Winning their four games by a 24-10 margin, the Sun Valley Youth Hockey Peewees returned home triumphant after securing the Idaho Amateur Hockey Association state championship Sunday in Boise.
In a clean sweep of their four opponents, the Peewees played an exceptional tournament. They defeated the Coeur D'Alene MYHA Thunder team twice 5-3 and 8-3, downed Idaho Falls 6-2 and outskated the host Boise Steelheads Peewees by a 5-2 count.
Leading the way as they have all season were Nick Crosby and Danny Sundali, who totaled 88 goals and 153 points between them for the season.
Coach Jeff Ballou, whose team played 34 games this winter, said the young squad peaked at the perfect time and played disciplined and consistent hockey at Ice World in Boise.
In Friday's opener against Idaho Falls, the Peewees pulled away for a 6-2 win with five goals from four different players. Charlie Evans (2 goals), Chance McCroskey, Crosby and Sundali each found the net in the rout.
The SV Peewees played and won two games Saturday over the MYHA Thunder and Boise Steelheads.
In the first game, the Peewees did away with the Thunder as Nick Crosby and Danny Sundali continued their season of complementary offensive power. Crosby's three-goal hat trick and Sundali's two goals were enough for Sun Valley's eventual 5-3 win.
Goalie Cody Levitan was strong in net, turning aside many Thunder chances. He was the winning goalie in all four games, making 52 saves.
Boise's Steelheads started out with a stronger effort than the Suns' previous opponents, but eventually buckled under the constant pressure and rock-solid Suns defense. Crosby had yet another hat trick, with assists from Sundali on all three goals. Sundali then added two goals of his own for a final 5-2 trouncing of the host team.
Sunday's championship contest was a rematch against the Coeur D'Alene Thunder, who came out with hard checking on the Suns. For the Thunder, the checks would prove overly aggressive, as they were penalized 10 times. The Suns capitalized on their first three power plays and an additional man-advantage tally for four power play goals in the 8-3 triumph.
Crosby (3 goals), Charlie Evans (3 goals, his first hat trick), Doogie King (a spectacular solo rush) and Tommy Heinrich (a perfect shot from the point) piled up the Sun Valley goals.
Season scoring totals were impressive. Crosby broke the 50-goal barrier with 54 goals and 25 assists to become the team's leading scorer with 79 points. Sundali tallied 74 points on 34 goals and a whopping 40 assists.
Final scoring from state: Crosby 11 goals/5 assists, Sundali 5/6, Evans 5/0, King 1/1, Heinrich 1/1, Zak Sjoberg 0/2, Davis Hague 0/2, McCroskey 1/0, Cooper Hanley 0/1, Jonathan Hobbs 0/1 and Ian Murphy 0/1.
