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Preps Dec. 8: Aspen hockey loses to No. 1 Regis, AHS boys win second game

The Aspen High School hockey team hosted No. 1 Regis Jesuit on Saturday at Lewis Ice Arena.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

The Aspen High School hockey team lost 8-2 against visiting Regis Jesuit on Saturday at Lewis Ice Arena, a game that was much closer than the final score says.

“I think at this point now we’ve had as many practices as we’ve had games,” AHS coach Dru Lucchesi said. “It’s just getting them to believe in themselves and believe in the process.”

Regis, the No. 1-ranked team and the defending state champions, led 2-0 midway through the first period before the Skiers rallied. Junior Jack Pevny got Aspen on the board late in the period before senior Dominic Lanese scored off a power play early in the second period to tie the game at two goals each.



The Raiders took control from there, scoring twice more in the second period to lead 4-2 at the second intermission. In the third period, Regis Jesuit added four more goals, three of them coming in the final four minutes when the game was already out of reach.

Regis (3-0) outshot the Skiers 50-12 and went 3 for 4 on power plays. Aspen was only 1 for 4.




Now 1-2-1 overall, the Skiers will head on the road for the first time this season with a game Friday at Denver East and a game Saturday at Doherty. Aspen will then host Steamboat Springs on Dec. 21, the final game before the holiday break.

“We just want to stay on an upward trajectory and peak in the playoffs,” Lucchesi said. “We have a lot we still need to work on. It’s still real early. But as a starting point, yeah, we are really excited about it.”

Aspen boys basketball beats Soroco for second win

The Aspen High School boys basketball team won for the second time in as many days with a 53-35 win over Soroco on Saturday in the consolation final of the Cowboy Shootout, hosted by Meeker.

Senior Noah Hollander led the Skiers with 16 points, while junior Jonathan Woodrow added 14.

After losses to Rifle and Meeker to start the season, Aspen (2-2) beat Dolores on Friday before the win over the Rams on Saturday. Next up, the Skiers will host rival Basalt on Wednesday in a boys only, non-league contest.

Aspen girls basketball can’t find basket in second half

The Aspen High School girls basketball team lost 59-19 to Hotchkiss on Saturday inside the AHS gymnasium.

The Skiers played a competitive first half, trailing 18-6 after a quarter and 32-17 at halftime, but only scored two points in the second half.

Hotchkiss improved to 5-0 with the win, while Aspen fell to 1-3. The Skiers are next scheduled to play Friday at Vail Christian.

Basalt boys finish fourth in Weld Central tournament

The Basalt High School boys basketball team concluded play Saturday at the Izzy Leet Classic, hosted by Weld Central High School, with a 62-49 loss to the host team. BHS finished fourth in the eight-team tournament.

“We continue to get better and put ourselves in positions to win, we just aren’t capitalizing,” BHS coach C.P. Martinez wrote in a text. “We did a great job being aggressive on offense and getting to the bonus early in both halves, but went 7-21 from the (free throw) line.”

With the loss, the Longhorns fall to 1-5 overall with Wednesday’s trip to Aspen next on the schedule. They host Rifle on Friday.

Basalt girls still winless after loss to Palisade

The Basalt High School girls basketball team fell to 0-6 overall after a 32-23 loss to Palisade on Saturday. The game was part of the Wildcat Classic, hosted by Fruita Monument. The Longhorns had lost 52-40 to Grand Junction Central on Friday and 55-15 to Fruita on Thursday. Sophomore Gracie Reardon was the team’s all-tournament player.

BHS is off until hosting Rifle on Friday.

Aspen HIGH girls swim season off to solid start

The Aspen High School girls swim team got its season underway this weekend with a meet Friday at Glenwood Springs High School and a second meet Saturday at the Aspen Recreation Center pool, with AHS and Glenwood going head-to-head.

Friday, the Skiers finished third out of six teams. Glenwood won as the host, while Grand Junction was second.

In Saturday’s home meet, Aspen only had 13 swimmers to Glenwood’s 30, but kept it close in a 105-76 loss. After two meets, the Skiers have already qualified their 200 medley, 200 free and 400 free relay teams for the state finals.

In what coach Kathleen Callahan is calling a “building year,” AHS had two freshmen combine for three wins Saturday. Laila Khan-Farooqi won both the 100 fly and the 200 free, while Kayla Tehrani won the 100 free. Senior Davy Brown, who is committed to swim for Colorado Mesa, won both the 50 free and the 100 back. Sophomore Emily Kinnney won the 100 breast.

acolbert@aspentimes.com