Des Moines Leaf Ray 7 Stuns Littleton Fire, Advances to Rocky Mountain North Final

📅 Date: March 7-8, 2025
📍 Venue: Pepsi Roller Sports Arena
🔢 Final Score (Game 1, OT): Des Moines Leaf Ray 7 - 5, Littleton Fire - 4
🔢 Final Score (Game 2): Des Moines Leaf Ray 7 - 2, Littleton Fire

Series Recap

The Des Moines Leaf Ray 7 pulled off an impressive two-game sweep over the Littleton Fire, clinching their spot in the Rocky Mountain North Division Final.

Game 1 saw a wild back-and-forth battle with both teams exchanging goals, forcing overtime where Brendan Uher buried the game-winning goal just 38 seconds into OT to steal a 5-4 victory.

Game 2 was all Des Moines, as Drew Downey put on a dominant offensive performance, recording a hat trick and five points in a commanding 7-2 win.

With the sweep, the Leaf Ray will now face the Mile High Blizzard in the Rocky Mountain North Final, with a trip to the PIHA Finals on the line.

Game 1 Highlights (Des Moines 5, Littleton 4, OT)

1st Period:

✅ 06:30 – Des Moines Goal (1-0): Drew Downey opened the scoring for the Leaf Ray.
✅ 06:00 – Des Moines Goal (2-0): Spencer Coltrain doubled the lead just 30 seconds later.

🔥 Leaf Ray Jumps Ahead Early: The Fire were slow out of the gates, failing to register a goal in the opening period.

2nd Period:

✅ 08:36 – Littleton Goal (2-1): Brendan Uher gets the Fire on the board.
✅ 06:40 – Littleton Goal (2-2): Ben Ekberg ties the game with a strong individual effort.
✅ 02:16 – Littleton Goal (3-2): Shawn Valdez gives the Fire their first lead of the game.
✅ 01:44 – Littleton Goal (4-2): Valdez strikes again to extend the lead.
✅ 00:37 – Des Moines Goal (4-3): Spencer Coltrain stops the bleeding, pulling the Leaf Ray back within one.

🚨 Momentum Shift: Des Moines had controlled much of the game, but Littleton’s four-goal second period completely turned the tide.

Overtime:

✅ 00:38 – Des Moines Goal (5-4, GWG): Brendan Uher wastes no time in OT, firing home the game-winning goal.

🔥 Clutch Performance: The Leaf Ray erased a two-goal deficit in the final minutes before sealing the Game 1 win in OT.

🛑 Goaltending Battle:
🏆 Blaine Barker (Des Moines): 14 saves on 18 shots
💪 Don Post (Littleton): 13 saves on 15 shots

📌 Final Shots on Goal: Des Moines 27 – Littleton 21

Game 2 Highlights (Des Moines 7, Littleton 2)

1st Period:

✅ 11:04 – Littleton Goal (1-0): Ben Ekberg gives the Fire an early lead.
✅ 10:22 – Des Moines Goal (1-1): Drew Downey responds quickly to tie the game.
✅ 07:26 – Des Moines Goal (2-1): Downey finds the net again, putting the Leaf Ray in front.
✅ 06:38 – Des Moines Goal (3-1): Levi Denum extends the lead.
✅ 06:01 – Des Moines Goal (4-1): Spencer Coltrain buries his second of the series.
✅ 05:42 – Des Moines Goal (5-1): Hunter Shepherd makes it five unanswered goals for the Leaf Ray.
✅ 01:06 – Des Moines Goal (6-1): Downey completes his hat trick in an incredible first-period display.

🔥 Offensive Explosion: Des Moines scored six straight goals in the opening period, stunning the Fire.

2nd Period:

✅ 07:37 – Des Moines Goal (7-1): Drew Downey adds an assist to his stat line, setting up Brendan Uher for another goal.
✅ 05:33 – Littleton Goal (7-2): Cameron King stops the bleeding for Littleton, but it’s too little, too late.

🛑 Goaltending Battle:
🏆 Blaine Barker (Des Moines): 13 saves on 15 shots
💪 Don Post (Littleton): 14 saves on 21 shots

📌 Final Shots on Goal: Des Moines 21 – Littleton 15

Series Takeaways:

🔥 Drew Downey Dominates:Six points in two games, including a Game 2 hat trick, powered Des Moines to the sweep.
💪 Leaf Ray Resilience:Came back from 4-2 down in Game 1 and dominated Game 2.
🔄 Fire Ran Out of Gas: After a huge second period in Game 1, Littleton couldn’t sustain their momentum.

🏆 What’s Next?

With the sweep, Des Moines Leaf Ray 7 moves on to the Rocky Mountain North Division Final to face the top-seeded Mile High Blizzard.

📅 Next Game:March 9, 2025 – Rocky Mountain North Division Final

Can the Leaf Ray ride their momentum into the PIHA Finals, or will the Blizzard continue their dominant season? Stay tuned! 🔥🏒