For the week of February 19 - 25, 2003

A heaping helping of hockey in Boise

First, seconds and thirds

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By JODY ZARKOS
Express Staff Writer

Any Gem State hockey player worth their weight in friction tape was in Boise last weekend for the Wells Fargo Winter Games.

Idaho Ice World and the Bank of America Center played host to 42 men’s and women’s teams—the biggest field in the tournament’s 14-year history. The teams vied for gold medals in six different divisions.

Sun Valley was very well represented and rose to the top in nearly every division.

The Sunsets won the women’s A bracket, capping off a perfect 4-0 record with a 1-0 victory in the championship.

The Chiefs captured the gold medal in the men’s C bracket, beating Play It Again Boise 4-3.

Check out team photos of the winning teams in the Feb. 26 Local Life section.

Meantime, Whitehead Landscaping was the silver medalist in the men’s A division.

Standouts in the men’s B class were the Sawtooth Rangers with a second-place finish and the Silver Blades who placed third. The Vipers finished 2-1.

 

Women’s A

After having to skate in the men’s B division last year, the Sunsets found themselves back in the women’s A division and back on top this year.

Gold medalists in 2001, the Sunsets brought home the top trinket in 2003. Even more impressive is the fact they did it with just nine skaters.

In the championship final, a goal by Christine Gould held up for a 1-0 victory over the Grove Street Blades.

Gould plugged three goals on the weekend, including a pair in a 4-1 win over Washington State University. Lia Johnson and Sarah Benson also scored.

Nicole Perkins twined two in a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Mighty Chicks of Washington. Team MVP Tizz Miller, Liza Weekes and Sofa King Jennifer Embree lit the light in a 3-0 shutout of Grove Street. Goalie Karen Morrison got the goose egg.

 

Women’s B

Showing improvement in every game, the Sun Valley Fury played well enough to earn a spot in the bronze medal contest.

The Fury led the Boise Hurricanes 2-0 in the second period on goals by Cinda Lewis and Nancy Parsons-Brown, but could not stave off the Hurricanes offensive pressure and fell 4-2 to finish fourth our of five teams.

The Fury defeated the Boise Bombshells 2-0 on goals by Merri Whitehead and Jody Zarkos.

Losses came at the hands of the Boise Blades, 2-0, and Provo, 8-0.

Provo beat the Boise Blades in a shootout to win the gold medal 1-0.

 

Men’s A

Maybe next year Gunnar Whitehead should recruit some unemployed bachelors for his team. Then they would not be in such a hurry to get back to Ketchum on Sunday night.

Whitehead Landscaping (3-1) mowed through its early opponents like a John Deere through spring grass, winning 9-3, 8-1 and 14-2. In that span, Dave Hennessy and Paul Baranzelli posted nine points apiece, Peter Whitehead had eight and all 13 skaters on the squad had at least two points.

But faced with an 8:10 p.m. championship game and snowy weather, 10 of the 14-team members opted to head home.

The sole survivors (and more serious golfers) were Tim Jeneson, Phil Hebert, Chris Benson and goalie James Moskos. They picked up Reamy Goodwin and three others to take on the Ice Hawks in the championship.

Despite their best efforts, Whitehead lost to the Hawks 6-3.

"James Moskos stood on his head and Tim was out there the whole time," Hebert remarked. "Had we had our full team it would have been a different story, but we had fun."

 

Men’s B

The largest and most competitive division in the tournament was the 14-team men’s B bracket.

The Sawtooth Rangers rode a white horse through the early rounds, winning 4-0, 7-2 and 11-1, and compiling a 7.1 goals per game average.

The wheels fell off in the championship against Salmon. Tied 2-2 in the third period, Salmon scored three goals in four minutes to win 5-2. Eric Wingard finished with seven points. Walt Higgins had six.

For the third consecutive year, the Silver Blades won the bronze medal, but had to go to penalty shots to do so.

Dueling the McCall Mighty, who had scored 18 goals in three games, the Blades found themselves trailing 2-1 with a minute left in the game.

On a face-off in McCall’s zone, John Ellison Jr. (2 goals) tipped the puck to Alan Dupuis who buried it for a 2-2 tie and jubilation on the Sun Valley bench.

The game immediately went to penalty shots. The first players for both teams missed. Ellison converted for a 1-0 advantage and then Dupuis scored. Blades goalie Chris Edwards made a great glove save on the next McCall skater and Sun Valley prevailed 4-2.

"Eggie (Chris Edwards) always comes up big in the important games," defenseman Chris Zarkos said. "The more shots and the tougher the game, the better he is."

Dupuis finished with five goals. Ellison had four and Dave MacMillian three.

Firewood, pancakes and the girls at Hannah’s weren’t the only stacked things in Boise. You should have seen the team Danny Thomas put together.

The Vipers featured a lineup that could score at will. Ultimately it proved to be the Vipes undoing, as they could bury shots off the ice as well as on.

Scoring 11 goals in its first two games (both wins) the Vipers couldn’t answer the bell at 7:40 a.m. Sunday morning and got rung by McCall 7-3.

Paul Baranzelli scored three goals. Three players had two goals apiece.

 

Men’s C

The old saying is behind every successful man is a woman and it could be argued that this is the case of Bryan and Wendy Speth.

Though she would refuse any credit, Wendy, one of the best hockey players in the valley bar none, introduced her husband to the game and has obviously passed along some of its finer points.

Bryan put together the Chiefs, who showed grit, heart and great teamwork in winning the gold medal in the men’s C bracket.

Outscoring their opponents 16-8, the Chiefs beat the Artic Wolves 4-1, Siedl 5-1 and tied Pocatello 3-3.

In the final against Play It Again Boise, the score was tied 3-3 with less than five minutes on the clock.

Benjy Walker netted what the Minnesota boys call a "hardware goal" going coast-to-coast for the game-winning goal. The Chiefs then withstood a furious, flurry of six-on-five for the golden glory.

Mark Ellsbree finished with four goals, including two in the championship. Dave Hausmann scored one of his three goals in the final. Eric Kiel also netted three. Tony Mallane tallied two goals. One-time twiners were Tuck Hall, Dave Gittens and Speth.

 

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