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2015-16 AJH Season Wrap-Up

By Staff, 03/18/16, 6:15PM MDT

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Summaries from an Amazing Season of Aspen Junior Hockey

 

20U Leafs:

As the founding member of the RMJHL, it was fitting that the Aspen Leafs hoisted the inaugural RMJHL trophy after claiming an overtime victory in what hopes to be the first of many RMJHL championships.  The team finished with an impressive 36-6 record, and led the league in nearly all statistical categories.  The Leafs achieved an impressive 36.4% success rate on the power-play, and a staggering 88.2% success rate killing penalties, both tops in the nation.  Forward Andrew Lee (Portland, OR) led the RMJHL in points with a staggering 109 points (43 goals, 66 assists) in only 39 games played.   Taylor Knight (Las Vegas, NV) was second in scoring with 72 points (26 goals, 46 assists).  Defenseman Viacheslav Goev (Krasnodar, Russia) finished third with 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists).  Goaltender Matt Soldano was the Daily Award winner.

19U A Leafs:

With a young roster led by upperclassmen Katie Peshek, Kelsey Fitzgerald, Brooke Pisani, Ali McNichol and Dara Schenck, Aspen once again completed a successful winning season.  In the MSGHL play the Leafs finished in fourth-place with a 13-7 overall record, and were ranked second with the most goals scored (58) and shots on net (464). Aspen concluded the season with a third place finish in the MSGHL playoffs.  Cally Erickson led the team in scoring (fifth in the MSGHL) with 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists). Pisani recorded 17 points (22 goals, 6 assists), and McNichol finished with 16 points (13 goals, 3 assists).  Goaltender Sonya Benson stopped an impressive 355 of 397 shots, and finished the season with four shutouts.  Kelsey Fitzgerald was the Daily Award winner.

14U AA Leafs:

In their second season playing Tier hockey, Aspen turned heads with the tremendous success experienced this season.  Led by former NAHA Head Coach Emily Knutson, the Leafs were only three points away from advancing to the Rocky Mountain District Championships.  Playing in the highest level of sanctioned hockey in Colorado this season, Aspen competed against the three front-range powerhouse programs: Colorado Select, Lady Roughriders, and Colorado Springs.  The team finished with a 5-6-1 record in one of the most competitive leagues in recent history.  In addition, Aspen finished second in the Vail 19U tournament (MLK weekend) with a 3-1-1 record.  The highlight of the season came in Washington D.C. fittingly over President's Day weekend, where the Leafs finished third in the NAHA (AAA) Challenge Cup defeating the Boston Shamrocks and taking the powerhouse D.C. Pride to multiple shootout rounds.  In league games, forward AK Fuentes led the team in scoring with 8 points (7 goals, 1 assist).  Sasha Brucker finished the regular season with 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) in 12 games.  Katie Yocum (5 goals, 1 assist) and Juna Rettig (3 goals, 3 assists) concluded the season tied for third in scoring.  Zaya Sax was the Daily Award winner. 

14U A Leafs:

Aspen started the season with a hard fought 2-1 championship win at the Rocky Mountain Silver Sticks tournament.  The Leafs went undefeated in the October event with a 4-0-1 record.  In MSGHL league play, the Leafs finished with a 6-8-2 final record and advanced to the MSGHL playoffs.  Forward Laney Martens led the team in scoring with 14 points (9 goals, 5 assists).  Lillian Cassidy finished second with 12 points (9 goals, 3 assists).  Anja Simpson and Jaelin Nakagawa were tied for third in total scoring.  Simpson registered 11 points (1 goal, 10 assists), and Nakagawa tallied 9 goals and 2 assists.  Goaltender Sammie Jaworski stopped 302 of 367 shots in the regular season and playoffs combined.  Lillian Cassidy was the Daily Award Winner.

Bantam A Leafs:

Aspen completed an extremely successful season at the Pepsi Center as the runner-up in the CAHA state championships.  The Leafs finished the regular season with a 13-1-4 overall CDYHL record and claimed three tournament titles.  The team started the season with a 4-0 record and championship victory hosting the Fall-Faceoff tournament in October.  Over MLK weekend, Aspen captured the Cactus Cup championship in Phoenix with a perfect 5-0 record, and won the 40th annual President’s Day Tournament in Colorado Springs.  After a disappointing finish in the CDYHL playoffs, the Leafs marched through the State tournament to the championship game only to fall short to the Littleton Hawks.  Robbie Fitzgerald led the team in league play scoring with 20 points (12 goals, 8 assists), good enough for third in the CDYHL.  Max Ufkes finished second on the team with 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists).  Henry Morrison and Jack Pevny both tallied 12 points.  Morrison collected 7 goals and 5 assists; Pevny delivered 10 goals and 2 assists.  Goaltender Gage Redman had an impressive season, posting a stingy 1.21 goals against average in league play.  Henry Morrison was the Daily Award Winner.

Bantam B Leafs:

After a slow start to the season in the Fall Faceoff Tournament, Aspen completed the final October event displaying their potential with a convincing 7-0 win over Arapahoe. With a young roster, the Leafs demonstrated the ability to dominate hockey games, winning 7 league games by 4 or more goals.  The team completed CDYHL play with a 14-4 record, outscoring their opponents 70-33.  The Leafs performance in the state playoffs, although not reflective on the scoreboard, proved their ability to compete with any team.  Nine players from the roster return for a second year of bantam hockey.  Brady Hornburg led the team in scoring with 23 points (6 goals, 17 assists).  Keaton Miller was second, finishing regular season play with 22 points (14 goals, 8 assists).  Team captain Riley Johnson was third with 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists).  Goaltender Logan Soderberg led the CDYHL in save percentage (.925).  His posted goals-against average (1.77) was second in the league.  Keaton Miller was the Daily Award winner. 

12U A Leafs:

Although it was not reflected in the final standings, the Aspen Leafs experienced a productive and successful season,  The team finished with a 2-12 MSGHL record, with 8 of the 12 losses were by 3 goals or less. The Achilles heel for Aspen was in the scoring department, as the Leafs were only able to score 15 goals in 14 league games.  Over MLK, the team received a offensive boost from 14U players Amanda Simeone (2 goals) and Lillian Cassidy (7 goals), who helped the Leafs cruise to an undefeated weekend and 3-0 Vail tournament victory.  In MSGHL play, CC Cassidy led the team in scoring with 5 points (5 goals).  Riley Puckett finished second on the team with 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists), and forwards Hannah Popish and Maddie Hicks were third with 2 points each.  Popish tallied a goal and an assist; Hicks netted two goals in MSGHL play.  Goaltender Linea Earl registered 174 saves on 219 shots.  Lucy Lampe was the Daily Award winner.

Peewee A Leafs:

Aspen almost completed an impossible feat—go the entire regular season and playoffs without losing a game.  They came up 2 goals short in the CAHA State championship game at the Pepsi Center.  The state runner-up and CDYHL champions finished the regular season and playoffs with a 24-1-2 record. Aspen dominated CDYHL play, outscoring their opponents 102-27.  Out of 17 league victories, the Leafs won by 3 goals or more 13 times.  Brooks Bond led the team scoring with 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists).  Wilder Jacober finished a close second with 33 points in 18 games (18 goals, 15 assists).  Dane Whiston was third in scoring with 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists).  Goaltender Zach Small led the league with a 1.47 goals against average, six shutouts, and 17 wins.  Zach Small was the Daily Award winner.

Peewee B Leafs:

After a 2-2 start at the Fall Faceoff tournament in October, Aspen took flight for a tremendous ride.  On the way, the Leafs captured the CDYHL regular season title, and the CDYHL playoff championship.  The ride ended at the CAHA State final-four with a 3-1 loss to Northern Colorado.  During the regular season, Aspen dominated the competition finishing with a 16-1-1 record.   The team outscored their opponents by a lopsided133-27 margin, winning by 4 goals or more in 13 games.  Brady Conrardy led the team in scoring with an impressive 59 points in only 18 games (37 goals, 22 assists).  Braden Haisfield was second on the team in scoring with 39 points (22 goals, 17 assists), and Quinn Bowden finished third tallying 29 points (22 goals, 7 assists).  Goaltender Brannan Bridger led the CDYHL with 16 wins and 6 shutouts, and finished second in the league with a 1.66 goals against average.  Carter Schmela was the Daily Award winner.

Squirt B Leafs:

With a young roster, the Leafs success is best judged by the improvement of skills and teamwork rather than the scoreboard.  On the scoreboard, Aspen finished the season with a 5-11-2 record; six of the losses were by 2 goals or less.  A lack of scoring in the third period derailed the Leafs quest for a playoff berth as only 7 of the 40 regular season goals (2.22 goals per came) came in the final stanza.  Ryder Rondeau led the team in scoring with 25 points in 18 games (18 goals, 7 assists).  Thyler Olivier finished second in scoring registering 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists).  Paul Schenck was third with 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists).  Goaltender Jeremiah Swenson stopped 312 of 365 shots, and recorded one shutout.  Treven Ward was the Daily Award winner. 

Squirt C Leafs:

Aspen experienced tremendous improvement and success, finishing the regular season with an 11-5 overall record and fourth place finish in the CDYHL.  In 16 games, the Leafs outscored their opponents 88-39, winning by 3 goals or more in 8 games.   Forward Jack Freitas led the team in scoring with 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists).  Cooper Russell was second with 20 points (16 goals, 4 assists), and Lucas Johnson finished third in scoring with 18 points (13 goals, 5 assists).  Splitting goaltending duties, Edward Zane stopped 86 of 106 shots, Will Haneman recorded 49 saves on 61 shots, and Gage Anderson turned away 18 of 25 shots.  Casey Light was the Daily Award winner.