tight, with Grotemyer scoring the third goal, assisted by Farley and Mitchell Stashick.

To secure the win, team captain, Curtis Dankof put away a shot from just past the red line into the empty net with :25 seconds left to play.

Blake Horan and Evan Hobrock Schroeder complete the defensive lines for the Bantams, with Quaid Waldorf adding his effort to the offensive lines.

Summit has a league record of 5-0-1.

Bantams chalk up two more wins

The Summit bantam hockey team earned two victories over the weekend against Denver Country Club and the Greeley Stampede.

On Saturday, Summit shutout Denver Country Club 7-0.

Peter Grotemeyer, assisted by Evan Streit and Curtis Dankof, found the back of the net in the first 30 seconds of the game.

Mitchell Stashick closed out the first period with a power play goal, assisted by Drake Blass and Grotemeyer.

In the second period, defenseman Evan Hobrock-Schroeder took a shot from the blue line, and the rebound was picked up by Blass. Bass then passed to Streit for the goal. Blass took advantage of another shot from the blue line, this time by Blake Horan, and tipped one into the net moments later for a 4-0 lead.

Only 20 seconds later, Stashick and Streit set Blass up for his fourth point of the game.

Streit then assisted Stashick for a goal and he finished out the game with his fifth point by assisting Sean Farley in the final goal of the game.

The Summit team shot 45 times on the Denver Country Club goalie. The defensive effort kept DCC at only seven shots on Summit goalie Hunter Marsh, who recorded his first league shut out of the season with a final score of 7-0.

Sunday, Summit topped the Greeley Stampede 6-5.

Grotemeyer passed from the back of the net to Stashick who was positioned perfectly for the first goal of the game.

Farley buried a shot in the corner and, a minute later, repeated with an assist by Stashick.

Blass closed the first period with a goal off a pass from Streit.

After Grotemeyer, assisted by Dankof, gave Summit a 5-1 lead in the second period, Greeley answered with two goals of its own.

Summit countered when Blass took a pass from Streit and buried it in the net for his team’s sixth goal of the game.

Greeley scored two goals in the first three minutes of the third period, but Summit was able to hold on to the 6-5 lead.

Noelle Herrick was in goal for the Summit team. The 7-0-1 bantams will travel to Greeley next weekend.

U12 Girls hockey

Christmas came early for the Summit 12-and-under girls’ ice hockey team over the last weekend.

In league play in Gunnison, the girls won all four of their games against Crested Butte and Gunnison in dominating fashion. Summit outscored their opponents 19 to 6 over the four games.

In Saturday's games, the girls beat Gunnison 4-1 with Emily Burch scoring twice, while Valentina Blass contributing another goal and Hannah Markel adding the final goal.

In the second game of the day, Summit crushed Creste Butte 7-1. Emily Carlson had a hat trick, Markal added another goal and Tereh Endstrom and Maddie Neumaiaer had their first goals of the season.

Tenacious defensive efforts were put in by Morgan Courtney, Emily Burch and Megan Rose, who shut down any offensive action from the opposing teams and provided numerous assists to their offense.

Summit's goalie, Rachel Fitch, was a wall in net allowing only two goals during both games.

On Sunday, the Summit girls continued their masterful play beating Gunnison 5-3. Kenady Nevicosi scored four goals, and Ellie Dice added another goal to put the game away.

Markel moved from offense for this game and provided a great performance in net.

Summit was not to be denied a victory in its forth game in two days, again, against Created Butte on Sunday.

With Fitch back in net, the girls soundly defeated Crested Butte 3- 1. Burch, Nevicosi and Carlson all contributed goals for the victory.

At the end of the weekend, Kevin Rose, assistant coach for the girls, said, “The girls really stepped it up this weekend offensively and defensively. What was most impressive was how they played as a team.”

Summit's other coaches, Jessica Johns and Jamilee Headley were also very pleased with how the weekend turned out.

Currently the Summit U-12 girls’ team is in second place in the Mountain States Girls Hockey League.

The girls play again on Saturday against Arvada at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the Steven C. West Ice Arena.

Summit Bantams fall for first time

The Summit bantam hockey team experienced its first two league losses this past weekend.

The first came in Aspen on Saturday, where Summit fell 5-4.

Summit didn’t score its first goal until Drake Blass sniped a shot past the Aspen goalie in the middle of the second period. But at that point, the team still trailed 4-1.

Peter Grotemeyer started the third period with a wrap-around goal for Summit.

Then, with a 5-2 sore, Summit coach Geoff Pamler pulled goalie Hunter Marsh with 2 minutes left to play. With the extra attacker, Grotemeyer sent a pass to Evan Streit, who found the back of the net.

Summit cut into the lead again with the goalie pulled, as Grotemeyer and Streit assisted on a Mitchell Stashick goal to cut the lead to 5-4.

Summit continued its offensive effort until the final buzzer but fell just short.

On Sunday, Steamboat came to the Stephen C West Ice Arena and beat Summit 4-3.

Steamboat scored first early in the game, but Summit answered when Grotemeyer — off a pass from Sean Farley through the legs of the Steamboat defenseman — ripped a shot top shelf for the goal.

Minutes later, Summit’s Austin Hackett-Klaube passed up the boards to Stashick, who skated around the defenseman and scored to tie the game at 2-2.

The Summit team trailed 3-2 when Hackett-Klaube passed to Streit, whose shot produced a rebound goal for Blass.

When Steamboat pulled ahead 4-3, Palmer again pulled the goalie, this time Noelle Herrick, with 2 minutes left in the game. However, Summit was unable to produce the tying goal.

The team has a league record of 9-2-1 and will face Aspen again at home, Jan. 25th.

Summit U12 Girls' hockey continues its winning ways

The Summit 12-and-under girls’ ice hockey team finished its regular season on Sunday with two impressive wins over league-rival Steamboat Springs.

In the first game, the girls dominated at both ends of the ice, winning 7-0.

Valentina Blass started the scoring with an unassisted goal just 3 minutes into the first period. Natalie Immamura scored the second goal of the period with a beautiful assist from Kenady Nevicosi.

The final goal of the period was hammered in by Elle Dice with assists from Cait Mccluskie and Megan Rose.

Summit continued pounding Steamboat offensively in the second and third periods.

Emily Burch skated the puck end to end to score the forth goal.

Immamura tapped in the fifth goal off an assist from Terah Edstrom.

Dice and Blass then connected for the sixth goal, and Burch scored one more before the final whistle blew.

Defensive players, Morgan Courtney, Burch and Megan Rose, helped goalie Rachel Fitch log her first shutout of the season.

Madi Nuemaier provided offensive and defensive support at both ends of the ice.

During the second game, Summit continued their offensive flurry, scoring three goals in the first 7 minutes of the game.

By the end of the 8-1 rout, Dice had a hat trick and three assists, Burch had another goal and assist, both Emily Carlson and Kenady Nevicosi had an assist and a goal, and Mccluskie got her second goal of the season.

Fitch had another great game facing 10 shots and saving all but one.

After the games, head coach Jamilee Headley was ecstatic with the team’s performance: “The team has come a long way. For three years the girls have worked hard building their skills, and we are finally seeing the benefits of that hard work.”

The U-12 Girls ended the regular season with a record of 7-5-2, one of the best in recent memory. The team will not know its final playoff position in the league for about a month.

The team heads to Steamboat this weekend for a three-day tournament.

Summit Squirt C

The Summit squirt C hockey team earned its first back-to-back wins of the season, Saturday at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena. Summit beat the Hyland squirt 2 team from Westminster 1-0 and 4-1 in consecutive games.

In Game 1, Hyland had numerous scoring opportunites with Summit players whistled for penalties, but the defense of Wyatt Dickerson, Kyle Rogers, Johann Westerhoff and Thomas Wickman shut the visitors down.

Then Westerhoff broke a scoreless tie at 8:53 of the third period to give Summit the deciding goal.

Hanna Markel stopped seven shots for the shutout.

After a short break between games, Summit came out firing in the first period of Game 2.

Beck Moore notched the team’s first goal only 1 minute into play. Luke Marsh put Summit up 2-0 late in the second period, before Rachel Garland and Moore set up a goal by Dickerson to push the lead to three.

Hyland cut the lead to 3-1, but Mason Frank set up Marsh’s second goal of the game to close out the win.

Markel made her second start between the pipes for Summit, this time stopping 12 shots. She blocked 18 of 19 shots on the day.

The Summit squirt C squad is back in action Sunday at 10:30 a.m., when it plays host to the Arvada Storm at The Steve.

Youth hockey underway!

Every year before the ski runs open, some of Summit County's future stars hit the ice at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge. The Summit Youth Hockey Association program for Mites (ages 8 and under) is now in full swing.

“Some of these players have already been with us for three years” said Mite head coach Brian Carlson. “It's amazing to see the progress they make on a daily basis.”

The Mite program is designed to follow USA Hockey guidelines and teach basic skating techniques, puck control skills and sportsmanship.

The teams will play games against other mountain communities and travel to Front Range cities to play in jamboree tournaments.

At age 9, they will have the opportunity to move to a competitive travel team competing in the Contenental Divide Hockey League.

“We have a good mix of boys and girls in the program,” Carlson said. “Girls have the option of advancing to either the girls only teams, or we have several young ladies competing in the full contact competitive leagues.

It seems goalie is a favorite position this year, and several of the players are waiting their chance to don the pads and give it a try.

Coaching Director Bob Chesnutt explained, “We want any player to try goaltending if they would like to, but many people do not understand that the goalie has to be an excellent skater to truly excel at the position. All of our goalies alternate as a forward or defenseman until at least age 11 or 12 to assure they develop their basic skating skills.”