The 11th annual Western States Shootout enters its’ third day of action today with all 18 teams taking to the ice throughout the day. The day starts off with a marquee match-up at 8:00 a.m. at the North Rink between the 19-4-2 Dallas Ice Jets, who sit atop the Mid-West Division, and the 16-7-2 San Diego Gulls who are second in the Western Division. The Ice Jets dropped a 3-2 decision to the Fresno Monsters yesterday, while the Gulls fell, 4-1, to the Seattle Totems of the NORPAC.
All games in the showcase count in the WSHL standings, so the Ice Jets and Gulls both want to avoid falling to 0-2-0. Six teams have played twice already at the showcase and none of them have managed to win each of their first two games.
(Friday) Phoenix Knights 6, New Mexico Renegades 5 (OT)
The New Mexico Renegades and Phoenix Knights combined for six goals in the first 19:28 of the game and left the ice 3-3 at halftime. Each team scored twice in the second half, sending the game to overtime. Phoenix forward Jon Eades (1991) scored the unassisted game-winner at 3:06 of overtime, his second goal of the game, giving the Knights their first win in their last five games and two valuable points in the tight Western Division race. They moved to within a single point of the Arizona Redhawks and Valencia Flyers for the final playoff berth in the division. Eades also added an assist while F Jarrod Levos (1992) figured in four goals for Phoenix (2-2-4). Five different skaters scored for the Renegades, including F Kenny Orlando (1993) who also added a pair of assists. G Brett Galley (1993) was the winning goaltender, making 23 saves, while G Tucker Gilliland (1995) also made 23 saves for New Mexico but took the loss.
(Friday) Ogden Mustangs 5, Dallas Snipers 2
The Ogden Mustangs scored the first three goals of the game and survived a comeback attempt by the Dallas Snipers on their way to a 5-2 win. It was a huge win for the Mustangs, as they opened a four-point lead on the Park City Moose for fourth place in the WSHL’s Mountain Division. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the postseason. With Dallas down 3-0 in the first half, F Shane Bonds (1993) put the Snipers on the board with a power play tally—his team-leading 16th goal of the season. 5:36 into the second half F Arnie Osuna brought the Snipers to within a goal, but two minutes later Czech import F Jan Vcislak (1991) restored Ogden’s two-goal lead with an unassisted tally and F Dax Hobbs (1992) added his second of the game to close out the scoring. Hobbs also added an assist for a three-point night while Vcislak’s fellow Czech F Lukas Moudry (1992) also collected three points (1-2-3) for the Mustangs. Ogden netminder G Alex Glockner (1993) stopped 21 of 23 shots for the win while his opposite number, G Michael Mealey (1991), made 27 saves for the Snipers.
(Friday) Dallas Ice Jets 6, Park City Moose 1
The Dallas Ice Jets increased their lead over the El Paso Rhinos for the top spot in the Mid-West Division to six points with a 6-1 win over the Park City Moose. The Ice Jets scored three times in each half and out-shot the Moose 54-22. F Brandon Unser (1992) and Richard Bohan (1992) each scored twice for Dallas and Bohan added two assists. The Ice Jets converted two of four power play opportunities in the game while the Moose were not awarded a power play the entire game. Dallas netminder Thomas Scoggin (1992) turned aside 21 of 22 Park City Shots. G Tyler George (1992), making just his fourth appearance of the season, made 48 saves in the Park City crease.
(Saturday) Boulder Bison 4, El Paso Rhinos 1
Jake Bauer (1994) scored twice and G Hunter Fernandez stopped 29 of 30 shots as the Boulder Bison defeated the El Paso Rhinos, 4-1, in the first game of the day yesterday morning. F Chris Guidotti dished out a pair of assists to maintain his share of the lead in the WSHL scoring race with 47 points (14-33-47). The final Boulder goal was scored by F Anthony Cullen (1992) into an empty net. The game was played almost entirely at even strength with each team getting just one power play opportunity. Fernandez now has a 1.90 goals-against average and .933 save percentage in six appearances for the Bison. G Brandon Smolarek made 27 saves for El Paso.
(Saturday) Valencia Flyers 4, Cheyenne Stampede 1
The Cheyenne Stampede scored the first goal of the game, but G Stephen Palmer (1993) shut the door the rest of the way and the Valencia Flyers went on to a 4-1 win in the showcase opener for both clubs. F Eddie Keshishian (1992) assisted on two Valencia goals while D Joe Bellotti scored the lone Cheyenne goal of the game. G Michael Porter (1992) made just his third appearance for the Stampede, stopping 27 shots.
(Saturday) Long Beach Bombers 4, New Mexico Renegades 1
The Long Beach Bombers picked up two important points in the Western Division race with a 4-1 win over the New Mexico Renegades. Four different Long Beach skaters scored, including defensemen Brian White (1991) and Roman Li (1992) of Moscow, who also added assists. F Kenny Orlando (1993) scored the lone goal for the Renegades—his second straight showcase game with a goal. The Bombers still sit five points behind Arizona and Valencia for the final playoff berth in the Western Division. Winning netminder G Andrew Freeman (1994) of Long Beach stopped 25 of 26 shots while G Eric Messer (1993) of New Mexico made 33 saves.
(Saturday) Fresno Monsters 3, Dallas Ice Jets 2
In the marquee matchup of the first full day of competition, the Western Division-leading Fresno Monsters edged the first-place Dallas Ice Jets from the MidWest Division, 3-2. Dallas led, 1-0, at halftime on a goal by F Richard Bohan (1992) at 21:33. Fresno scored the first three goals of the second half (one on the power play and one shorthanded) and held on for the win. G Tom McGuckin (1993) of Fresno made 34 saves on 36 shots to claim his 12th win of the season (12-2-1) and lower his goals-against average to 2.23. G Michael Baldwin (1992) was the tough-luck loser for the Ice Jets with 29 saves. F Nick McKee’s (1992) shorthanded goal ended up being the game-winner. He also collected an assist. McKee has points in 15 of his last 16 games.
(Saturday) Idaho Junior Steelheads 4, Southern Oregon Spartans 2 (NORPAC)
The defending Thorne Cup champions defeated the first-place team from the NORPAC, as the Idaho Junior Steelheads skated to a 4-2 win over the Southern Oregon Spartans. Idaho out-scored Southern Oregon 2-1 in each half and out-shot them 36-25 for the game. Four different skaters scored for the Junior Steelheads and WSHL goals-against leader G Jordyn Kaufer (1993) made 23 saves for his 12th win without a regulation loss (12-0-1)…G Derek Moser (1993) made 32 saves for the Spartans. Both teams went 0-for-5 on the power play.
(Saturday) Texas Junior Brahmas 5, Park City Moose 2
The Texas Junior Brahmas scored three times in the second half to break a 2-2 deadlock and hand the Park City Moose their second loss of the showcase, 5-2. F Connor Tamai (1991) scored twice for the Junior Brahmas. Tamai now has multiple points in each of his last five games, piling up 18 points (10-8-18) in that span. Riga, Latvia native F Albert Bolush (1991) had a goal and an assist and F Will Barber (1992) collected a pair of helpers for the Junior Brahmas. F Jordan Matthys (1992) and F Danny Hosmer (1991) scored the Park City goals. Texas has won eight of their last 10 games to stay in the hunt in the Mid-West Division. G Garrett Cheeseman (1992) made 18 saves for Texas and improved his record to 3-0-0/1.94/.920. G Alex Burdekin (1992) lost his sixth straight decision for Park City, stopping 33 of 38 shots.
(Saturday) Seattle Totems (NORPAC) 4, San Diego Gulls 1
The Seattle Totems of the NORPAC opened their Western States Shootout schedule with a 4-1 win over one of the WSHL’s top teams—the San Diego Gulls. Four different Seattle skaters scored and G William Granger (1993), making just his third appearance of the season for Seattle, turned aside 21 of 22 San Diego shots. F Zenyth Hamil scored for San Diego—his fourth goal in the last four games—and G Brian Walters made 27 stops for the Gulls, suffering his first loss in his last six decisions. San Diego was up early for an 8:00 a.m. face-off with the 19-4-2 Dallas Ice Jets.
(Saturday) Arizona Redhawks 3, Ogden Mustangs 2
The Arizona Redhawks jumped out to a 3-1 lead over the Ogden Mustangs, then spent the last 12:15 of the game protecting a one-goal lead, holding on for a 3-2 win to open their slate here at the Western States Shootout. F Chance Taylor’s (1993) second goal of the game—a power play tally—ended up being the deciding goal. Taylor has played in just four games for Arizona, but has scored three goals in the last two games. G Andrew Barletta (1991) held down the fort for Arizona, stopping a total of 36 of 38 shots. Ogden’s G Aleksi Kiviranta (1993) faced 38 Redhawks shots, stopping 35 and suffering his first regulation loss in three decisions (0-1-2).
(Saturday) Dallas Snipers 9, Phoenix Knights 7
The Dallas Snipers and Phoenix Knights did their best to put the “shootout” in Western States Shootout, combining for 16 goals—11 of them in the 25-minute second half. The Snipers picked up their third win of the season, and evened their showcase record at 1-1-0, with a 9-7 win. After going pointless in his first eight games of the season, Sniper F Jackie Pauley (1992) scored a hat trick—one of four Dallas skaters to put up three points in the game. F Shane Bonds (1993) and F Arnie Osuna each scored twice and added an assist. Osuna has scored goals in five straight games (7-3-10 in that span). D Ben Murphy (1992) failed to record a point in his first 23 games this season, but picked up three assists in the game. G Jensen Manning (1993) made 31 saves to win his second straight start for Dallas. Phoenix scored three straight goals in the second half to close the gap. F Chace Jackson (1992) led the Knights with five points (1-4-5) and F Jerrod Levos scored three goals and an assist.