The Fort Collins ice hockey team ( 9-3-2) hosted Steamboat Springs (2-8) on Friday night. Fort Collins, a team comprising players from schools around the area, sought their fifth straight win, while Steamboat Springs looked to get back on track. Fans assembled to their seats as the puck dropped at approximately 8:10 PM MST at the NoCo Ice Center.

The game was rough the first five minutes of play for the Lambkins. After killing off a tripping penalty by Dennis White, the Lambkins allowed senior Will Eck of the Sailors to cut through the slot and snap a wrister past Fort Collins goaltender Blake Haan grabbing the 1-0 lead early.

The lead was short-lived when 65 seconds later, White returned the favor and wristed a shot from the right wing that trickled past Sailors goaltender Ryan McNamara. The goals kept coming with a subsequent power play goal from the point by Fossil’s very own Hayden Pawlikowski, a wrap-around goal by Loveland’s Jared McFerran, and a point shot by senior Jaiden Jordan. As a result, Fort Collins took a commanding 4-1 lead at the end of the first period.

Unfortunately for the Sailors, Fort Collins continued to exert excellent puck control and movement while putting pressure on the forecheck, which allowed most of the game to be played in Steamboat’s defensive zone.

As the second period unfolded, Steamboat Springs found itself in quite the deficit. Jared McFerran snapped a goal from the right side of the crease after a two-minute minor for tripping was assessed to Steamboat’s Will Eck. Fort Collins continued capitalizing on the power play scoring twice on a five-minute checking from behind major when McFerran scored his third goal (hat trick) followed by a goal from Ethan Nelson. Finally, things could not go any worse for the Sailors as DuHadway Marc of the Lambkins snapped a wrister from the slot moments after teammate McFerran rang a blast off the pipe. This ultimately led to an 8-1 lead for the Lambkins heading into the second intermission—and in the end the final after a scoreless third. The Lambkins improved to 10-3-2 on the season while the Sailors fell to 2-9.

Next, Fort Collins hosts undefeated (and #1 ranked) Regis Jesuit tonight. For Steamboat Springs, they head down I-25 to Colorado Springs to play a road game against struggling Palmer.