Denver East High School hockey players describe how play has provided "escape" from turbulent year
Standing in the middle of the ice, East High School hockey coach John Kopperud surveyed a recent practice as a swirl of green, black, and red jerseys were flying around the ice.
"This is their world right now," said the coach. "Nothing else matters."
The ice has provided a safe refuge for dozens of DPS high school hockey players who have been through a turbulent year. In February, Luis Garcia, an East High student and soccer player, was murdered near the campus.
Although nobody has been arrested or charged with Garcia's murder, Denver police spokesperson Doug Schepman said this week there has been "significant progress" in the police investigation.
In March, two East High deans were shot and wounded as they patted down student Austin Lyle, who later took his own life.
But on the ice at Big Bear Arena in the Lowry neighborhood of Denver, the kids who make up the East High hockey team say those terrible incidents are forgotten, for just a couple of hours.
"It definitely helps me get my mind off things," said Grant Petruno, a senior.
East is the only DPS high school with a varsity hockey team, so the squad is made up of students from across the DPS system.
Peter Galambos, a sophomore at South High School, took a break on the bench at a recent practice and said, "I think it kind of distracts us from the real world. It's my escape. There's so much noise but when I step on the ice it's gone."
Junior Noah Schreiber said, "I don't forget about the stuff but it's definitely a break from what's going on outside of hockey."
East won the Colorado State High School Hockey Championship in 2022, and while they are hoping for a repeat this year, Kopperud says he has needed to talk to players about the school violence.
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"We've addressed it as a team," said Kopperud. "But I've talked to probably half a dozen kids individually about it as well where they have issues. We talk to our kids all the time about what's going on."
The ice hasn't been a haven just for the students but for the coach as well.
"It's fun coming out here," said Kopperud. "It's the highlight of my day, every day."