• 19U Girls:

Aspen travelled to Santa Fe for a highly anticipated matchup featuring the top two teams in the MSGHL.  The Leafs returned home Sunday with sole passion of first place by gaining three out of four possible points against the New Mexico Mustangs.  On Saturday night in game one of the two-game series, Aspen dominated with an impressive performance.  Outshooting the Mustangs 42-11, the Leafs skated to a 5-0 victory.  Juna Rettig and Maddy Rubinoff scored in the first period, Kaelin Harris netted a power play goal in the second, and Amdanda Simeone and Harris finished the scoring in the final stanza.  Goaltender Sammi Jaworski collected her first MSGHL shutout and fourth win this season.   On Sunday, once again Aspen dominated play finishing with a shot advantage of 31-12.  They struggled however to finish, only lighting the lamp once.  After going down 1-0 in second period, Sophia Mitchell tied the game for the final tally of the day.  With the 1-1 tie, both teams finished the weekend with 13 total points in the MSGHL season, with Aspen gaining the tie breaker advantage with the win Saturday night.  Aspen now takes a holiday break before traveling to Gunnison January 6-7 for a pair of league games against West Elk.  

• High School Varsity:

Earlier in the week (Tuesday night), the Aspen Skiers finished a thrilling back and forth contest against league rival Battle Mountain with a 5-4 victory.  Robbie Fitzgerald opened the scoring early in the first period to give Aspen the first lead of the game.  After giving up the tying goal early in second period, Henry Ferguson reclaimed the lead 2-1 with just under two minutes remaining before the second break.  In the third period, the Skiers gave up the first two goals before Ty Yocum netted his first of the season to tie the game 3-3.  After falling behind for the second time in the game with seven minutes remaining in regulation, Fitzgerald netted a power play goal to even the contest at 4-4 .  Less than two minutes later, Liam Rigney tallied the game winner sending the home crowd into frenzy.  Three days later, the Skiers travelled to Denver for a Friday night showdown against top ranked Regis.  Dominic Lanese scored the lone Aspen goal in a disappointing 8-1 loss.  The next night Aspen faced off against the Columbine Rebels.  Although the Skiers outshot the Rebels 42-25, they were unable to find the back of the net through three periods and overtime.  In his first full game, goaltender Logan Soderberg was brilliant in net, stopping all 25 shots to salvage an important league point in a 0-0 scoreless tie.  Aspen hosts the Doherty Spartans at the Ice Garden Tuesday, December 19 (2:30).

• High School Junior Varsity:

The Aspen Skiers improved to 3-1 with a 7-0 Tuesday afternoon victory over the Battle Mountain Huskies.  Connor Chesner scored four goals and Ethan Hunt notched his first three-goal hat-trick in the win.  Aspen outshot Battle Mountain by a lopsided 37-10 margin.  Goaltender Logan Soderberg was perfect, recording his second shutout and his third JV win this season. The Skiers return to action January 5 for a rematch against Battle Mountain at Dobson Arena in Vail.

• 16U Girls:

After a long road trip to Santa Fe, Aspen returned home with a pair of convincing wins over MSGHL rival New Mexico.  In game one, the Leafs outshot the Mustangs 41-22 claiming an 8-3 victory.  Lillian Cassidy, Casey Chesner, Amanda Simeone, and Mia Seltzer each scored two goals in the game.  Goaltender Linnea Earl recorded her third league win this season with 19 saves.  In game two, Aspen outshot New Mexico 31-17, completing the sweep with a 3-2 win.  Seltzer started the scoring just past the midway mark in the first period for a 1-0 lead. Hannah Popish scored her first goal this season 43 seconds into the third period to lift the Leafs to a 2-1 lead, and Chesner netted the game winner with just over three minutes left in regulation.  Aspen takes their 4-2 MSGHL record into the Holiday break before travelling to Gunnison for a weekend series against the West Elk Wolverines. 

• 12U Girls:

Aspen kept pace with the MSGHL leaders gaining two of four important league points on the road against the New Mexico Mustangs.  After the long trip to Santa Fe, Aspen struggled to get its offense going Saturday and suffered a tough 4-1 defeat.  Aspen’s leading scorer Kylani Nakagawa scored the lone Aspen goal.  On Sunday after a good night of rest, the Leafs exploded with seven goals to claim a 7-3 victory.  Adalaide Ryerson, CC Casidy and Nakagawa all tallied two goals each, and Gigi Ostrander notched her first MSGHL goal this season. With a 5-3 record, the second place Leafs take a long break from MSGHL action, returning to the ice for a pair of league games against first place Vail January 28. 

• Peewee A:

The Aspen Leafs claimed three points in a three game series against CDYHL Division rival West Elk.  In game one, Hudson Klindworth started the scoring midway through the first period to take an early 1-0 lead.  After giving up two second period goals, Aspen’s Cooper Russell tied the game with less than three minutes to play in regulation.  Goaltender Jeremiah Swenson made 16 saves as the Leafs skated to a 2-2 tie.  In game two, Ryder Rondeau took the opening faceoff down the ice and lit the lamp just 10 seconds into the contest.  Max Schlumberger netted the game winner later in the first period.  Goaltender Eddy Zane stood tall in net making 18 saves, including his biggest of the game with one second left in regulation to claim the 2-1 victory.  In game three, Tyler Olivier scored 45 seconds into the game, and Rondeau followed up less than three minutes later giving Aspen an early 2-0 lead.  Instead of extending their lead, the Leafs got themselves into penalty trouble registering 24 total minutes on 12 infractions.  Playing well over a full period short handed, Aspen was unable to mount a steady attack.  Giving up two power play goals, the Leafs eventually lost the game 4-2.

• Peewee B:

The Leafs opened up league action with a convincing sweep against the West Elk Wolverines.  In the first game on Saturday, Aspen dominated play, outshooting their opponents 31-9 to claim a 10-0 win.  Hudson Klindworth, Max Schlumberger, Cooper Russell, and Jeremiah Swenson each scored two goals.  Casey Light and Lucas Johnson rounded out the scoring, and goaltender Eddy Zane recorded his first CDYHL shutout this season.  In game two, the Leafs skated to a 9-1 victory.  Ryan Rigney, Gage Anderson and Ryder Rondeau each scored two goals.  Tyler Olivier, and Russell and Light each scored one, as the Leafs outshot the Wolverines 34-11.  The Leafs return to the ice on the road January 6/7 with four games against Vail Blue and Vail Red. 

• Squirt A:

The Aspen Squirt A team squared off against first place West Elk, coming away empty handed in a three-game CDYHL series at the Ice Garden.  In game one on Saturday, Aspen’s leading scorer Jack Freitas netted four goals along with Ryder Cohan and Dylan Ness in an evenly played 7-6 loss.  The Wolverines outshot the Leafs 23-20.  In game two Sunday morning, Aspen gave up too many breakaways and odd man rushes falling to West Elk 7-3.  Freitas tied the game midway through the first period 1-1.  In the second period, the Leafs closed the gap to 3-2 when Rupert Ingram lit the lamp.  From there the Wolverines took over the game registering four straight goals.  Five minutes into the third period Josh Ness notched his third league goal this season on the power to complete the scoring.  In the final game later Sunday morning, the Leafs were outshot 26-10 in an 8-3 loss.  The highlight of game came in the first period when Freitas netted his 10th league goal in just six games on a beautifully executed penalty shot (see video below). Gunnar Gleasman and Ness rounded out the scoring for Aspen.  The Leafs now take a holiday break before hosting Telluride for three games January 6/7 at Lewis Arena.

• 8U Mites:

The Aspen Leafs and Glenwood Grizzlies partnered over the weekend, sending four players each to the front-range for the Boulder Bison Mite tournament.  The Leafs finished with an impressive undefeated 6-0 record over two days of competition.  On Saturday, Aspen defeated Boulder YMCA, the Boulder Bison Navy team, Hyland Hills and Greeley.  Completing the sweep on Sunday, Aspen skated past the Boulder Bison Yellow team and Cheyenne (WY).  In an added bonus to the fun, the team attended the Colorado Avalanche game Saturday night.  Representing Aspen were: Henry Mellenthin, Magnus Carlson, Lilly Lauer, and Jakob Gee.