Jackson Hole Moose Hockey

Moose return to action with sweep of Aspen

Hockey team dominates Colorado club in front of massive crowd Friday night.

By Michael Pearlman

Rejuvenated by a long layoff, the Jackson Hole Moose hockey team played like a team eager to show valley hockey fans that this year's club is Jackson's strongest in years.
Playing in front of a capacity crowd, the Moose dominated the Aspen Leafs on Friday night for a one-sided 7-1 victory. On Saturday, the Moose overcame a second-period deficit with three, third-period goals to pull out a 7-5 win and improve to 4-0 this season.
"On Friday night we came out of the chute hard and just kept going with it," coach Adam Patterson said. "On Saturday, we didn't have the execution that we did the night before, and then in the third period it looked like the boys found some inspiration somewhere."
In front of a packed house at Snow King Ice Arena on Friday night, the Moose led 3-0 after the first period and 6-0 after two periods. Jackson's forwards peppered the Leafs' goaltender throughout the evening, finishing with a 41 shots on goal. Jackson got a pair of goals from center Dan Stasny, who made his Moose debut on Friday night. A Chicago native, Stasny was playing with the Rio Grande Killer Bees before being released in December and will play for the Moose for the remainder of the season.
"He's a real good addition," Patterson said. "He was fun to watch and was always in the action."
Goaltender Nick Aulich turned in a stellar performance for Jackson on Friday night, stopping 37 of 38 shots and  smothering numerous rebounds to never allow Aspen into the game. Patterson said he expects the Moose offense to continue to improve as the season progresses and team chemistry continues to develop.
"I think putting guys in the right position has some thing to do with our improved offensive production," Patterson said. "We're getting more opportunities because were running a more coordinated effort."
Saturday's contest was a much tighter and more physical affair, with Jackson taking an early 2-1 lead on a pair of goals from forward Justin Martin. The Moose trailed 5-4 after the second period, but Chris DeMarco's slap shot from the point tied the game early in the third and forward TJ Thomas scored the game winner midway through the period, and added an insurance goal in the game's closing minutes. Aspen outshot the Moose 45-39.
"Defensively we had some breakdowns, but TJ had a great third period and he got one to go when we needed it," Patterson said.
The Moose played the weekend without captain Joe Casey, whose return date is unknown after he was injured off the ice in a work accident last month. Rookie Brian Uphesleja sat out Saturday night's contest after getting hit from behind Friday night and crashing headfirst into the boards. The final addition to the Moose roster is defenseman Dominick Sereno, who will play this weekend when Jackson hosts Trail, British Columbia on Friday and Saturday. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. both nights at Snow King Ice Arena.