They weren't the prettiest of victories, but the Sun Valley Suns men's hockey team got a number of things accomplished during last weekend's 5-3 and 5-2 home ice sweep of the visiting Philadelphia Independence.
First of all, Sun Valley hasn't enjoyed a lot of scoring success in the third periods of its games this winter—but the Suns won both games in the final periods last weekend. They broke a 3-3 tie in Friday's 5-3 win and rallied from a 2-1 deficit Saturday.
The Suns (9-3) got back on their skates in game situations after a two-week layoff and stretched their current winning streak to a season-best four games. Coach Chris Benson said, "We were a little rusty. We'll try to get our feet moving a little more in practices this week."
Although veteran Vilnis Nikolaisons had a very good weekend, making plenty of things happen all over the ice, and co-captain Chris Warrington made a brilliant play in Saturday's victory, three young Suns also rose to the occasion and recorded their first goals—Trevor Thomas, Charles Friedman and Bryan Winkler.
But the development that could have the most far-reaching implications occurred almost by chance.
The ejection of defenseman Kris Webster in the second period Saturday caused coach Benson to move talented fifth-year Suns skater Paul Baranzelli from Minnesota back to defense and off the right wing with center Jamie Ellison and Nikolaisons.
Baranzelli produced immediately, taking a great cross-ice pass from the corner made by Warrington and burying a slapshot to equalize 2-2 Saturday—only 40 seconds after Philly went ahead 2-1 on a turnover.
With his team ahead 3-2, Baranzelli provided the Suns insurance by waiting and waiting and holding the puck for the right moment to launch a wrist shot toward the net. He wisely waited for the interference to develop in the crease, and the puck deflected off Bryan Winkler for a 4-2 Suns lead with five minutes left.
Benson said, "There's a good chance we'll be moving Paulie back to defense the rest of the year. He seems to feel better back there. He sees the ice so well, and he's got the speed and shot and rink sense. We're deep enough at forward, and putting him back there will give us an all-around solid defense—and it gives me four or five strong guys to go on the point on the power play."
Credit coach Benson for a sound decision after Baranzelli's slapper tied Saturday's game 2-2. It was a great goal, by the way, since the Suns had put together a couple of "ugly" periods Friday and Saturday, in Benson's words, and were suddenly in danger of dropping a winnable game.
"The first two periods were pretty ugly, similar to last night. We were slapping the pucks around. But Colin (Suns goalie Zulianello) made a couple of big saves early to keep us in it, and getting that goal right back sort of deflated them (Philly)," he said.
Since Baranzelli's seventh goal of the season came so soon after Philly's go-ahead tally, Benson felt it was a good occasion to summon his fourth forward line. "I'd been trying to get them on the ice, because you never know what's going to happen when you put the fourth line on," he said.
What happened was big Trevor Thomas rumbled into the offensive corner and made a big check and the Suns kept the puck in the zone. Benson said, "Trevor blasted the guy and we found Charles (Friedman) on the back door. He got the puck on his stick and buried it." It became 3-2.
The final accomplishment of note for the Suns was an unprecedented one in team history. After all, when was the last time Sun Valley scored nine goals off the best roller hockey goalie in the U.S.? Like, never?
Philadelphia's Mike Viscuse (88 saves) was just that, and he was awesome all weekend for the Independence. Viscuse, a 6-2, 210-pound giant, stopped 22 of 24 Suns shots in the third period Friday, many of them horizontal and spectacular. Benson said, "He was Hasek-like. It was like he was break-dancing out there."
Sun Valley resumes action Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17-18 with a two-game series against the Minneapolis Gorillas, a first-time visitor. Saturday's game is a benefit for Hailey Ice.
The Gorillas finished second in the USA Hockey Adult U.S. Championship April 4, 2004 at Fond du Lac, Wisc., falling 5-4 to the Seattle Indians.
Benson said, "I expect a young, solid squad, smart and quick. Hopefully it will get us in the right frame of mind for our home-and-home series with Jackson Hole (Feb. 24-25 there, and March 10-11 here)."
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Suns 5, Independence 3
Friday
Philly Independence 0 3 0 3
Sun Valley Suns 3 0 2 5
FIRST PERIOD—(1) SV, Paul Baranzelli 6 (Vilnis Nikolaisons, Ivars Muzis), 4:46. (2) SV, Trevor Thomas 1 (Caleb Baukol), 7:00. (3) SV, Chris Warrington 5 (unassisted), 8:25.
SECOND PERIOD—(4) Philadelphia, Mark Cervellero (Brennian Antell, Ross Cowan), 9:36. (5) Philadelphia, Antell (Harris Dainoff, Dave Lunardini), 11:37, power play goal. (6) Philadelphia, Joe Bartlett (Lunardini), 17:55.
THIRD PERIOD—(7) SV, Ryan McDonald 3 (Ryan Enrico, Scott Winkler), 14:35, game-winning goal. (8) SV, Scott Winkler 6 (Warrington, goalie John Bidon), 19:59, empty net goal.
SHOTS ON GOAL—For Philadelphia 10-14-8 for 32; for Sun Valley 14-11-24 for 49.
GOALIES—Philadelphia, Mike Viscuse (44 saves); SV, John Bidon (29 saves, 2-1-0 record).
OFFICIALS—Referee, Geoff Sneed; linesmen, John Olson and Curt Martin.
NOTES—Ryan McDonald's eventual game-winning goal wasn't a thing of beauty but it worked. He took a centering pass from Ryan Enrico and just managed to get enough on it for the puck to get past Philly goalie Mike Viscuse.....Suns forward lines were Vilnis Nikolaisons-Jamie Ellison-Paul Baranzelli, Ryan Enrico-Ryan McDonald-Scott Winkler, Frank Salvoni-John Stevens-John Miller, Caleb Baukol-Trevor Thomas-Rian Timmons. The defensemen were Josh Jacobson, Ivars Muzis, Chris Warrington, Kris Webster and Kellen Chatterton. Eric Demment is missing a couple of weekend series because he's at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy.....Philadelphia goaltender Mike Viscuse, a lightning-quick 6-2, 210-pound giant, played goalie for St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and then became arguably the best roller hockey goalie in America for the Marple Gladiators of the Major League Roller Hockey League. Viscuse was the Gladiators Most Valuable Player in 2004.....Viscuse faced 49 shots each night, 98 in all, and allowed only 9 goals. He made 88 saves—none bigger than a hectic third-period stretch when he stopped Enrico, Nikolaisons, Stevens at the doorstep and, finally, Webster with a minute left on a miraculous save that had Webster talking to himself....Trailing 3-0, Philly looked like a big loser in the second period, then the visitors scored on a bouncing puck at the side of goalie John Bidon, on the power play and on a breakaway to equalize 3-3. Suns coach Chris Benson said, "A couple of bounces went their way and we just flattened out. But Bids (Bidon) played pretty well for us and made a few huge saves early."......The veteran Salvoni-Stevens-Miller line tipped the scales at 113 years, combined ages.
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Suns 5, Independence 2
Saturday
Philly Independence 0 1 1 2
Sun Valley Suns 0 1 4 5
FIRST PERIOD—No scoring.
SECOND PERIOD—(1) SV, Scott Winkler 7 (Vilnis Nikolaisons), 12:50, power play goal. (2) Philadelphia, Kevin Straub (Steve Westfall), 14:01.
THIRD PERIOD—(3) Philadelphia, Straub (unassisted), 9:55. (4) SV, Paul Baranzelli 7 (Chris Warrington, Caleb Baukol), 10:34. (5) SV, Charles Friedman 1 (Trevor Thomas, Ivars Muzis), 11:12. (6) SV, Bryan Winkler 1 (Baranzelli), 15:01. (7) SV, Muzis 4 (Nikolaisons, Jamie Ellison), 16:02.
SHOTS ON GOAL—For Philadelphia 13-8-10 for 31; for Sun Valley 15-16-18 for 49.
GOALIES—Philadelphia, Mike Viscuse (44 saves); SV, Colin Zulianello (29 saves, 5-1-0 record).
OFFICIALS—Referee, Geoff Sneed; linesmen, John Heinrich and David Patrie.
NOTES—Sweeping its fourth home series of the season, Sun Valley outscored Philadelphia 10-5, outshot the Independence 98-63 and out-pointed the visitors 25-11 on the scoresheet led by five Suns players with 3 points apiece—Paul Baranzelli (2-1), Vilnis Nikolaisons (0-3), Ivars Muzis (1-2), Chris Warrington (1-2) and Scott Winkler (2-1)....The ejection of defenseman Kris Webster late in the second period prompted Suns coach Chris Benson to shuffle his forward lines and rearrange his defense, with positive results. First of all, Paul Baranzelli dropped back to defense and John Stevens moved over to right wing on the Nikolaisons-Ellison line. The Ryan McDonald line stayed intact, but Frank Salvoni and John Miller teamed up with Caleb Baukol, and the fourth line featured Trevor Thomas-Bryan Winkler-Charles Friedman....Scoring their first goals of the season this weekend were Trevor Thomas, Charles Friedman and Bryan Winkler....For the weekend the Suns were 1-for-6 on the power play (28% season) and Philly was 1-for-8 (opponents 12% season on the power play).....The Suns had 66 penalty minutes and Philly 30...."George Jacket" winner was Charles Friedman for his go-ahead goal.
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2005-06 Sun Valley Suns
Season statistics
(9-3-0 overall: 9-3-0 home, 0-0-0 away)
|
PLAYER
|
GAMES
|
GOALS
|
AST.
|
PTS.
|
PMIN
|
|
Vilnis Nikolaisons
|
12
|
2
|
14
|
16
|
6.0
|
|
Chris Warrington
|
12
|
5
|
10
|
15
|
10.0
|
|
Jamie Ellison
|
11
|
7
|
7
|
14
|
60.0
|
|
Scott Winkler
|
12
|
7
|
6
|
13
|
0.0
|
|
Eric Demment
|
10
|
4
|
9
|
13
|
16.0
|
|
Paul Baranzelli
|
10
|
7
|
5
|
12
|
20.0
|
|
Ryan McDonald
|
10
|
3
|
9
|
12
|
8.0
|
|
John Stevens
|
12
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
2.0
|
|
Ivars Muzis
|
12
|
4
|
4
|
8
|
16.0
|
|
Frank Salvoni
|
12
|
5
|
2
|
7
|
6.0
|
|
Caleb Baukol
|
12
|
3
|
4
|
7
|
12.0
|
|
Ryan Enrico
|
7
|
3
|
4
|
7
|
8.0
|
|
John Miller
|
11
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
14.0
|
|
Kris Webster
|
10
|
2
|
4
|
6
|
24.0
|
|
D.W. Cook
|
8
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
17.0
|
|
John Bidon
|
10
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
15.0
|
|
Trevor Thomas
|
10
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
16.0
|
|
Charles Friedman
|
7
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
0.0
|
|
Kellen Chatterton
|
4
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
0.0
|
|
Bryan Winkler
|
5
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0.0
|
|
Ryan Thomson
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0.0
|
|
Blake Jenson
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0.0
|
|
Josh Jacobson
|
12
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
8.0
|
|
Rian Timmons
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2.0
|
|
Normunds Krepss
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2.0
|
|
Colin Zulianello
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2.0
|
|
David Stone
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.0
|
|
GOALTENDER
|
GAMES
|
GOALS
|
W-L
|
AVG.
|
|
Colin Zulianello
|
5.75
|
15
|
5-1-0
|
2.61
|
|
John Bidon
|
3
|
11
|
2-1-0
|
3.67
|
|
Ryan Thomson
|
3
|
12
|
2-1-0
|
4.00
|
|
David Stone
|
0.25
|
2
|
0-0-0
|
4.00
|
Shots—Zulianello 220, Thomson 118, Bidon 93, Stone 6.
Saves—Zulianello 205, Thomson 106, Bidon 82, Stone 4.
Shootout saves—0.
Shootout goals allowed—0.
Shutouts—Zulianello 1.
Empty net goals—0.
|
SCORE BY PERIODS
|
1ST
|
2ND
|
3RD
|
OT
|
TOT
|
|
Opposition
|
10
|
17
|
13
|
0
|
40, 3.3
|
|
Sun Valley
|
23
|
19
|
19
|
1
|
62, 5.2
|
INDIVIDUAL MARKS
Two-goal games (8)—Jamie Ellison 2, Scott Winkler 1, Chris Warrington 1, Paul Baranzelli 1, Frank Salvoni 1, D.W. Cook 1, Vilnis Nikolaisons 1.
Hat tricks or more—0.
Game-winning goals—Eric Demment 1, Chris Warrington 1, Frank Salvoni 1.
Power play goals (15-54, 28%)—Jamie Ellison 4, Eric Demment 2, Chris Warrington 2, Scott Winkler 2, Kris Webster 1, Ryan Enrico 1, John Stevens 1, Paul Baranzelli 1, Frank Salvoni 1. Power play goals (opposition): 7-60, (12%).
Suns shorthanded goals (2)—Frank Salvoni 1, John Stevens 1. Shorthanded goals (opposition): 1.
Season penalty minutes: SV 266, opponents 213.
GAME RESULTS
Total record: 9-3-0
Record in 1-goal games: 3-2
Record in overtime: 1-0-0
Games scoring 9 or more goals: 1
Games scoring 7 or more goals: 3
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December 9 (H) Sun Valley 7, Park City Generals 4
December 10 (H) Sun Valley 9, Park City Generals 2
December 30 (H) McCall Mountaineers 4, Sun Valley 3
December 31 (H) Sun Valley 4, McCall Mountaineers 0
January 6 (H) Sun Valley 5, Weyburn Devils 4 (OT)
January 7 (H) Sun Valley 3, Weyburn Devils 2
January 13 (H) N.Y. St. Nick's 9, Sun Valley 6
January 14 (H) N.Y. St. Nick's 5, Sun Valley 4
January 20 (H) Sun Valley 4, Boston ReMax Rangers 3
January 21 (H) Sun Valley 7, Boston ReMax Rangers 2
February 10 (H) Sun Valley 5, Philadelphia Independence 3
February 11 (H) Sun Valley 5, Philadelphia Independence 2
Vilnis Nikolaisons (left) was a productive player for the Suns against Philadelphia last weekend, making things happen all over the ice. Photo by Willy Cook
