Dan MohrmannFor the first time under CHSAA play, there are hockey sweaters bearing the name and logo of the Fort Collins Lambkins.
And although the team represents Fort Collins High School, the kids that make up the roster represent nine different northern Colorado schools.
Such is the norm for hockey teams as they often fill their roster with kids from other schools who don’t have their own hockey program. It happens in Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and on the western slope.
“It’s pretty weird going to a different school to play hockey,” Greg Bilek said. “Everybody asks me why I’m wearing Fort Collins stuff. They’re all confused why I’m playing hockey for them. It’s kind of an awkward situation.”
Bilek goes to Loveland. But this winter, he’ll be known as one of the top scorers for the Lambkins. After they beat Liberty 5-2 on Saturday, he was tied for the team lead in points with 16. He’s tied for third on the team with six goals scored.
Fort Collins is just the latest program to play with kids from multiple schools, but it’s the Lambkin’s surprising 7-0-0 start that has gotten noticed as they have climbed to No. 2 in the CHSAANow.com hockey rankings.
Watching that team play, one thing is very simple: The players might be rivals for the majority of the school year, but they’re as tight as any team in the state when it comes to trying to win hockey games.
“It’s interesting because you’re playing with rival schools, but you’re a family,” Fort Collins senior Jack McDonnell said. “We’ve all been playing together a long time for the Junior Eagles, so it’s really a blast to play with them here.”
And it obviously hasn’t affected the team’s performance.
What helps is the time they’ve spent playing together prior to the start of Fort Collins’ team. This was anything but a group of kids who just came together for the first time hoping that they just make it in the league.
Their familiarity with each other has prompted a surprising run of success that even coach Rhett Gordon didn’t see coming.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“To be honest, I didn’t know a lot about the CHSAA league and the different high schools,” he said. “There’s a select group (of top schools) and then everyone else seems to be sort of mixed in there. I knew we were going to be okay. We were going to compete. Did I expect this type of start? I don’t know if I can say I did.”
So now the challenge for Gordon and his players is to not let the immediate success get to their heads.
He admits that there have been times where they’ll play a team that they know they’re better than, only to find themselves in an early hole. Such was the case against Liberty when they trailed 1-0 heading into the third period.
“We’ve had periods where I think thought we were better than a hockey team, came out flat and put ourselves in a hole,” he said. “But good teams find a way to win no matter what and we’ve done that.”
And the kids have enjoyed the experience.
But like most competitors they also have a tendency to look for internal bragging rights. They share the same goal during the 51 minutes of gameplay, but ultimately the fact several schools make up this one team cannot be forgotten in the locker room.
“There are a few (friendly) bets going around,” McDonnell said with a smile. “(The big one is) which two people can get the most points from goals and assists. It’s pretty fun to see who wins those.”
But when game time comes around, there is no friendly bet. There is no internal competition. At the end of the day, these guys just want to keep winning. They’ll continue to play for each other regardless of what jersey they’re wearing or what school they’re attending.
For 51 minutes at a time, they’re all Fort Collins Lambkins. And right now, they’re playing good hockey.