The Fort Collins Hockey Team defeated Heritage 3-2 after trailing by two goals.

The environment for this game was muted, as it was played at 2:00 PM on a Tuesday afternoon. The lack of fans and noise made the game feel like a scrimmage. Fossil Ridge Junior Brysen Garner certainly noticed a difference with the smaller crowd.

“There’s less excitement, but the team still tries to keep their intensity up. We try and stay focused on the game and play hard no matter what,” Garner said.

Collins was affected by the dull environment, as Heritage jumped out to a 1-0 lead late in the first period. The Lambkins slow start continued in the second period, as they allowed another goal in the first five minutes of the period. 

Fort Collins bounced back, scoring their first goal shortly after, cutting the deficit in half. Garner scored the goal and saw it as a true turning point for the team.

“We started getting more serious…this team wasn’t going to be as easy as we thought and we started picking up our effort. Once one line starts going they all start going, and that’s the type of team effort we need,” Garner said.

The Lambkins scored another goal late in the second period, to tie the game at 2-2. The score came from Fossil Ridge Junior Gabe Cramer, who placed a shot over the goaltender and into the back of the net.

Collins kept the momentum rolling, with Fossil Senior Jason Campos scoring the game-winning goal with fifteen minutes left in the game. The Lambkins locked the game down on the defensive end, escaping with a 3-2 win.

This marks the second win in a row for Collins, improving their record to 4-2. The tricky part is to keep this winning streak, however Garner believes increasing ferocity will lead to more victories.

“We need to be stronger at the start of the game…need to have everyone playing at their full strength, with lots of intensity. If we do that we’re gonna win a lot of games,” Garner said.

The Lambkins will play at home again on Friday, December 17 at 6 PM against Steamboat Springs.