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Summit High hockey season ends in first round of state playoffs

BRYCE EVANS
summit daily news
Summit County, Co Colorado

After a record-breaking winter, the Summit High hockey team’s season ended a bit quicker than the Tigers would have liked.

Summit couldn’t find an answer for a red-hot Cheyenne Mountain goaltender and lost 4-1 in the first round of the state playoffs at Sertich Arena in Colorado Springs.

“It was a hard-fought game,” SHS head coach Chris Ruhly said afterward. “The difference in the game was that they could convert on powerplays opportunities, and we couldn’t.”



The Tigers fell behind 2-0 after two periods, but controlled play in the third. Senior James Lowrey put Summit on the board with 3:40 remaining in the game.

“I felt that we had them on their heals, we were back in it and just one shot out,” Ruhly said.



Summit pulled its goalie for the final minutes to gain an extra attacker, but Cheyenne Mountain scored two empty-net goals to close it out.

“We just couldn’t find a way to score,” Ruhly said.

Ruhly also noted that the officiating was fairly lopsided in the favor of Cheyenne Mountain, which, coincidentally, was playing in its home arena.

“I was disappointed with the way it was called, but it’s never the referees fault for a loss,” the Summit coach said. “We were the ones that couldn’t score.”

Despite the early postseason exit, Summit had one of the most successful seasons in school history. The Tigers won a record 15 games and only lost four times. All of it came from a team that many expected little of after losing nine seniors from last year’s team.

“We told everyone in the lockerroom after the game that we were proud of them and everything that they’d done,” Ruhly said. ” … They should be able to walk out of the arena with their heads held high.”

In his first season as the Tigers’ head coach, Ruhly said that the support of the school administration, the student body and the local hockey community was incredible.

Bryce Evans can be reached at (970) 668-4634 or at bevans@summitdaily.com.


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