Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Hungry Moose silence the Suns crowd twice

Jackson Hole turns the tables 4-3, 5-3


By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

Moose center Joe Casey (left) tries to pokecheck the puck away from still-bearded Suns defenseman Paul Baranzelli during Friday's 4-3 Moose victory. Photo by Willy Cook

Call it turning the tables or returning the favor. Credit momentum and great goaltending. Or maybe the Jackson Hole Moose were just hungrier than the Sun Valley Suns last weekend on Idaho ice.

In a nine-year men's hockey rivalry dominated by high-scoring and lopsided outcomes, the Sun Valley Suns and Jackson Hole Moose did something quite different in 2006.

They divided four splendid defensive battles, each team winning twice on the other team's ice.

Swept for the first time ever at home by the Suns 5-3 and 4-3 at Snow King Center in Jackson Hole Feb. 24-25, the Moose (9-9) charged back last weekend in Sun Valley and stunned the Suns (13-5) by identical 4-3 and 5-3 scores—snapping Sun Valley's eight-game win streak.

Moose coach Dave Pfeifer summed up the home-and-home series between the ski town teams, "It was a complete wash. Never before has it happened that one team won both games on the other's ice, and the other team did the same."

But the Idaho sweep was a morale booster for the Moose, who had lost seven of their last nine games and allowed 64 goals in those seven losses. The visitors picked up ex-college and minor league goalie Andy Reynolds for the occasion, and Reynolds performed well.

Reynolds and his mates silenced the sold-out Sun Valley crowd Friday and plugged away for the sweep Saturday.

"I think it was just a matter of whoever worked harder and wanted it more," said Moose coach Pfeifer. "Each team has four, five, six talented players, then there are the workhorses. It was a tough series. We have all the respect in the world for the Suns. But our defense played well."

Playing with a bad ankle sprain, lefthander Reynolds (28 saves) held Sun Valley scoreless in the third period Friday as the Moose rallied from a 3-2 deficit and won 4-3 on a wrist shot by former Denver University forward Joe Casey with 39 seconds left in regulation play.

Casey's forward line with wings Brian Hannafin and Sean Hannafin riddled the Suns with all four goals and nine of the 10 Moose points Friday. They logged a bunch of minutes and were so productive that Suns coach Chris Benson had to make several moves Saturday to stop them.

Pfeifer said, "We had the hot line. They carried our team."

Deeper up front and on defense and having the decided advantage in personnel this year, the Suns were confident of winning Saturday. But the Moose were on a mission and put together a great team effort.

Benson's decision to go with a checking line against center Casey's group Saturday was effective, for the most part.

The Suns neutralized Casey's line and led 2-1 in the second. But Casey slipped away and produced the tide-turner by pushing the puck ahead to Sean Hannafin from the faceoff—and Hannafin tipped it over Suns goalie Colin Zulianello for a 2-2 tie. Huge goal.

The Suns unleashed their arsenal in the third, pounding 21 shots on Reynolds.

But the home team scored only once, a goal by top scorer Vilnis Nikolaisons on the power play. Middlebury College's Levi Doria broke the 3-3 tie by intercepting an errant Suns clearing pass and beating Zulianello with five minutes left for the Moose game winner.

"We had a couple of defensive breakdowns," Benson said.

He added, "I guess Jackson Hole was mad because we swept them over there. So, I guess mission accomplished for the Moose. Their goalie stood on his head in the third period. He kept them in the game, making some saves that most goaltenders aren't going to make."

Pfeifer, who liked his team's Casey-led advantage in winning faceoffs Saturday night, gave a lot of credit to his third forward line of Lee Cooper, John Frechette and Tom Katis.

"You can't skate two lines against the Suns, so they came in and spelled our first two lines. They helped us take the body as much as we could to slow down the Suns," said Pfeifer.

The Jackson Hole coach has been around the senior program since the days of the Stampede, before the Moose originated in 1997.

He has seen or played in nearly all 40 games of the nine-year series. He is now planning to take an old pair of Head skis and engrave all the Suns-Moose game results since 1997 as a kind of ski resort perpetual traveling trophy.

"I'll do it this summer," said Pfeifer. "Whichever team wins a series takes the skis home."

Down to its final four home games, Sun Valley resumes action this weekend with a big St. Patrick's Day weekend series against the Seattle Indians.

Seattle won the Labatt Blue/U.S. Adult Hockey full-check national championship 5-4 over the Minneapolis Gorillas back in April 2004 at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

"Seattle should be every bit as strong as they've been in the past," said Benson. "They're usually good, a bunch of big guys who like to throw their weight around a lot."

The Indians last visited Sun Valley in January 2003, losing to the Suns 5-2 and 4-3 OT.

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Moose 4, Suns 3
Friday

Jackson Hole Moose 1 1 2 4
Sun Valley Suns 1 2 0 3

FIRST PERIOD—(1) SV, Scott Winkler 10 (John Miller), 5:01. (2) Jackson Hole, Sean Hannafin (Brian Hannafin, Joe Casey), 17:10.

SECOND PERIOD—(3) Jackson Hole, Casey (Sean Hannafin), 6:01. (4) SV, Josh Jacobson 1 (Jamie Ellison), 6:31. (5) SV, Jamie Ellison 9 (Frank Salvoni, Ivars Muzis), 19:14.

THIRD PERIOD—(6) Jackson Hole, Brian Hannafin (Sean Hannafin, Casey), 9:23. (7) Jackson Hole, Casey (Aaron Ackley), 19:21, game-winning goal.

SHOTS ON GOAL—Jackson Hole 17-14-11 for 42; Sun Valley 9-14-8 for 31.

GOALIES—Jackson Hole, Andy Reynolds (28 saves); SV, John Bidon (38 saves, 4-2-0 record).

OFFICIALS—Referee, Jim McKenna; linesmen, Bobby Noyes and Dave Patrie.

NOTES—Tonight's game was a sell-out, one of two 550-spectator sell-outs for the 2005-06 Suns season.....After getting a huge goal in the last minute of the second period on a rush by Jamie Ellison, the Suns carried a 3-2 lead into the third period and rode the momentum in the first minute of the third—Ryan McDonald's line getting three or four excellent opportunities that Moose goalie Andy Reynolds turned aside and kept the Moose in a 1-goal game. Then Reynolds stopped Frank Salvoni's break-in with two-and-a-half minutes gone. Reynolds also stopped Ryan McDonald point blank with six minutes elapsed. If the Suns had gotten the 2-goal lead, they might not have been stopped.....Not satisfied with its goaltending situation this season, the Moose made a late-season weekend pick-up by flying in Andy Reynolds to man the nets in Sun Valley. Moose forward Sean Hannafin played with Reynolds at SUNY Morrisville School of Technology in upstate New York in 2002. Reynolds, a 5-11, 185-pounder from Vicksburg, Mich., went 27-1-4 in the net with a 1.75 goals against in 2002-03 as Morrisville won a national NJCAA hockey championship. As a sophomore the next winter, Reynolds was a first-team All-American as Morrisville placed second in the national tournament. Reynolds went on to play two seasons with SUNY-Brockport in Rochester and a year for Division 1 Findlay University before spending some minor league time with the Huntsville (Ala.) Havoc and Muskegon Fury of the United Hockey League. Moose coach Dave Pfeifer said that Reynolds was playing with a bad ankle sprain this weekend.....Sean Hannafin had a tryout with the Missouri River Otters of the UHL before being released in Dec. 2005. His brother Brian Hannafin, 26, from Medford, Mass. played for Nichols College from 1997-99 and Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I. through 2001, before heading West. Brian Hannafin was the leading Moose scorer last winter with 21 goals and 22 assists, and he had 30 goals and 59 points the previous winter..... Suns forward lines were John Miller-Ryan McDonald-Scott Winkler, Frank Salvoni-Jamie Ellison-Vilnis Nikolaisons, Chris King-D.W. Cook-Caleb Baukol with Bryan Winkler centering a fourth line that included Trevor Thomas. Defensive pairs were Chris Warrington-Eric Demment, Ivars Muzis-Paul Baranzelli and Kris Webster-Josh Jacobson.....Moose forward lines were Brian Hannafin-Joe Casey-Sean Hannafin, Ben Parkin-Levi Doria-Jeff Zelazoski, John Frechette-Lee Cooper-Tom Katis. Defensive pairs were Jon Bradford-captain Aaron Ackley, Adam Patterson-Chris DeMarco, with Aaron Hamby and Jay Hussey filling in......The match-ups were critical in the nip-and-tuck third period. Suns coach Chris Benson wanted the Ryan McDonald forward line on the ice nearly all the time against the potent Joe Casey line and usually got his way, but the Casey line burned Sun Valley twice when McDonald's group wasn't out there. Benson said about the Moose, "Their top two lines definitely logged a lot of minutes. They'll ride Casey's line a lot.".....In the house for the game was two-year Suns centerman Tom Forti from Hibbing, Minn. and Univ. of St. Thomas (24 goals, 36 assists for 60 points from 2001-03). So was George Gund III himself.....Winner of the "George Jacket" for the weekend was defenseman Josh Jacobson, who scored his first goal of the season on a blast from the point and also helped organize a March 12 benefit in Bellevue for five-year-old Walter Elias, who was born with an undetected brain tumor and is termed legally blind. Suns coach Chris Benson said, "Josh threw his weight around and played a great game. He threw a bomb at the net and blew it through their goalie.".....The Suns coach once again complimented the play of goalie John Bidon (38 saves), who made some great saves against the Hannafins.

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Moose 5, Suns 3
Saturday

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

FIRST PERIOD—(1) Jackson Hole, Jay Hussey (Ben Parkin), 6:47.

SECOND PERIOD—(2) SV, Ivars Muzis 6 (Vilnis Nikolaisons), 9:25. (3) SV, Frank Salvoni 7 (John Miller, D.W. Cook), 12:37. (4) Jackson Hole, Sean Hannafin (Joe Casey), 13:31.

THIRD PERIOD—(5) Jackson Hole, Parkin (Levi Doria), 6:07. (6) SV, Nikolaisons 9 (Eric Demment, Jamie Ellison), 6:52, power play goal. (7) Jackson Hole, Doria (unassisted), 15:02, game-winning goal. (8) Jackson Hole, Brian Hannafin (Casey), 19:31, shorthanded and empty net goal.

SHOTS ON GOAL—Jackson Hole 13-12-8 for 33; Sun Valley 9-18-21 for 48.

GOALIES—Jackson Hole, Andy Reynolds (45 saves); SV, Colin Zulianello (28 saves, 7-2-0 record);

OFFICIALS—Referee, Jim McKenna; linesmen, John Olson and Eric Wingard.

NOTES—Coach Chris Benson shifted up his forward lines tonight, in part because he needed a checking line against the Moose trio of Joe Casey and the Hannafin brothers. Benson also ran five defensemen instead of six, moving Paul Baranzelli up to forward. So, the Suns forward lines were Frank Salvoni-D.W. Cook-John Miller for the checking line, Vilnis Nikolaisons-Jamie Ellison-Paul Baranzelli, Chris King-Ryan McDonald-Scott Winkler, with Trevor Thomas, Charles Friedman and Caleb Baukol seeing spot duty. Benson said, "The third line did a good job of keeping Casey's line in check.".....The Moose stuck to their three forward lines from Friday night, but it was a different-looking Moose group of forwards than past Jackson Hole visits without regulars like Gregg Gripentrog, T.C. Harris, Josh Theken and T.J. Thomas......Leading Moose scorers for the weekend were linemates Joe Casey (2 goals, 4 assists), Sean Hannafin (2-2) and Brian Hannafin (2-1). But second-line forwards Ben Parkin and Levi

Doria had 4 points between them tonight.....For the weekend the Suns (18 penalty minutes) were 1-for-3 on the power play (28% season) and Jackson Hole (14 penalty minutes) was 0-for-5 (opponents 13% season on the power play).....Overlooked in the outcome was the fact that the Moose didn't draw a penalty for the first 84:37 of the weekend series, meaning the Suns effective power play wasn't on the ice.....The Suns penalty killing remained very strong. Sun Valley killed nine straight Moose power plays at Jackson Hole Feb. 24-25, and the Moose were 0-for-5 this weekend......It took forever for the Suns to get their first goal. The Suns outshot the Moose 18-12 in the second period and had a bunch of quality chances—by Eric Demment and Paul Baranzelli on the power play, by Scott Winkler on a Ryan McDonald centering pass, by Baranzelli who shot high from the slot after a Kris Webster slapshot, and by John Miller in close from Frank Salvoni. Then, the Latvians did their thing with a give-and-go from Ivars Muzis to Vilnis Nikolaisons, who did a clever spin in the Moose zone and dropped the puck to trailing Muzis. Muzis made no mistake and it was 1-1 midway through the stanza. Three minutes later, Salvoni caged a backhander during a delayed penalty whistled against the Moose, but Casey's opportunistic pass to Sean Hannafin made it 2-2 right after.....The Suns picked up the intensity of their forechecking in the third period. Trailing 3-2, Jamie Ellison made a hustle play for the equalizer. Chris Warrington had broken his stick and wasn't there on the point as the Suns pressed the action in the Moose zone. Ellison recognized the situation, fought off two Moose skaters along the corner boards and muscled the puck over to Suns defenseman Eric Demment on the opposite point. Demment shot and Nikolaisons cleaned up in the slot for only Suns power play goal of the game.....Nobody has contributed more to the Suns success this season than center Ryan McDonald, but the fast-skating and quick-passing centerman kicked himself for giving up the puck in the Suns zone and letting Levi Doria have a clear shot for the eventual game winner......Moose goalie Andy Reynolds was superb all game but especially in the final moments, when McDonald, Demment and Baranzelli all let loose with rockets that Reynolds somehow stopped......Among Suns players who didn't play were Ryan Enrico (Bantam hockey coach) and John Stevens, who made frequent calls for updates upon his way back from a vacation in Fiji....The Moose improved their advantage to 26-13-1 in the nine-year series. The teams have split the last eight meetings. When it comes to 1-goal games, however, the Suns are 3-6.....Even the Moose could have been forgiven if they didn't recognize the Suns player wearing #82. Paul Baranzelli still had his full beard Friday night while playing defense. Tonight his face was completely shaven and he was playing on a forward line....Suns benefactor Davis Love III had a rough round today at The Honda Classic and was showing the effects of playing three straight weeks on the professional golf tour. He was looking forward to a week off over St. Patrick's Day and snowboarding in Colorado with Phil Mickelson and Justin Leonard and their families.....Suns center Jamie Ellison, back in action for the first time in nearly three weeks, showed some of the effects but he still led the low-scoring 15-point Sun Valley attack with 1 goal and 2 assists for the weekend. Ellison (119 goals, 203 assists for 322 points) moved past Chris Benson (320) into #5 on the all-time Suns scoring list, right behind #4 linemate Vilnis Nikolaisons (124-202 for 326). Next in line is #3 John Finnegan (332 points). Coming closer to 100 assists for their Suns careers were John Miller (59-99 for 158) and Ivars Muzis (46-98 for 144).....In town for spring break and giving the Suns some quality minutes was forward Chris King, 28, the Rhode Island and Bowdoin College skater who is attending dental school in New England. King had 17 points for the Suns during the 2003-04 season.....The 30 combined goals for the two teams in four games was the lowest since 2002, when the teams played three low-scoring 1-goal games during the Suns' 28-2 campaign. Usually the ski town rivals average about 40 goals a season....

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2005-06 Sun Valley Suns Season statistics

(13-5-0 overall: 11-5-0 home, 2-0-0 away)

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PLAYER GAMES GOALS AST. PTS. PMIN
Vilnis Nikolaisons 18 9 20 29 8.0
Chris Warrington 18 6 15 21 18.0
Jamie Ellison 14 9 11 20 80.0
Scott Winkler 18 10 9 19 0.0
Ryan McDonald 16 6 13 19 8.0
Eric Demment 14 5 10 15 24.0
Paul Baranzelli 16 8 6 14 30.0
Ivars Muzis 18 6 7 13 18.0
John Miller 16 2 10 12 18.0
Frank Salvoni 17 7 4 11 8.0
John Stevens 14 5 6 11 2.0
Ryan Enrico 9 4 6 10 12.0
Kris Webster 13 3 5 8 26.0
Caleb Baukol 17 3 4 7 24.0
D.W. Cook 14 3 1 4 19.0
John Bidon 14 0 4 4 15.0
Trevor Thomas 16 1 2 3 34.0
Charles Friedman 9 1 1 2 0.0
Kellen Chatterton 6 0 2 2 2.0
Josh Jacobson 18 1 0 1 18.0
Bryan Winkler 10 1 0 1 0.0
Ryan Thomson 3 0 1 1 0.0
Blake Jenson 2 0 1 1 0.0
Rian Timmons 10 0 0 0 2.0
Normunds Krepss 2 0 0 0 2.0
Chris King 2 0 0 0 0.0
Colin Zulianello 9 0 0 0 4.0
David Stone 1 0 0 0 0.0


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GOALTENDER GAMES GOALS W-L AVG.
Colin Zulianello 8.75 24 7-2-0 2.74
John Bidon 6 21 4-2-0 3.50
Ryan Thomson 3 12 2-1-0 4.00
David Stone 0.25 2 0-0-0 4.00



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Shots—Zulianello 325, Bidon 197, Thomson 118, Stone 6.
Saves—Zulianello 300, Bidon 176, Thomson 106, Stone 4.
Shootout saves—0.
Shootout goals allowed—0.
Shutouts—Zulianello 1.
Empty net goals—1.

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SCORE BY PERIODS

1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOT

Opposition

15 23 22 0 60, 3.3

Sun Valley

30 29 29 2 90, 5.0

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INDIVIDUAL MARKS

Two-goal games (10)—Jamie Ellison 2, Vilnis Nikolaisons 2, Scott Winkler 1, Chris Warrington 1, Paul Baranzelli 1, Frank Salvoni 1, D.W. Cook 1, John Miller 1.

Hat tricks or more—Vilnis Nikolaisons 1, Ryan McDonald 1.

Game-winning goals—Ryan McDonald 2, Chris Warrington 2, Eric Demment 1, Frank Salvoni 1, Paul Baranzelli 1.

Power play goals (19-69, 28%)—Jamie Ellison 4, Vilnis Nikolaisons 3, Eric Demment 2, Chris Warrington 2, Scott Winkler 2, Paul Baranzelli 2, Kris Webster 1, Ryan Enrico 1, John Stevens 1, Frank Salvoni 1. Power play goals (opposition): 11-82, (13%).

Suns shorthanded goals (4)—Frank Salvoni 1, John Stevens 1, Jamie Ellison 1, Vilnis Nikolaisons 1. Shorthanded goals (opposition): 2.

Season penalty minutes: SV 378, opponents 297.

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GAME RESULTS

Total record: 13-5-0
Record in 1-goal games: 5-3
Record in overtime: 2-0-0
Games scoring 9 or more goals: 2
Games scoring 7 or more goals: 4

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
February 17 (H) Sun Valley 4, Minneapolis Gorillas 3 (OT)
February 18 (H) Sun Valley 9, Minneapolis Gorillas 2
February 24 (A) Sun Valley 5, Jackson Hole Moose 3
February 25 (A) Sun Valley 4, Jackson Hole Moose 3
March 10 (H) Jackson Hole Moose 4, Sun Valley 3
March 11 (H) Jackson Hole Moose 5, Sun Valley 3




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