The three players representing the Southern Utah Independent at the ongoing Utah High School Hockey All-Star Game are Cedar High School sophomore Cora Reynolds (far left), Crimson Cliffs sophomore Seven Smith, and Pine. They were View High School senior Cooper Taschuk (fourth and fifth from the right, wearing blue jerseys). top row).Salt Lake City, Utah, March 7, 2024 | Photo by Garrett Taschuk, St. George News/Cedar City News
Cedar City — Three Southern Utah high school students recently competed in the Utah High School Hockey All-Star Competition in Salt Lake City.
Representing the Southern Utah Independent Hockey Team were Pine View High School senior Cooper Taschuk, Crimson Cliffs sophomore Seven Smith, and Cedar High School sophomore Cora Reynolds.
The trio was among a group of all-stars selected from across the state. The main group was divided into four teams for the All-Star Game held on March 7th at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex.
All three Southern Utah Independent players ended up on Team 3, which first defeated Team 1 with an 8-2 victory. Team 3 then waited for the winner of teams 2 and 4 and then faced team 2 for the championship, which the same he won again by a margin of 8-2.
The Southern Utah Independent Hockey Team is comprised of players from Washington and Iron County schools. The team, which has not had a home rink since 2020, will soon be based at the KJ's Ice Barn facility under construction in Enoch.
Even without a current home rink, the team regularly practices land twice a week in Cedar City, and most weekends from October through March in Provo, West Valley City, and Salt Lake City. A match is being played.
Despite the relative lack of ice time, it didn't prevent the Southern Utah Independents from competing with their in-state rivals. SUI had regular season wins over Tooele District's Davis High School and Outlaws Independent, and also secured tie games against Cache Valley Independent and Outlaws Independent.
SUI finished the season-ending playoffs in late February, first losing to Copper Hills, but then bounced back with a win over the Outlaws Independent before losing to the Davis County Independent.
In a phone interview with the Cedar City News, SUI head coach Chad Fein had high praise for his team's players. He said Tashuk has been in the program since he was nine years old.
Tashuk, who is in his 12th season playing organized hockey, has played on traveling teams other than SUI. Last year, he was a member of the 18U Utah Select Team that competed in places like Arizona and Missouri. He also played in Las Vegas with his 18U Monarchy hockey team in Southern California.
“Cooper is part of the last group of children who were part of the original Yeti group,” Fein said, adding that the team had temporary homes at Cedar City Aquatic Center and Wood Ranch, but “they For years, there just wasn’t a place to play hockey consistently.”
“This next group is pretty special,” Fain said of the 10th-grade and under players. Among them is the Crimson's Smith, who led SUI in points and points last season.
“Some of the teams we beat are on the ice three or four times a week, and we only get on the ice once,” Fein added. “We're not just competing, we're beating teams. These kids will have an opportunity to make a huge impact on the hockey community.”
KJ's Ice Barn in Enoch, scheduled for completion in July, will be the only ice sheet in southern Utah. Fein expects demand to be high.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we had 30 high school games between varsity and JV here next year,” Fain said.
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