The Summit High School boys hockey team has had Friday, Jan. 24, circled on its calendars since the end of last season.

While it may seem like any ordinary Friday in the middle of the winter, the day marks the first time Summit has met Durango High School since losing to the team in the Class 4A state final last March.

Fresh off a huge, 6-0 shutout win against Air Academy on Thursday, Jan. 23, Summit took to the ice at Stephen C. West Ice Arena prepared to get a win against the defending state champions.

Similar to the team’s shutout win against Aspen last Friday night, Summit quickly took possession of the puck and set up its offense. After recording several early shots on goal, Summit chased after a loose puck in its offensive zone and set up a scoring chance.

With just senior goalie Evan Brock to beat, Summit sent a shot towards the net, but the chance was kept just wide. The scoring chance from Summit woke up Durango. Not wanting to give up the first goal of the game, the Durango Demons flipped the ice and started to put some pressure on junior Benjamin Burkhart in goal for the Tigers.

Durango recorded several shots on net, but Burkhart and the Summit defensive unit did a good job at sweeping the shots wide.

Properly defending its side of the ice, Summit charged down to its offensive zone and sent a fury of shots towards Brock. The fiery shots forced Brock to be on his best game, rapidly moving across the crease to make saves.

After threatening the Durango defense for much of the first period, junior Karston Kerr received a pass from senior Graham Schuman from behind the net and promptly buried the shot. 

Leading 1-0 to begin the second period, Summit returned to the ice and soon found itself on its first power play of the game. Wanting to put another shot behind Brock, Summit’s power play unit managed to force the Durango defense to protect its net, but were not able to net a goal before the penalty expired.

With both teams back at full strength, Durango started to buzz in front of Burkhart. The Tigers prevented a couple of chances from finding twine until the Demons snuck a shot past Burkhart to tie the game at 1-1 with close to 12 minutes remaining in the second frame. 

The goal seemed to momentarily shift the momentum to Durango’s side of the ice. Summit felt this shift however, upping its intensity by slinging shots on net and laying down several bone-crushing hits.

The influx of energy resulted in Summit setting up its offense and sending shots towards Brock. At one point, it looked as if Summit was going to score, but Brock moved into place to make the save.

Durango then chased after a loose puck and sent a pass up the ice to set up a three-on-one situation. With Summit out of position, Durango fired a shot above the shoulders of Burkhart in order to take a 2-1 lead. 

The goal was what the Durango offense needed. In the waning moments of the second period, the Demons sniped another shot past Burkhart to lead 3-1 to begin the final frame.

In need of at least two goals, Summit wasted no time in skating down the ice and sending shots in the direction of the net. The Tigers kept up the pressure in its offensive zone for the first few minutes of the fresh period, but Durango soon brought the puck into its own zone and scored a fourth goal.

The goal stung the Tigers deep, but the team continued to chase after the puck and set up potential scoring opportunities. Summit’s chances to mount a comeback were staunched however by a five-minute major penalty that drew the blood of a Demons’ player.

In the first meeting of the season between the two, Class 4A heavyweights, Durango defeated Summit, 5-1.

“We had a long talk in the locker room after the Friday game,” head coach Chris Miller said. “In the first period we played some of the best hockey we have played all season, but some mental mistakes from individuals cost us.”

Summit had little time to recover or reflect on the game before it faced off against Durango again on Saturday, Jan. 25, in Breckenridge. Summit played much better than the previous night, putting together a much cleaner game from start to finish and defeating Durango, 3-1.

“A big phrase I have been saying all year is we have to identify what the problem is and find ways to solve it,” Miller said. “We thought that our preparation going into games wasn’t the best. … Before the Saturday game, they all went out to lunch, arrived an hour and a half early, talked individually how they are going to play better and took all their cell phones for the entire pregame and game. It was a huge change in our season. I feel like it was a really big turning point for us.”

The pair of games sets Summit’s record at 10-5 overall on the season and 7-3 in Mountain league play. Summit will now prepare to play three Mountain league games on the road with the first taking place on Friday, Jan. 31, against Glenwood Springs. 

“We are going to continue those habits,” Miller said. “All those teams are beatable. I feel like there are four or five teams in 4A that are kind of at the top and I think we are in that. I think the team has the confidence going into every game that if we execute on what we are supposed to be doing we are going to win the game.”

After the three-game away stand, Summit will host its final home game of the season against Battle Mountain High School on Feb. 14.