Miners rally with strong third period in win over Aspen Leafs hockey team
The Pikes Peak Miners haven’t had their backs to the wall too many times this season. And as the Aspen Leafs U20 hockey team found out Saturday, that’s a very dangerous place to find them.
In the second of a two-game series this weekend at Lewis Ice Arena, the host Leafs found themselves ahead 2-1 after two periods against the undefeated Miners, but an avalanche of goals in the third period led to an 8-2 win for Pikes Peak.
The Miners, who also won 3-0 on Friday in Aspen, improved to 15-0 on the season after the weekend sweep. The second-place Leafs fell to 8-7-1.
Aspen trailed 1-0 after a period in Saturday’s game, but second-period goals by Cory Kane and Brenden Polaski made it 2-1 Leafs entering the final intermission.
Not even six minutes into the third period, the Miners tied the game. Barely a minute later, they took the lead, and five more goals in the span of roughly eight minutes put the game away.
Five different players scored for the Miners, with two goals apiece coming from Paul Norris, Kole Mudra and Trevor Paradise.
The Leafs outshot the Miners, 48-20, but were 0 for 5 on power plays.
Aspen now is off for the holidays. The Leafs return to the ice Dec. 2 with a game against the Steamboat Wranglers in Glenwood Springs. Aspen and Steamboat play again Dec. 3 at the Aspen Ice Garden.
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