Colorado
Utah blasts Avs to snap three-game winning streak as Colorado can’t solve goalie Karel Vejmelka
The Rocky Mountain region’s new hockey club sent a rude message to the Avalanche in their first game in Denver.
Utah blasted Colorado 4-1 on Thursday night at Ball Arena, with the Avs undone by a cheap goal in the opening period, a two-goal blitz in the second period and a lack of finishing on offense.
“I like the chances we created at times in the game, but (Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka) made some big saves tonight, no question,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “And we got a little unlucky (with a couple of shots off the post). … We turned some A’s into C’s tonight.
“At the end of the day, they put the puck in the net with some great opportunities, and we didn’t. It looked like we were really fighting to find our legs today. We had pretty good intentions, but that little extra that you need to create dangerous chances wasn’t there for the whole game.”
The visitors took the lead off a flimsy goal in the opening period when, a little more than eight minutes in, Dylan Guenther’s crossing pass deflected off Artturi Lehkonen and into the net. Lehkonen was bodying Logan Cooley in the front of the net, and Guenther’s pass that was intended for Cooley instead took a bounce off Lehkonen’s skate and past goalie Scott Wedgewood.
The Avs ended the opening period with a 9-7 advantage in shots on goal, with several bona fide chances, but were turned away by Vejmelka each time.
Then in the second period, Utah took control in a frame that cemented the end of Colorado’s three-game win streak and the feel-good vibes coming off a solid 4-1 road trip.
Joel Kiviranta’s slap shot 20 seconds into the period nearly put the Avs on the board, but Vejmelka slid over and made a snazzy save with his shoulder. Colorado continued to push the tempo and then went on the power play four minutes in, due to a holding penalty. But Vejmelka made another incredible save on a wrister by Lehkonen, plus some other stops as Colorado came up empty on the man advantage.
About midway through the period, Utah firmly took control of the game with a pair of goals within a two-minute frame to go up 3-0.
Vladislav Kolyachonok casually wristed one home from up near the blue line on the right side of the ice, and his low-trajectory shot deflected off Colorado defenseman Calvin de Haan as the puck beat Wedgewood’s leg kickout on the bottom left shelf.
“It was just bad luck tonight,” Wedgewood said. “It’s the way it goes sometimes.”
About 90 seconds later, Givani Smith — whom the Avs traded San Jose for earlier this week in the deal that also brought goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to Colorado — was sent to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct. Utah made quick work on the power play, needing only nine seconds for Guenther to find the net on a slap shot for his second goal of the evening.
Some impressive passing, described by Bednar as “tic, tac, toe,” preceded the goal.
“(Smith) was sort of continuing the scrum, but it’s a penalty,” Bednar said. “I don’t love it, because we were in the game. At that time, you’ve got to be real careful. I like the juice he played with the entire shift, and then we take a penalty and it ends up in the back of our net.”
The second period ended in four-on-four hockey as both teams were on the power play, and Colorado carried its advantage over to the third.
But the Avs couldn’t capitalize as Vejmelka continued to stand on his head. That included Lehkonen getting stuffed on a breakaway with eight minutes left in the game. Colorado finally lit the lamp after pulling Wedgewood with about five minutes to play, leading to Nathan MacKinnon’s wrister with 4:26 left. But Utah quickly responded 23 seconds later with Kevin Stenlund’s goal on the empty net.
Vejmelka finished with 23 saves, including four on the power play. Colorado dropped to 17-14-0 with the defeat, and 7-8 at home, as Utah got payback for the Avs’ 5-1 road win on Oct. 24.
“We’ve just got to start feeding off the momentum of the crowd more, and take a bit more onus to play our game and move our feet (to start stacking wins at home),” winger Logan O’Connor said. “We were doing that on our road trip and it’s really tough to defend us. We just let off the gas too much tonight in too many areas.”
Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.
Originally Published:
Colorado
Air Force RB Owen Allen Shines in Double-Digit Win vs. Colorado State
Air Force running back Owen Allen dashed for 107 yards and two touchdowns, tight end Bruin Fleischmann caught both of his targets for 61 yards and two touchdowns, and Air Force took down Colorado State 42-21 on Friday to recapture the Ram-Falcon Trophy in the final game of the season for both teams.
The Falcons (4-8, 3-5 Mountain West) took the lead on the opening drive of the game as Fleischmann hauled in a 55-yard receiving score. Air Force scored on three of its four first-half drives, and only punted once throughout the game.
Josh Johnson completed all four of his passing attempts for 104 yards and two touchdowns, and added 22 yards and a score on the ground.
The Rams (2-10, 1-7) were led by Jackson Brousseau’s 323 yards and two touchdowns on 28-of-37 passing. It’s the first 10-loss season since 1988 for Colorado State, which is leaving the Mountain West to play in the Pac-12 next season.
Air Force holds the edge in the series, 40-22-1, and have won eight of the last nine meetings.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
Colorado
“Madsgiving” feeds thousands after Colorado community steps in to save event
What looked nearly impossible just a few weeks ago became a Thanksgiving miracle in Aurora.
Madsgiving is the annual effort that prepares and delivers thousands of meals to people experiencing homelessness, seniors, and families in need. It was on the verge of collapse earlier this month.
The longtime chefs who normally anchor the event were deployed to Jamaica to help rebuild kitchens damaged by Hurricane Melissa. Without them, organizers suddenly had no chefs and no kitchen just weeks before Thanksgiving.
Lead Pastor Dwayne Johnson of Mean Street Worship Center has helped distribute Madsgiving meals for seven years.
“At first, it started out as panic,” he said. “But then the community started coming together. Other agencies, ministries, and chefs came alongside us.”
One of the first to answer that call for help was Pesto Italiano, a new restaurant that opened in Englewood this summer. Chef Pablo had never cooked a Thanksgiving meal in his kitchen before – and certainly not at the scale Madsgiving requires.
“This was the first year we tried something like this,” he said. “We just opened in June. The first thing we wanted to do was help the community.”
Pesto Italiano donated their kitchen and their chefs, giving volunteers access to a full professional space to roast, prep, and assemble thousands of meals.
“With all the volunteers that came to help us, it was possible,” Pablo said. “We wanted to create something with love, passion, and quality – something people could enjoy the same way any family does on Thanksgiving.”
His team even improvised when dozens of turkeys arrived still on the bone and behind schedule. Pablo grilled and roasted them, finishing with a sauce of orange and rosemary. He even used pizza ovens to get the job done.
Johnson says the scale of collaboration was unlike anything he’s seen.
The Amish community from southern Colorado also stepped in, preparing meals on Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
By midday Thursday, every group Madsgiving serves had been reached: people living in cars and under bridges, seniors in assisted living, nursing home residents, and people facing hunger across the city.
What started as a call for help became one of the largest Madsgiving efforts yet, powered by strangers, volunteers, churches, restaurants, and neighbors who refused to let the tradition die.
“To the world, you’re one person,” Johnson said. “But to one person, you become the world. Today, miracles happened.”
Colorado
Here’s where Colorado’s gray wolves roamed in past month
Colorado’s gray wolves stuck a little closer to central parts of the state in late October and November, roaming into watersheds that reach metro Denver and near tribal lands to the south, according to a map released Wednesday.
The monthly Colorado Parks and Wildlife map shows the broad movements of 20 gray wolves that wear GPS collars. If an area is highlighted, that means at least one wolf was in a watershed at least one time during the time frame, according to state officials.
Between Oct. 21 and Tuesday, gray wolves traveled in watersheds that reach as far north as the Wyoming state line; as far east as Boulder, Jefferson, Adams and Broomfield counties; the northern edge of Archuleta County to the south; and Meeker in Rio Blanco County to the west.
Most wolf activity appeared to take place around the Continental Divide, with wolf movement tracked near Walden, Granby, Vail, Aspen and Gunnison.
The wolves also explored near tribal lands to the south, Parks and Wildlife officials said. The state has an agreement with the Southern Ute tribe and is working to finish a similar agreement with the Ute Mountain Ute tribe to address potential impacts of wolf reintroduction.
Of Colorado’s 20 collared gray wolves, 15 were captured elsewhere and released in Colorado, three are yearlings from the Copper Creek Pack and two are adults from the One Ear Pack, according to Parks and Wildlife.
State officials will not be able to confirm whether wolf pups born this year were “successfully recruited” into Colorado’s wolf population until later this winter, Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Luke Perkins said in a statement.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.
-
Science6 days agoWashington state resident dies of new H5N5 form of bird flu
-
World1 week agoPoland to close last Russian consulate over ‘unprecedented act of sabotage’
-
News1 week agoAnalysis: Is Trump a lame duck now? | CNN Politics
-
World1 week agoZelenskiy meets Turkish president as word emerges of new US peace push
-
Business3 days agoStruggling Six Flags names new CEO. What does that mean for Knott’s and Magic Mountain?
-
New York1 week agoDriver Who Killed Mother and Daughters Sentenced to 3 to 9 Years
-
World1 week agoUnclear numbers: What we know about Italian military aid to Ukraine
-
California1 week agoApple settles with EPA after whistleblower tip on toxic waste dumping in California
