It's taken 10 years, but the Sun Valley Suns have finally found a formula for beating the Jackson Hole (Wyo.) Moose on the Snow King Center sheet.
You've got to stay cool.
Not quite --20 degrees cool, which were the outdoor temperatures last weekend when the Suns and Moose clashed in bitterly cold Jackson Hole for the 41st and 42nd times in their 10-year ice hockey rivalry.
Cool, meaning you've got to steer away from the rough stuff and keep the fight-hungry Moose crowd out of the game. Cool, meaning you've got to avoid giving the Moose power plays. Cool, meaning you've got to keep digging and digging.
"I knew the Moose weren't going to beat us five-on-five," said Suns coach Chris Benson, speaking with conviction about his talented 10-0-0 squad that is currently on a major roll.
For the second straight year, Sun Valley went to Snow King Center and swept the Moose 5-3 and 5-4. Last year it was 5-3 and 4-3. Prior to last year, the Moose had won eight straight at Snow King by a 56-27 margin.
The winning goals came from a couple of Jamies—Jami James on Friday and Jamie Ellison Saturday. It was James' first Suns goal, Ellison's 126th.
Benson said about last weekend's sweep, "It was a great team effort for 120 minutes." And the games were as tight as they could be. The Suns led 3-2 going into Friday's third period, and it was tied 3-3 going into Saturday's final period.
"We were a little down Saturday after Jackson tied it up 3-3 just before the end of the second period. But I'll take my team any time for 20 minutes," he said about relying on the third period to settle matters.
"Our confidence is real huge right now," said Suns alternate captain and 12-year veteran John Stevens after Friday's 5-3 Suns triumph. "Success breeds success, and we played just good enough to win."
Friday night, first-year Suns defenseman Jami James from Castleton State College in Vermont scored his first Suns goal at the best possible time—in Jackson Hole, in the final five minutes, for the game winner.
James made the initial outlet pass to Jon Duval on a three-on-two, then James streaked to the net and redirected a very pretty pass from Stevens into the Moose net for a 4-3 Suns lead with five minutes left. Jamie Ellison added an empty-netter for the 5-3 final score.
Benson said, "Chugga (Stevens) and JJ (James) made a great play and JJ buried it. It was a textbook goal."
Suns goalie Ryan Thomson was simply amazing, making 25 saves, many at critical times. "The guys were giving me chances to see the puck," said Thomson, still working through shoulder and groin injuries and giving his team a big boost when needed most.
Moose coach Adam Patterson, 32, an eight-year Jackson Hole defenseman now behind the bench, said after Friday's hard-fought game, "Your goalie came up huge. There were so many two-on-ones and one-on-ones that he (Thomson) shut down. We had so many opportunities but just didn't cash in.
"We won the majority of the battles but didn't capitalize. I'd have to say it was the least physical game of any that's been played in the series."
That was by Sun Valley's design. The Suns kept working hard and refused to be distracted by big Moose hits that ordinarily provoke retaliation. The visitors from Idaho relied on their defense, forechecking and backchecking and, of course, their goaltending.
When the Suns had their inevitable letdown against the Moose, they weren't flustered.
Instead, Benson encouraged the players to get their feet moving and get back into the game. He said about Friday's second period, when the Moose scored twice for a 2-2 game, "We weren't filling the lanes and lost that coverage and they took advantage. But Ryan stepped up for us in the net."
The Suns also got a big game Friday from the Ryan McDonald forward line with wings Adam Swain, Blake Jenson and Jon Duval. They tallied nine of the 12 Suns points for the night—Duval, McDonald and Swain each with two assists.
Friday's game always sets the tone, but after their good feeling last February in Jackson Hole the Suns realized a split wouldn't be acceptable.
They scored early in the nightcap, Swain rebounding a McDonald shot, then defenseman and George Jacket winner Trevor Thomas threw a tough-angled shot from the point on the Moose net for the go-ahead goal at 2-1 with a minute left.
McDonald, stationed behind Moose goalie Ryan Fredericks on the power play midway through the second period, waited for the perfect moment and centered in the crease to Jenson, who scored for a more comfortable 3-1 Suns lead.
At that point, with Colin Zulianello (20 saves) in the Suns cage and the defense looking mighty calm and collected, it seemed like the Moose wouldn't score again Saturday.
Wrong again.
Two Moose power play goals in the final five minutes of the second tied the game 3-3—Sean Hannafin rebounding a Chris DeMarco slapshot and Gregg Gripentrog netting the equalizer with eight seconds left.
"We got beat to a lot of pucks in the second," said Benson.
DeMarco and Gripentrog, two of the last remaining pillars of the great Moose era, linked up for the go-ahead goal on a four-on-four situation early in the third period. But the Moose took some San Diego Chargers-like dumb penalties and gave the Suns timely power-play chances down the stretch of a very tight game.
Twice, Suns captain Chris Warrington got the puck on the left point and found Ellison roaming toward Fredericks on the right wing side. Twice, Warrington hit Ellison with terrific passes. And twice, Ellison made no mistake on his shots for the winning goals.
Meaning, of course, that twice the Suns beat Jackson Hole (4-4), which has shown defensive liabilities in yielding 39 goals in eight games.
The Moose (11-9 away, 15-6-1 home) now lead 26-15-1 in the nine-year series. But their dominance at home has waned. Prior to the last two years, the Moose had won 15 of 18 games at Snow King Center and had outscored the Suns 123-68.
A rematch is Feb. 9-10 in Sun Valley. Check the Express Web site for Suns season statistics and a hockey summary from the Jackson Hole road games.
Next: The Suns try to extend their 10-game unbeaten streak when the Beacon Hill Hockey Club from Summit, N.J. returns to Sun Valley for the first time in six years Friday and Saturday, Jan. 19-20.
Opening faceoffs are 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $7.
Saturday's game is a benefit for Blaine County Sheriff DARE/PAL programs.
The two teams played once before, March 2-3, 2001. The Friday night game was a 3-3 overtime tie, and the Suns (17-6-2) won 7-1 Saturday to start a seven-game winning streak that ended the 2000-01 season.
Sun Valley Suns captain Chris Warrington made the passes to center Jamie Ellison for the final two goals Saturday, capping a Suns rally from a 4-3 deficit and putting a punctuation mark on the 5-4 Suns victory that swept the two-game series at Snow King Center in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Photo by Willy Cook
