Close contests and parity reigned supreme at the 10th annual Shamrock Shootout women's hockey tournament in Sun Valley last weekend.
The champions proved to be just a little bit better than the rest of the bunch.
Jackson Hole and Salt Lake City skated to victory in their respective brackets during the 10-team St. Patrick's Day weekend tilt held at the Sun Valley Skating Center, March 17-19.
The defending champion Teton Passers (3-1-1) bounced back from a loss in their opening game to win three straight, including a 4-1 victory over the Sun Valley Sunsets (1-3-1) in the "A bracket" championship.
In "B bracket" play, the Salt Lake Shadows (4-0-1) with netminder Dixie Allen allowed opponents only six goals in the tournament. They held the hometown Sun Valley Fury (3-2), the 2005 champ, to one score in a 3-1 championship triumph.
Jackson Hole's short bench doesn't hurt
With only 10 players, Jackson Hole's skaters racked up some serious ice time and made the most of it. Sometimes a short bench is okay, when you've got your best players.
Sun Valley Sunsets' captain Sarah Benson remarked, "With the exception of one, those were definitely Jackson's top players. They had their core team here. Sometimes playing with nine is easier than playing with the whole team because you get into a rhythm."
After dropping its opening game 4-1 to the Boise Phillies (featuring Wood River High graduate Joni Chatterton), Jackson Hole dominated its next two round-robin contests by a combined score of 16-4.
Jackson's semi-final matchup against the Black Diamonds of Salt Lake turned out to be the Teton Passers closest contest with Jackson advancing on by head-to-head tiebreaker after a 2-2 tie.
The outcome set up a rematch of the 2005 championship between Jackson and Sun Valley—which the Passers won 1-0 in the final two minutes. But compared to last March, the 2006 finale lacked the same dramatic, last-gasp appeal.
With well-balanced skating, passing and shooting, Jackson Hole built a 23-16 shooting advantage and always had the upper hand in a contest the Sunsets were happy to be in.
Three Sun Valley skaters have recently given birth (a fourth, assistant coach Wendy Speth, delivered in February and wasn't ready to skate) and the team has seen limited competition this season.
Adding to the load were shoulder injuries suffered by blueliner Sarah Benson and center Sheila Naghsh that knocked them out of the tournament on Saturday.
"Not playing in any tournaments meant we hadn't been challenged and we hadn't played enough, and that hurt us," said Benson.
Winless in three preliminaries, the Sunsets out-dueled Boise 2-0 in Sunday's semifinal to qualify for the championship through the back door.
But the Sunsets certainly weren't party crashers.
Sun Valley has a rich tradition when it comes to its home tournament, winning five times in 10 years and finishing second four times, although the last time the Sunsets hoisted the hometown trophy was in 2002—and that team featured five players who no longer skate with the team.
Attrition is an inevitable and natural part of any organization, as any New York Yankees fan can attest, and for the last few years, with the exception of forward Kate Linehan, the Sunsets roster has remained largely unchanged.
In contrast, Jackson Hole made two quality additions this season including smooth-skating defender Emi Domoto-Reilly, the team's second-leading scorer with five goals behind Kathleen Roe's eight.
"She made things happen," Benson remarked. So much so that Domoto-Reilly was named the Most Valuable Player of the championship, along with Sunsets' forward Christl Holzl.
Jackson skated a strong first period, winning center ice and keeping the Sunsets (no shots on goal for the first seven minutes) out of its zone.
The Passers stuffed two goals in the opening frame. Kathleen Crowley's dribbler crossed the goal line four minutes into the game, and Kathleen Roe redirected a pass by Robin Ackerman for a 2-0 lead.
Holzl cut Jackson's advantage to one, picking off the puck center ice and burying it far right side for a 2-1 score.
The Sunsets' sense of urgency showed in the second. Defenseman Twyla Bulcher connected with Linehan, who hit goalie Amy Kingston (15 saves) in the pads point blank, followed by testing shots by Perkins and Michele Hampton.
Sun Valley's defense was similarly inspired. Christine Gould cleared the puck off the goal line after Sunsets goalie Karen Morrison (19 saves) stepped up to stop a 2-v-0 break.
Just when it looked like the Sunsets might draw even, Domoto-Reilly picked up the puck and launched a sweeping shot from the face-off circle which found the back of the net for a 3-1 lead with 17 minutes remaining. Megan Field scored 39 seconds into the third period, capping a 4-1 Jackson victory.
It was a better ending than the earlier matchup between the two teams, which Jackson won 8-4 (despite a hat trick by Lucy Chubb), and both Naghsh and Benson went to the emergency room after suffering serious shoulder injuries.
The Sunsets' most inspired effort came against the Boise Phillies Sunday, during which MVP Kris Miller's diving block on a shot typified the team's scrappy play. Goals by Gould and Perkins and a shutout by Morrison (16 saves) pushed the team through to the finals and avenged an earlier 2-0 loss.
The Sunsets opened the tournament by skating to a 3-3 tie against the Black Diamonds. Goal scorers were Miller, Perkins and Lucy Chubb.
Chubb (4/1) and Perkins (2/3) finished with five points apiece. Naghsh served up four assists in three games.
Other scorers were Kris Miller 1/2; Holzl 1/1; Gould 1/1; Tizz Towm-Miller 1/0; Liza Weekes 0/1; Jennifer Embree 0/1; Linehan 0/1; Hampton 0/1. Rock star utility player was Julie Bell. Karen Morrison finished with 100 saves. The Sunsets scored 10 goals, allowed 17.
Close games in "B bracket"
Four goals marked the largest margin of victory in the Shamrock "B bracket." It signified that on any given day any one of the six teams could have beaten the other.
The Salt Lake Shadows (4-0-1) put forth the most consistent and balanced effort. Steady goalie Dixie Allen finished with 93 saves and six out of 11 Utah players scored goals, led by Jen Forbes with five.
The Fury has finished second in its home tournament every other year since 2002. They followed suit in 2006.
"Once again, always a bridesmaid, never a bride," coach Chris Edwards joked. "As always, we played great consistent hockey. We controlled our destiny in the first four games. The final against Salt Lake was the only game the other team played us even."
Deep, with four skaters scoring two or more goals, Salt Lake also had size, speed and strength. The championship was its third game of the day, but Utah didn't seem to mind.
Trailing 3-0 in the third period, the Fury finally cracked the goose egg with 7:08 remaining. Left wing Casey Mills converted a pass from linemates Bege Reynolds and Dotty Sarchett, but the game ended in Salt Lake's favor 3-1.
"We just ran out of time," Edwards remarked. "We worked our buns off to get to the final and we outplayed everyone until then. If Salt Lake had to play Jackson twice they would have been tired too."
After posting wins of 2-1 over Boise and 5-1 against the University of Montana, the Fury met Jackson in the final round-robin game Saturday. Despite out-shooting the Chuters 39-20, Fury lost 3-1. But Fury earned revenge in Sunday's semifinal rematch between the ski town rivals. Fury dominated from the outset, outshooting Jackson 30-12.
With the score tied 1-1 on offsetting scores by Casey Mills of Sun Valley and Rebecca Huntington, Mia Edsall converted the game-winning goal with 7:15 left on the clock.
Sun Valley goalie Joanie Fox (11 saves) stopped a penalty shot late in the game, which would have tied it 2-2. The stop banished all Jackson's momentum and the Fury moved on to the championship contest.
"We didn't get down on ourselves, we just kept pushing, pushing, pushing," said Fury coach Edwards. "It showed the evenness of our team. Everyone contributes."
The Fury outscored opponents 11-9. The first line of center Bege Reynolds (1/3), and wings Casey Mills (4/0) and Dotty Sarchett (1/4) accounted for six goals. Also posting points were Jody Zarkos (1/1), Heidi Ottley (0-2), Kelli Kerns (1/0), Mia Edsall (1-0), Jeannie Kiel (1/0), Kris Josey (1/0), Nancy Parsons-Brown (0-1), and Kelley Sinnott (0/1).
Jini Griffith and Nicky Elsbree also contributed. Goalie Joanie Fox (69 saves) and allowed opponents just 1.8 goals per game. Results of the 10th annual Shamrock Shootout:
· A Bracket Games:
Sunsets 3, Black Diamonds 3
Phillies 4, Teton Passers 1
Teton Passers 8, Black Diamonds 0
Phillies 2, Sunsets 0
Black Diamonds 2, Phillies 1
Teton Passers 8, Sunsets 4
· Semifinals
Teton Passers 2, Black Diamonds 2
Sunsets 2, Phillies 0
· Championship
Jackson Hole 4, Sunsets 1
Summary: 47 goals scored (9 games)
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· B Bracket Games
Fury 2, Hericanes 1
Vixen 4, Hericanes 3
Fury 5, Montana 1
Shadows 3, Chuters 1
Chuters 1, Vixen 0
Shadows 2, Hericanes 2
Montana 1, Vixen 1
Chuters 3, Fury 1
Shadows 4, Montana 2
· Semifinals
Fury 2, Chuters 1
Shadows 2, Vixen 0
· Championship
Shadows 3, Fury 1
Summary: 46 goals scored (12 games)
Fury skater Bege Reynolds (right) has the inside track on the puck during last weekend's Shamrock Shootout on Sun Valley ice. Photo by Willy Cook
