Wednesday — January 28, 2004

Bullwinkled, by a bunch

Moose throw down gauntlet, 10-2, 6-2

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The Sun Valley Suns got totally bullwinkled by the black-shirted Jackson Hole (Wyo.) Moose last weekend at Sun Valley Skating Center.

Jackson Hole’s quickness, speed and team discipline had Sun Valley backpedaling from the get-go Friday night. Two-on-one breakways were common, and so were goals—16—for the skilled Moose snipers.

It was a rout.

Suns center Jamie Ellison fights Jackson Hole’s Lee Cooper for a faceoff inFriday’s game won by the visiting Moose 10-2 at Sun Valley Skating Center. Express photo by Willy Cook

Friday, Jackson swamped Sun Valley 10-2—the worst home ice loss for the Suns in 21 years. The barrage continued Saturday as the Moose swept the weekend series 6-2 and gained quick leverage on this winter’s eight-game series between the two friendly rivals.

"Jackson Hole just outplayed us," said Suns coach Johnny Ellison. "We’re a better hockey team than that. Defensive lapses allowed a lot of two-on-ones. What it means is we have a lot of work to do."

The Moose (12-2) built a 4-0 lead Friday, seemingly before the Suns could blink. Two shorthanded Moose goals in just nine seconds of the first period made it 4-0, and Jackson Hole never looked back behind star goalie Marc Morningstar.

Jackson Hole’s forechecking was awesome, and the Suns’ offense had trouble cracking through the neutral zone.

By Friday’s third period, the Suns trailed 8-1 and started reshuffling their forward lines in an attempt to find better chemistry and to uncover some, make that any, offense. The Moose outshot the Suns 41-23 Friday, and 44-20 Saturday.

To make matters worse, the Suns lost goalie Ryan Thomson indefinitely when he injured his groin during a six-minute relief stint of Friday’s starting goalie Matt Gershater. Bobby Farrelly was Saturday’s back-up for coach Ellison.

Leading the Moose—winners of five of six games between the teams over two seasons—were T.C. Harris and Joe Casey, who each scored four weekend goals including two shorthanded goals apiece. Bryan Hannafin had the hat trick for the Moose Friday.

Next, the Suns (5-3) travel to Jackson Hole for a two-game Super Bowl weekend set Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30-31 at 7:30 p.m. at Snow King Center.

Check the Express Web site for updated Suns season statistics and last weekend’s hockey summary against the Moose.

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Moose 10, Suns 2
Friday

Jackson Hole Moose     5 3 2 10
Sun Valley Suns             1 0 1 2

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FIRST PERIOD—(1) Moose, T.C. Harris (Aaron Ackley), 4:42. (2) Moose, Bryan Hannafin (Josh Theken, Jon Bradford), 8:12. (3) Moose, Harris (unassisted), 13:30, shorthanded goal. (4) Moose, Joe Casey (unassisted), 13:39, shorthanded goal. (5) SV, Vilnis Nikolaisons 5 (Jamie Ellison, John Stevens), 17:45, power play goal. (6) Moose, Gregg Gripentrog (Ackley), 18:33, power play goal.

SECOND PERIOD—(7) Moose, Hannafin (Casey), 10:52. (8) Moose, Gripentrog (Harris), 16:49. (9) Moose, Theken (unassisted), 17:49.

THIRD PERIOD—(10) Moose, Casey (Hannafin), 4:09. (11) Moose, Hannafin (Ackley), 7:39, hat trick goal. (12) SV, Eric Demment 5 (Chris King), 14:45, power play goal.

SHOTS ON GOAL—For Jackson Hole, 17-14-10 for 41; for Sun Valley 7-8-8 for 23.

GOALIES—Jackson Hole, Marc Morningstar (21 saves); SV, Matt Gershater (54 minutes, 27 saves, 2-1-0 season record) and Ryan Thomson (6 minutes, 4 saves).

OFFICIALS—Referee, Richard Winkler; linesmen, Curtis Martin and John Heinrich.

NOTES—The game was a sellout, 550 fans packed in to the rink, and the doors were closed by the beginning of the second period. But the Suns fans didn’t have much to cheer about all night. The puck was virtually pinned in the Suns defensive zone for the first eight minutes of the game. Jackson Hole grabbed a 4-0 lead by beating goalie Gershater with a slapshot, a screen and two shorthanded goals, the shorthanded goals coming within nine seconds of each other. At that point, with six minutes left in the first stanza, Gershater excused himself and was replaced by Ryan Thomson, who surrendered a power play goal in the final two minutes. Thomson hurt his groin in his short six-minute stint and was replaced by Gershater for the final two periods….Baranzelli had a great chance with eight seconds left in the first but, after a great centering pass by Chris King, he whipped a wrist shot high past the wide-open net. It would have made the score 5-2….The only consolation for the Suns was they got the best in two of the four fights and went 0-1-1 in the other two. Josh Jacobson got the decision in the opening bout against Jackson’s Josh Theken right in front of the beer garden in the north end, then Pat Finnegan whooped it up after pounding Lee Cooper in the second. Jamie Ellison was a little bit the worse after his bout with Justin Martin, and Brian Watts-Lee Cooper were dead even….The Suns started the game with four two forward lines and three sets of defensemen—and by the third period were switching lines in the blowout….The starting lines were Vilnis Nikolaisons-Jamie Ellison-Luke Smith, Chris King-Ryan Enrico-Paul Baranzelli, Frank Salvoni-Caleb Baukol-Rohan Verplank, Chis Benson-Brian Watts-John Miller. Defensemen were Eric Demment-Chris Warrington, John Stevens-Pat Finnegan, Ivars Muzis-Josh Jacobson. By the second period, when it became apparent that the Suns couldn’t match the breakaway speed of the Moose, Baranzelli dropped back to defense. One of the more intriguing Suns lines switches featured a small, quick trio of Nikolaisons-Ellison-Enrico, a group that continued as a unit Saturday night….The 8-goal margin was the biggest blowout in the seven-year series since 1998-99, when the Moose pounded the Suns 9-1 at Snow King Center. And the 2 goals scored by the Suns was the lowest single-game total by Sun Valley in 24 games….Tonight was the worst Suns home loss in 21 years, since the U.S. Nationals beat Sun Valley 14-2 March 3, 1983 followed by the Fairbanks Gold Kings trouncing the Suns 13-6 March 18, 1983 on resort ice.

 

 

Moose 6, Suns 2
Saturday

Jackson Hole Moose    1 2 3 6
Sun Valley Suns            0 1 1 2

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FIRST PERIOD—(1) Moose, T.C. Harris (unassisted), 10:25.

SECOND PERIOD—(2) SV, Luke Smith 4 (Ivars Muzis), 8:36. (3) Moose, Justin Martin (Harris), 10:07. (4) Moose, Joe Casey (Adam Patterson), 13:51, shorthanded goal.

THIRD PERIOD—(5) Moose, Casey (Gregg Gripentrog), 0:56. (6) Moose, Harris (unassisted), 12:49, shorthanded goal. (7) SV, Smith 5 (Chris King, Muzis), 18:17. (8) Moose, Patterson (Josh Theken, Bryan Hannafin), 19:42.

SHOTS ON GOAL—For Jackson Hole, 15-19-10 for 44; for Sun Valley 5-6-9 for 20.

GOALIES—Jackson Hole, Marc Morningstar (18 saves); SV, Matt Gershater (38 saves, 2-2-0 season record).

OFFICIALS—Referee, Bobby Noyes; linesmen, John Olson and Eric Wingard.

NOTES—It was a weekend of domination by the Moose. Jackson outshot the Suns 85-43, out-pointed the home team 29-10 and outscored the Suns 16-4. The Moose now lead 17-8-1 in the seven-year series and have captured five of the last six meetings. In the last six games, the Moose have averaged 7.5 goals per game, compared to 3.8 for the Suns. The 4 shorthanded goals yielded by the Suns this weekend constituted 1 more shorthanded goal than the Suns gave up during last winter’s 18-game season….Watching the game in street clothes and wearing the George Jacket from his two-game winning effort at McCall Jan. 16-17 was first-year Suns goalie Ryan Thomson, who injured his groin in a six-minute relief stint Friday and is lost indefinitely. Back-up goalie tonight was Bobby Farrelly….Reconstituted Suns lines were Vilnis Nikolaisons-Jamie Ellison-Ryan Enrico, Chris King-Luke Smith-John Miller, Frank Salvoni-Caleb Baukol-Chris Benson, John Stevens-Brian Watts-Rohan Verplank. After struggling for most of the young season, Smith scored twice with his new linemates…..King, Smith and Muzis each had 2 points to top the anemic Suns attack. Weekend leaders for the Moose were center T.C. Harris (4 goals, 2 assists for 6 points), Bryan Hannafin (3-2 for 5) and Joe Casey (4-1 for 5). Harris and Casey each scored two shorthanded goals, one in each contest…..Moose goalie Morningstar from King of Prussia, Pa., spent a season with the Suns in 1997-98 scoring 14 goals and 10 assists in 29 games. The Suns had four goalies that season led by ace Tony Benson. It was the first Suns season for Gershater. Morningstar, who had allowed 22 goals in his last three games on Sun Valley ice, going 1-2 in those games, was outstanding all weekend, allowing 4 goals.

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2003-04 Sun Valley Suns
Season statistics

(5-3 overall: 3-3 home, 2-0 away)

as of January 28, 2004

 

PLAYER	GAMES	GOALS	AST.	PTS.	PMIN
Vilnis Nikolaisons	8	5	6	11	2.0
Ryan Enrico	8	5	4	9	2.0
Eric Demment	8	5	4	9	4.0
Paul Baranzelli	8	4	5	9	10.0
Jamie Ellison	8	2	6	8	15.0
Chris King	8	2	6	8	0.0
Luke Smith	8	5	1	6	4.0
Rohan Verplank	8	3	3	6	4.0
John Miller	8	1	5	6	0.0
Ivars Muzis	6	1	5	6	0.0
John Stevens	8	4	1	5	6.0
Pat Finnegan	8	2	3	5	7.0
Chris Warrington	8	1	3	4	0.0
Kris Webster	2	2	1	3	2.0
Frank Salvoni	6	1	1	2	2.0
Brian Watts	6	1	1	2	2.0
Chris Benson	6	0	1	1	0.0
Mike Selhay	3	0	1	1	9.0
Matt Gershater	4	0	1	1	2.0
Caleb Baukol	6	0	0	0	4.0
Ryan Thomson	5	0	0	0	0.0
J.J. Hanley	5	0	0	0	0.0
Josh Jacobson	5	0	0	0	19.0

 

GOALTENDER	GAMES	GOALS	W-L	AVG.
Ryan Thomson	4.1	20	3-1-0	4.88
Matt Gershater	4	22	2-2-0	5.50

 

Shots—Thomson 128, Gershater 128.
Saves—Thomson 107, Gershater 106.
Shootout saves—0.
Shootout goals allowed—0.
Shutouts—0.
Empty net goals—1.

 

SCORE BY  PERIODS	1ST	2ND	3RD	OT	TOT	AVE
Opposition	12	17	14	0	43	5.4
Sun Valley	12	11	21	0	44	5.5

 

 

 

 

INDIVIDUAL MARKS

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Two-goal games (6)—Luke Smith 2, Ryan Enrico 1, Vilnis Nikolaisons 1, Paul Baranzelli 1, John Stevens 1.

Hat tricks or more (0)—0.

Game-winning goals—Eric Demment 1.

Power play goals (6-26, 23%)—Vilnis Nikolaisons 2, Eric Demment 2, John Miller 1, Paul Baranzelli 1. Power play goals (opposition): 5-23, (22%).

Shorthanded goals (3)—Ryan Enrico 1, Chris Warrington 1, Eric Demment 1. Shorthanded goals (opposition): 4.

Season penalty minutes: SV 94, opponents 112.

 

 

 

GAME RESULTS

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Total record: 5-3
Record in 1-goal games: 2-0
Record in overtime: 0-0-0
Games scoring 9 or more goals: 1
Games scoring 7 or more goals: 3

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December 19 (H) Sun Valley 10, Portland Checks 2
December 20 (H) Sun Valley 5, Portland Checks 4
January 2 (H) Sun Valley 7, Boise Blades 4
January 3 (H) Boise Blades 8, Sun Valley 5
January 16 (A) Sun Valley 8, McCall Mountaineers 5
January 17 (A) Sun Valley 5, McCall Mountaineers 4
January 23 (H) Jackson Hole Moose 10, Sun Valley 2
January 24 (H) Jackson Hole Moose 6, Sun Valley 2

 

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