The Kent Denver hockey team made sure it informed Ralston Valley early that it was not going to be intimidated.

The Sun Devils, having lost to the Mustangs by only one goal in a league showdown last month, delivered one big hit after another in the opening minutes of their first-round playoff matchup against Ralston Valley on Friday, and Kent Denver even had an upset on its mind after tying the score early in the second period.

Yet for all of the Sun Devils' grit, they had no answer for the explosive skill boasted by the Mustangs up front.

Ralston Valley scored two goals in a span of less than three minutes late in the second period before pulling away for a 4-1 victory at the Apex Ice Center. The Mustangs (18-1-1) will host Pueblo County in the quarterfinals today.

Senior Thomas Greene paced the Mustangs offense with one goal and two assists, and senior goaltender Adam Lucas stopped 27-of-28 Kent Denver shots.

"They gave us a hard time in the last game, so we knew they were going to be good coming out," Greene said. "We tried to match it with our intensity. They stuck with us the whole time. We just got a couple more in. We needed those goals (in the second) to get our flow going. It took a while to get it going, but we got a couple in there."

A power-play goal by the Sun Devils' David Key tied the score 1-1 early in the second, but goals by Derek Jones, who scored with a second remaining on a power play, and Kyle Bennett in quick succession gave the Sun Devils a 3-1 edge at the second intermission.

Greene capped the scoring with a goal late in the third, and Lucas made 14 saves in the final frame.

"Adam made a huge save in the first period, and then he just settled in," Ralston Valley coach John McKibbon said. "He has a lot of confidence, which is good and what you want at this time of year. And the boys have confidence in him, too."

Kent Denver0 1 0 - 1

Ralston Valley1 2 1 - 4

First period - 1, RV, Derek Jones (Thomas Greene), 12:10. Penalties - Jordan Freidman, KD (tripping), 4:36; Ryann Marcovich, RV (interference), 13:04.

Second period - 2, KD, David Key (Freidman), pp, 2:35; 3, RV, Nick Graf (Jones, Greene), pp, 10:06; 4, RV, Kyle Bennett (Chase Newman, Marcovich), 13:00. Penalties - John Butterfield, RV, 2:20; Connor Mize, RV (slashing), 3:52; Dane Reese, KD (tripping), 8:07; Bennett, RV (tripping), Adrian Hernandez, RV (interference), 13:32; Sam Kohm, KD (roughing), 13:32; Freidman, KD (roughing), 14:54; Key, KD (interference), 15:00.

Third period - 5, RV, Greene (Ben Tucker), 11:46. Penalties - Greene, RV (interference), :05; Sean Kilfoyle, KD (tripping), :45; Dean McGaughey, RV (cross checking), 7:38; Mitchell Pijanowski, RV (hooking), 12:54; Jake Spinder, RV (holding), 13:33.

Shots - KD, 7-7-14 - 28; RV, 7-9-7 - 23. Saves - KD (Mac Abruzzo 19); RV (Adam Lucas 27). Power plays - KD, 1-for-6; RV, 1-for-3.

Pueblo County 4, Palmer 3 (2 OT) - Ryan Barnes scored his second goal of the game during a power-play opportunity late in the second overtime to lift the seventh-seeded Hornets to a thrilling first- round victory against 10th-seeded Pal- mer.

Barnes, working on the right side of the net, collected the puck after his shot attempt deflected off the side of the net, and he put home the winner with 1:15 remaining. Pueblo County was given a man advantage when Palmer's Eric Finkbeiner was sent to the box on a hooking penalty 23 seconds earlier.

Palmer (12-7) rallied from a one-goal deficit on three occasions and, after

Barnes' first goal gave the Hornets a 3-2 lead early in the third, the Terrors sent the game into overtime when senior Josh Richards scored a goal with a little more than 8 minutes remaining in regulation.

Gage Henrich and Brad Reeves also scored goals for Pueblo County (11-8-1), which will take a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) into its quarterfinal against Ralston Valley. Richards finished with one goal and one assist and Finkbeiner added two assists for the Terrors, who also received a 35-save effort from sophomore goaltender Dylan Sli- zewski.

Palmer0 2 1 0 0 - 3

Pueblo County1 1 1 0 1 - 4

First period - 1, PC, Gage Henrich (unassisted), 4:50. Penalties - Brian Hartman, Palmer (boarding), 11:27.

Second period - 2, Palm, Kirk Van Arkel (Sam Hellesberg, Lee Olson), 1:59; 3, PC, Brad Reeves (Mike Deluca), pp, 10:21; 4, Palm, Ted Hettich (Eric Finkbeiner, Josh Richards), 14:13. Penalties - Chris Ward, Palm (tripping), 5:18; Max Kay, Palm (charging), 8:21; Ryan Barnes, PC (high sticking), 10:44; Nathaniel Hand, PC (interference), 14:24.

Third period - 5, PC, Barnes (Thomas Pankey), 3:37; 6, Palm, Richards (Finkbeiner), 6:51. Penalties - Josh Archuleta, PC (hooking), 10:40; Pankey, PC (tripping), 14:41.

First overtime - No scoring. Penalties - Bench, Palm (too many men; served by Tanner Gross), 1:13.

Second overtime - 7, PC, Barnes (unassisted), pp, 13:45. Penalties-Finkbeiner, Palm (hooking), 13:22.

Shots - Palm, 2-5-9-4-2 - 22; PC, 15-8-8-2-6 - 39. Saves - Palm (Dylan Slizewski 35); PC (Jacob Rapier 19). Power plays - Palm, 0-for-4; PC, 2-for-5.

* In other first-round action, Trentt Houghton scored three goals and Hunter Douglas made 30 saves as Cheyenne Mountain upset fourth-seeded Summit 4-1. Justin King also scored and Trevor Isbell tallied two assists for the Indians (12-8-0), who have won six of their past seven.

Cheyenne Mountain will meet Machebeuf (16-3-1), which got 23 saves from J.J. Westcott and goals from Sam Lass and Charlie Coleman in a 2-1 victory against Rampart.

Defending state champion Regis Jesuit (19-0-1) used a hat trick from Connor Hayes in an 8-1 victory against Doherty to set up a quarterfinal matchup today against Steamboat Springs (15-5-0). Matt Dawes had 14 saves for the Sailors as they eliminated Peak to Peak 4-1.

Also, Daniel Doremus scored two goals and helped key a second-period scoring flurry as Aspen upset sixth-seeded Battle Mountain 4-3. The Skiers (14-6-0) will meet Lewis-Palmer (17-3-0) in the quarterfinals. Blake Cogburn had two goals and an assist for the Rangers in a 3-2 win against Chatfield.

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