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Battle Mountain rolls past Eagle Valley, 15-3

Ian Smith
ismith@vaildaily.com
Vail, CO
BMLX v. EVLX 1 Sanders KA 04-20-09
ALL |

EDWARDS, Colorado ” It’s an easy choice for Coleby Henzlik.

What’s better: Attending a game at the new Yankee Stadium or beating rival Eagle Valley in lacrosse? It’s the latter, of course.

Henzlik watched from the bleachers as the Indians thumped the Yankees, 22-4, on Saturday. Monday, he was back in Edwards with his Battle Mountain teammates delivering a similar fate to the Devils.



Behind Henzlik’s six goals and stellar play from goalie Spencer Curries, the Huskies topped Eagle Valley, 15-3.

“It was definitely better winning today (than going to the Yankees game),” Henzlik said. “The Yankees game was funny. It was 22-4. The new stadium is awesome.”

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Forget the ghosts that frequent the House That Ruth Built, Battle Mountain was busy exercising its own demons against Eagle Valley. In the two teams’ first meeting, the Devils handled the Huskies, 9-6. It was a much different story on Monday.

Less than a minute into the game, Battle Mountain took a 1-0 lead on a Patrick Perry shot. It was Perry’s only goal of the day, but Battle Mountain coach Bob Daino said he played a key role in the victory.

“Patrick Perry was unbelievable today,” Daino said. “Every time he was in the game and the ball was on the ground, he came up with it. He’s was the key to the game.”

A physical Battle Mountain bunch controlled play through the first half. Chris Libertini pushed the advantage to 2-0 when he connected from long range. The goal came with an Eagle Valley player on the sidelines after committing a penalty ” a problem for the Devils all afternoon. In the game, Eagle Valley committed 16 penalties and spent 13 minutes off the field serving time for the infractions.

“The penalties hurt today,” Eagle Valley coach Eric Mandeville said. “The officials called a good game. They called it tight.

“Battle Mountain played well today. They’re well coached.”

Henzlik scored his first goal of the game on a bouncing shot to give the Huskies a 4-0 edge. The senior added one more before the end of the half for a 5-1 lead before the break.

“(The key) was settling the ball on offense and making sure we delivered with what we do,” Henzlik said.

The script stayed the same for Battle Mountain after halftime. Henzlik scored the first two goals and the Huskies’ defense continued to pound on Eagle Valley.

“When people got beat, there was a backup there to try and cut them off,” Currie said. “We were sliding really well. We always had a man on everyone. That didn’t have many open shots.”

The Devils tried to cut into the deficit but it wasn’t enough. Junior John Landreth fired a shot past Currie to make the score 8-2. Eagle Valley kept within six at 9-3 when John Crawford squeezed a shot into the net.

Unfortunately for the Devils, it was all Battle Mountain from there. The Huskies scored the last six goals of the game.

The win was the second in a row for Battle Mountain. On Thursday, the Huskies (2-8) downed Glenwood Springs, 8-7.

“I thought it would be real close today, especially after the last time we played them,” Daino said. “Winning Thursday, I think they realized the intensity level you need to play with. All of a sudden, they know what it feels like to win.”

Both Eagle Valley (1-7) and Battle Mountain are back in action today. The Devils host Steamboat Springs. The Huskies get another chance at Glenwood, this time in Edwards.

Sports Writer Ian Smith can be reached at 970-748-2935 or ismith@vaildaily.com.


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