BY MIKE MCKENNA
The Sun Valley Suns 14U hockey teams held their annual home tournament on January 24-26 at Hailey Ice. Both the “Bantam” A and B teams played well, with the A team hoisting their 4th banner of the season.
The Suns A team went undefeated in the tournament, beating the Jackson Moose in the championship game 4-2. The win avenged a title game loss to the Suns’ bitter rivals from Jackson in Wyoming a couple weeks earlier.
Sam McKenna led the A team in scoring for the tournament with 11 points, including two goals and two assists in the championship game. Jett Van Bueren was the second leading scorer with 9 points overall, including a goal and two assists in the championship match. Huxley Swanger (3 points overall) also scored in the title tilt, while defenseman Hunter McCabe (4 points) had two assists.
Goaltender Everett Gorringe had three shutouts in the Suns’ four wins, including making some big saves in the championship game. The team also got stellar play from forwards Gage Nisson (4 points), Joe Mathews (3 points), Barret Gorringe (3 points) Corbin Flood (2 points) and Dax Latham (1 point). The team’s “Swiss Army Knife” Kellan Turner, who plays both forward and defense, notched a hat trick against Park City. The Sun’s stellar defense was led by Rydge Douthit (1 goal), Caleb Rosser and Blakeslee Davis-Jeffers.
“I’m really proud of the total team effort. This is a great group of players who play the game the right way and wear their Suns jerseys with pride,” head coach Mike McKenna said. “Before the championship game, the team found inspiration in a banner in the rink with a quote from Brock Burrell of the Suns’ 2023 National Championship team that reads, ‘Pain is temporary, banners are forever.’”
The Bantam B team continued their impressive improvement this season by beating Wasatch 6-1 to take home 3rd place for their second straight tournament.
Coach Wes Southward said he’s thrilled at how his team is working hard to get better every week and that they’re starting to get rewarded with some big wins and well-played games.
“The team is really stepping up and I’m proud of their effort and how far they’ve come along,” said Southward.