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Utah blasts Avs to snap three-game winning streak as Colorado can’t solve goalie Karel Vejmelka

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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.”

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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.

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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.”

Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, left, battles for control of the puck with Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O’Connor (25) in the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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.”

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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.”

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The Backcheck: Lightning win streak ends in Colorado on Tuesday | Tampa Bay Lightning

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The Backcheck: Lightning win streak ends in Colorado on Tuesday | Tampa Bay Lightning


Forwards Zemgus Girgensons, Yanni Gourde and Pontus Holmberg pinned Colorado in their own defensive zone early on a shift that ended with Nikita Kucherov taking the ice, forcing a turnover behind the Avalanche net and snagging a 1-0 lead for the visitors just 97 seconds into the game.

Kucherov stopped a Cale Makar clearing attempt behind the net and then wrapped the puck around the net to beat Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood to the right post.

A pair of Lightning penalties less than three minutes apart saw Colorado even the score. Despite Tampa Bay killing the first Avalanche power play 10:47 into the period, a too many men on the ice penalty against the visitors ended with the 1-1 tally.

Forward Victor Olofsson potted the rebound following Nathan MacKinnon’s initial shot on the power play with 6:09 left in the first period.

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Olofsson’s second goal of the game gave the Avalanche their first lead 4:08 into the second period, this time firing home a shot after teammate Jack Drury’s initial shot attempt rolled off his tape.

Former Bolt Ross Colton extended the Avalanche lead to 3-1 when he snuck behind the Lightning defense for a backhand breakaway goal 1:13 later.

“Maybe a lack of focusing a little bit,” defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous said of the rapid goals against. “It was two (where) we let our guy go and they scored, but yeah, we’ve got to play 60 minutes.”



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Former Colorado police officer charged in connection with chokehold, lying about traffic stop

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Former Colorado police officer charged in connection with chokehold, lying about traffic stop


Prosecutors charged a former Englewood police officer on Tuesday for his alleged actions during a traffic stop south of Denver last month, where he’s accused of shocking a man with a taser, putting him in a chokehold, and lying about the interaction.

Former Englewood Police Officer Ryan Scott Vasina was charged with second-degree assault, a felony, first-degree official misconduct, and third-degree assault, both misdemeanors, in connection with an Oct. 8 traffic stop near West Union Avenue and South Broadway.

Vasina radioed that the 20-year-old man he stopped for allegedly running a stop sign and who didn’t speak English, was physically resisting and fighting with him. A review of his body-worn camera footage by CBS News Colorado and investigators showed that to be false. Vasina still tased the man and pulled him out of his car.

“It is evident from the video footage of the interaction between Officer Vasina and the driver that a language barrier existed, and that Vasina responded with visible frustration and anger,” Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley said in a statement on Tuesday. “The initial nexus of the stop was a car driving by Vasina that changed lanes in a way that appeared ‘suspicious’ to Vasina. The penalty for failing to stop at a stop sign or even refusing to provide identification does not warrant a use of force response that Vasina engaged in, particularly where there was no active resistance, threatening language, furtive movements or attempts to flee or evade.”

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The man he stopped was not identified by officials, but he spoke Spanish throughout the interaction. Vasina speaks in some Spanish, asking the man for his license, and the man replies, “porque,” the Spanish word for “why?” He appeared compliant otherwise, turning off his car when Vasina told him to. Vasina repeatedly says “let me see your f*****g hands” multiple times and the man’s hands are raised, with just his phone in one hand.

After Vasina tases him, pulls him out of the car, and throws him on the ground, the bodycam footage goes black for a few seconds, indicating it was up against the man’s back and Vasina’s actions during those few seconds can’t be seen from that angle, but dashboard camera footage from Vasina’s patrol car shows the officer on top of the man.

The man then says in broken English, “I don’t know what you say,” and “translator please.”

Moments later, the man repeatedly says, “my neck,” and then “water for me, please.” Vasina replies, “not right now.”

As Vasina starts patting the man down, he says “no pistola, I am good boy.”

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Vasina was fired by the department in October, his actions condemned by his former chief.

“The former officer’s conduct does not reflect the values of the Englewood Police Department,” Englewood Police Chief David Jackson said in a statement. “Our officers are expected to serve with professionalism, respect, and restraint. We are committed to transparency in addressing any incident that falls short of those expectations.” Information contained in this release is publicly available in the Arrest Warrant. All public records can be requested and obtained via the Courts. As a reminder, all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

If convicted of any of the three charges, Vasina would lose the ability to serve as a law enforcement officer in Colorado, per state law.



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The Best Thing Deion Sanders Could Do For Quarterback Julian Lewis

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The Best Thing Deion Sanders Could Do For Quarterback Julian Lewis


Coach Deion Sanders has another busy offseason ahead as he looks to correct the current mess his Colorado Buffaloes find themselves in.

Because Colorado’s offense has taken a sizable step back this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see “Coach Prime” move on from offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur either this month or next. If that comes to fruition, DNVR’s Scott Procter believes finding a new offensive coordinator who can grow alongside freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis will become Colorado’s top priority this offseason.

“This offseason, that has to be priority No. 1, getting a creative OC — young, old, experienced, inexperienced, but a creative OC who can gel and grow with Julian Lewis,” Procter said on the DNVR Buffs Podcast. “As talented as anybody is, you need coaching, you need help, you need to be prepared, you need to be put in ideal situations game-to-game, down-to-down, and that hasn’t been the case for this offense this year.”

Most Important Area Deion Sanders Must Address Colorado Offseason Buffaloes Pat Shurmur Julian Lewis Offensive Coordinator CU

Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffaloes offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Shurmur also serves as Colorado’s quarterbacks coach, making his day-to-day perhaps more complicated than necessary. To help Lewis’ development, Procter believes that “Coach Prime” would be wise to instead hire two separate people for the roles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

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“When people mention the quarterbacks coach, add that to the list as well,” Procter said. “And do not make it be, this is gonna be our OC and quarterbacks (coach). No, that has to be two different positions to help this young guy (Lewis) develop the way you want him and need him to, to kind of save this program from where it has gone the last couple of weeks, so that’s my biggest thing.”

Most Important Area Deion Sanders Must Address Colorado Offseason Buffaloes Pat Shurmur Julian Lewis Offensive Coordinator CU

Sep 27, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; General view of Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis (10) before the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Procter added that “Coach Prime” will likely make changes to his staff once the regular season is complete. The 3-6 Buffs have only three games remaining and would have to win all three to qualify for a bowl game.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be changes to that coaching staff over the next month before the season ends, but this offseason, that decision has to be made with Julian Lewis in mind,” Procter said.

MORE: Freshman Cornerback Leaves Colorado Buffaloes Midway Through Season

MORE: Shedeur Sanders Makes Surprise Return to Boulder For Colorado Homecoming Game

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MORE: Biggest Winners And Losers From Colorado’s Embarrassing Loss To Arizona

Most Important Area Deion Sanders Must Address Colorado Offseason Buffaloes Pat Shurmur Julian Lewis Offensive Coordinator CU

Aug 29, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis (10) before the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported Sunday that Lewis is expected to receive his first career start on Saturday against the West Virginia Mountaineers. While Shurmur remains Colorado’s offensive coordinator, the 18-year-old true freshman has a valuable opportunity ahead this weekend in Morgantown.

In relief of Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub, Lewis threw for 121 yards and one touchdown in the second half of Saturday’s loss to the Arizona Wildcats. The former five-star prospect now has an entire week to prepare for West Virginia’s defense, which has allowed 406.4 yards per game (14th in Big 12).

Lewis’ first career start will kick off at 10 a.m. MT on TNT (simulcast on HBO Max).



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