The Avalanche Guild is getting ready to host our third After-Hours game of the season on Thursday night following the Avs vs. Canucks game at Pepsi Center. As such, we have awesome discount tickets available for the game that you won’t find anywhere else. So support The Jury adult hockey team and purchase your tickets using the flyer below.

UPPER & LOWER LEVEL TICKETS
ADT CLUB LEVEL TICKETS

The Avalanche Guild would like to send a special thanks to the entire Mile High Hockey contingency for their excellent support of our After-Hours program and for their awesome sportsmanship on Pepsi Center yesterday afternoon.

We kicked off our fourth season of After-Hours games with a new annual event that pins two popular Avalanche websites against each other. Mile High Hockey vs. The Avs Guild included a few other Avalanche websites as well, like The Burgundy Blog and Avs Weekly. The game brought 30 local Avs fans together for a friendly game of shinny on Pepsi Center ice prior to the Avs game against the Sharks.

Derek Bell, who writes for MHH, drove all the way from Washington (with a pit stop in Las Vegas) to play in this game and he did a great job of spearheading his team’s efforts. A true leader on and off the ice, Bell did a great job between the pipes for MHH despite the lack of oxygen and air in his lungs. We saw shades of Patrick Roy in his style, as his white and blue Koho pads stopped tons of shots from our crew. 

You can also check out a quick video Bell shot before the game started right here!

The game was very evenly matched. Both teams traded chances up and down the ice as the game was clean and the pace was fast for the entire 60 minutes. The Avs Guild would score a late short-handed goal off the stick of Andy Robbins from Avs Weekly and it was just enough to give The Avs Guild a 4-3 victory over Mile High Hockey. Ben Vernelson III was forced to make a few frantic saves in the final minute to sustain the one goal lead and John Wheeler was mere inches from tying the game.

For myself, the event was one of the most memorable in After-Hours history. It was a time-consuming process getting two teams together in just a few weeks into the season, but the support that came through both sides in the final days leading up to the game was monumental and heart-warming. The whole game was a true reflection of the passionate fan base that exists in Colorado and within both websites’ following.

I loved having the opportunity to stand behind both benches and do some coaching for fun. I spent the first period coaching The Avs Guild team, but most of the guys on our team were very good friends of mine and I knew they understood my style. I made a trade after the first, sending Wheeler over to Mile High Hockey to even out the teams just a bit, and then I shifted to the Mile High Hockey bench to coach them for the second and third. What a great group of guys! Tons of communication, plenty of laughs, a ton of support along the boards and overall just a solid hockey team.

Overall, it was an awesome way to kick off the fourth season of our exclusive on-ice event and because of everyone’s support, we are already planning the second-annual Avalanche Blogger Battle for sometime next season. Thanks for the great support and we’ll see you guys next time!

And of course, a special thanks to the 15 guys that joined forces to make up The Avs Guild team. It was great to bring some of my good friends and closest followers together for this awesome event!

THE AVS GUILD TEAM
1. BEN VERNELSON – G
2. JOHN WHEELER
3. RICHARD WOLDSETH
4. RYAN BOULDING
5. JONATHAN GEBHART
6. RICKY GRASSO
7. ANDY ROBBINS
8. MIKE LEE
9. KYLE SEE
10. SEAN HUTCHENS
11. ANTHONY ROMERO
12. JEFFERY GEIL
13. SHANE WAKELAND
14. SHAUN HOLLIS
15. DEREK PATTON