Suns leave Utah with gold medal
Winter Games winner
Rarely in the team’s 26-year history have
the Sun Valley Suns enjoyed a more productive weekend on the score-sheet.
And the Suns also won a championship Sunday in Utah.
Sun Valley (6-3 overall) captured its fifth
Utah Winter Games gold medal in seven years with a 10-3 victory over Weber
State B in the gold medal game of the eight-team Senior Men’s A Check
Class.
Trailing 3-2 late in the first period, the
Suns reeled off eight unanswered goals to secure the triumph. Vilnis
Nikolaisons, Ivars Muzis, John Ellison Jr. and Chris Benson each scored
two goals—Vilnis on the power play and also shorthanded.
In five games over three days, Sun Valley’s
short squad of 12 skaters amassed 40 goals and 65 assists for 105 points.
They outscored opponents 40-18 and out-shot five foes by an incredible
263-113 margin.
Player-coach Chris Benson, who also tallied
a shorthanded goal in the finale, said, "It was good to get some
games in. But it’s tough playing them that close together especially
when they’re check games."
Left wing Nikolaisons led the way with 6
goals and 13 assists for 19 points. His linemates were center Jamie
Ellison (7-10 for 17) and right wing John Ellison Jr. (5-3 for 8).
Together they had 44 points.
Regaining the scoring touch he exhibited as
a rookie Suns defenseman from Alaska in 1997 when he won the team’s
scoring title with 35 points, fifth-year blueliner Jake Glotfelty came on
strong in Utah with 7 goals and 4 assists.
Defenseman Kris Webster chipped in 8
assists. Jon Bender had a fine weekend with 6 assists and a power-play
goal. Bryan Wiskow made the trip and had 5 assists, and Muzis finished
with 6 points.
Contributing greatly to Sun Valley’s 4-1
Utah Winter Games record with 22 points was the line of center John
Stevens, left wing Luke Smith and right wing Chris Benson. Stevens went
3-7 for 10, Benson had 4 goals and Smith 7 points.
The Suns opened up Friday night with a 10-0
romp over Weber State White. Jamie Ellison and Nikolaisons each scored hat
tricks, Glotfelty added a pair and Billy Cook (18 saves) earned the
shutout. The Suns out-shot Weber 62-18.
Early Saturday morning Sun Valley scored 9
goals in the third period and trounced Utah Valley 14-5. Glotfelty and
John Ellison Jr. had the hat tricks and Nikolaisons accounted for an
amazing 7 assists. Nine different Suns scored goals.
Although they out-shot arch-rival Korth’s
Rebels 55-28, the Suns coughed up an early 3-1 lead and dropped an 8-3
decision to the defending Winter Games champs Saturday night.
Fortunately for the Suns, Weber State B
upset Korth’s in Sunday’s semi-final and prevented a fifth straight
gold medal game meeting between Korth’s Rebels and Sun Valley.
In the other semi-final Sunday, the Suns
spotted Cottonwood Spa a 2-0 first-period lead and prevailed 3-2. Benson,
Jamie Ellison and John Stevens scored in the second period—the Stevens’
game-winner coming on the power play on assists from Smith and Webster.
Suns goalie Pat Ballou (4-0 on the season)
made 27 saves and blanked Cottonwood Spa in the final two periods.
In the subsequent title game Sunday, Ballou
(13 saves) wasn’t very busy between the pipes. The Suns outshot Weber
State 31-5 and outscored them 7-0 in the final two periods.
With the Sun Valley rink closed from Jan.
11-22, the Suns are idle until they host Dallas (Texas) South Stars Jan.
26-27 at Sun Valley Skating Center.
SUNS NOTES—Chris Benson (135-135 for 270
points) passed Kurt Wenzell and moved into fourth place on the all-time
Suns scoring list….Vilnis Nikolaisons reached 100 points about as fast
as any Suns player. His team-high 19 points in Utah lifted the third-year
forward from Latvia into a 39-61 for 100 scenario.
In their seven Utah Winter Games visits
since 1995, the Suns are 21-8 overall and have outscored opponents 171-96.
From 1995-97 the Suns were one-goal winners
in the gold medal game. Ironically the first and worst Suns loss in the
title contest came in the team’s 19-12-1 national championship season of
1997-98, when Korth’s Rebels handled the Suns 7-0.
The Suns bounced back to beat Korth’s 5-3
in 1999, then Sun Valley lost 6-5 in overtime to Korth’s last January.
The Suns didn’t have much to brag about
from their trip to Jackson Hole Dec. 29-30. The Moose outpointed the Suns
42-20. Luke Smith had a hat trick and Billy Tryder added two goals for the
weekend. Smith and Nikolaisons led Suns scorers with 4 points apiece.