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  The Craig Puck Ewes made their first stop in Vail on Friday night to face a Twin Peaks team that has been having a great season. And they proved it just in the first period when they outshot the Ewes 15-2, but the game remained tied at 0.

The Ewes fell by two goals in the second period, and got outshot again by about the same count as the first.

The game was a clean game, with only one penalty going to a Twin Peaks player for interference late in the third, but the Ewes couldn't convert on the powerplay. Jamie Eckroth scored the lone Ewes' goal and the game ended in a 4-1 loss for Craig who was outshot 40-11 in the contest.

Craig stepped it up in the game against the Down Valley Divas the following night. Both teams were evenly matched through all three periods of play. No goals scored and no penalties taken.

Less than a minute into sudden-death overtime, the Ewes capitalized on a mistake in front of the Divas' net and won the game 1-0 on a Stephanie Beckett goal. The Ewes were outshot 32-18 in the game.

Upcoming, starting on Friday night, is the annual Mardi Gras Tournament, in Craig.

The schedule is up under the Schedule link on the left side of the page. There should be a drop down bar with Mardi Gras 2010 in it. Click on that to look at all 10 games.

Defender Annie Abdella looks on as goaltender Kandice Torno pushes a puck away from the net.

CRAIG-

The Puck Ewes have struggled to score, keeps pucks out of their net, or even pick up wins for most the season. The now 2-7-0 team sits in sixth place in the Mountain Division, tied with the Down Valley Divas and Steamboat Bobcats, all with four points. This weekend the Ewes will take to the road against a 7-2-0 Vail Twin Peaks team Friday night and the 2-5-0 Down Valley Divas team on Saturday night.

Last year, Craig played Vail three times; twice in the regular season and once during the WACH Tournament. The Ewes and Peaks played to a 1-1 tie on Moffat County Ice but the Twin Peaks won 3-1 at Dobson. During the tournament, the Ewes won 3-2, but only after having to hold back an angry onslaught of Vail players toward the very end of the game who nearly tied it up. Shots on goal were fairly even between the two teams last year, with 52-50 in favor of Vail.

The Twin Peaks had to make a goaltending change this season when their regular for the past few years moved. Willow Murphy stepped back into the pipes once again and has been tough. The Ewes lost 4-1 at home this season after being outshot 46-30. Currently, the Twin Peaks sit in second place five points behind the undefeated Breckenridge Fattys Fury, who have 19 points.

The Ewes and the Divas split games last year, with each team having the home-ice advantage. Like the games against Vail, the shot count had been fairly even with Craig having a 48-46 lead. The Ewes and Divas did not see each other in the tournament last year, other than in passing.

Craig and Down Valley have already faced each other once this season. The game against the Divas was Craig's first win of the year with a 4-2 victory, on home-ice at the Moffat County Ice Arena. Despite a decent core of defense, the Divas are struggling this season and sit in 7th place, just behind the Puck Ewes, but have two games in hand yet.

Hopefully the Ewes can pick up at least one win on the road this weekend.

In other Ewes News, next up for their annual Mardi Gras starting Friday night, February 5th with games on Saturday and a social Saturday night. The tournament finishes up on  Sunday morning.

Only five teams are slated to compete for the top honors this year. The Crested Butte Red Ladies have won it the last few years, but will not be attending the tournament this year, leaving the title up for grabs to a new team.

Games should begin Friday (5th) night starting at 7:15pm. Come out and have fun at the annual Mardi Gras Tournament!