Forti’s penalty shot gives Suns a sweep
Seattle Indians go down 5-2, 4-3
By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer
The Seattle Indians didn’t like it.
Many Sun Valley Suns diehard fans even
thought it was a bad call Saturday at the end of a fine hockey game at Sun
Valley Skating Center.
A referee giving a penalty shot in
overtime is a radical measure, deserving of a flagrant foul, and there was a big
question whether the Indians purposely dislodged the net when goalie Ian Witucki
was under withering Suns pressure in Saturday’s overtime.
Tom Forti, Suns center, celebrates
after scoring his team’s fourth goal in Friday’s 5-2 Suns win over Seattle.
Forti was a hero again Saturday with the game winner, a penalty shot. Express
photo by Willy Cook
Did Suns center Tom Forti pick up the
loose puck and score in the mad scramble? Did the net come loose first? If it
did, was it intentional?
There was a bunch of big men with hockey
sticks and gnarly looks waiting for an answer.
In all the confusion, referee Scott
Sivulich decided to settle the matter with a penalty shot. He sent Forti to the
red line.
Whatever your opinion, Forti still had to
make the penalty shot for the Suns to win the game and sweep the two-game series
with the Indians.
He did.
Forti weaved toward the net. Goalie
Witucki came out. Not waiting too long and not shooting too early, Forti ripped
a low wrist shot that went from his stick to the back of the net in a flash and
gave the Suns a 4-3 triumph.
It was the third OT in the last six games
between the two rivals, the Suns winning twice.
The weekend hero, Forti also scored two
goals in Sun Valley’s 5-2 victory Friday night. The unsung hero was Suns
defenseman Paul Baranzelli, who is always looking to score.
Baranzelli scored the eventual winner
Friday, snapping a 2-2 tie with a third-period tally that opened the floodgates
and prompted three Suns goals in just 87 seconds. On Saturday, his goal with
3:16 left in regulation sent it into sudden-death overtime.
Suns player/coach Chris Benson was
generally pleased with his team’s seventh straight home win Saturday.
He said, "Last night we took it to them in
the third period. Tonight we were a little loose on defense and they scored
twice in the third period. But we showed a lot of character coming back and
winning in overtime."
As always Seattle was a tough opponent—a
senior men’s franchise in its 43rd season. The Suns, who lead the 16-game series
between the two teams 11-4-1, are in their 28th hockey campaign.
Good things usually happen when Suns
forwards are forechecking and that’s what fueled Friday’s spurt.
A bang-bang passing play between Luke
Smith, John Miller and Baranzelli made it 3-2 Suns. Forti finished a great
individual forechecking play by whipping the fourth goal home from the slot.
Vilnis Nikolaisons rebounded a John Stevens shot, 5-2.
Suns goalie Matt Gershater (6-1-0) made 20
saves. The Suns outshot the Indians 39-22 Friday night.
It was another fast, close-checking game
Saturday. Defenseman Kit Hughes tallied the first Suns goal and rookie forward
Matt O’Hare from Harvard made it 2-1 Suns after two periods with his first Suns
goal.
A long Indians shot by Bryan Gowan that
got behind Suns goalie James Moskos and Seattle’s second power-play goal of the
game put the Suns behind the eight ball 3-2 as the third period ticked away.
John Stevens nearly broke Sun Valley’s
four-game, 0-for-19 power play drought with a shot from the point that hit
Nikolaisons and dribbled tantalizingly past the post with about six minutes left
in the third.
Things didn’t look good for the Suns. They
were having a hard time getting the puck out of their zone.
Then, Stevens carried the puck down the
middle of the ice with such deceptive speed that a wake opened up and he skated
untouched into the Seattle zone. About 25 feet away Stevens whipped a wrist shot
that goalie Witucki stopped with his stick.
Baranzelli, trailing the play on the left
wing side, collected the rebound and didn’t waste any time putting it into the
corner for a 3-3 tie.
It set the stage for Forti’s OT heroics,
set up by another unsung Suns hero, Nikolaisons. After getting hammered along
the corner boards, Vilnis bounced away, retrieved the puck, kept it in and set
up the mad scramble that caused the penalty shot.
The Suns (8-2) continue three consecutive
weekends of home ice action when the Trail (B.C., Canada) Smoke Eaters arrive
for two games Friday and Saturday, Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Opening faceoffs are at 7
p.m.
Benson said, "Trail won their provincial
championships last year. They play Seattle in their league." It will be the
first visit of the Smoke Eaters to the Sun Valley sheet.
Check the Express web site for a complete
summary of last weekend’s games and current Suns season stats.
Suns 5, Indians 2
Friday
Seattle Indians 0 2 0 2
Sun Valley Suns 1 1 3 5
FIRST PERIOD—(1) SV, Tom Forti 4 (Paul Baranzelli, Mike Selhay),
14:48.
SECOND PERIOD—(2) SV, Luke Smith 10 (unassisted), 1:38. (3) Seat, Doug
Kirton (Matt Mong), 13:16. (4) Seat, Doug Bosse (Kirton, Sean Sanderson), 15:46.
THIRD PERIOD—(5) SV, Baranzelli 7 (Smith, John Miller), 5:00. (6) SV,
Forti 5 (unassisted), 5:53. (7) SV, Vilnis Nikolaisons 7 (John Stevens, Forti),
6:27.
SHOTS ON GOAL—For Seattle 7-9-6 for 22; for Sun Valley 10-17-12 for
39.
GOALIES—Seattle, Ian Witucki (34 saves); SV, Matt Gershater (20 saves,
6-1-0 season record).
OFFICIALS—Referee, Bobby Noyes; linesmen, Curtis Martin and John
Heinrich.
NOTES—Suns first two forward lines were Vilnis Nikolaisons-Tom Forti-John
Stevens and Frank Salvoni-Luke Smith-John Miller with Caleb Baukol, Scott
Carmack, Perry Smiley, Matt O’Hare and Rohan Verplank rotating on a third line.
Defensemen were Ivars Muzis, Paul Baranzelli, Eric Demment, Kit Hughes, Ben
Niemela and Mike Selhay….The Jackson Hole Moose (11-5) enjoyed a huge two-game
sweep of the favored St. Nick’s Hockey Club from New York City Jan. 17-18 at
Snow King Center. The Moose rallied from a 2-0 deficit and won 8-4 Friday night,
then the Moose beat reigning U.S. Senior Elite champions St. Nick’s 6-4
Saturday.
Suns 4, Indians 3 (OT)
Saturday
Seattle Indians 1 0 2 0 3
Sun Valley Suns 1 1 1 1 4
FIRST PERIOD—(1) SV, Kit Hughes 2 (Forti), 14:13. (2) Seat, Bryan
Gowan (Kirton), 19:27, power play goal.
SECOND PERIOD—(3) SV, Matt O’Hare 1 (Hughes, Eric Demment), 12:50.
THIRD PERIOD—(4) Seat, Gowan (Kirton, Mong), 1:46. (5) Seat, Sanderson
(Cory Woodford), 12:56, power play goal. (6) SV, Baranzelli 8 (Stevens, Selhay),
16:44.
OVERTIME (5 minutes)—(6) SV, Forti 6 (unassisted), 1:41, penalty shot
and game-winning goal.
SHOTS ON GOAL—For Seattle 9-11-10-1 for 31; for Sun Valley 12-13-11-2
for 38.
GOALIES—Seattle, Ian Witucki (34 saves); SV, James Moskos (28 saves,
1-1-0 season record).
OFFICIALS—Referee, Scott Sivulich; linesmen, Richard Winkler and Eric
Wingard.
NOTES—Paul Baranzelli, who sent the game into overtime with his 8th goal,
is tied with Ivars Muzis for eighth place on the all-time goal scoring list for
Suns defensemen with 28 apiece. Baranzelli scored 20 goals last winter in his
first Suns season….Eighth-year Suns forward John Stevens (79-125 for 204) has
gone over the 200-point mark for his Suns career and stands at 15th on the
all-time list, while Vilnis Nikolaisons (80-135 for 215), in only his fifth
season, needs 12 more points to crack the Suns all-time top ten….The third
period was a tension-packed jumble of near-misses and excellent defensive plays.
The Suns penalty killers—Luke Smith, John Miller, Tom Forti and John
Stevens—stuffed the first Indians power play, with Smith getting off the best
shot, shorthanded. Perry Smiley made a fine backchecking play to stop a
potential Seattle break-in, then Indians goalie Ian Witucki robbed Eric Demment
after more excellent forechecking by the Smith line. Moments later Demment got
caught deep in the Suns offensive zone and had to skate furiously to get back
and slash Seattle’s captain Doug Bosse. The Indians went on the power play and
looked like they would come up empty again, but Indians defenseman Cody Woodford
punched a slapshot that Suns goalie James Moskos stopped with his pad—but left
the puck out to dry for Sean Sanderson to poke home for a 3-2 Seattle lead.
After Baranzelli’s game-tying goal, the Suns had one final chance to win in
regulation when Smith, Miller and Frank Salvoni jammed for a loose puck in the
crease, but they couldn’t pull the trigger….Suns player/coach Chris Benson, who
sat out his third straight game with a groin injury, went with his first two
lines for the final five minutes of regulation….The Suns (1-1 OT this season,
3-0 OT last season) are now 23-20-19 in overtime in the team’s 28 seasons.
Here’s an updated list of Suns game-winning OT goal scorers: Jamie Ellison 2,
John Finnegan 2, Kurt Wenzell 2, Phil Hoene 2, Paul Cartmill 2, Luke Smith 1,
Tom Forti 1, Brian Watts 1, Dale Johnson 1, Mark Broz 1, Pat Kearney 1, Rip
Kirby 1, Terry Heneghan 1, Chas Riopel 1, Brian Saksa 1, Beets Johnson 1, Phil
Hebert 1 and Sean O’Connell 1….The Suns (86-67 goals-against advantage) lead
their 16-game series with Seattle 11-4-1 and now have won four straight.
2002-03 Sun
Valley Suns
Season
statistics
(8-2 overall: 7-1 home, 1-1 away)
as of
January 29, 2003
PLAYER |
GAMES |
GOALS |
AST. |
PTS. |
PMIN |
Luke Smith |
9 |
10 |
9 |
19 |
29.0 |
Tom Forti |
8 |
6 |
9 |
15 |
0.0 |
Paul Baranzelli |
10 |
8 |
6 |
14 |
15.0 |
John Stevens |
10 |
5 |
9 |
14 |
10.0 |
Vilnis Nikolaisons |
10 |
7 |
6 |
13 |
4.0 |
Eric Demment |
9 |
4 |
8 |
12 |
23.0 |
Frank Salvoni |
10 |
6 |
5 |
11 |
0.0 |
Scott Winkler |
7 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
2.0 |
John Miller |
8 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
11.0 |
Chris Benson |
7 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
14.0 |
Ivars Muzis |
10 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
26.0 |
Scott Carmack |
8 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
11.0 |
Ben Stauffer |
4 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
6.0 |
Kit Hughes |
8 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2.0 |
Mike Selhay |
6 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
9.0 |
Matt O’Hare |
8 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0.0 |
Perry Smiley |
9 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2.0 |
Caleb Baukol |
10 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
6.0 |
Matt Gershater
|
8 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
8.0 |
Rohan Verplank |
8 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
6.0 |
Ben Niemela |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13.0 |
Jamie Ellison |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2.0 |
Kris Webster |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
James Moskos |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
David Stone |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
GOALTENDER
|
GAMES |
GOALS |
W-L |
AVG. |
Matt Gershater
|
7 |
17 |
6-1-0 |
2.43 |
James Moskos |
1.5 |
7 |
1-1-0
|
4.67 |
David Stone |
1.5 |
7 |
1-0-0 |
4.67 |
Shots—Gershater 214, Moskos 64, Stone 55. Shutouts—0.
SCORE
BY
PERIODS
|
1ST |
2ND |
3RD |
OT |
TOT |
AVE |
Opposition |
7 |
15 |
8 |
1 |
31 |
3.1 |
Sun
Valley |
17 |
21 |
24 |
1 |
63 |
6.3 |
INDIVIDUAL MARKS
Two-goal games (10)—Luke Smith 2, John Stevens 2, Chris Benson 1, Vilnis
Nikolaisons 1, Frank Salvoni 1, Eric Demment 1, Scott Winkler 1, John Miller 1,
Tom Forti 1.
Hat tricks or more (3)—Luke Smith 1 (4 goals), Paul Baranzelli 1, Frank
Salvoni 1.
Game-winning goals—Tom Forti 1.
Power play goals (8-35, 23%)—Eric Demment 2, Paul Baranzelli 1, John
Stevens 1, Vilnis Nikolaisons 1, Chris Benson 1, Frank Salvoni 1, Ivars Muzis 1.
Power play goals (opposition): 12-54, (22%).
Shorthanded goals (4)—Scott Winkler 2, Luke Smith 1, Vilnis Nikolaisons
1. Shorthanded goals (opposition): 3.
Season penalty minutes: SV 208, opponents 196.
GAME RESULTS
Total record: 8-2
Record in 1-goal games: 1-1
Record in overtime: 1-1-0
Games scoring 9 or more goals: 3
Games scoring 7 or more goals: 3
December 20 (H) Boise Blades 3, Sun Valley 2 (OT)
December 21 (H) Sun Valley 6, Boise Blades 1
December 27 (H) Sun Valley 9, Portland Czechs 3
December 28 (H) Sun Valley 16, Portland Czechs 6
January 3 (H) Sun Valley 6, Richtone Painting 1
January 4 (H) Sun Valley 9, Richtone Painting 3
January 17 (A) Las Vegas Royals 7, Sun Valley 1
January 18 (A) Sun Valley 5, Las Vegas Royals 2
January 24 (H) Sun Valley 5, Seattle Indians 2
January 25 (H) Sun Valley 4, Seattle Indians 3 (OT)