Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Midgets third in Great Western hockey

Bantams grab Jackson Hole title


It was an excellent Presidents' Day holiday weekend for Sun Valley Youth Hockey Association teams playing well at three sites.

Midgets third in Utah

A win over Wyoming nemesis Jackson Hole and an appearance in the semi-finals added up to a successful weekend for the Sun Valley Midgets (ages 15-18) at the Great Western Showcase hockey tournament in Salt Lake City.

The Suns defeated Jackson Hole 2-1 on unassisted goals by Niels McMahon and Morgan Pike. Pike pocketed the puck midway through the second to put the Suns on top for good.

"The win made our weekend," Midgets team manager Pat McMahon said.

Billings edged the Suns 3-2. Sun Valley's goals were scored by Pike from Rune Haavik and Alexander MacMillan. Caleb Crawford tallied the lone goal in an 8-1 loss to #1 Casper, Wyo.

Sun Valley finished third overall after another one-goal loss to Billings in the semi-finals. Pike converted a pass from Jimmy Hague and Zak Sjoberg.

Midgets goalie Colby Stoecklein turned back 89 shots for a .898 save percentage on the weekend.

Bantams prevail at Jackson

Sun Valley's Bantams (ages 13-14) came back from a three-week layoff with a vengeance, winning the Jackson Shootout at Snow King Arena in the Wyoming resort, Feb. 16-17.

The Suns (17-5-1), who will compete in the A division in the upcoming state tournament, won the three-team tilt handily, skating to victories of 3-1 and 4-1 over Jackson Hole, and 7-0 and 7-1 against Rock Springs (Wyo.).

Goalie Cassidy Carson finished with 62 saves and a shutout, his sixth of the season.

Scoring totals were: Cooper Hanley 5/4, Davis Hague 4/3, Doogie King 3/4, Charlie Evans 5/1, Ian Murphy 2/3, Rickie Jeneson 0/4, Parker Morris 1/1, Karel Kaiser 0/2, Tom Crosby 0/1, Chris Carnes 0/1.

PeeWees tune up for state

The Sun Valley PeeWees warmed up for the upcoming state hockey tournament with a pair of home games against the Boise Steelheads Saturday at Sun Valley Skating Center.

Despite coming out on the short end of a 2-0 score in the opening contest, there was no doubt that the Suns surprised the AA Steelheads, playing their best game to date, according to coach Mike Punnett.

"It was really just a great team effort. The best they have played this season," Punnett said.

The nightcap started off well, with Sun Valley's Parker Weekes tying the score 1-1 midway through the first. Boise came back with eight unanswered goals to win 9-1.

"We just stopped doing the little things. We let people get behind us and did not clear the puck well," Punnett said.

Defenseman Cameron Benson claimed the Wee Vest, given to the player for most outstanding effort. Individual mention was given to Gage Jorgensen for "Feet," Wiilis Sanchez-Dupont for "Hands," Riley Sibbach for "Head," and Calder Zarkos for "Heart."

Sun Valley will take the rink against Boise Friday, Feb. 22 in the opening round of the Idaho State Hockey Championships at Ice World in Boise.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.