As sport seasons come to an end, final game opportunities approach. Our own hockey team had a very triumphant win bringing home the title of state champions. This is the first time that a DHS sports team have gone to state since 2020, and the 2nd year that Demons have been playing with CHSAA. DHS Hockey beat Summit 4-2 in Denver at the Magness Arena on Tuesday night March 5th. This was a victorious win for the DHS Hockey as it was the first time a hockey team of Durango High has ever won a state championship. 

This championship win means a lot to the team because towards the end they had a really good season. Our team finished their journey at state in Denver. They’ve always had the potential to get this far but something about this season gave them an extra push to reach that goal. When Zealand Eaton was asked about if he thought they were going to win he said this, “We had aims of, can we make the playoffs, we didn’t even start thinking about state,” The team thought they had no chance of even making it to state, let alone winning. They truly turned it around and proved themselves and everyone wrong. 

As you can imagine the team’s mindset going into the game was different versus coming out of it. They were definitely feeling the nerves. Connor Jones said, “The start of the season was rough. In our first 6 games we went 1-5 so starting off the season we didn’t know how it was going to turn out for us.” Our team had a rocky start but completely turned it around and finished strong. Winning this championship has given the players the confidence they need to do this again. 

So yes, they won state, but what lies in store for our champions next? “Next year will definitely be a challenge because we are losing 12 graduating seniors. We will take it one day at a time, one game at a time, but if we can build the team camaraderie like we had this season and make it to the playoffs again that will be huge for our team! After that, anything is possible!” said Evan Brock. While the team was journeying home it was a big deal here to give them the congratulations they deserved. They came back home on Wednesday March 6th. During enrichment students and staff accompanied the band and waited for them to arrive. Police cars led the bus using their sirens as a way to congratulate the win. This was an incredible thing that was accomplished and we should all be proud of these boys because they worked so hard and deserve this trophy. Great job Durango Demon’s Hockey!