BY MICHAEL DAVID

 On Friday night, the Suns took the ice at the Campion Ice House for the first time in 2020 and the first time in nearly a month as they faced off against the Breckenridge Vipers.

 After a sweep on the road in Vail the previous weekend, the 8-0 Suns were looking to keep their record perfect against their rivals from the Front Range in Colorado. After shaking off some rust early in the game, the Suns skated to a 5-2 victory on Friday and followed that up with a 10-1 victory on Saturday to remain undefeated as they approach the midway point of the 2019/2020 season.

 It took six minutes on Friday night for the Suns to score their first home goal of the new year. Fittingly, it came from their leading scorer Max Tardy, who took a beautiful centering pass from Nick Curry and deposited it in the top right corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.

 Three minutes later, Suns eight-year forward Justin Taylor plastered a Viper into the boards behind the Suns goal and immediately raced down the ice to receive a pass from Dylan Shamburger. J-Pants beat the Breck goalie to his left and made the score 2-0 before his long-haired victim had even picked himself up off the ice.

 Ten minutes into the second stanza, with Breckenridge on a power play, New York native Nick Curry dug out the puck from the boards just inside the blue line and found open ice between himself and the Viper goal keeper. Curry skated in, faked left and fired the puck into the top right corner for the unassisted short-handed goal, pushing the lead to 3-0.

 Veteran Marty Flichel gave the Suns a four-goal cushion before the end of the period, scoring on a wrister with assists coming from DJ Robinson and Nick Curry.

 The Vipers came out with a vengeance in the final period, scoring eight seconds in to finally pierce Bobby Bowden’s veil and get on the scoreboard.  The Suns defense buckled down and held the visitors scoreless for the next fifteen minutes before a rush and a bad hop resulted in the puck dribbling over Bowden’s shoulder to get Breckenridge within two goals, 4-2 with five minutes remaining in the contest.

As the game clock wound down towards zero, Nick Curry added to his impressive night’s scoring totals with an empty net goal to provide the 5-2 final tally. He scored off a pass from the always unselfish Spencer Brendel who passed up an almost certain goal to feed his deserving teammate.

Saturday night, after hitting the fresh powder on the slopes during the day, the Suns jumped on the undermanned visitors early and never looked back. They led 4-1 after the opening period, added three more in the second and three more in the third for the 10-1 victory. Goalie Matt Cooper was magnificent, turning away 25 of the 26 shots he faced.

Next up for the Suns is Hollywood icon Bobby Farrelly’s East Coast Gutter Snipes. Games start at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 17 and 18, at the Campion Ice House in Hailey.