Jackson Hole Moose Hockey

When people think of Canada, some might think of Lacrosse which is their National Sport (believe it or not). Others might think of fishing for Walleyes on a fly-in trip. Some might even imagine a Yurt off the Vancouver Islands.

Whatever your thoughts are of Canada, the Jackson Hole Moose think of Hockey when they hear the words Trail, British Columbia. This small town north of the border is much similar to Jackson Hole and is surrounded by mountains, skiing, fishing, and of course hockey. Year after year, the Moose and the Trail Smoke Eaters join up for some on ice action. This years event was an ongoing testament to this ever intensifying International rivalry.

Friday nights contest in front of a packed barn started off with the Moose on the defensive. Coach Adam Patterson commented "The heaps of snow and powder over the last month have taken a huge toll on our players, we can't seem to find our legs or the puck." With over 22 inches of powder recorded in the valley on Thursday and over 270 inches on the year, its not hard to believe that the Moose struggled in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd period Friday. Even our training camp MVP Spencer Morton had a tough time shaking off the snow in exchange for some ice-time. Although Trail came to the rink with fresh legs, and a sense of committment. The Moose battled to a 10-4 final.

After shrugging off the Friday night defeat, the Moose came out Saturday with a new set of goals and intentions. Bang, bang, bang and then bang some more was the gameplan for Saturday. "Our sparkplugs like the Hannifin brothers, Luke Smith, rookie Dominic Sereno, and even an old wiley vet named TJ Thomas stepped up their game and paved a path for the rest of the Moose to follow. The Moose came out strong with a couple of quick goals and didn't look back until the 3rd period. Plagued by the whistle, the Moose let a 5-2 lead slip away with each penalty. "This is the kind of hockey that keeps the fans on their feet and coming back year after year," said injured reserved and cameraman Joe Casey.

Nick Aulich in his first year as a Moose player stood behind the Moose and kicked out save after save, 26 alone in the 3rd period to be exact. "Having a red hot goalie gave us a chance to retain our lead in the final minutes," said Assistant Coach Bryan Korpi. The penalty plagued period wasn't enough to hamper the hard fought game for the Moose. The 6-5 victory was certainly to keep everyone coming back for more.

Check out the games this weekend for more action when the Moose go head to head with the Chicago Chargers.