Led by captain Ryan Enrico and another strong effort by goaltender Ryan Thomson, the Sun Valley Suns senior men’s hockey team ended its 2013-14 season with a scoring flourish beating the Park City (Utah) Pioneers 13-2 and 11-0 Friday and Saturday on resort ice.
The Suns dominated the shorthanded Pioneers (10-13), out-shooting the visitors 100-50, outscoring the Park City skaters 24-2 and out-pointing them 59-6 on the scoresheet.
Rookies Mike Curry and Drew Punnett posted three-goal hat tricks in Friday’s 13-2 rout. Veterans Marty Flichel and Bryan O’Connell had their own hat tricks in Saturday’s 11-0 whitewash—Thomson’s ninth career shutout in 136 games and third of the season.
Suns head coach John Burke said about his goalie, “Ryan had an unbelievable year, playing every game and coming to every practice. He was our Most Valuable Player. We were a slow-starting team, but he kept us in every game.”
The Suns (9-9-0) finished the season by winning six of their final eight games. “With all the injuries we had and all the nights trying to fill out a lineup, our record was irrelevant because we played such a good second half,” Burke said.
Contributing to the late-season surge was the productive forward line of Enrico, former pro Marty Flichel and University of Minnesota-Duluth wing Mike Curry. They picked the Pioneers apart accounting for 26 of 59 points.
George Jacket winner on Fan Appreciation weekend was captain Ryan Enrico, the 11th-year forward from Hoboken, N.J. who soared over the 300-point career mark with a nine-point weekend.
Burke said about Enrico “Great leadership all year! A coach is only as good as his captain. He did a great job on the ice and in the room.
“With players like Curry, Derek Grimes, Spencer Brendel and Tyson Cox, we had the best rookie crop we’ve had in years. We had great character in the room—really, the most fun room in years.”
Capturing the Suns scoring title for the fourth straight year was wing Bryan O’Connell (20 goals, 10 assists for 30 points). He scored his 16th career Suns hat trick in his 61 games with the team by stuffing home the final goal of the season with five seconds left in Saturday’s triumph. “OC” now has 88 goals and 45 assists in his four seasons.
See the March 26 Local Life for more Suns photos.
2013-14 Sun Valley Suns statistics
(9-9-0 overall: 7-7-0 home, 2-2-0 away)
| PLAYER |
GAMES |
GOALS |
AST. |
PTS. |
PMIN |
| Bryan O’Connell |
18 |
20 |
10 |
30 |
6 |
| Mike Curry |
11 |
14 |
15 |
29 |
15 |
| Ryan Enrico |
18 |
10 |
17 |
27 |
14 |
| Derek Grimes |
18 |
13 |
11 |
24 |
6 |
| Spencer Brendel |
14 |
12 |
8 |
20 |
14 |
| Marty Flichel |
10 |
6 |
14 |
20 |
6 |
| Doug Yeates |
14 |
3 |
15 |
18 |
10 |
| Ivars Muzis |
18 |
1 |
9 |
10 |
16 |
| Justin Videen |
7 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
0 |
| David Dredge |
10 |
1 |
8 |
9 |
0 |
| Sinjin Thomas |
15 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
2 |
| Justin Taylor |
2 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
| Drew Punnett |
6 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
10 |
| Max Kwok |
14 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
| Tyson Cox |
7 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
| Greg Chapman |
4 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
9 |
| Jackson Morgus |
4 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
| John Miller |
3 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
| Taylor Rothgeb |
8 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Drew Barsch |
4 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
| Chad Levitan |
6 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Trevor Thomas |
18 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
40 |
| Chase Evangelista |
5 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| David Kvapil |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
| Alex Redmond |
6 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
| Jay Taylor |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
| Liam Jablonski |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Brad Miller |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
| Ryan Thomson |
18 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| Zak Greenawalt |
13 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
12 |
| Bryan Winkler |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| Danny Ward |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| Brandon Holmes |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| John Stevens |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| Dimitri DeBlanco |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| Blake Haggett |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Jordan Pritchett |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Alex Lambert |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Taylor Crawford |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Tom Bardis |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| GOALTENDER |
GAMES |
GOALS |
W-L |
AVG. |
| Ryan Thomson |
18 |
67 |
9/9/2000 |
3.71 |
Shots—Thomson 649. Saves—Thomson 582. Shootout shots—0. Shootout saves—0. Shootout goals allowed—0. Shutouts—Thomson 3. Empty net goals—3.
| BY PERIODS |
1ST |
2ND |
3RD |
OT |
TOT |
| Opposition |
19 |
24 |
26 |
1 |
70, 3.9 |
| Sun Valley |
30 |
47 |
36 |
0 |
113, 6.3 |
INDIVIDUAL MARKS
Two-goal games (15)—Mike Curry 4, Derek Grimes 3, Bryan O’Connell 3, Ryan Enrico 2, Spencer Brendel 1, John Miller 1, Justin Videen 1.
Three-goal hat tricks (or more) (10)— Bryan O’Connell 2, Justin Taylor 2 (one 4 goals), Spencer Brendel 2, Jackson Morgus 1, Mike Curry 1, Drew Punnett 1, Marty Flichel 1.
Game-winning goals (1)—Derek Grimes 1.
Power play goals (8-75, 11%)—Mike Curry 2, Derek Grimes 2, Marty Flichel 1, Chad Levitan 1, Bryan O’Connell 1, Trevor Thomas 1.
Power play goals (opposition): 12-67, (18%).
Suns shorthanded goals (10)—Jackson Morgus 2, Ryan Enrico 2, Bryan O’Connell 1, John Miller 1, Marty Flichel 1, Justin Videen 1, Derek Grimes 1, Max Kwok 1.
Shorthanded goals (opposition): 2.
Season penalty minutes: SV 210, opponents 234.
GAME RESULTS
Total record: 9-9-0
Record in 1-goal games: 2-2-0
Record in overtime: 0-1-0
Games scoring 9 or more goals: 5
Games scoring 7 or more goals: 9
Game results
| December 13 (A) |
Jackson Hole 7, Sun Valley 3 |
| December 14 (A) |
Jackson Hole 5, Sun Valley 1 |
| December 27 (H) |
Sun Valley 12, SLC Golden Eagles 0 |
| December 28 (H) |
Sun Valley 8, SLC Golden Eagles 0 |
| January 3 (H) |
Jackson Hole 4, Sun Valley 3 |
| January 4 (H) |
Jackson Hole 6, Sun Valley 4 |
| January 10 (H) |
Tri-Cities Hockey Source 5, Sun Valley 3 |
| January 11 (H) |
Sun Valley 10, Tri-Cities Hockey Source 2 |
| January 24 (H) |
East Coast Snipers 5, Sun Valley 3 |
| January 25 (H) |
East Coast Snipers 2, Sun Valley 1 (OT) |
| January 24 (H) |
East Coast Snipers 5, Sun Valley 3 |
| January 25 (H) |
East Coast Snipers 2, Sun Valley 1 (OT) |
| February 7 (A) |
Sun Valley 8, Park City Pioneers 4 |
| February 8 (A) |
Sun Valley 7, Park City Pioneers 6 |
| February 14 (H) |
Michigan Sting 9, Sun Valley 7 |
| February 15 (H) |
Sun Valley 9, Michigan Sting 2 |
| February 28 (H) |
Bozeman Stingers 8, Sun Valley 6 |
| March 1 (H) |
Sun Valley 4, Bozeman Stingers 3 |
| March 14 (H) |
Sun Valley 13, Park City Pioneers 2 |
| March 15 (H) |
Sun Valley 11, Park City Pioneers 0 |
SUNS ALL-TIME SCORING LEADERS (after 2013-14)
39-season, 893-game franchise record 606-258-29
This year’s players in bold
| PLAYER, YEARS |
GOALS |
ASSISTS |
POINTS |
| 1—Vilnis Nikolaisons (13) |
173 |
288 |
461 |
| 2—Jamie Ellison (16) |
170 |
288 |
458 |
| 3—Bobby Noyes (18) |
195 |
213 |
408 |
| 4—Glenn Hunter (18) |
67 |
295 |
362 |
| 5—John Finnegan (12) |
109 |
223 |
332 |
| 6—Chris Benson (17) |
160 |
163 |
323 |
| 7—Ryan Enrico (11) |
133 |
173 |
306 |
| 7—John Stevens (19) |
113 |
193 |
306 |
| 9—Billy Tryder (12) |
120 |
151 |
271 |
| 10—Kurt Wenzell (9) |
119 |
150 |
269 |
| 11—Jimmy Johnson (14) |
93 |
170 |
263 |
| 12—Dave Hutchinson (15) |
89 |
162 |
251 |
| 13—Brian Watts (11) |
114 |
131 |
245 |
| 14—Chas Riopel (11) |
98 |
128 |
226 |
| 15—Kris Webster (18) |
82 |
138 |
220 |
| 16—Ivars Muzis (16) |
59 |
153 |
212 |
| 22—John Miller (22) |
74 |
123 |
197 |
| 35—Bryan O’Connell (4) |
88 |
45 |
133 |
| 64—Chad Levitan (4) |
27 |
26 |
53 |
| 71—Taylor Rothgeb (6) |
23 |
20 |
43 |
| Trevor Thomas (11) |
11 |
24 |
35 |
| Doug Yeates (2) |
6 |
26 |
32 |
| Mike Curry (1) |
14 |
15 |
29 |
| Spencer Brendel (2) |
15 |
10 |
25 |
| Derek Grimes (1) |
13 |
11 |
24 |
| Marty Flichel (2) |
7 |
16 |
23 |
| Sinjin Thomas (7) |
8 |
14 |
22 |
| Bryan Winkler (9) |
9 |
12 |
21 |
| Jordan Pritchett (5) |
10 |
8 |
18 |
| Danny Ward (5) |
5 |
12 |
17 |
| Justin Taylor (2) |
9 |
4 |
13 |
| Jackson Morgus (2) |
9 |
4 |
13 |
| Zak Greenawalt (5) |
2 |
11 |
13 |
| Justin Videen (1) |
4 |
5 |
9 |
| David Dredge (1) |
1 |
8 |
9 |
| Drew Punnett (1) |
3 |
4 |
7 |
| Ryan Thomson (11) |
0 |
8 |
8 |
| Max Kwok (1) |
2 |
4 |
6 |
| Tyson Cox (1) |
2 |
4 |
6 |
| Greg Chapman (1) |
0 |
6 |
6 |
| Drew Barsch (1) |
0 |
4 |
4 |
| Chase Evangelista (1) |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| David Kvapil (1) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Alex Redmond (1) |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Jay Taylor (1) |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Liam Jablonski (1) |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Brad Miller (1) |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Brandon Holmes (1) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Dimitri DeBlanco (1) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Blake Haggett (1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Alex Lambert (1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Taylor Crawford (1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Tom Bardis (1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| GOALIE, YEARS |
GAMES |
GOALS |
W-L |
AVG. |
| Tony Benson (14—1990-00, 2007-10) |
141 |
531 |
90-43-7 |
3.79 |
| Dan Nee (9—1979-88) |
213 |
814 |
150-57-6 |
3.82 |
| Charlie Holt (4—1975-79) |
72 |
189 |
57-12-3 |
2.62 |
| Ryan Thomson (11—2003-14) |
136 |
544 |
83-47-0 |
3.98 |
| Mat Gershater (8—1997-98, 2000-04, 09-11) |
53 |
219 |
37-15-1 |
4.12 |
| David Stone (17—1986-2006) |
55 |
233 |
33-16-5 |
4.24 |
PLAYER, YEARS.......... GOALS...... ASSISTSPOINTS
1—Vilnis Nikolaisons (13).. 173............... 288............ 461
2—Jamie Ellison (16)......... 170............... 288............ 458
3—Bobby Noyes (18)......... 195............... 213............ 408
4—Glenn Hunter (18).......... 67................ 295............ 362
5—John Finnegan (12)....... 109............... 223............ 332
6—Chris Benson (17)......... 160............... 163............ 323
7—Ryan Enrico (11)........... 133............... 173............ 306
7—John Stevens (19)........ 113............... 193............ 306
9—Billy Tryder (12)............ 120............... 151............ 271
10—Kurt Wenzell (9).......... 119............... 150............ 269
11—Jimmy Johnson (14).... 93................ 170............ 263
12—Dave Hutchinson (15).. 89................ 162............ 251
13—Brian Watts (11).......... 114............... 131............ 245
14—Chas Riopel (11).......... 98................ 128............ 226
15—Kris Webster (18)......... 82................ 138............ 220
16—Ivars Muzis (16)........... 59................ 153............ 212
22—John Miller (22)............ 74................ 123............ 197
35—Bryan O’Connell (4)..... 88................. 45............. 133
64—Chad Levitan (4).......... 27................. 26............... 53
71—Taylor Rothgeb (6)....... 23................. 20............... 43
Trevor Thomas (11)............. 11................. 24............... 35
Doug Yeates (2)................... 6.................. 26............... 32
Mike Curry (1)...................... 14................. 15............... 29
Spencer Brendel (2)............ 15................. 10............... 25
Derek Grimes (1)................. 13................. 11............... 24
Marty Flichel (2).................... 7.................. 16............... 23
Sinjin Thomas (7).................. 8.................. 14............... 22
Bryan Winkler (9).................. 9.................. 12............... 21
Jordan Pritchett (5).............. 10.................. 8................ 18
Danny Ward (5).................... 5.................. 12............... 17
Justin Taylor (2).................... 9................... 4................ 13
Jackson Morgus (2)............. 9................... 4................ 13
Zak Greenawalt (5)............... 2.................. 11............... 13
Justin Videen (1)................... 4................... 5.................. 9
David Dredge (1).................. 1................... 8.................. 9
Drew Punnett (1).................. 3................... 4.................. 7
Ryan Thomson (11).............. 0................... 8.................. 8
Max Kwok (1)....................... 2................... 4.................. 6
Tyson Cox (1)....................... 2................... 4.................. 6
Greg Chapman (1)................ 0................... 6.................. 6
Drew Barsch (1)................... 0................... 4.................. 4
Chase Evangelista (1).......... 2................... 0.................. 2
David Kvapil (1).................... 1................... 1.................. 2
Alex Redmond (1)................. 0................... 2.................. 2
Jay Taylor (1)....................... 0................... 2.................. 2
Liam Jablonski (1)................ 0................... 2.................. 2
Brad Miller (1)....................... 1................... 0.................. 1
Brandon Holmes (1)............. 0................... 1.................. 1
Dimitri DeBlanco (1)............. 0................... 1.................. 1
Blake Haggett (1).................. 0................... 0.................. 0
Alex Lambert (1)................... 0................... 0.................. 0
Taylor Crawford (1).............. 0................... 0.................. 0
Tom Bardis (1)...................... 0................... 0.................. 0
Former Idaho Steelheads pro Marty Flichel looks for a pass in the corner during Friday’s 13-2 win over Park City at Sun Val-ley Skating Center. Photo by Willy Cook
