Craig Daily Press

Craig — The Craig Puck Ewes coul­dn’t regroup from a busy last weekend and lost a road game Saturday to the Aspen Muther­puckers.

The Puck Ewes hosted the weekend’s Mardi Gras tournament, and the hangover from the event was felt in Saturday night’s game.

Craig had defeated Aspen in seven straight meetings by a combined score of 20-3.

The streak wouldn’t hit eight.

Fielding a team of 16 players compared to Craig’s eight, the host team exacted revenge on the Puck Ewes with a 4-2 victory.

Lani Cleverly opened the scoring for Craig, as the Ewes jumped out to an early 1-0 lead.

The Mutherpuckers ans­wer­ed a few minutes later, sneak­ing a goal past Ewes goal­ie Kandice Torno.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Torno said. “I didn’t cover the rebound, and the puck got tipped in between my legs and into the back of the net.”

Tied at one entering the second period, Aspen’s legs proved fresher than Craig’s, as the Mutherpuckers scored twice off defensive screens.

“There was two good screens by them,” Torno said. “One for each one of my legs.”

Ewes center Annie Abdella broke free and deposited a wrist shot past the Aspen net minder, pulling the Ewes within one at the break.

Craig found itself in penalty trouble in the third period, and Aspen found the back of the net.

With less than five minutes left in the game, the Mutherpuckers scored their fourth and final goal for the final margin of victory.

“I got my stick on it at first,” Torno said. “But, I couldn’t jump back in time. It went right around the outside of my blade.”

The Puck Ewes (9-7-1 overall, 6-3-1 Women’s Association of Colorado Hockey) host Glenwood on Friday, then travel to face the Ice Queens on Saturday in Glenwood Springs.

John Vandelinder can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 211, or jvandelinder@craigdailypress.com.