Monarch returns to hockey’s championship game with third-period rally
DENVER — He waited, waited, waited and time slowed. Monarch’s Cameron Taggart had the game on his stick.
It was 1-1 late in the state hockey semifinals, less then eight minutes remained. Taggart had corralled a rebound in front of the Regis Jesuit net during a 5-on-3 power play, and sat in the low slot looking for an opening.
Regis Jesuit goalie Sam Harden had been a wall most of the night, and as Taggart waited, he finally found an opening. And buried a shot in the top left corner. The goal held up as Monarch returned to the championship game with a 2-1 win over the Raiders at the Denver Coliseum on Friday.
“It was real slow,” Taggart said. “It was just so slow, and then finally it just opened up just enough for me to squeak it by.”
Said Monarch coach Jimmy Dexter: “Unbelievable that he had that kind of patience to wait and wait and look and kind of find that spot.”
Taggart’s goal came exactly 2:10 after Monarch was finally able to crack Harden. Walker Harris, the Foothills Conference’s leading scorer during the regular season, snuck a shot from the point past Harden, who was screened by Tagart. That, too, came on the power play.
“He did a great job,” Harris said of Taggart, “got right in front, and (Harden) didn’t see it. I just put a good shot on it.”
The goal ended more than two periods of frustration caused by Regis Jesuit’s outstanding defensive scheme which had limited scoring chances to that point. The frustration was compounded by the fact that the Raiders led 1-0 at the second intermission.
“We were definitely frustrated” after the first two periods, Dexter said. “It was nice to come in between periods and get these guys together and say, ‘We’ve got to come together as a team.’
“I see guys pouting, I see heads down. I’m like, ‘Guys, it’s 1-0. We can score four goals in a period easily.’ I’m like, ‘Let’s be positive and let’s do it.’ And they responded.”
Monarch came out a different team in the third period.
“We’re family,” Walker said, “and we didn’t want our season to end there.”
Walker’s goal, especially, signaled a huge shift in momentum.
“You could see it,” Dexter said. “They knew once they got one by Sam, they could get another. He’s tough to beat.”
Monarch did add another when Taggart notched his on the 5-on-3 opportunity. But the Coyotes couldn’t look ahead to Saturday’s title game quite yet — they took two minor penalties in the game’s final six minutes.
And, if not for some outstanding goaltending from Ian Oden, who finished with 22 saves, Monarch’s night might have ended much differently. Monarch killed both despite a flurry of Regis chances.
“It was scary. The last three minutes of the game we were holding on with taking penalties,” Dexter said. “Ian just stood on his head that last few minutes. Unbelievable. I don’t know, he wanted it.
“We’ve been waiting for our goalies to win us a game all year and Ian finally did it. It was awesome.”
Connor Brennan scored Regis Jesuit’s only goal on a 5-on-3 advantage. Harden finished with 29 saves.
The Coyotes now get their rematch with Ralston Valley in Saturday’s championship, which is at 3:30 p.m. The two teams met in last season’s championship game and the Mustangs skated off with a 5-1 win. Ralston also won 4-1 when the teams met this season on Jan. 14.
“We so excited. We need revenge,” Taggart said. “We’ve been waiting for this all year, to get revenge.”
“We got back (to the title game), we did what we needed,” Harris added. “Can’t wait for 3:30 (Saturday). We’ve got to come out and play better than we did today.”
