Ralston Valley hockey comes up short against Valor in title game

BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

DENVER — Valor Christian claimed its third hockey state championship in four years March 7 at Magness Arena on the University of Denver campus.

e Eagles nished o a 20-game winning streak with the highest scoring state hockey title game since 1992 with a 7-3 victory over Ralston Valley.

“We were an hungry as ever,” Valor senior captain Noah Fekete said after being handed the state trophy by CHSAA assistant commissioner Justin Saylor. “We knew coming into this game that this is where we need to be and wanted to be. We were for sure thinking about last year standing at the blue-line and watching the other team celebrate. at wasn’t going to be us this year.”

Denver East prevented Valor from winning a third straight title last year. e Angels took a 6-3 victory over the Eagles at Magness Arena in 2022.

“ ese guys have worked really hard to get back to this game and have this opportunity,” Valor coach George Gwozdecky said. “I think they sensed with 17 minutes to go it was their’s if they wanted it. It was a matter of going out there and executing like we’ve done all year long.”

Valor held a slim 4-3 lead going into the third period. e Eagles scored three unanswered goals to win going away. Fekete had a huge goal 45 seconds into the third period and then Valor scored its third power-play goal of the game by freshman Maddux Charles with 12:04 left in the period to extend the lead to 6-3.

“I don’t know if it was really any Xs and Os,” Gwozdecky said of the third period. “ e power-play goal and early goal in the third period was obviously a huge one.”

Fekete put in his second goal of the period with three minutes to play to make it the highest scoring state championship game on the ice in more than three decades.

“Going into the third period in the locker room we were kind of over the back-and-forth game,” Fekete said. “We were due for a couple of goals to put on top of each other to nish them out. at was the focus heading into the third period.”

Valor (20-1 record) never trailed thanks to a solid start in the rst period with goals by seniors Garrett Covney and Alec Al eri to open up a 2-0 lead. However, Ralston Valley got a much-needed goal in the nal minute to cut the lead in half.

A heavy shot from senior Cole Francque got through Valor goalie Cooper Robinson and trickled across the goal-line before Robinson could drive back to keep the puck