Glenwood Springs senior defenseman Sam Rosenberg, seen here in the team’s first round game against Durango on Tuesday, scored the overtime goal on Saturday in Colorado Springs to send the Demons to the state championship game. It is being played on Monday at the University of Denver.
Reporter
Glenwood Springs senior defenseman Sam Rosenberg, seen here in the team’s first round game against Durango on Tuesday, scored the overtime goal on Saturday in Colorado Springs to send the Demons to the state championship game. It is being played on Monday at the University of Denver.
No. 1 Glenwood Springs hockey won a second straight thriller of a playoff hockey game on Saturday in the 4A semifinals in Colorado Springs, downing No. 4 Summit 3-2 in overtime. Once again, the Demons came back from behind and, once again, scored the game-winning goal late. This time, it was about six minutes into overtime when senior defenseman Sam Rosenberg let a shot fly from the left circle, beating Summit goaltender Matthew Tater for just the third time on 45 shots.
“Me and a couple of the other kids were crying from how much joy we actually had. You’d think we lost the game,” senior co-captain Wylon Deter said via phone on Saturday. “We really want it. The emotions were so high and it just feels great to get back to (the state championship).”
The win delivers Glenwood to the state championship game for the second time in the last three years. The 2023 edition of the Demons fell in triple overtime to Cheyenne Mountain.
Summit spoiled Glenwood Springs’ senior night in a stunning 7-2 rout on Jan. 31. It was Glenwood’s only loss of the season and the first time since January 2023 (against eventual state champion Cheyenne Mountain) that they lost by five goals.
Like their first round playoff game against Durango in Aspen on Tuesday, Glenwood surrendered the first goal of the game to Summit as they controlled offensive zone play.
Unlike the game against Durango, Glenwood then ceded the second goal just over halfway through the second period.
Late in the second period Glenwood scored two goals just 11 seconds apart: one just two seconds into a power play by Deter and the second by Beck Weatherred, cleaning up a wraparound attempt by forward captain Jacob Roggie. They outshot Summit 16-7 in the frame, according to GameSheet Inc. scoring.
They continued to carry the momentum in the third, going 18-7 in shots, but neither team found the net.
Summit came out with energy in the eight-minute overtime and actually outshot Glenwood 6-4 in the frame.
Rosenberg pinched in from the point to keep the puck in the offensive zone, paying the price of a heavy check that knocked him to the ice. But 10 seconds later, the puck bounced back to the top of the circle, where he took a wrister that may have deflected off a Summit defender into the net.
Freshman goaltender Isaac Zevin made 26 saves — again according to GameSheet — and was poised in the crease, controlling rebounds and stopping several odd-man rushes and breakaway opportunities.
The victory was covered in greater detail on Saturday on AspenDailyNews.com.
The Demons will face another mountain team in the finals in Steamboat Springs.
Glenwood swept the teams’ two meetings this season, 4-1 and 3-0, including the Sailors’ regular season home finale. Both of their losses to Glenwood came on the second leg of back-to-back contests, both times facing Summit the day prior.
The Sailors went 14-4 overall and finished 9-4 in the 4A Mountain League, good for third place behind Glenwood and Summit. Through 18 regular season games they allowed only 33 goals; only Glenwood’s 27 were better.
The Springs will face off at the University of Denver’s Magness Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday. It will be livestreamed on NFHSNetwork.com (subscription required) and tickets for those making the trip are $15.
Following are other updates from around high school sports.
Aspen is the big winner in Sunday’s bracket releases, taking the No. 3 seed in 4A and clinching home turf through the first two rounds. The Skiers will host No. 30 Pagosa Springs and the contest between No. 14 Montezuma-Cortez and No. 19 Timnath on Friday. The winners of those two contests will play in Aspen on Saturday.
Basalt made the tournament cut as the No. 26 seed and is heading to No. 7 Sterling for the first round in 4A.
In 3A, Roaring Fork will get a favorable matchup as the No. 15 seed, taking on No. 18 Denver Christian at Windsor Charter, the No. 2 seed.
In 5A, Glenwood Springs exited the state tournament after a tight play-in game at Pueblo Central, 73-71 on Tuesday. The Demons were the No. 34 seed and the Wildcats were the No. 31 seed.
Roaring Fork came within one seed of hosting playoff games. In the 3A bracket, the Rams claimed the No. 9 spot and will play No. 24 Lyons at the host site, No. 8 Strasburg.
In 5A, No. 27 Glenwood Springs beat No. 38 Cheyenne Mountain 51-33 in the play-in round before falling to No. 6 Mullen 69-18 on Saturday.
Aspen and Basalt did not make the cut for the state tournament.
Kate Goldfarb’s 10th place in the 5 km skate marked the highlight for Aspen in the inaugural Nordic state championship in Steamboat Springs.
Goldfarb posted a time of 16 minutes and 26.1 seconds. Annabelle Case placed 16th and Sasha Clifford placed 45th.
Will Goldfarb placed 47th on the boys side.
CRMS sent four athletes: Wren Groves Benedict (49th in the girls 5 km classic), Henry O’Hagan (42nd in classic and 44th in skate), Corbin Anno (56th in classic), and Wyatt Smith (25th in the skate).
Nordic and Alpine were previously combined. The AHS Skiers boys and girls both won the Alpine state titles on Feb. 21.
The spring season gets underway this week with Palisade traveling to Glenwood Springs for girls soccer on Thursday. Friday features a track and field meet in Grand Junction and a boys swim meet in Montrose. Saturday includes a track and field meet in Delta and some of the first lacrosse and baseball games.
rich@aspendailynews.com
Reporter
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Join our community of readers who value daily beat reporting and in-depth stories alike. Your membership allows us to continue the legacy of local, independent journalism in the Roaring Fork Valley. With your support, we can remain a free and accessible source of news for everyone, always without paywalls or corporate influence. Together, we can ensure that vital local stories are told.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Wake up to today’s headlines in your inbox. Information is just a click away.
Be the first to know what’s happening as it’s happening. When a story breaks, your email dings.
Catch up on the week’s most-read stories. Perfect Sunday reading.
Weekly emails full of authentic mountain lifestyle stories, events and photos. The best things in life are Local.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
