JACKSON, Wyo. — The Jackson Hole Moose are ready to begin a new campaign this weekend as they host the Park City Pioneers on Friday and Saturday night.
The Moose will look much the same as they did last March 2019 when they wrapped up the season with a stellar 22-8 record but fell one goal short of the championship against Sun Valley.
The Moose lose two key defensemen with the departure of two-way blue-liner Chase Wharton and the speedy Dan Dupont. The good news is the D-line adds two puck-rushers in Kristian Ophus (back after a year away) and Brad Improta (making a return from a serious knee injury).
The forwards are largely the same group as last year with the addition of D3 college grad Ryan Glantz (5’7”, 161lbs). The highly touted 25-year-old was held off the score sheet in his two-game debut with the Moose last season.
Eric Ballard will also join the Moose for the first time. The executive director of Jackson Youth Hockey will lace ‘em up, don the #55 sweater, and take a spot on the roster as the oldest Moose player at 46 years old.
The Moose will have to replace forward Kevin Sunde, a high-energy forward who did a little of everything last year. He went into dirty areas, mucked in the corners, and created traffic in front.
Hello Park City, goodbye BDHL
The Black Diamond Hockey League is no more. General manager and coach of the Moose, Bob “Howie” Carruth, said Park City was having issues with keeping a traveling team together. That left Bozeman and Sun Valley as the only remaining teams in the league with Jackson. The decision was made to pull the plug on the BDHL.
A playoff-type contest is scheduled for the weekend of March 13-14, as the Moose will travel to Hailey, Idaho to take on the Suns. How exactly the two games will determine the winner of the Joe Casey Cup has not yet been determined.
Park City, meanwhile, has reinvented itself, according to Moose insiders. Whether they are called the Pioneers or the Miners remains to be seen but all expectations are the Park City team traveling to Jackson this weekend is a much-improved version of last year’s. The Moose won both contests against that team last January, 5-3 and 7-2.
Carruth told Buckrail he has a few Moose players scratched for the weekend. Captain Brian Upesleja will not be able to go. Defenseman Sage Welch is also out with a shoulder injury. Brad Improta is still not cleared by doctors to return to contact and will be scratched this weekend. Chase Wharton will fill in on the blue line for this opening weekend.
Park City vs. JH Moose. Friday and Saturday night. Music by Bush Pilots beginning at 7 p.m. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. both nights.
