SUPERIOR — Despite a dominant performance from puck-drop, it took a bit for Monarch to reap the rewards against Resurrection Christian Monday afternoon.
Turns out, it was just a matter of time.
Cam Piggott broke through midway through the second period, scoring on the Coyotes’ 22nd shot, and Monarch beat the Cougars, 2-0, at the Sports Stable.
Chase Saal added a power-play goal late in the second and Simon Holstein made 10 stops to nab the shutout for the CHSAANow.com Class 5A No. 3 Coyotes, who won their fourth straight and closed the month of January 5-1.
The solid start to the new year has come through adversity for Monarch (10-2), a result from the effects of the Marshall Fire. The devastation took more than 1,000 local homes and damaged businesses across the community, including the team’s home arena — the Sports Stable — which underwent restorations.
“We have a group chat and everybody has reached out to see ‘If you’re OK, if your house is OK, do you need anything?’ It’s just an unbelievable group of players,” Monarch coach Jimmy Dexter said. “The kids just really care about each other and each week it seems like we’re coming together more and more.”
Monarch had control throughout, recording 20 of the first 21 shots. Resurrection Christian, meanwhile, didn’t record its first shot until the final minute of the opening period. Its second wouldn’t come until past the 10-minute mark of the second.
Still scoreless despite it, Piggott’s rebound chance 8:37 into the second broke the draw. Linemate Ben Wiener, swinging into the zone from the right, had pierced between defenders and flipped a chance at Resurrection Christian goalie Andy Howes. The deflection then kicked out front for Piggott, who hit the empty side of the net for his third goal of the season.
Later in the period, Saal added to the advantage on the team’s fifth power play of the afternoon, taking a feed in front from Isaac Mansfield before scoring his first goal of the year.
The Coyotes piled on more shots in the third, outshooting the Cougars 41-10 on the day.
“Andy is a super good goalie. (Thirty-nine) saves is super impressive,” Piggott said. “But 41 shots is also super impressive. Getting pucks to that net is super important, and if we get 41 shots on every team, we’re definitely going to come out on top most of the time.”
Monarch will face Centaurus for the second time this season, traveling to the YMCA of Northern Colorado Friday. The Coyotes beat the Warriors 5-0 in their meeting on Jan. 15.
