HIGHLANDS RANCH >> Monarch hockey coach Jimmy Dexter attributes much of his team’s early success this winter to its depth — especially in net.

In some previous years, the Coyotes’ longtime coach said he has had a solid roster only to be let down by goaltending. “Tough to win that way,” he said of it.

But so far in 2024-25, he’s gotten elite play from not just one, but two goalies in juniors Joshua Ringoen and Benjamin Zelio. And though it’s easy to distinguish between them with their contrasting styles of play — not to mention, Ringoen being about a head taller than Zelio — their numbers have been similarly spectacular as the Coyotes have lost just once through their first eight games (5-1-2).

Ringoen and Zelio are among the state’s best in goals-against average this season, allowing 1.75 and 1.76, respectively, in four games apiece.

“They’re a great tandem,” Dexter said. “They just push each other.”

That was clear on Wednesday night, with the Coyotes at South Suburban Sports Complex in search for its first road win over Valor Christian in six years.

With Ringoen in the crease and his team clinging to a one-goal lead with 3 minutes remaining, the Eagles called a timeout to pull their goalie and add an extra attacker. Before play resumed, Zelio pulled Ringoen to the side to give him a bit of encouragement on the bench. “‘Brick wall,’” Ringoen said Zelio told him then. “He said, ‘You got this.’”

Ringoen appreciated the assist, following it up with several key stops in the final minutes of a 3-2 win.

“Ben and I are always there for each other. We’re good friends and good goalie partners,” Ringoen said after the win. “We know the other one has it in the bag in times like these.”

Ringoen finished with 30 saves in his second win over the powerhouse Eagles in a month. He had 39 in a 3-2 home win in December. But perhaps he saved his best stuff for last, including one save late Wednesday night that saw him spin 180 degrees in time to deny a puck that had careened off the back wall and ended up between him and the goal line.

That’s a confident goalie.

Jake Oullahan, who had two goals in the second period including the winner with 8:47 left in the frame, said it’s a confident team, too.

“Valor, obviously, is a really good team, all-around,” Oullahan said. “But I think we’ve come together as a group and the boys are excited to play any team.”

The Coyotes, ranked fourth in CHSAA’s latest Class 5A standings, will again look to their depth with two games in less than 24 hours this weekend.

On Friday, they’ll be back at South Suburban to face No. 5 Cherry Creek in an 8:10 p.m. start. Then on Saturday, with a puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m., they’ll host defending champion and 5A No. 2 Regis Jesuit at the Sports Stable in Louisville.

“If everybody is buying in, we’re tough to beat,” Dexter said.