BY MIKE MCKENNA

The season kicked off a little early this year for Sun Valley Youth Hockey’s (SVYH) Bantam or U14 A team, and it did so in style.

The Suns won five games against teams from four different states to claim the annual October Classic Tournament in Boise.  

“It’s a great group of kids who play the game the right way. They hustle, support their teammates and they’ve got some serious skill,” head coach Mike McKenna said. 

The Suns beat teams from Utah, Washington, Oregon and their friendly rivals from Boise, the Junior Steelheads, 7-2 in the title match to bring home another banner for Hailey Ice. It was the first championship under the direction of SVYH’s new Executive Director, Scott Smith.

“I’m really proud of the kids,” said Scott, who had been running some special pre-season practices with many of the players.

Coach McKenna also credited The Athlete Lab’s summer skate program run by local hockey legend, Joey Sides, for the early season success. Many of the team’s top players worked on their skills with Sides, a hometown boy who made it to the big time, all summer.

“The extra effort these kids put into practice with Joey really showed. The kids who skated with us all summer were very impressive, playing fast, tough, modern hockey,” said McKenna, who helped Sides run the clinics.

 Jett Van Bueren led the team in scoring including a hat trick in the championship game. Jett had 9 goals and 5 assists in the fast-paced, heavy-hitting action. Gage Nisson was second in points with 4 goals and 4 assists, followed by Sam McKenna with 5 goals and 2 assists.

Caleb Rosser, part of the team’s impressive handful of “rookie” Bantams, had 3 goals and an assist. Bantam is the first age when checking is allowed and it’s a big jump for most players, especially playing at the A level. Fellow first-year Bantams Barrett Gorringe had 2 goals and 2 assists, while Dax Latham and Corbin Flood each had a goal and an assist and Huxley Swanger picked up two assists.

Blakeslee Davis-Jeffers led the team’s strong defense. She had a sweet goal in the title game to go along with 2 assists. Hunter McCabe had a strong tournament and chipped in with an assist, while Kellen Turner lit the lamp one time as well.

Everett Gorringe led the way in net, teaming up with Zach Drabeck to allow just seven goals during the five games, including their first shutout of the season.

Drabeck, along with forward Ari Nevala (1 goal 1 assist) and Coach Dan Nevala, who were all part of the Suns program last season, did a great job filling for the pre-season games. Tyler Davis-Jeffers and Esmond McCabe also helped coach the high-flying Suns squad.

The full team will now have a couple weeks of official practice before heading down to the Park City Shootout in early November.