No. 4-ranked Battle Mountain boys hockey splits weekend doubleheader to open 2026
Sloane Thompson/Courtesy photo
The No. 4-ranked Battle Mountain boys hockey team split a weekend doubleheader to open the 2026 portion of the calendar. The Huskies dispatched Caprock Academy 5-2 at home on Friday before falling to the 10th-ranked team in 5A, Heritage, on the road the following evening.
“I am incredibly proud of the team’s performance and their readiness to play,” Battle Mountain head coach George Wilson stated. “They put the work in to maintain their skills during the break, which was crucial to our strong return.”
The Huskies were 5-0-1 through December, rising to No. 1 in the CHSAA polls. Steamboat Springs (9-1) — which swept Durango on Friday and Saturday — has since taken over the top spot.
Friday’s game between Battle Mountain and Caprock Academy was a rematch of the 5-5 tie on Nov. 29. Junior Shia Silberman opened the scoring in front of a full crowd at the Eagle Ice Rink as the Huskies poured in four first-period goals. George Grayson scored second and Reed Garrison capitalized on the power play to make it 3-0. Nathan Rahe tacked on his sixth goal of the year before the horn sounded.
The Eagles didn’t back down, however, scoring once in the second and again in the third to bring it within two. While Caprock Academy derived some confidence from its mid-game adjustments, the Huskies demonstrated resilience by killing a five-minute penalty and another two-minute penalty late. Grayson knocked in his second goal of the game — to along with an assist — to seal the deal.
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Brennan Koenig, Eric Laidlaw, Gannon Sharkey and Luke Reynolds each tallied an assist and goalie Jan Machecak stopped 12 shots in the victory. Wilson also highlighted program-wide successes, noting the junior varsity’s 9-0 win earlier in the afternoon, led by Marco Gennett’s hat trick and Dante Defina’s shut out in the net.
“Thank you to everyone who came out to support the team,” Wilson stated.
Saturday’s game was knotted up 1-1 after the first, but Heritage unleashed three goals in the second. Battle Mountain responded with a pair in the third, but were unable to tie things back up. Greyson, Gennett and Grady McGalliard were the Huskies’ goal scorers.
Battle Mountain returns to the rink next weekend for a pair of games at Crested Butte on Friday and Saturday. The next home game is Jan. 24 against Glenwood Springs.
