By Dan Karpiel

Sports Writer

Even in the world of sports, bigger does not always mean better. The Berthoud and Highland boys high school basketball teams learned that fact on Tuesday evening as the Spartans routed the Huskies 67-45.

Even before the opening tipoff, Highland appeared to have a significant advantage in the game thanks to having trio of players who measure in at 6’4” or taller, including 6’7” senior Kyle Stuehm. In contrast, Berthoud’s tallest players are listed at 6’2”.

Not surprisingly, the differences in the physical stature of each team resulted in contrasting styles of play. Berthoud, smaller and quicker, played a perimeter-centric game by taking a lot of shots outside while Highland routinely tried to get low in the paint for lay-ups and short range jump shots. The results were expected – Berthoud made seven three-pointers on the night, five more than Highland even attempted.

Berthoud's Greg Hutchins defends Highland's Kyle Stuehm

The strategy employed by Berthoud Head Coach Pete Scheck to counter the Huskies’ size advantage worked brilliantly. The Spartans would hold the ball at the top of the key and circle the perimeter, drawing Highland’s defenders away from the basket. Berthoud would then pass the ball around while setting screens in an attempt to get a player open with a clear path to the basket or for an open shot attempt.

“We knew we had to try to pull those big guys away from the hoop or we were never going to get anything….we were patient enough and disciplined enough to keep running it until we found good shots that we could hit,” Scheck explained.

Even though the approach they were using worked well at getting players open, shots did not fall for the Spartans early in the game.

Berthoud began the game by missing their first six shots from the floor. Junior Tucker Skoric finally broke the ice for the Spartans by sinking a jump shot at the 4:45 mark in the first period. Junior Quinton Urchek and senior Zach Ruebesam each added a three-pointer as Berthoud tied the game at 12 by the end of the first.

The Spartans opened the second period as strongly as they had closed the first. Berthoud drained three-pointers on three consecutive possessions as Urchek sank two and junior Alex Santos added a third to give Berthoud a relatively comfortable 23-14 lead by the 5:45 mark.

In the third period, it was again Ruebesam’s turn to do some damage with his shooting. The senior guard made good a pair of treys as Berthoud out-scored Highland 12-6 in the period to take a 12-point lead, 44-32.

The fourth period was atypical as Berthoud made only one basket from the floor but sank 21 of 24 free-throw attempts; the Spartans had attempted only five foul shots in the previous three periods

Mic Nienaber drives past the Huskie defender

combined. Berthoud’s near-perfection from the stripe in the fourth put an exclamation point on the victory as the Spartans out-scored the Huskies 23-13.

Asked about the importance of the free throws late in the game, Coach Scheck said, “If we’re missing those free throws and they go down and get buckets that 12-point lead we were sitting on when they started to foul goes down mighty quick. We work on (free throw shooting) a lot, we stress it, it’s important, and tonight they fell for us.”

It was not only a solid shooting effort that won the game for Berthoud. The Spartans made effective use of their full court press and zone defense to create turnovers and prevent the Huskies from getting many good looks to score. Much like the strategy they employed offensively, the Spartans entered the game with a plan on how to defend Highland that negated their size advantage.

Said Coach Scheck, “Last year in the second game (against Highland) full-court pressure is kind of what turned the tide for us so we wanted to do that again, get to their guards a little bit and really make them work and then hopefully take some of their bigs out of the game.”

The Berthoud High girls basketball team also had their way with Highland. Playing in Ault, the Lady Spartans topped the Lady Huskies 48-25. The victory was fourth straight and improves the team to 9-6 on the season and 5-2 in Patriot League play. The Lady Spartans will return home on Friday evening for a matchup with Estes Park.

The teams played an even first period that saw each register nine shots on goal, but the Wranglers were able to get one of theirs past Kyle Jones to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.  Just five seconds after their power play expired, Robbie Smith snapped a shot from the right circle into the top right corner of the cage for the period’s lone goal.

Las Vegas stretched their lead to 4-0 with three goals within a four and a half minute span in the second period.  At 2:08 of the second stanza, Josh Lunden made it 2-0 with a goal nearly identical to the game’s first.

Then at 3:41, Eric Lampe stole the puck in the high slot as the Eagles were exiting their own zone.  Lampe turned around, skated in on Jones & put the puck past his right leg after some slick stich-handling in the low slot.  The point pushed him into a tie for the league lead with Chad Costello.

Then, at 6:33 of the second period, Peter MacArthur swatted home a loose puck from the low slot to make it 4-0.  It took another four and a half minutes before the Eagles would get on the board, and it came in extremely unusual fashion.

At 10:59, Haddon flipped the puck over the Las Vegas net from behind the goal only to have it hit off a Wranglers defenseman stationed at the right post.  As the puck was traveling down toward the crease, Lampe whacked it out of the air, but directly into his own net.  The “shot” was the Eagles’ first of the second period and ended over 120 minutes of shutout hockey for Joe Fallon (121:28) dating to Wednesday night’s game.

The goal seemed to spark the Eagles as their first actual shot of the period came soon after, but just as they were building some momentum, the Wranglers were awarded a 5-on-3 power play.  It took Las Vegas just 15 seconds of it before Lunden notched his second score of the period by putting home his own rebound from the doorstep, making it 5-1.

The Eagles out-shot the Wranglers 18-4 in the final frame, showing their best jump of the night.  And although they were awarded consecutive power plays early in the period, the Wranglers’ third-ranked penalty-killing unit kept them at bay as part of a perfect 6-for-6 night.

Haddon trimmed the Wranglers’ lead to 5-2 at 8:34 after an odd carom off the left wing glass sent the puck into the high slot where the veteran forward stepped into a slap-shot that beat Fallon as he scrambled back into position in the crease.

The Eagles continued to pressure the Las Vegas net, but Fallon stood tall, stopping Riley Nelson on a rush at 14:20 and preventing a golden opportunity for Colorado to close the gap even more.  And a minute later, a turnover at the offensive blue line led to a 3-on-0 rush for the Wranglers’ top line that culminated with Lampe finding Adam Miller for a 6-2 lead.

Colorado kept coming, and with 1:15 left, Michael Forney rung a shot off the top right crux of the goal with a power-play shot from between the circles, and that was as close as the home team would get to making its comeback bid.

The teams played an even first frame in terms of chances & shots (nine each), but it was Las Vegas that took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, partly because the Eagles couldn’t take advantage of several Wranglers turnovers in the offensive zone.

Scott Campbell got the game’s first goal at 4:44 by stuffing a power-play chance home from the crease.  That lead grew to two at the 14 minute mark when Chris Francis took a shot from just inside the blue line as the Wranglers entered the offensive zone and the puck squeaked under the pads of Andrew Penner.

The Wranglers pulled further away in the second period, out-shooting the Eagles 13-6, and out-scoring them 3-0 to take a 5-0 lead into the second intermission.  Peter MacArthur made it 3-0 with Las Vegas’ second power-play goal of the night at 3:31 when he put home a rebound with Penner flat on his back in his own net after being knocked down.

Seven minutes later, Francis was denied on a breakaway, but Eric Lampe was able to find the rebound and slip it home, adding to his league leading goal total.  Then at 15:21, Mike Madill made it 5-0 following a bunch-up deep in the Eagles’ zone that saw the puck kicked right to his open stick in the left circle.  That goal chased Penner from Colorado’s cage with 14 saves on 19 shots in 35 minutes and 21 seconds of ice time.

Colorado put up its best effort of the night in the final frame, but it was too little, too late as they still were unable to get a puck past the Wranglers’ netminder.  Kyle Jones continued his steadying play in the Eagles’ net, stopping all seven of Las Vegas’ shots in the third period to finish the game with 10.

The teams will meet for the third time in four days Saturday night.

Andrew Penner stonewalled the Wranglers in the first half of the opening period, moving from his right to left to stop Lampe on a back-door feed seven minutes in.  Then two minutes later, he thwarted Scott Campbell’s power-play chance from the doorstep.

Penner’s strong work allowed his teammates to get the game’s opening goal at the other end of the ice 13:07 in.  Kevin Ulanski jumped on a turnover in the slot and dropped a back-hand pass to Riley Nelson, who sent a back-hander of his own past Joe Fallon from between the circles.

Lampe increased his goal total to 31 at 5:21 of the second period by beating Penner over his right shoulder with a shot from low in the left circle.  But the Eagles went back on top at 13:32 with a power-play tally when Adam Chorneyko, stationed at the right post, was able to put home a Ulanski rebound.

Penner continued his strong play in the third period, flashing his glove six minutes in.  But at 13:15, Chris Francis would find Lampe with a feed out of the left corner and the former was able to tie the game at 2, forcing the eventual overtime period.

In the extra session, the Wranglers out-shot the Eagles 5-0, with the final shot coming off Josh Lunden’s stick after Mike Madill’s rebound found him crashing the slot.  The teams will face-off at the Budweiser Events Center again Friday & Saturday.

Dennis Speicher

Dennis Eugene Speicher, 71, of Gill, Colorado was born October 16, 1940 in Holyoke, Colorado to Gordon Leroy and Rosie Opal (Owens) Speicher. He died January 20, 2012 at Aspen House in Loveland.

Dennis was a life long farmer who had a deep love of the land. He farmed in the Berthoud-Loveland area for over 45 years. In 2002, he retired from farming due to health issues, and he and his wife moved to Gill to enjoy their retirement. He had a long love for horses, which led him to enjoy many horse related activities, and meet and make many friends across the country. He owned and operated Speicher Harness Shop, where he made custom draft horse harness. His love of draft horses was formed when, as a boy, his Dad farmed with horses in the Holyoke area. He loved to sit behind a team of horses, and hear the quiet of the outdoors. He was a charter member of the Northern Colorado Draft Horse Association, holding most offices in that club over the years. He was also a member of the Antique Caterpillar Club, and a past member of the Berthoud Volunteer Fire Department. In addition to horses and antique equipment, Dennis loved to camp and fish, ride his motorcycle and spend time at the local coffee shop, reminiscing with friends.

He married Marjorie Schroetlin in Loveland on August 7, 1958. They were blessed with two children: Denise and Douglas.

Dennis is survived by his wife, Marje, of over 53 years, daughter Denise Lauerman and husband Steven of Loveland, son Douglas Speicher and wife Pam of Greeley, sisters Nadine Hooley of Loveland, and Donna (Calvin) Lohnes of Johnstown, and brother Devere (Nancy) Speicher of Loveland: 3 beloved grandaughters, Tanya Banulis (Brad) of Montrose, Raquel Wertsbaugh of Salida, and Heather Speicher (Steve) of Ft. Collins. Also 3 adored great-grandchildren, Landon Walker, Tyler and Addison Banulis, and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, son-in-law Jim Wertsbaugh, and two grandsons, Casey and Richard Wertsbaugh.

Viewing will be Tuesday, January 24, 2012 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Kibbey-Fishburn Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 10:00 a.m., at the First Christian Church, 2000 N. Lincoln Ave, Loveland.

Memorial contributions may be made to Pathways Hospice or Aspen House to further education and training for dementia and Alzheimer patients and caregivers, in care of Kibbey-Fishburn Funeral Home, 1102 N. Lincoln Ave, Loveland, CO 80537.

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ONTARIO, Calif. – The Colorado Eagles fell, 2-4, to the Ontario Reign, splitting their weekend series at Citizens Business Bank Arena.  Ontario scored the game’s first three goals before the game’s mid-point, giving them all they would need as four different players in all put the puck past Colorado’s Kyle Jones.

The home team dominated the first portion of the opening period, out-shooting Colorado, 11-2, early on and striking first when Bill Bagron found the back of the net just 4:20 in — giving him the game’s opening goal for the second night in a row.

Kyle Kraemer extended the Reign’s lead to 2-0 with a top-shelf, power-play tally at 7:34 of the second stanza.  And less than a minute and a half later, Mike Montgomery took advantage of a turnover and scored what would end up being the game-winner.

Five minutes after that, Patrick Cey would finally get the Eagles on the board, beating former Eagle Chris Carrozzi from the low slot.  But four and a half minutes after that, Derek Couture put Ontario back up by three goals, making it 4-1 heading into the second intermission.

The Eagles out-shot the Reign in the third period — the only period in which they did so — as they tried desperately to get back in the game, and at 11:18, Adam Chorneyko took a feed down low from Aaron Schneekloth, emerged from behind the net and beat Carrozzi.  But that’s as close as Colorado would come as the Reign held on for the 4-2 win.

Colorado will now return to the Budweiser Events Center for games Wednesday, Friday & Saturday against the Las Vegas Wranglers.

ONTARIO, Calif. – The Colorado Eagles defeated the Ontario Reign, 6-4, in a back-and-forth affair to kick off a weekend set between the teams. Kevin Ulanski scored the game-winner and Chad Costello iced the contest with an empty-net tally as each player scored a pair of goals in the win.

Ontario got the game’s first goal on their first shot when Bill Bagron scored from atop the left circle on a shorthanded rush at 3:21. But just 27 seconds later, Costello (the league’s leading scorer) answered with an even strength tally when he beat Jean-Francois Berube from the left circle.

Riley Nelson put Colorado up, 2-1, 80 seconds after that before the Reign knotted the game up again on a controversial score late in the frame. At 18:03, Kevin Estrada put home a rebound from the paint on an Ontario power play, however, referee Nick Leduc had blown the play dead and waived off the goal before reversing his ruling.

Colorado took its first lead 5:17 into the second period after a turnover just outside Ontario’s zone. Liam Huculak sent Ulanski into the zone, and the veteran forward buried the puck from the low slot with a defenseman draped all over him. But the Reign were able to counter just 70 seconds later when Geoff Irwin found Kyle Kraemer with a pass up the slot for a shot into a gaping net.

The Eagles went back on top just two minutes into the final frame when Aaron Slattengren’s shot from the left wing deflected off a defender and past Berube. But the Reign would counter once more with a similar goal of their own when Tristan King’s backhanded pass into the crease went off Jake Marto’s blade at 14:41.

Then at 18:14, Ulanski stole an errant pass along the right wing mid-boards and swiftly beat the Ontario netminder for his fifth game-winning goal of the season — and the third in a row. And with time ticking down and Berube out of the Ontario net for an extra skater, Jason Beatty found Costello for an easy empty-netter to ice the contest.