CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The Heritage hockey team had been waiting for this one for a while.
Not only had the Eagles never defeated Cherry Creek throughout their meetings in program history, but their shot this year had to wait. A snow day earlier this month pushed the annual game between the Eagles and Bruins back two weeks.
Call it worth the wait.
Heritage, which is ranked No. 9 in this week's CHSAA rankings, held off a late rally by No. 8 Cherry Creek for a 4-3 victory at Family Sports Center on Tuesday afternoon.
"We've been thinking about this game for a while. It feels awesome to beat them," said senior winger Jakob Boos, who had a goal and an assist in the win.
After a scoreless first period, the Eagles put past two goals before the Bruins could respond. Heritage's lead grew as large as 4-1.
But in the third period, a 5-minute major penalty allowed Cherry Creek to claw back. The Bruins found the back of the net twice on the extended power play, making it a one-goal game in the final few minutes.
"We learned how to win a close game. That's important, especially going into playoffs," Boos said. "It's important to win those one-goal games."
Heritage improves to 13-4-1 overall with the win, while Cherry Creek falls to 8-7-3.
The Eagles wrap up their regular season at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at home against Mountain Vista. The Bruins host No. 4 Monarch on Friday and No. 6 Denver East on Saturday to close out their regular season. Both of those games are scheduled for 3:10 p.m.
Watch the extended video above and see the highlights on the 9NEWS Prep Rally on Saturday morning.
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