JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The Jackson Hole Moose will set their sights on six straight wins and improving their 12-4 record with a sweep of the Cleveland Barons.
The Moose got past Cleveland last year in 8-3 and 6-5 scores. Friday nights tend to get the better of flatlander teams who begin feeling the effects of elevation and a short bench, especially in the latter stages of the game. By Saturday, some visiting teams begin to acclimate and make it interesting.
Jackson is in the midst of a brutal stretch where they have no weekends off leading right up to the Black Diamond Hockey League playoffs in early March.
What’s been impressive about the Moose is their ability to wear teams down by rolling three good lines on most nights. Sure, like most teams, the Moose are top-heavy with much of the scoring punch on the top two lines.
AJ Sanders, Drew Akins, and Tom Hartnett are nearly impossible for any team to contain. Follow them up with Alex Dewitz, Kevin Sunde, and the emerging Dakota Richardson and you’ve got two top-flight lines that never let up on the attack.
But it’s the emergence of blue collar third liners like Charlie Hagen (5G, 2A), Kyle Krauss (3G, 3A), Ben Pullar (3G, 1A), and Charley Bemis (1G, 1A) combined with team captain Brian Upesleja (1G, 3A), that has coach Howie Carruth comfortable with rolling three and four lines on most nights.
Fresh legs and offensive pressure have made things easier for a defense corp again plague by injury. Newcomer Dan Dupont has settled in nicely with rock-steady Chase Wharton as the team’s D pair. Nate Goss-Woliner and Brad Improta have both missed significant time (7 games) but when they’re on the ice it allows Carruth to cycle in Sage Welch and Sam Barrett to spread out the ice time and keep his blueliners fresh.
Doors and music at 7pm. Musical guest: Hot Pass. Puck drops at 7:30pm.
