It wasn't quite like the Miracle on Ice, but the Rising Suns crafted their own little miracle Friday during an exciting and fast-skating exhibition game against the Sun Valley Suns senior men's hockey team.
Taking advantage of young legs and taking a cue from speedy Colorado College freshman defenseman Cody Lampl, the Rising Suns emerged victorious 5-4 in a dramatic shootout before 375 boisterous holiday fans at Sun Valley Skating Center.
Joey Sides of Wentworth College, Chad Levitan and Justin Taylor scored the Rising Suns goals in the shootout won by the exuberant youngsters 3-1. Only Ryan Enrico scored for the veteran Suns against Rising Suns goalie Regan O'Reilly.
O'Reilly was awesome, stopping 33 of 37 Suns shots during the two, 25-minute stop-time periods that made up the annual Christmas exhibition. It raised money for Sun Valley Youth Hockey and brought out many local families.
But it was Lampl who turned the tide for the Rising Suns, made up mostly of players from the Sun Valley Midget high school hockey team that is enjoying an excellent season.
A Sun Valley Youth Hockey product, the 19-year-old Lampl is a 5-10, 160-pound blueliner for the NCAA Division 1 Colorado College sextet in Colorado Springs. The Tigers (15-6-1) are currently in second place in the 10-team WCHA, behind Wisconsin but just ahead of powers Denver and Minnesota.
A perennial college hockey power itself, Colorado College plays in the eight-year-old Colorado Springs World Arena, which holds 7,343 black-and-gold fans—over three times the size of the four-year college's student population of 1,950.
Lampl last played juniors for the Chicago Steel, but now he's a freshman for the Tigers. And he made a big impression on local hockey buffs during Friday night's match-up.
Suns coach Chris Benson said, "Cody is looking real good. I hadn't seen him for a while and always wondered if he was D1 (Division 1) caliber. He's got all the skills. He's quick and has a ton of a shot with a quick release. It'll be interesting to see how he does."
Lampl did fine Friday and carried the Rising Suns into the shootout against a Suns squad that, to be fair, didn't have all of its players due to the holiday. Those missing included both starting goalies, Jamie Ellison, Chris Warrington and Paul Baranzelli.
Justin Taylor scored the first Rising Suns goal on assists by Travis Amick and Sides. The Suns answered in the first period with a John Stevens goal, from defenseman Eric Demment. But Tate Mills assisted on the first of two goals by Blake Jenson of the Rising Suns for a 2-1 lead after the first 25 minutes of action.
Goalie David Stone tended the net for the Suns in the first period, stopping 16 of 18 Rising Suns shots. O'Reilly, meanwhile, was nearly flawless with 18 saves on 19 shots.
The Suns, who trailed 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 during the game, equalized six minutes into the second stanza on a power play goal by John Miller. Miller deflected a shot from the point by defenseman Josh Jacobson. The other assist was credited to blueliner Kellen Chatterton.
Lampl provided an answer just 30 seconds later, setting up Spencer Brendel for the third Rising Suns goal. Once again capitalizing on the power play, the Suns made it 3-3 at the 14-minute mark when Bryan Winkler scored on assists from Scott Winkler and Ryan McDonald.
Then, the Suns took their first lead. Stevens whacked the puck off the side boards in his own end and sent fleet skater Enrico dashing down the ice. Enrico beat O'Reilly for a 4-3 Suns lead that seemed safe as the minutes ticked away.
Less than a minute remained when the Rising Suns pulled O'Reilly in favor of an extra attacker. The Suns cleared the puck down the ice, but Lampl picked it up behind the Rising Suns net and unleashed a Bobby Orr-type rush down the left side and straight into the Suns zone.
He motored through the Suns defense and towards Suns goalie Billy Cook (18 saves on 20 shots in the second). In all the commotion Blake Jenson of the Fort Worth Texans scored the equalizer for the Rising Suns with 22 seconds remaining. It sent the decision into the crowd-pleasing shootout.
Suns goalie Cook stopped Jason Heiner with his right leg, but O'Reilly's pad deflected Josh Jacobson's attempt for the Suns. Division 3 college hockey player Sides went right and beat Cook high. O'Reilly made the save with his right pad on Suns pickup Jon Fitzgerald.
Cook bounced back with a left pad stop on Sinjin Thomas, then Enrico kept the Suns alive by slapping the puck just past O'Reilly. The killer was made by Chad Levitan of the Rising Suns, who beat Cook for a 2-1 lead. O'Reilly used his right pad to frustrate Suns alternate captain Vilnis Nikolaisons.
Next was Justin Taylor. He ended the shootout triumphantly by going to Cook's right and finding the net for the 3-1 victory that delighted the kids and also pleased Rising Suns coaches Andrew Hebert and Cruger Thomas.
"It was great to see the talent of the kids," said Suns coach Benson. "They were working hard and my guys didn't want to get embarrassed. So it was a good game and the crowd really got into it."
You couldn't have dreamed of such an outcome five years ago, but the Sun Valley Youth Hockey program has come a long way in developing young players, Benson added.
"It used to be that it was pretty slim pickings when it comes to this caliber of player. But the more ice time you get, the better you get. They had young legs, and they're 16, 17, 19 and 20 years old, skating everyday and doing other things off the ice. It shows."
The addition of another covered ice rink in Hailey, planned for 2006, and the very real possibility that Ketchum's Wood River Community YMCA will unveil its own indoor rink two years from now says a lot about the bright future of ice hockey in the valley, Benson said.
Friday's earlier exhibition was about the past. Skating in a pair of 25-minute running time periods was a group of Suns alumni called the Sundowners—with pro golfer Davis Love III coaching one of the teams.
The White team won 5-3 on goals by Chris Benson, Dale Johnson, Tim Jeneson and Sean O'Connell (2). Assists went to Brian Watts (2) and Chris Benson. For the Reds, goal scorers were Gunner Whitehead, Dates Fryberger and Billy Tryder. Assists went to Phil Hebert (2), Peter Whitehead and John "Cub" Burke.
Goalies were Tony Benson of the Whites and Billy Cook of the Reds.
Rounding out the White roster were Bobby Noyes, John Heinrich, Steve Bohner, Bing Gordon, Mark Broz, Dave Hutchinson and Paul McDonald. Red players included Charlie Holt, Zac Crist, Mike Punnett, John McGuone, Brad Dredge, Dick Nelson and Harry Weekes.
Cody Lampl sets up a play for the Rising Suns Friday night on resort ice. Photo by Willy Cook
