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Summit hockey team advances to state semifinal with shutout win over Cheyenne Mountain

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Cody Jones
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Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
The Summit High School boys hockey team celebrates after shutting out Cheyenne Mountain High School on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. The win advances Summit to the state semifinal against Glenwood Springs on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

The Summit High School boys hockey team may have not won this year’s Class 4A Mountain league title, but the Tigers are arguably the hottest in the league. 

Concluding its slate of regular season games with four-straight wins, including a massive 7-2 win against No. 1 Glenwood Springs on Jan. 31, Summit took to the ice for its first home playoff game in five years on Tuesday, Feb. 25. 

With Stephen C. West Ice Arena packed full of Summit fans and students, the Tigers quickly possessed the puck and attempted to test No. 5 Cheyenne Mountain High School.

Serving as a rematch between the two teams after Summit fell to Cheyenne Mountain, 5-2, on Dec. 21, the Tigers tried to make a statement early in the game.

After several back-and-forth possession to begin the game, it was Summit who recorded the first shot on net, slicing a shot into the pads of senior goalie Leo Hillis. The shot gave Summit a burst of energy, but it was not long before the Cheyenne Mountain Red-Tailed Hawks flipped the ice to put some pressure on senior Matthew Tater in goal for the Tigers.

Despite the defense lagging a step behind, Tater made two early saves to keep the score tied at 0-0.

About halfway through the opening period, Cheyenne Mountain got its first advantage of the game with a power play. The Red-Tailed Hawks recorded several shots on net during the two-minute advantage, but the Tigers’ penalty kill did a good job of clearing the puck and disrupting play.

Back at full strength, Summit returned to buzzing around the net in an attempt to find the first goal of the game. The influx of shots and energy put Cheyenne Mountain on its heels and led the team to committing a penalty.

Less than five seconds into the Summit power play, junior defenseman Oliver Dixon fired from the blue line and put a shot past Hillis. The goal sent the ice arena into a frenzy, and the excitement reached another level close to a minute later when senior Graham Schuman netted his own goal. 

Summit went into the first intermission leading 2-0.

In control of the pace of the game, Summit began the fresh period on the power play. The Tigers were able to send several shots towards the net, but the chances were kept wide by Hillis.

Cheyenne Mountain then got its second chance of the night on its own power play. Similar to the team’s first opportunity, Cheyenne Mountain could not keep the puck in its offensive zone for very long. Summit once again played tight defense, drifting in front of pucks to block shots, poking pucks away and intercepting passes.

The huge defensive stand led to a flurry of shots on the other side of the ice. Summit attacked the net and sent shots towards Hillis, but the goalie moved into place to keep Summit’s advantage to two goals. 

In the waning moments of the second period, the two teams got chippy. The spirited action led to penalties for both teams prior to the game advancing into the final frame.

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With 17 minutes of hockey between Summit and a trip to the state semifinal, the team continued to pursue the net with vigor. The Tigers sent shots towards Hillis, but the opportunities were once again stopped from finding the back of the net.

In need of two goals, Cheyenne Mountain turned up its intensity. The shift in play led to a Cheyenne Mountain slap shot, but Tater was able to snag the puck from the air.

On Cheyenne Mountain’s third power play of the game, the team managed to test Summit a little. However, Tater and the Summit defense remained stoic, preventing Cheyenne Mountain from gaining an inch of momentum.

As the game clock ticked under five minutes, Summit started to play more conservatively. The Tigers took their time on both ends of the ice, making crisp passes and making sure their play was mistake free as possible.

With under a minute remaining, Cheyenne Mountain pulled Hillis from his post in the blue crease, giving the team an extra skater. The Red-Tailed Hawks had one good opportunity to score, but Tater ended the game how he started it — perfect.

Summit defeated Cheyenne Mountain 2-0. 

“It wasn’t our best game, but it was enough to get it done,” head coach Chris Miller said. “We had a game plan going into it, and I would say we played 80% kind of towards that. Definitely some things we need to fix. … We played really good defensively, and we kind of shut them down. When you get goaltending like that it is easy.”

Summit will now advance to the state semifinal for the second time in the past two years. With No. 1 Glenwood Springs defeating No. 8 Durango, 2-1, on Tuesday night, Summit will square off against the Demons of Glenwood Springs on Saturday, March 1.

Splitting the two-game regular season series against Glenwood Springs, Summit will spend the next few days in practice preparing for the rubber match game.

“Both (Glenwood Springs and Durango) are blue-collar teams,” Miller said. “We are familiar with their players. They both have really good goaltending, so we are just going to keep to our game plan of making sure we get net front traffic.”

Summit will face Glenwood Springs at Colorado College’s Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs on Saturday at 11 a.m. The winner will then advance to the state final, which will be played on Monday, March 3, at Denver University’s Magness Arena. 

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