The Lewis-Palmer hockey team will face Peak Conference rival Cheyenne Mountain in today’s state semifinals after a week that must have felt tragically familiar.

Rangers coach Steve Fillo missed practice Monday to be with his sister in Connecticut — “to say goodbye,” as he put it, since she has cancer. This only six months removed from losing his son Stevie in an automobile accident after club hockey practice at the University of Alabama.

“It’s all about the Fillo family, the strength they’ve showed us through this whole thing has been absolutely amazing,” junior goaltender Brent Schwarz said after Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Air Academy, which moved them to the 8:30 p.m. game today at the Broomfield Event Center. “Their strength is unreal. It has inspired us this season.’’