When one speaks of Aspen, one generally thinks of skiing the slopes, visiting Snowmass Village or seeing one of the dozens of celebrities who call this majestic mountain area their home. On January 9-11, 2004, Aspen had a new meaning for dozens of sled hockey players and several witnesses who watched their favorite team compete in the inaugural Maroon Bells Sled Hockey Tournament. Competition took place at the brand-new Lewis Ice Arena, located in the Aspen Recreation Center.

Attracting other professional-backed hockey teams such as the New York Islanders, New Mexico Scorpions and the Utah Grizzlies, the Colorado Avalanche Sled Hockey team played host to one of the most exciting and memorable tournaments in sled hockey history outside of Paralympic competition. The tournament showcased individual talents, great team effort and a little bit of luck on one of the best-equipped playing surfaces for the sport in the World.

What is Sled Hockey?
Sled hockey, which has roots in Scandinavia as far back as the 1960’s, was developed to enable non-ambulatory athletes the opportunity to actively participate in the great sport of hockey. Instead of standing on their skates, players sit on them using a device known as a “sled,” or “sledge” as those Swedish pioneers of the sport still call it. A sled is a sitting-down skating apparatus consisting of a tubular metal frame with blades off of hockey skates attached to the bottom and a bucket-type seat on the top for which to sit. Players strap themselves into the sled and use two-shortened hockey sticks affixed with picks (resembling the front of a figure skate) in order to propel across the ice. The other end of the stick has a blade to shoot and pass the puck. Hard checking and sixty-mile-an-hour slap shots are very much a part of sled hockey as they are in traditional “stand-up” hockey.

By 1989, the sport migrated to America and Minnesota played host for the one and only team in the country initially attracting only players from its five-state area. After bringing home the Bronze Medal in the 1992 World Cup, word of the sport spread and by the mid-1990’s programs from Boston to Denver were established. Today, there are a multitude of teams throughout the nation and several NHL teams have historically sponsored their local program with pride. On a national level, an organized governing body was formed which developed the US National team that won the Gold Medal at the 2002 Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City.

A new milestone for the sport emerged with the recent opening of Lewis Ice Area, located in the Aspen Recreation Center. Nestled in evergreens and aspen trees, the center is situated between Maroon Creek and a breathtaking view of the peak of the Maroon Bells Mountains. The real beauty of the facility is the ice rink inside which boasts a level surface from the top of the ice through the doorway to the players benches – one of the first of its kind. This is key for sleds to move on and off the ice. Most rinks have a step up to get into the benches so sled hockey players must remain on the ice at all times even while off for a shift, which can interfere with the game. The boards on the benches at Lewis Ice Arena are made of Plexiglas to allow those on the bench to see and a plastic-lined flooring allowed sleds to easily pass from one end of the bench to the other.

A Hat Trick for the Hometown Hero
The tournament began with the two NHL-sponsored rivals, the Islanders and the Avalanche facing off in the first-ever sled hockey game at the new facility filling the stands with spectators eager to see their home team in action. After a scoreless first period, the upstart Islanders hushed the crowd when forward Eric Strenzenec (#11) scored the tournament’s first goal on an exceptional backhand shot but that wasn’t enough to stop a flurry of Avalanche goals in the second and third periods. Hometown hero, Jim Finch (#14) of Basalt, Colorado earned a hat trick scoring three of the four Avalanche goals to win the game 4-1 before an exuberant crowd.

Game two featured a regional match up between the Utah Grizzlies and New Mexico Scorpions teams. Under the helm of Dave Conklin (#18), one of the most experienced players in the nation, the Scorpions fielded a roster of some elite as well as novices to the sport. In a hard-fought battle, the Grizzlies surprised the crowd taking New Mexico to a 2-2 tie.

Saturday morning, the Avalanche would face off against the Scorpions who were eager to try to break the Avalanche’s 5-game winning streak. This would prove to be a test for both teams as the winner would have a point advantage in the tournament and the momentum of a win would help the winner on to the championship game. Neither team would get that win or a loss as this back and forth showdown ended in a 3-3 tie.

Game four was a crucial must-win for the Islanders if they were to have a shot for the championship game. With the Avalanche and Scorpions remaining undefeated, they needed a win against an undefeated Utah Grizzlies team to gain the points needed to advance. This would be the first time these two teams face each other in a game and the Islanders made quick work of the Grizzlies scoring five goals to win 5-1.

Game five was a border battle between the Colorado Avalanche and Utah Grizzlies. With a win the Avalanche would advance to the Championship game as the top seed regardless of the outcome of game six between the Scorpions and Islanders. It would be the first game of the tournament that the Avalanche would score first when Jim Finch (#14) put one past Grizzlies net minder on a breakaway shot early in the first period. Finch went on to score two more goals in this game earning him the second hat trick of the tournament and Avalanche forwards Rick Ruscio (#9) and Mark Weimer (#4) added to the score total as the Avalanche went on to beat the Grizzlies 5-1 to advance to the championship game.

Game six was do or die for both the Scorpions and Islanders. The Scorpions were undefeated and had two points coming into the game from both ties earlier in the tournament and the Islanders having lost one game but winning another also had two points. Regardless of how the teams gained their points was not relevant as only the winner of this game six would advance to the championship game against the Avalanche. In the end the Scorpions proved to be too tough winning the game 3-1 and sending the Islanders to face off against Utah in the third place game.

In the third place game the Islanders poured on the defense and goalie Dave White (#1) was credited with the tournament’s only shut out by shutting down the Grizzlies scoring opportunities from captain Casey Lenhart (#7) and Dean Oba (#11). The Islanders went on to take third place honors winning 3-0 and finished a respectable two and two as the only team from the east in this western showdown.

Scorpions Sting the Avalanche in Overtime
The championship game proved to be one of the best games in sled hockey history with plenty of back and forth scoring opportunities and excellent saves from both goalies. Jim Finch (#14) opened up the scoring in the first period giving the Avalanche a 1-0 lead. It was an up and down the ice battle for both teams until Mark Weimer (#4) added another goal late in the first period to give the Avalanche a 2-0 lead going into the second period. The Scorpions would not give up and scored goals in the second and late in the third period from two of the team’s three US National team players Dave Conklin (#18) and Bruce Nelson (#87) to bring the game to overtime.

In the five-minute overtime, it was back and forth action again with both teams generating scoring chances from their forwards while their defensemen would come up with key plays to break up the play. With less than 20 seconds left in the overtime, The Scorpions third US National team player, Corbin Beu (#19), picked up a lose puck in the Avalanche end from a Dave Conklin (#18) shot up the boards and shot it past the Avalanche goalie with just 16 seconds left in overtime to win the inaugural Maroon Bells Sled Hockey Tournament’s championship game 3-2.

Although the Avalanche lost a close one in overtime, which also broke the team’s 6-game winning streak, the tournament was a huge success for the sport of sled hockey and the Avalanche left as winners from the experience of successfully playing against the national-caliber players on each team in the tournament. “The team has big plans off the ice,” says Avalanche captain Corey Fairbanks. “The season is only half over for us and we are working on developing a two-tiered sled hockey league featuring a Division I and Division II system. Division I will feature the best of the best and will make up the rosters of original six NHL-sponsored sled teams in North America (Avalanche, Blackhawks, Islanders, Mapleleafs, Senators and Stars). Division II will be comprised of the dozens of club teams that will work as a feeder program for both the national team and the proposed NSHL (National Sled Hockey League).”

The Colorado Avalanche sled hockey team relies on donations from the community and would like to thank the Colorado Avalanche NHL team, Colorado Wheelchair Sports, Mountain States PVA, Challenge Aspen, the Aspen Elks, Lewis Ice Arena, Go Fast Sports, Magnet Media, Domus Design LLC and Baseline Media for their support. To learn more about sled hockey or the Colorado Avalanche Sled Hockey team contact Colorado Wheelchair Sports at 303-523-8160 or visit its website at www.coloradowheelchairsports.org.

Written by Mike Wheaton

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