The Fort Collins hockey team played their final game of the 2021-2022 season, losing to the Valor Christian Eagles 4-3.

Collins started hot, as senior Riley Laub scored four seconds into the game. This tally marked Laub’s eighth goal of the season and the first of the playoffs.

The Lambkins kept the pressure on the Eagles, as Tyler Sledz scored his seventh goal of this year’s campaign. This continued Sledz’s hot streak, netting his fifth goal in the last six games.

Fort Collins carried this momentum for the rest of the period, ending the first seventeen minutes of action leading by two goals.

The ice shifted to start the second period, as Valor increased their offensive intensity, which quickly resulted in a goal. Collins responded to the adversity, as Jason Campos responded to push the Lambkins lead back to two. Campos led the team with four tallies, building off his hat trick against Regis Jesuit.

Collins could not build on this momentum as Valor Christian scored three unanswered goals to steal the victory. This was the third year in a row in which Valor eliminated the Lambkins from the playoffs, with the previous two occurring in the state championship.

Fort Collins will say goodbye to ten seniors, including three of tonight’s six starters: Laub, Campos, and Noah Winbourn.

The Lambkins will see a change in leadership next year, where they will continue their goal, reaching the top of the mountain.