Ralston Valley’s Michael Enyart (16) tries to put a backhand shot on goal Wednesday night against Standley Lake. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ARVADA — Thirteen was an impressive number for Ralston Valley’s hockey team Wednesday night.
That’s the number of players that found the scoresheet at the end of a dominating 10-0 victory for the Mustangs over area-rival Standley Lake at Apex Ice Arena in Arvada. Michael Enyart and Jason Ruszka were the only multi-goal scorers putting in two each for the Mustangs as Ralston Valley was able to spread the wealth.
“I like seeing the young guys score a lot,” Ralston Valley’s Matthew Trubacz said. “I remember being a sophomore and scoring. It was the best thing in the world. It’s good to see everyone taking their part in the team.”
Ralston Valley’s Kyler Medley-Wallis (14) and Blake Bolger celebrate a first-period goal. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Ralston Valley, ranked No. 4 in this week’s CHSAANow.com hockey poll, scored six goals in the first period and got the game into running-clock mode with Ruszka’s second goal of the night less than six minutes into the second period.
Ruszka was one of the young Mustangs who got plenty of ice time against Standley Lake (0-5, 0-3 in Pinnacle League). Ruszka scored the opening goal hammering home a rebound in front of the net 3 minutes, 34 seconds into the first period.
“I saw him (Ruszka) play a couple of games on JV and he really impressed me a lot. He has a lot of potential for this team and he proved he wanted to be out here tonight,” Trubacz said. “Dylan (McGee) got his first goal. It was a great night for the young guys.”
Standley Lake goalie Nick Delorey faced 57 shots over three periods. Delorey made 47 saves, while Ralston Valley goalie Joseph Doig had to make just eight saves to pick up the shutout victory.
The win was important to help Ralston Valley forget about a disappointing 5-3 home loss to No. 2 Cherry Creek last week.
“I thought we had a good first period. We did some good things off the bat there,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Schoepflin said. “After a loss to Cherry Creek it’s good just to get back in the win column.”
Ralston Valley (4-1, 1-1 in Foothills League) is on the road against No. 8 Monarch on Saturday, Dec. 17, before the winter break. While it is a new year, memories are still fresh for the Mustangs when it comes to the Coyotes. Monarch defeated Ralston Valley 6-2 in the state semifinals last season.
“I think it’s always a motivation. We’ve developed a pretty good rivalry with Monarch over the last few years,” Schoepflin said. “It’s always an exciting game on our schedule and I know it’s for them as well. Saturday night will be exciting.”
Ralston Valley’s Adam Albert (3) gets off a shot. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Standley Lake will look for its first win of the season with the Gators host Summit on Friday, Dec. 16, and Columbine on Tuesday, Dec. 20, before winter break. Both games will be played at the Promenade in Westminster.
When Ralston Valley and Standley Lake joined CHSAA-sanctioned hockey together in the 2006-07 school year the two programs quickly became to of the elite programs in the state.
The Mustangs have played in five state championship games, winning back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014. The Gators’ program has struggled in recent years going 10-26-2 over the past two seasons. Schoepflin said he hopes Standley Lake can get back to when they were a perennial playoff team.
“I feel bad that the (Standley Lake) program has taken a couple of steps back the last few years,” Schoepflin said. “They have some good people in there now who are trying to turn things around.”
Ralston Valley had made it to at least the state quarterfinals in almost every year the program has existed.
“I heard about RV hockey when I was in seventh grade and how well they are doing,” Ralston Valley’s Jack Steffer said. “As long as the upperclassmen — juniors and seniors — keep pushing the sophomores and freshmen, younger players will hear how well the program is doing and want to play. Hopefully we will never have a drop off.”
Ralston Valley’s Andrew Frerich (12) and Standley Lake’s Martin Ronan battle against the boards Wednesday night at Apex Ice Arena. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)