Glenwood hockey prevails in Battle of the Demons playoff rematch
Jaymin Kanzer/Post Independent
For the second straight year, No. 1 Glenwood Springs and No. 8 Durango clashed in the state hockey playoffs. This time, Glenwood got its revenge.
Glenwood edged out a 2-1 victory on Tuesday night inside Aspen’s Lewis Ice Arena, breaking through in the final minutes of a defensive battle. With the win, Glenwood advances to the Class 4A CHSAA state semifinals for the third consecutive year, keeping its championship hopes alive.
The game was a rematch of last year’s state semifinal, when Durango defeated Glenwood, 4-1, before going on to win the championship.
Senior defenseman Grayson Alcorta delivered the game-winner with three minutes remaining, ripping a wrist shot from the blue line past a screened goalie and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
“It was just amazing to play in this game,” Alcorta said. “As seniors, we knew this could have been our last game, but we didn’t want it to be. We just had to focus on team defense and getting gritty down low because one goal could have decided the season.”
The intensity was evident from start to finish. Both teams traded early goals before defense and goaltending took over. Glenwood was anchored in net by freshman Issac Zevin, who ranks fifth in the nation in goals-against average (1.334), while Durango was backed by 2023-24 first team all-state goalie Luka Remec.
Glenwood had five power-play opportunities but converted only once on Remec in a penalty-filled contest that featured eight infractions.
“We knew it was going to be a defensive struggle,” Glenwood coach Tim Cota said. “They have a really good goaltender. We switched a couple things up in the third period, and we ended up taking that final period even though it took a while to sneak one by him. Frankly, their goalie beat us last year.”
As the game wore on, the stakes only grew higher.
“The boys stuck with the structure, and it ended up paying off,” Cota said. “That’s what we were talking about between periods — stick with the structure, wear them down, and keep the puck deep.”
Momentum in hockey is like a runaway train — once it builds, it’s hard to stop. Glenwood’s aggressive forecheck started taking over in the third period, generating 16 of its 31 total shots. Still, it took nearly all 17 minutes to break the deadlock.
Alcorta finally broke through, finding the puck on his stick at the blue line and firing it through traffic. The puck found the back of the net, igniting a celebration.
“We just didn’t want this to be our last game,” he said.
Glenwood entered the postseason following a dominant 16-1-1 regular season, but in the state tournament, records mean nothing. The single-elimination format doesn’t care if a team was undefeated or barely made the playoffs — every game is win or go home.
Glenwood is well aware of how brutal the postseason can be. Though the program is young, it has yet to experience the ultimate joy of raising a state championship banner.
That goal remains in focus as Glenwood prepares for its next challenge — another rematch. The Demons will face No. 4 Summit, the only team to beat them in regulation this season, in the semifinals on Saturday morning in Colorado Springs.
The other 4A semifinal Saturday will be between No. 2 Steamboat Springs and No. 3 Pine Creek.
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