HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY: Dakota Ridge is trying to create a “dynasty” on the ice, coach Jeff Towle says.
Denver Post preps editor Kyle Newman caught up with Dakota Ridge hockey coach Jeff Towle to discuss the No. 6 Eagles (4-2), how the program is attempting to crack into the state’s elite, motivations this season and more.
Q : How are you settling in on your first year on the job after four seasons as an assistant coach in the program?
A: The last head coach, Alec Hines, did a great job of building up the program to what it is and he handed me a great hockey club. I didn’t have to start from scratch, and I’m grateful for how Hines mentored me and got me ready to take over the program before he retired. He made the program reputable for people to want to come play with our team, and I’ve got a lot of talent on my roster because of that.
Q : After a 2-1 loss to Regis Jesuit in last season’s state quarterfinals, how are you trying to elevate the program?
A: What I’ve told my guys is that we’re trying to take this thing from a team to a dynasty. You look at great teams that are out there who have done very well and are consistently good from year to year — Regis Jesuit, Monarch, Cherry Creek — and a lot of them have programs that feed into their varsity programs. So for the first time this year, Dakota Ridge has a JV team in place, and we have a handful of freshmen in the program. That’s a great step to take to get younger kids into the program, get younger kids out on the ice and continue to grow our talent pool.
Q : Can you tell me about your leaders this season?
A: I have great leadership this year — not just the guys who are wearing my letters for me, but the guys who are in the locker room too. And for the first time, we’ve built in an outside weights program so that we can build that momentum off the ice as well. Senior goalie Alex Karas is in his fourth year in the program, junior Parker Spaan gets the dirty goals that you have to work hard for in front of the net, and senior Dale Richards is just a really talented player who can do everything for us on the offensive end of the ice. Q : What needs work during the second half of the season?
A: We’re doing a lot with special teams. We’ve gotten a lot of short-handed goals, which is great for us, but we’d like to be less shorthanded ourselves. We’re going to work on not taking penalties when we don’t need to, because that’s going to be critical against the good teams.
Q : How would you describe your team’s mindset as it looks capable of making a playoff run and potentially challenging the top three teams — No. 1 Regis Jesuit, No. 2 Valor Christian and No. 3 Monarch?
A: I think there’s a tenacity there. We went to the semifinals three years ago, and the boys are hungry to get back there and prove they’ve been putting in the work to become elite. It’s easy to look at those powerhouses and understand how they became that way, but our boys want to break down that wall a little bit and show that Dakota Ridge is a force to be reckoned with this year.