Taos Coyotes survive the sting of the Scorpions
Compared to the calm and friendly game the Taos Coyotes played versus the Los Alamos Rams, the physicality between the Coyotes and the New Mexico Amateur Hockey Association Scorpions on Saturday (Feb. 19) was more reminiscent of a scene from the classic hockey film, “Slapshot.” Bodies were sliding across the rink, taking down multiple hockey players with them in the process. Tenyear-olds, whether malicious or not, were body checked up against the boards.
The Scorpions were savvy with their physicality. If a Coyote had the inside track toward the Scorpion goal, they were not afraid to do a slight shove with their hands or elbows to interrupt their progress. Late in the third period Jack Esquibel had a thunderous collision with a Scorpion during a frantic pursuit for the biscuit. It was the type of collision where opposing players are sent back toward the direction they came from. From the Coyotes bench, Rio Cordova was all riled up from that play, the same way a football fan gets riled up watching a linebacker deliver a monster hit on a running back running through a gap in the offensive line.
Play continued for a few more seconds, but once it was obvious the players were not going to get up quickly, the referees blew their whistles to pause the game. Esquibel needed time to recover from the shock of the impact but otherwise appeared to be fine.
The lightning-quick Marcelo Richert got to experience a team more than willing to use their bodies to dispossess him of the puck. Still, he was up for the challenge. He would go on to score five goals for the Coyotes. In the first period he had two of them. In the second period the Scorpions adjusted and used that physicality to slow him down. Then Marcelo Richert adjusted as well and scored three more goals in the third period.
But, no matter how good of an offense you may have, you still
have to prevent the other team from scoring.
Troy Edminston played the position of goalie for the third game in a row, turning in a fine performance with 11 saves. He blocked shots with his shoulder pads, with his gloves, with the toe of his hockey stick and even with his feet. He had a couple of important saves with speeding unobstructed Scorpions barreling down on him.
The Coyotes held a 2-0 lead after the first period. Players who previously made little impact were starting to have bigger roles and
were far more confident when in possession of the puck. There were several occasions where either Leif Hurtado or Emi Pena would
weave through traffic from their defensive zone all the way into the attacking zone. Cordova was more of an obstructing presence in the middle of the rink, utilizing his size to ward off both attackers and defenders. The team was also more disciplined, allowing fewer breakaways than in previous games.
The NMAHA house teams, consisting of Mini Mite (6U) all the way to Bantam (14U) have been practicing and playing games since October of last year. The Taos Coyotes, on the other hand, have only been practicing since midDecember.
In the second period the Scorpions flexed their overall superior skating prowess, which led to three goals to take the lead 3-2. Two were from Carina Diaz and one from Garin Harris.
In this closely-contested match
a few of the Coyotes shots on target either ricocheted violently off the post or missed by no more than an inch to the side.
In the final minute, the Scorpions were up 5-4. Still the Coyotes didn’t let up. After a critical save at the 1:49 mark by Edminston, Marcelo Richert hit the game tying goal with 38.9 seconds to go in the game. The game settled peacefully at 5-5.
After the game, in what might now be a standard ritual, Edminston lay flat on the ice while his teammates gathered around him and pretended to beat him viciously with heavy haymakers.
In a post game interview coach Mark Richert commented on the physical nature of this game, “I’m glad actually they’re getting bumped around, introducing them to what really happens [at a higher level].”