Ice Tigers continue winning ways with solid play over weekend
The Taos Ice Tigers were on the road this past weekend for a triad of games against the Santa Fe Blue Jackets and the two Albuquerque Ice Wolves teams Feb. 2-4. The Ice Tigers came into the weekend riding a three-game winning streak, and emerged with an additional two wins and a tie.
Despite being shorthanded for their game against Santa Fe, the Ice Tigers showed a great deal of resiliency and poise — putting an exclamation point on their dominance over a gritty Blue Jackets squad.
With the wins and the tie, Taos now owns a 9-4-1 (0.678-win percentage) overall record heading into the final seven games of their season.
Santa Fe
The first stop on their road trip was a rematch against the Santa Fe Blue Jackets at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center ice rink Feb. 2. The modern indoor arena was the venue for the second go-round between these two teams after their first meetup was overshadowed by a physical altercation that caused several penalties and ejections.
Right from the start, Taos went on the offensive and scored the first of two goals within a few minutes. At the 12:29 mark, Hayden
Greywolf hit a 30-foot shot just left of center ice — giving the Ice Tigers the early lead and momentum. The second goal came when Hanna Weinman assisted Porter Pepper, and Taos was able to garner another first period point at the 4:08 mark. A sneaky goal by the Blue Jackets with just over 30 seconds remaining in the period narrowed the lead to 2-1 as time expired.
The Ice Tigers’ lead was shortlived, however, as Santa Fe’s Noah Shandler tied things up in the second period with a goal at the 14:19 mark. A little over a minute later, Rocket Holmes handed Taos the lead back with a slithery shot that made it past the goalie, but barely crossed the goal line. Relentless pursuit by Santa Fe led to another goal to tie up the score with 3:15 left in the second stanza.
Taos fans chortled a sigh of relief when Holmes made a second goal at the 2:20 mark. This time, the Ice Tigers would not yield the lead back to the Blue Jackets again; and after a pair of follow-up goals in the final stanza by Hanna Weinman and Greywolf, Taos would hang on and clinch a 6-5 victory.
Albuquerque Red
Back at full strength (with single-game suspensions served during the Santa Fe game) the Ice Tigers traveled to Albuquerque to take on both Red and White New
Mexico Ice Wolves at the Outpost Ice Rink on the East side of the city Feb. 4.
The first game of the day was against the Red Wolves, and occurred at 8 a.m. In that match, the two teams traded goals and the lead throughout regulation. After one period, the score was knotted up at 2-2. At the end of the second stanza, Taos was ahead 6-5. An additional two goals scored by Taos was answered by three goals scored by the Red Wolves in the final period; resulting in an 8-8 tie.
In the stalemate, Taos’ Rocket Holmes had a four-goal game, while David Vargas was credited with a “hat trick” for his three goals garnered in each period. A shorthand goal by BreAnna Taylor at the 11:54 mark in the third period rounded out all scorers for the Ice Tigers.
Albuquerque White
In the second game of the day, Taos faced the New Mexico White Ice Wolves at 2:45 p.m. This was the fourth meet-up between the two teams, who met at the MidSeason Showcase in Alamosa Jan. 12, followed by a double-header victory Jan. 19 and 20. On this occasion, the Ice Tigers completed the sweep with a 7-2 win, completing the slate of weekend games with a 2-0-1 record.
Once again, Rocket Holmes finished the game with four goals. David Vargas, Aiden Stow and Killian Grove each pumped in a single goal to round out scorers for Taos.
The Ice Tigers return to the Taos Youth and Family Center Ice Rink this week for a rematch against the Los Alamos Hilltoppers Saturday (Feb. 10). Game time is 5:15 p.m.
Taos is back on the road for a pair of games in El Paso to take on the Rhinos Feb. 17-18.