JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The Jackson Hole Moose made miserable a homecoming weekend of sorts for ex-divisional rival Park City as they boosted their overall record to 12-4 with two wins over the weekend.
Park City came ready to play Friday night, keeping the score close for most of the contest. The visitors lost focus, however, midway through the game, distracted by the officiating and escalating chippy play.
Defenseman Nate Goss-Woliner blasted home a feed from the blueline courtesy of Alex Dewitz and Dakota Richardson to open the scoring in the first. Dewitz added his own in the second period to give the Moose a 2-1 lead headed for the final 20 minutes.
Tom Hartnett and Sage Welch added a little insurance as the Moose held off a late rally from the Pioneers to cement a 5-3 win.
The Moose wasted no time Saturday, jumping on Park City for two unanswered tallies in the first. Drew Akins enjoyed a 3-point night (2G, 1A) as he appears to be finding his scoring touch after coming back from injury.
Blue-collar forwards Charlie Hagen (1G, 1A) and Ben Pullar both lit the lamp along with AJ Sanders who added a goal and two helpers.
First-year defenseman Dan Dupont continues to drive the offensive play on many nights. The puck-rushing d-man added 2 assists in Saturday’s game to earn him top-scoring defenseman just ahead of Chase Wharton.
Entering the part of the schedule featuring non-league opponents, the Moose are trying to find rhythm and stay healthy for the playoffs in March. Jackson Hole will host Cleveland next on January 18-19. The Moose handled the Lakeshore Metals 8-3 and 6-5 last season.
