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Huskies win it all, again
  
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By Benn Farrell
An inline hockey jersey hangs in the sports display cases at Douglas County High School, commemorating the Huskies’ 2007 Varsity 5A state championship win.
There may not be enough room for what Huskies inline has for them this year.
Douglas County inline hockey brought home two state championships, including the Varsity 5A title and the Varsity 4A-Summit Conference title. The 5A team, the No. 2 seed in their division, beat No. 5 seed Smoky Hill 4-2 April 26 at the Parker Fieldhouse in Parker for its second state championship in three years.
The 4A team beat Lewis-Palmer 7-6 in a thrilling overtime finish.
Part of Douglas County’s success in the playoffs was a change in its style. Through the regular season, the Huskies played a notoriously aggressive attacking style, but going into the playoffs, coach Mark Conover said they decided to play a more conservative style and wait for their opportunities.
The road to the finals for the 5A Huskies began April 18 after defeating No. 7 Broomfield 5-2. April 25, the Huskies beat No. 8 ThunderRidge 8-2 to advance to the championship game. Ponderosa entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed but were knocked out by the Grizzlies.
“We figured going into the playoffs both Ponderosa and Smoky Hill would be the teams to beat,” Conover said. “We were pretty surprised when Ponderosa got beat. We had a tough time playing Ponderosa [during the season], and going into the playoffs, we talked about correcting a few things. With the corrections we made, I feel we could have beat Ponderosa, but I guess we’ll never know.”
Skylar McKnight and Sam Bruns led the Huskies in points through the playoffs with seven each. McKnight finished the state run with two goals and five assists, including three assists in the title game. Bruns had four goals, including one against the Buffaloes, and three assists.
Bradley Conover had two goals in the championship match up. Andrew Knowles, Josh Perez and Matthew Coyle each had two goals and one assist over the entire playoff run. One of Knowles goals came in the title game.
Perez became a key player in the game against ThunderRidge when he assumed goaltender duty for the usual starting goalie, senior Jonathan Fritts. Conover said Perez was the star of the Grizzlies game.
Fritts, who was between the pipes in the Huskies’ 2007 championship, was back in the cage for the title game against the Buffaloes where he booked 33 saves.
For much of the finals, the score remained 0-0 until county went up 3-0 in the second half. Smoky Hill scored two quick goals which spooked County, the coach said.
“With 1:30 left, we knew the momentum was shifting toward them, so we called a time out and talked about specific assignments for the last minute and 30,” Conover said. “Fritts was outstanding in goal. He kept the game scoreless for a long time. It took us a bit to get our scorers going, but Jonathan held us in it.”
After the time out, County took possession and passed up to Bradley Conover for the fourth nail in the coffin.
Bruns, McKnight and Patrick McCaffrey were also a part of the Huskies 2007 championship team.
Another part of the Huskies’ success this season was its balance of talent, given so many of its offense and defense players are each scoring threats, making the team difficult to coach against, Mark Conover said. He feels the youth inline hockey programs in Castle Rock, which weren’t around a few years ago, is one reason the high school-level team is littered with skilled players.
“We’re now starting to see some of the talent that’s been coming up through those programs,” Conover said.
In 4A-Summit action, Taran Ferdowsian had four goals and one assist in the title game. His assist was to Jake Bruns, who scored the overtime game winner.
Andrew Donahue had one goal and three assists against the Rangers. Shots on goal were 33-32 in favor of Lewis-Palmer. County goalie Ally Fanning came up with 26 saves.
For more information on the Colorado High School Inline Hockey Association, visit its Web site at www.chsiha.org.
There may not be enough room for what Huskies inline has for them this year.
Douglas County inline hockey brought home two state championships, including the Varsity 5A title and the Varsity 4A-Summit Conference title. The 5A team, the No. 2 seed in their division, beat No. 5 seed Smoky Hill 4-2 April 26 at the Parker Fieldhouse in Parker for its second state championship in three years.
The 4A team beat Lewis-Palmer 7-6 in a thrilling overtime finish.
Part of Douglas County’s success in the playoffs was a change in its style. Through the regular season, the Huskies played a notoriously aggressive attacking style, but going into the playoffs, coach Mark Conover said they decided to play a more conservative style and wait for their opportunities.
The road to the finals for the 5A Huskies began April 18 after defeating No. 7 Broomfield 5-2. April 25, the Huskies beat No. 8 ThunderRidge 8-2 to advance to the championship game. Ponderosa entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed but were knocked out by the Grizzlies.
“We figured going into the playoffs both Ponderosa and Smoky Hill would be the teams to beat,” Conover said. “We were pretty surprised when Ponderosa got beat. We had a tough time playing Ponderosa [during the season], and going into the playoffs, we talked about correcting a few things. With the corrections we made, I feel we could have beat Ponderosa, but I guess we’ll never know.”
Skylar McKnight and Sam Bruns led the Huskies in points through the playoffs with seven each. McKnight finished the state run with two goals and five assists, including three assists in the title game. Bruns had four goals, including one against the Buffaloes, and three assists.
Bradley Conover had two goals in the championship match up. Andrew Knowles, Josh Perez and Matthew Coyle each had two goals and one assist over the entire playoff run. One of Knowles goals came in the title game.
Perez became a key player in the game against ThunderRidge when he assumed goaltender duty for the usual starting goalie, senior Jonathan Fritts. Conover said Perez was the star of the Grizzlies game.
Fritts, who was between the pipes in the Huskies’ 2007 championship, was back in the cage for the title game against the Buffaloes where he booked 33 saves.
For much of the finals, the score remained 0-0 until county went up 3-0 in the second half. Smoky Hill scored two quick goals which spooked County, the coach said.
“With 1:30 left, we knew the momentum was shifting toward them, so we called a time out and talked about specific assignments for the last minute and 30,” Conover said. “Fritts was outstanding in goal. He kept the game scoreless for a long time. It took us a bit to get our scorers going, but Jonathan held us in it.”
After the time out, County took possession and passed up to Bradley Conover for the fourth nail in the coffin.
Bruns, McKnight and Patrick McCaffrey were also a part of the Huskies 2007 championship team.
Another part of the Huskies’ success this season was its balance of talent, given so many of its offense and defense players are each scoring threats, making the team difficult to coach against, Mark Conover said. He feels the youth inline hockey programs in Castle Rock, which weren’t around a few years ago, is one reason the high school-level team is littered with skilled players.
“We’re now starting to see some of the talent that’s been coming up through those programs,” Conover said.
In 4A-Summit action, Taran Ferdowsian had four goals and one assist in the title game. His assist was to Jake Bruns, who scored the overtime game winner.
Andrew Donahue had one goal and three assists against the Rangers. Shots on goal were 33-32 in favor of Lewis-Palmer. County goalie Ally Fanning came up with 26 saves.
For more information on the Colorado High School Inline Hockey Association, visit its Web site at www.chsiha.org.
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