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Steamboat U19 hockey team shoots it out

Girls squad wins home tourney with white-knuckle victory

Joel Reichenberger
Hannah Samlowski takes aim during an overtime shoot-out period Sunday at the Adele Dombrowski hockey tournament at the Howelsen Ice Arena in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat’s U19 team won after seven penalty shots, claiming the tournament championship for the first time in three years.
Joel Reichenberger





Hannah Samlowski takes aim during an overtime shoot-out period Sunday at the Adele Dombrowski hockey tournament at the Howelsen Ice Arena in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat’s U19 team won after seven penalty shots, claiming the tournament championship for the first time in three years.
Joel Reichenberger

— The puck skidded sideways and just to the right of Steamboat goalie Ellana Williams, missing the goal by 2 feet before drifting behind the net.

That play, punctuated by the victorious screams of the Steamboat U19 team and followed by a mad rush onto the ice, handed Steamboat Springs its first championship in three years in the annual Adele Dombrowski girls hockey tournament.

The squad survived regulation and a white-knuckle overtime period tied, 2-2, then emerged on top of the Denver-based Junior Eagles after seven shoot-out opportunities Sunday at Howelsen Ice Arena. Kate Verploeg plugged in the final goal, and after the Eagles failed to answer, the tournament was Steamboat’s.



“That was very exciting,” said Williams, who stuffed her opponents on five of their seven shoot-out opportunities. “I like it at the end like that. I like how it’s just one person and not a lot of people. It’s fun.”

Williams was successful by being aggressive in the face of determined shooters, repeatedly surprising the Eagle attackers by coming a little out of the goal in the one-on-one showdown.



“My coach told me not to do that, but I did it anyways,” she said, laughing.

The end was the pinnacle of excitement, but the entire game, which decided the champion of the six-team U19 bracket, was thrilling.

Alexis Stabile scored twice, including once in the shoot-out. Claire Tegl scored in regulation, and Olivia Gorr scored in the shoot-out.

That turned out to be just enough, after a weekend of hockey.

“It was a great weekend,” said Stabile, who scored her shoot-out goal with a befuddling back-handed flip. “This is the best our team has ever played together.”

Stabile scored first in regulation, sliding the puck in for a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. Steamboat’s lead was short-lived, however, and the Eagles responded two minutes later. They took a 2-1 lead early in the third period, but Tegl fought her way down the ice to answer just 12 seconds later.

“If a minute or two had gone by they would have built up some momentum and it would have been hard for us to get back into it,” Courtney Garth said. “We came right back down and scored, and it really helped us.”

Sunday’s championship wrap­ped up a weekend of hockey at the arena. Steamboat’s U19 team won two of its three games to earn the right to play in the championship.

Steamboat’s U12 team, meanwhile, played in a three-team, round-robin bracket, falling twice each to Aspen and Arvada.

It was the fifth year for the tournament, which was started in memory of Steamboat hockey player Adele Dombrowski.

A player from each of Steamboat’s three girls classifications was honored with an ADELE award. Garth took the honor for the U19 team. Kestral Johnston won at the U14 level, and Caroline Wilson was the U12 Steamboat winner.

The U14 girls team did not play in the tournament this weekend.

— To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 871-4253 or e-mail jreichenberger@steamboatpilot.com


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