For the week of February 5 - 11, 2002

Blue collar hockey for Smokies, Suns

Nothing comes easy in weekend split

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By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

Nothing came easy for the Sun Valley Suns men’s hockey team last weekend during its superb two-game blue collar series with the Trail Smoke Eaters from British Columbia.

It wasn’t easy Friday, when the Suns squandered an excellent chance to win at the end of regulation and a great chance to finish it in the overtime shootout. The Smoke Eaters prevailed 7-6 in the sudden victory shootout.

Paul Baranzelli looks to score. He scored 5 goals Friday and another Saturday against Trail. Express photo by Willy Cook

 

Paul Baranzelli’s five goals, including one in the shootout, were swept under the rug because the Suns defense allowed the Canucks to tie it 6-6 with an empty-netter with one second left in regulation.

"We lost our focus in the last minute," said Suns coach Chris Benson. "Poor defense."

The Smoke Eaters, descendants of the most famous and successful team in British Columbia amateur hockey history, made nothing easy because they were such a hard-skating, hard-shooting team, with 19 tough players.

It wasn’t easy Saturday, although the Suns fought through obstacle after obstacle to come out on top 7-4 behind a three-goal hat trick by Vilnis Nikolaisons plus clutch goalkeeping and penalty killing.

Benson said, "We showed a lot of character Saturday."

The Suns regrouped after injuries to defenseman Mike Selhay, who blew out his knee, and forward John Miller, who tore a groin muscle. Both are out for the rest of the season.

For much of the game, things looked grim as Trail seemed ready to erase the early 4-2 Suns lead with its power play barrage.

Seething with anger at referee Bobby Noyes, who whistled penalty after penalty against the Suns in the final two periods, Sun Valley nevertheless kept it together. The home team was shorthanded for 17 minutes in the final two periods, but allowed only one goal.

Goalie James Moskos had a great night. He was a rock, denying shot after shot, on power play after power play.

Indeed, goalie Matt Gershater had an excellent game against the Smokies Friday and did everything he could to secure the elusive victory.

Benson said after Saturday’s win, "Our goaltending was great all weekend. James was on fire, and Matt was great last night. I was trying to mix the pairings to keep our penalty killers fresh. But Trail was talented and deep, with young legs. And they had some pretty strong goaltending, too."

Friday’s barn-burner, featuring five ties and four lead changes, looked like it was tilting the Suns way when Nikolaisons, Ivars Muzis and Baranzelli wore the Smokies down at the end of a shift with a high-altitude goal for a 5-5 tie after two periods.

The third period was a goaltender showcase.

The Suns came out strong with two productive shifts. Then Smokies backstop Bryan Marino robbed Baranzelli twice in two minutes. Near the end Gershater made two great saves on Smokies’ top pointgetters Darcy Caron and Dion Resicini.

Less than a minute remained when a puck took a house bounce off the end boards and just past the reach of Smokies’ defenseman Jake Deadmarsh. Baranzelli picked it up in the slot and made no mistake, sweeping it up high for a 6-5 Suns lead.

The Smokies pulled Marino for an extra attacker and snuck home the equalizer with just one second remaining, courtesy of Leigh Walker. There was no scoring in the five-minute overtime, then the teams were all square 2-2 after five penalty shots.

Luke Smith had the final shot and a chance to win it, but Marino made the save. Then, in the sudden victory shootout, the first four shooters were unsuccessful. Jim Maniago’s backhand beat Gershater, whose career Suns record is 28-4-1, and Marino stopped Perry Smiley for the 7-6 win.

Having pulled a trick on the Suns with their come-from-behind victory, the Smokies with their Halloween-colored jerseys got a rude treat Saturday when Nikolaisons scored a three-goal hat trick in the first period alone.

Indeed, the forward line of Nikolaisons, center Tom Forti and converted defenseman Baranzelli had 15 of the 33 Suns points last weekend.

The succession of penalties made a mess of the final two periods, but Suns goalie Moskos was ready and willing for the onslaught of shots.

He said afterward, "Trail can shoot the puck. I was glad to keep the pucks out. Then in the third period our defensemen tightened up and cut off the passing lanes."

In contrast to Friday, when Gershater faced a slew of clean Smoke Eater breaks down the middle and two-on-ohs, Moskos just rotated from post to post and stayed in his crouch to follow the Trail power plays. Quick with his pads, arms and with his stick, he stuffed shot after shot.

Shorthanded for 17 minutes, the Suns allowed only one goal—and that was a fluke. The puck took a bad bounce off a Suns player on a clearing pass, then the subsequent Smokies shot clanged off the pipe and came right back out for a rebound goal.

A couple of five-on-threes went for naught thanks to Suns penalty killers Eric Demment, Selhay, Forti, Nikolaisons, John Stevens and Baranzelli. Unfortunately Selhay’s good knee caved in on a check to the right of Moskos late in the second period.

The eventual game winner came on a rare Suns power play with six seconds left in the second. Luke Smith’s hard work along the boards kept the puck in the Smokies zone. Smith tipped home Kris Webster’s blast from the point for a 5-4 lead.

Scott Carmack and Matt O’Hare then added insurance in the third period, O’Hare’s sweet answer coming on a breakaway after the end of yet another Smoke Eaters power play.

The Suns (9-3) host Minneapolis (Minn.) Green Mill for two games Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-8. Last January the Suns beat Green Mill 7-1 and 8-2.

After this weekend only four games remain—Feb. 21-22 at Jackson Hole (Wyo.), and March 14-15 against the Moose here in Sun Valley.

Check the Express web site for a complete summary of last weekend’s games and current Suns season stats.

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Smoke Eaters 7, Suns 6
(OT shootout)
Friday

Trail Smoke Eaters 3 2 1 3 7
Sun Valley Suns 3 2 1 2 6

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FIRST PERIOD—(1) Trail, Craig Swanson (Darcy Caron), 1:38. (2) Trail, Jake Deadmarsh (Swanson, Dion Resicini), 5:18. (3) SV, Paul Baranzelli 9 (unassisted), 6:49. (4) SV, John Miller 3 (Eric Demment, Kit Hughes), 10:16, power play goal. (5) SV, Baranzelli 10 (Vilnis Nikolaisons), 15:28. (6) Trail, Caron (Jarret Mason), 18:51.

SECOND PERIOD—(7) Trail, Caron (Resicini, Deadmarsh), 1:23. (8) SV, Mike Selhay 1 (unassisted), 11:28, power play goal. (9) Trail, Leigh Walker (Cory Neil), 16:22. (10) SV, Baranzelli 11 (Nikolaisons, Ivars Muzis), 18:37, hat trick goal.

THIRD PERIOD—(11) SV, Baranzelli 12 (unassisted), 19:12. (12) Trail, Walker (Neil, Darrin Kissock), 19:59, empty net goal.

OVERTIME (5 minutes)—No scoring.

SHOOTOUT—(13) Trail, Shane Drake. (14) Trail, Resicini. (15) SV, Baranzelli 13. (16) SV, John Stevens 6.

SUDDEN VICTORY SHOOTOUT—(17) Trail, Jim Maniago, game-winning goal.

SHOTS ON GOAL—For Trail 8-9-12-5 (plus 8 shootout) for 42; for Sun Valley 11-14-11-2 (plus 8 shootout) for 46.

GOALIES—Trail, Bryan Marino (38 saves plus 6 saves shootout); SV, Matt Gershater (33 saves plus 5 saves shootout, 6-2-0 season record).

OFFICIALS—Referee, Richard Winkler; linesmen, Curtis Martin and Eric Wingard.

NOTES—Suns first two forward lines were Vilnis Nikolaisons-Tom Forti-Paul Baranzelli and John Miller-Luke Smith-John Stevens with Caleb Baukol, Scott Carmack, Perry Smiley, Matt O’Hare and Rohan Verplank rotating on a third line. Defensemen were Ben Niemela-Ivars Muzis, Kris Webster-Mike Selhay, Eric Demment-Kit Hughes….Trail brought 19 players, stuffing its bench to overflowing. The second-year Senior team plays about 20 games a year and uses the Cominico Arena as its home ice. That’s the same rink that the Trail Smoke Eaters Junior A teams plays on. Trail is a company town located on the Columbia River north of Spokane, about 11 miles north of the border. The company is Cominico Ltd., which operates a lead-zinc smelter that employs over 1,500 of the town’s 8,000 citizens. The so-called "Silver City of the Kootenays," has a long history of Smoke Eater hockey dating back to the 1920s …..The Suns came back nicely in the shootout but couldn’t put it away. Gershater went to his knees to stop Smoke Eaters captain Cory Neil, then Forti hit the net above the goal on his team’s first shot. Shane Drake of Trail made it 1-0, then Nikolaisons hit the plexiglass above the goal. Trail’s Dion Resicini beat Gershater high for a 2-0 advantage, but Baranzelli came in tight for Sun Valley’s first score—and his fifth of the evening. Gershater came up big, stopping Leigh Walker with his pad. Stevens of Sun Valley scooped a backhand into the net for a 2-2 tie, then fifth shooter Craig Swanson of Trail clanged one off the post and referee Winkler waved it off. That left Luke Smith with a chance to win it, but Trail goalie Bryan Marino stopped him with his pad. In the sudden victory shootout, Trail’s Peter Gallo shot high and wide and Marino went to his knees to stop Suns defenseman Mike Selhay. Gershater kicked aside Darcy Caron’s shot, then Suns blueliner Eric Demment couldn’t get a shot away. On the third shots, Trail’s Jim Maniago backhanded one high into the net. Suns rookie Perry Smiley had one final chance, but goalie Marino stopped it with his stick—and his Smoke Eater teammates swarmed around him. Said Marino afterward, "I was more nervous in the overtime than in the shootout."….The Jackson Hole Moose (14-5-1), winners of 8 of their last 10 games, swept the Moorhead (Minn.) Majors last weekend at Snow King Center. The Moose take a week off, entertain the Boston Hockey Club Feb. 14-15 then the Suns arrive Feb. 21-22.

 

Suns 7, Smoke Eaters 4
Saturday

Trail Smoke Eaters 2 2 0 4
Sun Valley Suns 4 1 2 7

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FIRST PERIOD—(1) SV, Baranzelli 14 (Nikolaisons, Tom Forti), 2:26. (2) SV, Nikolaisons 8 (Scott Carmack, Forti), 6:58. (3) Trail, Caron (Swanson, Resicini), 12:54. (4) Trail, Walker (Mason, Peter Sheets), 15:58. (5) SV, Nikolaisons 9 (Forti, Demment), 16:25. (6) SV, Nikolaisons 10 (Stevens, Luke Smith), 19:15, hat trick goal.

SECOND PERIOD—(7) Trail, Deadmarsh (Drake), 7:01, power play goal. (8) Trail, Caron (Resicini), 18:26. (9) SV, Smith 11 (Kris Webster, Miller), 19:54, power play goal.

THIRD PERIOD—(10) SV, Carmack 3 (Smith), 5:58. (11) SV, Matt O’Hare 2 (Frank Salvoni, Muzis), 17:14.

SHOTS ON GOAL—For Trail 10-12-8 for 30; for Sun Valley 9-7-8 for 24.

GOALIES—Trail, Rocky Dickson (17 saves); SV, James Moskos (26 saves, 2-1-0 season record).

OFFICIALS—Referee, Bobby Noyes; linesmen, Curtis Martin and Eric Wingard.

NOTES—Scott Carmack was tripped by Friday night’s game-winning goal scorer Jim Maniago, which gave the Suns a power play at the end of the second period—and that turned into tonight’s game winner, by Luke Smith. Before being tossed out of the game, Smith also started the sixth goal, winning a draw back to Carmack, who drilled a low shot through the short side.….On the third-period play when Johnny Miller was hurt, the Suns actually scored a goal—but referee Noyes had blown the whistle the instant Miller fell to the ice. Miller went to the hospital, where he was diagonsed with a huge hematoma caused by a torn muscle in his groin area….Rarely in Suns history has a combined 12 goals been scored by the teams in the first periods of the weekend series….Vilnis Nikolaisons (83-138 for 221), in only his fifth season, needs 6 more points to crack the Suns all-time top ten….Nikolaisons (3-3 for 6) and Baranzelli (6-0 for 6) were the leading Suns scorers this weekend. Fourteen different Suns had a goal or assist in the excellent team effort….The Suns (1-2 OT this season, 3-0 OT last season) are now 23-21-19 in overtime in the team’s 28 seasons….As far as whistles are concerned, the game was reminiscent of the Suns’ 9-3 win over the Portland Czechs Dec. 27 when referee Noyes called 17 penalties against the Suns for 42 penalty minutes. Tonight it was 14 penalties and 50 penalty minutes if you count the two game misconducts assessed to Luke Smith and Ben Niemela. "How can you get any flow going with the penalties?" Suns coach Chris Benson asked afterward….Smith was furious with Noyes after being ejected when he was whistled for a roughing penalty deep into the third period. Niemela’s ejection came after he checked a Smoke Eater from behind, and the Trail skater went head first into the side boards. The Smokies player was uninjured…..Suns captain and player/coach Chris Benson (groin) expects to skate again this coming weekend against Minneapolis.

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2002-03 Sun Valley Suns
Season statistics

(9-3 overall: 8-2 home, 1-1 away)

as of February 5, 2003

 

PLAYER	GAMES	GOALS	AST.	PTS.	PMIN
Luke Smith	11	11	11	22	45.0
Paul Baranzelli	12	14	6	20	23.0
Vilnis Nikolaisons	12	10	9	19	4.0
Tom Forti	10	6	12	18	0.0
John Stevens	12	6	10	16	10.0
Eric Demment	11	4	10	14	25.0
Frank Salvoni	11	6	6	12	0.0
John Miller	10	3	7	10	13.0
Scott Winkler	7	3	5	8	2.0
Ivars Muzis	12	2	5	7	30.0
Chris Benson	7	2	5	7	14.0
Scott Carmack	10	3	3	6	13.0
Kit Hughes	10	2	3	5	2.0
Mike Selhay	8	1	4	5	9.0
Ben Stauffer	4	2	2	4	6.0
Matt O’Hare	10	2	1	3	5.0
Perry Smiley	11	0	2	2	2.0
Caleb Baukol	12	1	0	1	6.0
Matt Gershater	9	0	1	1	8.0
Rohan Verplank	10	0	1	1	8.0
Kris Webster	4	0	1	1	2.0
Ben Niemela	12	0	0	0	28.0
Jamie Ellison	1	0	0	0	2.0
James Moskos	4	v	0	0	0.0
David Stone	2	0	0	0	0.0

 

GOALTENDER	GAMES	GOALS	W-L	AVG.
Matt Gershater	8	23	6-2-0	2.88
James Moskos	2.5	11	2-1-0	4.40
David Stone	1.5	7	1-0-0	4.67

Shots—Gershater 256, Moskos 94, Stone 55.
Saves—Gershater 233, Moskos 83, Stone 48.
Shootout saves—Gershater 5.
Shootout goals allowed—Gershater 3.
Shutouts—0.

SCORE BY  PERIODS	1ST	2ND	3RD	OT	TOT	AVE
Opposition	12	19	9	2	42	3.5
Sun Valley	24	24	27	1	76	6.3

 

INDIVIDUAL MARKS

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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 (5)— Paul Baranzelli 2 (1 with 5 goals), Luke Smith 1 (4 goals), Frank Salvoni 1, Vilnis Nikolaisons 1.

Game-winning goals—Tom Forti 1.

Power play goals (11-41, 27%)—Eric Demment 2, Paul Baranzelli 1, John Miller 1, Mike Selhay 1, Luke Smith 1, John Stevens 1, Vilnis Nikolaisons 1, Chris Benson 1, Frank Salvoni 1, Ivars Muzis 1. Power play goals (opposition): 13-65, (20%).

Shorthanded goals (4)—Scott Winkler 2, Luke Smith 1, Vilnis Nikolaisons 1. Shorthanded goals (opposition): 3.

Season penalty minutes: SV 266, opponents 219.

 

 

GAME RESULTS

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Total record: 9-3

Record in 1-goal games: 1-2
Record in overtime: 1-2-0

Games scoring 9 or more goals: 3
Games scoring 7 or more goals: 4

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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)
January 31 (H) Trail Smoke Eaters 7, SV 6 (OT shootout)
February 1 (H) Sun Valley 7, Trail Smoke Eaters 4

 

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