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Summit hockey team roars past Aspen in 6-0 shutout

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
The Summit High School boys hockey team celebrates Wyatt Boeckers' goal while facing Aspen on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. Summit defeated Aspen, 6-0.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

There is nobody the Summit High School boys hockey team loathes more than the other teams that make up the 4A Mountain league.

While Summit’s biggest rival may be Battle Mountain or Steamboat Springs, the Tigers will still take any chance it can to beat teams like Aspen, Durango or Glenwood Springs.

On Friday, Jan. 17, Summit got an opportunity to secure a sixth league win on the season as the team hosted the Aspen Skiers at Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge. Coming off a loss to Steamboat Springs and a win against Caprock Academy last week, Summit took to the ice prowling for a league win over Aspen. 



From the jump, the Tigers were an issue for the Skiers. Within the first two minutes of the game, Summit pushed the puck up the ice and fired shots on net. The aggressive start put Aspen on its heels, leading to a goal from the stick of junior Owen Lewis less than two minutes into the game. 

Summit continued to chase after the net following its first goal. Not wanting Aspen to gain any sense of momentum, Summit pinned the puck deep in its offensive zone for several minutes at a time and continued to fire shots at the Aspen goalie.



The Tigers had several chances to score on the power play, but it wasn’t until the two-minute penalty expired that sophomore Nate Kubek netted the team’s second goal.

Shortly following the Kubek goal, Aspen tried to get its offense going on a power play of its own. The Skiers managed to fire off some shots at senior goalie Matthew Tater, but the chances either sailed wide or were stopped short of the back of the net.

In the final moments of the first period, an Aspen forward broke down the ice for a one-on-one situation with Tater, but the seasoned goaltender kept his eyes on the puck and made the clutch save.

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Summit senior Graham Schuman prepares to win a faceoff while taking on the Aspen Skiers on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

With a 2-0 lead, Summit came out firing in the second period. Similar to the first period, Summit put heavy pressure on the Aspen defense before freshman Jaden Caswell scored a goal.

The goal injected Summit with more energy as it continued to play tough defense and frustrate Aspen. Despite Aspen’s best efforts, Summit senior Wyatt Boeckers weaved his way through the defense and chipped a shot to the top left corner of the net.

With just six shots on goal, Aspen tried to get something going on offense in order to prevent the shutout. The Skiers had several opportunities to set up its offense, but passes were either mishandled or intercepted by the fast-moving Summit defense.

It was not long before Summit added another goal to its tally. This time, junior Karston Kerr fired a shot from the blue line. The shot bounced off the pads of the Aspen goalie and was found by Kerr in front of the net, who promptly buried the puck.

Seconds later, junior Simon Stevens brought the score to 6-0 when he got past the Aspen defense and fired a shot into the net.

With the clock continually running in the final frame, Summit prevented Aspen from ruining its shutout. The Tigers killed a penalty in the first half of the period before concluding the game by possessing the puck in the team’s offensive zone. Putting 48 shots on net to Aspen’s 10, Summit secured a 6-0 shutout. 

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Summit head coach Chris Miller, left, and assistant coach Mark Greer watch the Tigers take on Aspen High School on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

“You know it is a long season and we have been working on different offensive-zone strategies and ways to attack the net,” head coach Chris Miller said. “Today I think it all kind of came together. They bought in. They saw success from the things we are teaching them in practice and this is what you want to see in January. The team is coming together and they are executing on concepts. I am really proud of how they played.”

The win advances Summit’s record to 8-4 overall and 6-2 in league play.

Summit will now prepare for three big home games next week. The Tigers will take on Air Academy on Thursday, Jan. 23, before taking on the defending state champions, Durango High School, on Friday, Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan. 25 in Breckenridge.

The pair of two games against Durango will serve as a rematch of last year’s state final. Durango is currently 6-5-1 overall on the season and is ranked fifth in the league — three spots behind Summit.

“I think it is going to come down to a effort,” Miller said. “We are trying to focus on getting playoff-like goals. 10 feet around the net, crashing to the net. Defensively we need to win the board battles. That is going to be our focus going into those games. There are individual battles all over the ice and we just have to win the majority of them. If we do that, we are going to win games.”

The game on Friday slated to begin at 7 p.m.


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