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Briefs Feb. 17: AHS hockey is No. 17 seed, to face Kent Denver in playoffs

Aspen hockey vs. Valor Christian on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, at Lewis Ice Arena. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times).
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

The Aspen High School hockey team will be the No. 17 seed in the state tournament, which was announced Sunday. The Skiers (6-7-4 overall) will open play at 3 p.m. Tuesday against No. 16 seed Kent Denver (12-6-1) at Joy Burns Arena on the University of Denver campus.

The two teams haven’t played since the 2015-16 season, with the Skiers winning 4-3 on Feb. 5, 2016, at Lewis Ice Arena. After winning only 10 combined games from the 2012-13 season through that 2015-16 season, the Sun Devils have finished with double-digit victories each of the past three seasons. They made the state quarterfinals last year as a No. 10 seed.

Aspen, a No. 11 seed last year, also made the state quarterfinals before a 4-2 loss to No. 3 seed Valor Christian, the eventual state runner-up.

The winner of Tuesday’s game between Kent and Aspen will face No. 1 seed Regis Jesuit (18-1), the defending state champion, on Friday in the Round of 16. For the complete bracket, go to CHSAANow.com.

BASALT’S LOPEZ HEADS TO STATE WRESTLING

The state wrestling brackets were announced Sunday, with Basalt High School junior Ernesto Lopez being the lone qualifier for the Longhorns. Lopez (23-3) will face Alameda International junior Carlos Flores (32-7) in the first round of the Class 3A heavyweight bracket.

The full brackets can be viewed at CHSAANow.com.

The state tournament gets underway Thursday and runs through Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Lopez finished second in his Class 3A Region 1 tournament over the weekend. He is a first time state qualifier.

acolbert@aspentimes.com