Ralston Valley junior goalie Zack LaRocque, middle, looks through traffic in front of the net as his defenders Martin Bakula (18) and Joe Millar (10) fight for position with Monarch forward David Neitenbach on Tuesday night. The Mustangs defeated Monarch 4-1 at Apex Ice Arena in Arvada to improve to 9-0-0 on the season. (Dennis Pleuss
ARVADA — Ralston Valley proved Tuesday night it is still the team to beat on the ice this hockey season.
The defending state champions and No. 1-ranked Ralston Valley Mustangs cruised to a 4-1 victory against No. 2 Monarch at Apex Ice Arena. The Foothills League game was a rematch of last year’s state title game where Ralston Valley claimed the school’s first state championship in hockey with a 5-1 victory.
Ralston Valley players celebrate the Mustangs’ 4-1 victory against Monarch on Tuesday night at Apex Ice Arena in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss
“I think both teams always get up for this game,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Schoepflin said after his Mustangs improved to 9-0-0. “Obviously with last year playing each other in the state final and battling for league last year there is always more emphasis on this game. We always get up for this game just like (Monarch) does. I think it was a good game tonight.”
Ralston Valley got up on the scoreboard with just less than seven minutes left in the first period. Sophomore Cody Noel scored off an assist from senior Greg Dyba just as time was running out on a Ralston Valley power play.
Monarch (7-1-0, 4-1-0 in league) took another 2-minute minor penalty late in the first period. Ralston Valley cashed in again as the power play carried that over into the second period. Dyba put in a rebound at the 51-second mark of the second period to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead. Seniors Victor Lombardi and Austin Resseguie picked up assists on the goal.
Dyba picked up his second goal eight minutes later putting in a rebound off his own shot for a 3-0 lead for the Mustangs.
“Putting those (goals) in were huge for us,” Dyba said. “The second one really gave us momentum.”
Ralston Valley senior Ian Oughton (14) carries the puck into the Mustangs’ offensive zone while being chased by Monarch senior Kevin Palm on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss
Ralston Valley ended up having to work on its penalty kill for a good portion of the remainder of the second period. The Mustangs were called for six 2-minute minor penalties over the span of the final six minutes of the second period.
“This was a game tonight completely about special teams,” Schoepflin said. “For us our power play was big and we did some nice things there. There were definitely way too many penalties. It’s a credit to our PK (penalty kill) and Zack LaRocque in net. At the same time, if we expect to go far this year we have to stay out of the box and stay disciplined.”
Despite Ralston Valley taking 12 penalties on the night, the Coyotes couldn’t solve the Mustangs’ junior goalie.
“Zack stood on his head,” Dyba said of LaRocque, who had 28 saves on the night. “He had some huge saves on the penalty kill.”
The Mustangs all but sealed the game taking a 4-0 lead early in the third period. Noel scored on a breakaway for his second tally of the game.
LaRocque admitted after the game he was “frustrated” losing his shutout bid late in the game. Monarch finally got on the board when senior Brett Kiyota score off assists from juniors David Neitenbach and Walker Harris.
Ralston Valley seniors (from left to right) Victor Lombardi, Greg Dyba and Austin Resseguie celebrate one of Dyba’s two second-period goals Tuesday night at Apex Ice Arena. The defending state champions and No. 1 ranked Mustangs beat No. 2 Monarch 4-1 in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss
Monarch actually outshot Ralston Valley 29-24. Coyotes’ junior goalie Baily Aust finished the game with 20 saves in the loss.
“We worked really hard in practice this week focusing on this game to come out hard,” LaRocque said.
Ralston Valley has had an impressive last three games on the ice in defeating No. 3 Mountain Vista, No. 7 Columbine and No. 2 Monarch.
“We have a veteran group who has played in big games before,” Schoepflin said. “I think that helps us.”
Monarch has had issues figuring out Ralston Valley. The Coyotes finished their 2012-13 campaign with a 19-2-2 record. Both losses came at the hands of the Mustangs, including the loss in the state title game.
After playing five games in 11 days, Ralston Valley has a bit of a break. The defending state champions aren’t back on the ice until facing Summit on Jan. 21, at Apex.
The Mustangs will also get familiar with Edge Ice Arena in Littleton next week. Ralston Valley faces fellow Jeffco programs Dakota Ridge (Jan. 22) and Chatfield (Jan. 25) at The Edge before heading into the final few weeks of the regular season.
Monarch gets back into action right away. The Coyotes face Dakota Ridge at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Edge.
Monarch junior Keo Jamieson, left, takes a hit from Ralston Valley junior Kyle Valdez during the first period Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss
