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Steamboat Springs — The Steamboat Springs Bantam A hockey team started the season just how it wanted to during the weekend, winning the Fright Fest Tournament in Denver.

Steamboat went 4-1 in the tournament, beating rival Littleton for the title.

The Bantam A team, a collection of 13- and 14-year-olds, opened play Friday against a team from Wyoming.

Although Wyoming had a size advantage, Steamboat was able to come away with a 4-3 win, thanks to a hat trick by Ben Wharton.

"When kids go from 12 to 13 and some are 14, the size differential can be very different," Steamboat coach Bob Milne said. "Wyoming had some big kids. Our guys were a little surprised they played as well as they did."

On Saturday, Steamboat cruised to a 3-0 win against tournament host Foothills. In the afternoon, the team played the Greeley Renegades - a team in Steamboat's division.

Steamboat fell to Greeley, 3-2.

On Sunday, Steamboat opened with Littleton. The team won, 2-1, and Greeley lost to Arapahoe, putting Steamboat into the finals against Littleton.

There, Steamboat won, 3-1, to win the championship.

"I think they're one of the best clubs in Denver," Milne said about Littleton. "They're solid, and they play great hockey. When you have two games in one day, you're always curious. But we came out flying."

Milne, who helped coach the Midget team to a state championship last season, said with only five holdovers in Ryan Cagnoni, Christian Ramirez, Tyler Scott, Logan Banning and Wharton, he was extremely happy with the way the tournament played out.

He also commended the play of his goaltenders, Trent Trask and Jessie Draper, who split time in the net the whole weekend.

Steamboat doesn't play again until Nov. 22 when the team opens its league schedule.

"We'll have a couple more weeks of practice," Milne said. "And then we'll start playing pretty heavily."