Ice hockey: No. 3 Denver East silences No. 5 Fort Collins in early top 10 battle

DENVER – The Denver East hockey team is finding out a lot about itself during the early part of the 2021-22 season.

Denver East, which is currently ranked No. 3 in this week’s coaches poll, will be tested by some of the best Class 5A teams at the beginning of its schedule. That continued Monday when the Angels hosted No. 5 Fort Collins.

The Angels put together a solid team performance to shut out the Lambkins 5-0 at Big Bear Ice Arena.

“We thought we were the better team and came out wanting to win it more than them,” senior forward and team captain Connor Hasse said. “It’s important to come out strong and set the tone for the entire season.”

Denver East (2-1) spread the wealth in Monday’s victory, getting one goal apiece from five different goal scorers.

Jack Paterson was the first to strike after forcing a turnover in the Fort Collins zone that he cashed in for an unassisted goal. That gave the Angels a 1-0 advantage at the first intermission.

The Angels kept it rolling in the second period on Hasse’s top-shelf snipe that was good for his first goal of the year, then another from Nick Chadd.

“It feels good to get the monkey off my back,” Hasse said of his first goal. “This is probably one of the best chemistries I’ve had on any team while here at East.”

Denver East piled on two more goals in the third period from Joe Capra and Ben Kluza, respectively.

All that happened while goaltender Noel Friedman kept Fort Collins scoreless, recording the shutout in net.

“All of our lines were going, our defense was great, and our goalie gave up nothing — it was beautiful,” head coach John Kopperud said. “They played great today.”

Denver East has won back-to-back games after dropping its season-opener to No. 2 Regis Jesuit in a close one-goal contest. The Angels responded with a monstrous 9-0 win over Castle View before Monday’s win over Fort Collins.

Next up, the Angels will face their toughest test yet when they play No. 1 Valor Christian on the road. The Eagles are the two-time defending state champions.

“It’s a great character test for our team,” Kopperud said. “We’re going to know after two weeks exactly where we stand, and we like it so far.”

Fort Collins suffers its first defeat of the young season after scoring seven goals in each of its first two games. The Lambkins (2-1) will look to get back on track Friday night when they host No. 4 Monarch.