BY MICHAEL DAVID

When iconic movie maker Bobby Farrelly brings his East Coast Gutter Snipes into town, the Sun Valley Suns know the competition will be fierce and the teams will put on a great show for the fans.

Saturday night’s contest at the Campion Ice House in Hailey did not disappoint, as the Gutter Snipes defeated the hometown Suns in a hard fought battle by a score of 5-3. The teams split the two-game set by virtue of the Suns 7-5 victory on Friday night.

Losing the first game may have provided extra motivation for the visitors, who jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first period of play.  The Gutter Snipes, a collection of former NHL and Division 1 college players, scored three minutes into the game to go ahead 1-0.

The Suns’ Justin Taylor found the net via the upper right hand corner at the 14:04 mark to tie the game at one goal apiece, but the East Coasters scored two more times for the 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

The Suns’ Christian Hansen scored on an assist from Marty Flichel 3:03 into the second period to get the home within a single goal, 3-2.  Flichel added a power play goal three minutes later to tie the game 3-3, whipping the standing-room only crowd into a frenzy. However, the lead was short-lived, as the Gutter Snipes snuck one past Matt Cooper with 4:50 remaining in the 2nd period to go up by a count of 4-3.

The Suns failed to capitalize on two power plays in the third, and the Gutter Snipes added an insurance goal with two minutes remaining in the game, which provided the final score of 5-3.

Next weekend—Jan. 26-27—the Suns will be in Bozeman to face the Stingers. They will be back in action in Hailey Feb. 9 and 10 against the Holy Cross Crusaders.