Taos Youth Hockey season comes to an end at Coyote Classic
Taos Youth Hockey came to a sharp hockey stop two weekends ago as the association completed hosting the second weekend of the 21st annual Coyote Classic tournament, led by Tournament Director Alex Cleveland. Taos hosted 20 travel teams in the 6U, 8U, 10U and 12U divisions from New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas.
Taos had three teams entered in the weekend fray March 15-17.
8U
The 8U ice tigers played a round-robin tournament against three other teams from New Mexico and Colorado, benefiting from the experience of playing teams of different levels.
“The 8U and 6U Ice Tigers started the season with only a few players who had never been on the ice,” coach Gunnar Meiers said. “By the end of the Coyote Classic, we developed a squad of hockey players.”
“The Mites and Minis skated hard and are excited to lace up the skates again next winter,” Meiers continued. “We’re still building our program.”
10U
The Taos Ice Tigers 10U team, led by head coach Greg Bobick, fought hard against tough, competitive teams despite being down a couple of players.
“I am very proud of the 10U
Ice Tigers,” said Raul Hurtado, first year 10U assistant coach. “They showed up to the Classic ready to take on B-level competition and did an outstanding job playing their best. Even though we didn’t have any wins over the three-day tournament, the kids hustled and played with a lot of heart and grew closer as a team.”
The 10U Ice Tigers first played the Wichita Thunder, with a 0-0 score in the first period. Wichita found a goal in the 2nd period, but Taos tied it up with Kellen Emory-Crowther scoring the only goal for the Tigers. Goalie Cash Hurtado worked the net, blocking 22 of 25 shots, allowing two more in the third stanza. The final score was 4-1, with the final goal a result of a breakaway by a Thunder player who scored on an empty net just before the game buzzer rang.
On Saturday the 10U boys faced off against the eventual winner of the tournament, the Pueblo Bulls Red. Taos struggled to get the puck out of their zone and took in a devastating 11 goals with the only score from Taos coming from power skater Stephen Wilcomb in the second period.
Saturday evening the 10U Ice Tigers finished their season with a close game against the Pikes Peak Catamounts. They struggled without key players, who were out due to injury or illness.
Their team was strengthened, however, by borrowed players from Albuquerque, Finn Gibbs and Harrison Conner, whose player provided a key assist in the second period. The game puck went to number 8 Greg Bobick II for his exceptional grit on the ice all weekend.
12U
Even with three losses to travel clubs to close out the season, the 12U Ice Tigers rec team will carry the momentum of a solid season into the future.
The 12U group started the Coyote Classic with a 7-2 loss to a smooth skating and finely tuned Arvada Black team. Goals by Case Cook and Marcelo Richert gave glimmers of hope as the 12U battled to the final buzzer but could not overcome the deficit.
Saturday afternoon (March 16) the 12U team faced off against the eventual tournament champion Arvada B team. Arvada dominated opponents throughout the tournament, averaging nine goals a game and allowing less than one goal against each of their five opponents during the weekend.
Taos ended the first period all tied at one on a goal by Emi Pena, and brilliant goaltending from Troy Edmiston, who continued his heroic effort in the second period by knocking away all 11 Arvada B shots. Taos grabbed the lead in the third period on a goal by Richert. The powerful Arvada group clawed back and reclaimed the lead with a pair of back-to-back goals. Arvada then sealed the 4-2 victory with an empty-net goal late in regulation. Taos offered the champs their closest game by far, as Arvada B outscored opponents 45-4 enroute to their championship.
Taos closed out the season with a 4-1 loss to the Durango Ice Devils. The game was tight until midway through the second period, when Durango found the net three times within two minutes. Richert put in a goal off an Acedo assist to make it interesting, but Durango scored once again to complete the victory, which closed out the Taos season.
With just three victories in their first 13 games through early January, the 12U Ice Tigers finished competitively with 18 victories in their final 30 games, which included 14 games against strong teams from Colorado. Even with three losses to tough teams to close out the season, the players were more upset that their hockey season was over; they won’t be back at the rink together until November.
The association finished off the season with an annual meeting March 20, electing four new officers to the youth hockey association’s board. The association is always looking for new players. They offer scholarships, skating lessons and free gear.