Wednesday — March 17, 2004

McCall keeps upper hand in Suns finale

2003-04 hockey season wraps up

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If the city of McCall ever thinks about shopping around for a new nickname for its first-year Mountaineers men’s senior hockey team, the so-called "Ice Capital of Idaho," might think about the McCall Black Bears.

The Black Bears nickname is most commonly associated with the University of Maine, which dropped the NCAA Division 1 men’s hockey championship game 1-0 to Denver University Saturday night in Boston.

But McCall has a couple of Maine Black Bears distinguished alumni playing for the Mountaineers this winter—and they did a big number on the Sun Valley Suns last weekend in the 2003-04 Suns finale at McCall.

McCall’s Dan Shemerhorn, leading scorer with 43 points for the 26-9-4 Maine Black Bears in 1996, had four goals and four assists as McCall thumped a shorthanded Suns squad 9-2 and 10-3 Friday and Saturday at Manchester Ice and Events Centre.

Another Black Bear, Cal Ingraham, who had 46 goals for Maine’s first national title team that compiled an amazing 42-1-2 record in 1993, added five assists and six points as the Mountaineers out-pointed the Suns 50-13.

The Suns (12-12), missing their top defensemen Eric Demment and Chris Warrington and playing with only one proven forward line, couldn’t match up with McCall. It was a long weekend for goalie Ryan Thomson, who faced 82 shots coming from everywhere.

Twelve different Mountaineers had a goal or assist Friday, and there were eight different goal scorers Saturday for the winners. McCall ended the season with four straight wins over the Suns including 7-6 (OT) and 5-2 victories on Sun Valley ice March 5-6.

Suns wing Vilnis Nikolaisons scored two goals, bringing his team-high total to 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 24 games. It was the second Suns season scoring title for the sixth-year forward from Latvia.

Other Suns goal scorers were Ryan Enrico, Rohan Verplank and Caleb Baukol. Luke Smith, Jamie Ellison and Enrico collected two assists each. Also assisting were Chris King and Suns player/coach Chris Benson.

Check the Express Web site for last weekend’s game summary and final Suns’ 2003-04 season statistics including an update on all-time leaders.

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Mountaineers 9, Suns 2
Friday

Sun Valley Suns 0 0 2 2
McCall Mountaineers 4 3 2 9

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FIRST PERIOD—(1) McCall, Brett Gallagher (unassisted), 3:31. (2) McCall, Dan Shemerhorn (Dave Ingraham, Rob Dumas), 4:26. (3) McCall, Dumas (Shemerhorn, Cal Ingraham), 10:20. (4) McCall, Dumas (Shemerhorn, Cal Ingraham), 14:19.

SECOND PERIOD—(5) McCall, Dave Ingraham (Warren Moore, Shemerhorn), 9:18, power play goal. (6) McCall, Shemerhorn (Cal Ingraham, Damon Hall), 14:14. (7) McCall, Rick Bourbonnais (Kelly Ursillo, Scott Davis), 16:13.

THIRD PERIOD—(8) SV, Vilnis Nikolaisons 15 (Luke Smith, Jamie Ellison), 4:34. (9) McCall, Pepe Ursillo (Lee Svangstu), 6:08. (10) McCall, Gallagher (Pepe Ursillo, Svangstu), 15:30. (11) SV, Caleb Baukol 2 (Ryan Enrico), 15:51.

SHOTS ON GOAL—For Sun Valley 10-11-7 for 28; for McCall 13-11-13 for 37.

GOALIES—SV, Ryan Thomson (28 saves, 7-4-0 season record); McCall, Mark Liebich (26 saves).

NOTES—The Jackson Hole Moose (19-8) lost all three of their games at the USA Hockey Adult Elite National Championships that ended April 4 at Fond du Lac, Wisc. The Bucks, traveling without coach Dave Pfeifer, squandered a 4-1 lead in their first game and lost to eventual national runner-up New York St. Nicks 6-5. Two days later, the eventual champion Bucks Furniture team sent the Moose packing 9-3. Winning the four-team tournament was the Bucks Furniture team from Bloomington, Minn. The Bucks (3-1-0 tourney, 24-13 goals-against) defeated two-time defending national champion New York St. Nicks 5-4—giving the Bucks their third national title since 1997. Minnesota forward Curt Wright tallied the winning goal for his hat trick with 1:47 to play for the Bucks. Meanwhile, in the Adult U.S. Division tournament played at Blue Line Family Ice Center, the Seattle Indians claimed the title 5-4 over the Minneapolis Gorillas.

 

 

Mountaineers 10, Suns 3
Saturday

Sun Valley Suns 2 0 1 3
McCall Mtaineers 3 4 3 10

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FIRST PERIOD—(1) McCall, Dan Shemerhorn (Troy Edwards, Dave Ingraham), 2:48. (2) McCall, Lee Svangstu (Brett Gallagher), 11:37. (3) SV, Rohan Verplank 4 (Chris King, Ryan Enrico), 18:09. (4) McCall, Rick Bourbonnais (John Ursillo, Kelly Ursillo), 18:23. (5) SV, Vilnis Nikolaisons 16 (Luke Smith, Jamie Ellison), 19:38.

SECOND PERIOD—(6) McCall, Rob Dumas (unassisted), 2:05. (7) McCall, John Ursillo (Scott Davis, Dumas), 12:14. (8) McCall, Cal Ingraham (Shemerhorn, Warren Moore), 13:07. (9) McCall, Svangstu (Gallagher, John Howell), 13:45.

THIRD PERIOD—(10) McCall, Kelly Ursillo (Cal Ingraham, Edwards), 10:58. (11) McCall, Edwards (Kelly Ursillo), 18:14. (12) McCall, Shemerhorn (Cal Ingraham, Kelly Ursillo), 19:14. (13) SV, Ryan Enrico 13 (Chris Benson), 19:31.

SHOTS ON GOAL—For Sun Valley 7-7-9 for 23; for McCall 16-12-17 for 45.

GOALIES—SV, Ryan Thomson (35 saves, 7-5-0 season record); McCall, Mark Liebich (20 saves).

NOTES—Suns forward lines were Jamie Ellison-Luke Smith-Vilnis Nikolaisons, Chris King-Ryan Enrico-Rohan Verplank, Matt Gershater-Caleb Baukol-Kristof Wenquist. Defensemen were Ivars Muzis-John Stevens and Josh Jacobson-Chris Benson. Missing were Eric Demment, Chris Warrington, Paul Baranzelli, Pat Finnegan and Frank Salvoni…..Goalie Ryan Thomson aggravated a groin injury late in the second period but played bravely on, making a couple of big saves as the period wound down…..McCall had a good crowd tonight, a little over 400 fans, but it wasn’t the packed house of about 750 that the Mountaineers enjoyed Jan. 16-17 during their home opener at Manchester Ice and Events Centre. Sun Valley won those first games 8-5 and 5-4.

 

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2003-04 Sun Valley Suns
Final Season statistics

(12-12 overall: 10-6 home, 2-6 away)

as of April 14, 2004

 

PLAYER	GAMES	GOALS	AST.	PTS.	PMIN
Vilnis Nikolaisons	24	16	20	36	4.0
Ryan Enrico	24	13	21	34	18.0
Luke Smith	24	16	13	29	22.0
Jamie Ellison	18	7	16	23	28.0
Paul Baranzelli	17	9	10	19	25.0
Chris King	22	8	9	17	11.0
Ivars Muzis	22	5	12	17	6.0
John Stevens	23	8	8	16	19.0
Eric Demment	15	7	7	14	19.0
Pat Finnegan	17	5	6	11	9.0
Chris Warrington	21	1	10	11	4.0
Rohan Verplank	18	4	6	10	6.0
John Miller	10	1	5	6	2.0
Brian Watts	9	3	1	4	4.0
Kris Webster	2	2	1	3	2.0
Ryan McDonald	2	2	1	3	0.0
Chris Benson	19	1	2	3	16.0
Frank Salvoni	11	1	2	3	4.0
Mike Selhay	9	0	3	3	15.0
Josh Jacobson	21	1	1	2	35.0
J.J. Hanley	13	1	1	2	0.0
Tom Forti	2	1	0	1	2.0
Matt Gershater	10	0	1	1	11.0
Trevor Thomas	2	0	1	1	7.0
Kit Hughes	1	0	1	1	0.0
Ryan Thomson	14	0	0	0	0.0
Peter Miner	3	0	0	0	0.0
Paul Miner	3	0	0	0	0.0
Kevin Bullock	2	0	0	0	2.0
Billy Tryder	1	0	0	0	0.0
James Moskos	2	0	0	0	0.0
Kristof Wenquist	2	0	0	0	0.0
Bobby Farrelly	2	0	0	0	0.0

 

GOALTENDER	GAMES	GOALS	W-L	AVG.
Ryan Thomson	12.6	59	7-5-0	4.68
Matt Gershater	8	40	5-4-0	5.00
James Moskos	2	15	0-2-0	7.50
Bobby Farrelly	1.5	12	0-1-0	8.00

 

Shots—Thomson 456, Gershater 262, Moskos 81, Farrelly 59.
Saves—Thomson 392, Gershater 222, Moskos 66, Farrelly 47.
Shootout saves—Thomson 4.
Shootout goals allowed—Thomson 1.
Shutouts—Thomson 1.
Empty net goals—4.

 

SCORE BY  PERIODS	1ST	2ND	3RD	OT	TOT	AVE
Opposition	37	47	45	2	131	5.5
Sun Valley	34	30	47	3	114	4.8

 

 

INDIVIDUAL MARKS

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Two-goal games (14)—Luke Smith 3, Jamie Ellison 2, Vilnis Nikolaisons 2, Paul Baranzelli 2, Ryan Enrico 2, Chris King 1, Pat Finnegan 1, John Stevens 1.

Hat tricks or more (1)—Luke Smith 1 (4 goals).

Game-winning goals—Eric Demment 1, Vilnis Nikolaisons 1, Ryan Enrico 1.

Power play goals (19-69, 28%)—Vilnis Nikolaisons 3, Ryan Enrico 3, Eric Demment 3, Luke Smith 2, Ivars Muzis 2, Paul Baranzelli 2, John Stevens 2, John Miller 1, Brian Watts 1. Power play goals (opposition): 16-68, (24%).

Shorthanded goals (4)—Vilnis Nikolaisons 1, Ryan Enrico 1, Chris Warrington 1, Eric Demment 1. Shorthanded goals (opposition): 7.

Season penalty minutes: SV 283, opponents 306.

 

 

GAME RESULTS

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Total record: 12-12
Record in 1-goal games: 5-1
Record in overtime: 2-1-0
Games scoring 9 or more goals: 2
Games scoring 7 or more goals: 5

December 19 (H) Sun Valley 10, Portland Checks 2
December 20 (H) Sun Valley 5, Portland Checks 4
January 2 (H) Sun Valley 7, Boise Blades 4
January 3 (H) Boise Blades 8, Sun Valley 5
January 16 (A) Sun Valley 8, McCall Mountaineers 5
January 17 (A) Sun Valley 5, McCall Mountaineers 4
January 23 (H) Jackson Hole Moose 10, Sun Valley 2
January 24 (H) Jackson Hole Moose 6, Sun Valley 2
January 30 (A) Jackson Hole Moose 7, Sun Valley 2
January 31 (A) Jackson Hole Moose 4, Sun Valley 1
February 6 (H) Sun Valley 12, Bucks Furniture 8
February 7 (H) Sun Valley 5, Bucks Furniture 2
February 13 (H) Sun Valley 4, Midwest All-Stars 3
February 14 (H) Sun Valley 6, Midwest All-Stars 0
March 5 (H) McCall Mountaineers 7, SV 6 (OT)
March 6 (H) McCall Mountaineers 5, Sun Valley 2
March 12 (H) Sun Valley 7, Jackson Hole Moose 4
March 13 (H) Jackson Hole Moose 5, Sun Valley 2
March 19 (A) Jackson Hole Moose 10, Sun Valley 5
March 20 (A) Jackson Hole Moose 8, Sun Valley 5
April 2 (H) SV 4, Connecticut Camels 3 (OT shootout)
April 3 (H) SV 4, Connecticut Camels 3 (OT)
April 9 (A) McCall Mountaineers 9, Sun Valley 2
April 10 (H) McCall Mountaineers 10, Sun Valley 3

 

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SUNS ALL-TIME
SCORING LEADERS

29-season franchise record 484-187-28
20 points or more; this year's players in bold

 

PLAYER	YEARS	GOALS	AST.	PTS.
Bobby Noyes	18	195	213	408
Glenn Hunter	18	67	295	362
John Finnegan	12	109	223	332
Chris Benson	14	159	160	319
Jamie Ellison	8	101	171	272
Kurt Wenzell	9	119	150	269
Vilnis Nikolaisons	6	102	164	266
Jimmy Johnson	13	93	170	263
Dave Hutchinson	15	89	162	251
Brian Watts	11	114	131	245
John Stevens	9	91	139	230
Chas Riopel	11	98	128	226
Billy Tryder	9	97	124	221
Phil Hoene	8	89	122	211
Dale Johnson	15	59	146	205
Bryan Korpi	10	88	116	204
Steve Bohner	16	88	110	198
John Burke	13	85	103	188
Kris Webster	10	70	117	187
Luke Smith	6	95	90	185
Tim Jeneson	12	45	135	180
Dave Reichel	3	83	92	175
Patrick Kearney	9	53	112	165
Tom D'Andrea	3	64	95	159
Perry Babcock	4	86	70	156
Harry Weekes	11	42	106	148
Jim Finnegan	5	63	79	142
John Miller	12	54	86	140
Brad Dredge	6	73	63	136
Phil Hebert	5	53	80	133
Sean O'Connell	6	42	85	127
George Arnold	4	58	66	124
Steve Gentilini	3	55	65	120
Ivars Muzis	6	35	77	112
Mark Broz	7	40	70	110
Mikael Reijo	9	59	49	108
Rick Bourbonnais	5	54	51	105
Jake Glotfelty	5	31	71	102
Rip Kirby	8	50	49	99
Hermie Haavik	5	35	59	94
Terry Heneghan	4	41	50	91
Ford Thatcher	5	39	43	82
Kevin Lynch	3	37	45	82
Paul Cartmill	4	36	44	80
Tom Maroste	4	23	57	80
Paul Baranzelli	3	44	35	79
Joe McCarthy	2	37	42	79
Steve McCoy	6	22	55	77
Alex Orb	5	35	39	74
Tom Farrell	4	28	37	65
Tom Forti	3	24	36	60
Mark Collins	2	25	31	56
Rick Schnier	2	27	27	54
Wade Clarke	3	14	39	53
Bill Sheeline	2	19	32	51
Billy Claviter	1	26	22	48
Scott Winkler	3	20	27	47
Banjo Williams	2	17	30	47
Bryan Wiskow	10	12	31	43
Dave McKenna	4	10	32	42
Dates Fryberger	2	19	22	41
Joe Lawson	1	9	31	40
Buzz Brown	2	16	23	39
Tim Rappleye	2	8	31	39
Jon Bender	3	9	29	38
Eric Demment	2	13	22	35
Kit Hughes	3	10	25	35
Ryan Enrico	1	13	21	34
Paul Kinnaly	1	13	21	34
Dick Nelson	5	11	23	34
Pat Foley	1	12	21	33
Peter Whitehead	1	14	16	30
Rhett Behrje	1	13	16	29
Mike Cornell	1	13	15	28
John Howell	3	5	20	25
Mark Morningstar	1	14	10	24
Jeff McCallum	2	11	13	24
Ben Allen	2	9	15	24
Matt Gorra	2	8	16	24
Mark Horvath	2	15	7	22
Lorre Jobs	2	8	14	22
Dave Pfannenstein	1	6	16	22
Red Grasselli	2	7	14	21
Ben Stauffer	2	13	8	21

 

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