An inch and a half.

After a five-month season, 20 games per team, countless practices, and thousands of miles skated, that distance is what decided which team could call itself state hockey champion for the 2013/14 season — an inch and a half.

If Park City wing Noah Pranschke's wrist shot in the championship game's first overtime period had hit just that much lower on the crossbar of the Viewmont goal it probably would have deflected down and into the net and the Miners would have been champions. Instead, the shot deflected up harmlessly into the glass behind the Viking goal and play continued on.

Two overtimes later, in the game's sixth period, the Vikings pushed a puck past Miner goalie Brent O'Connell during a scrum in front of the Park City net and it was a 3-2 championship game win for Viewmont.

An inch and a half.

That goal in Friday's night's championship game at the Salt Lake Sports Complex ended a stellar season for Park City. The Miners finished the season 17-3, and fought back through the playoff tournament loser's bracket after losing another overtime game to Viewmont the previous Friday, Feb. 21. Following that loss, Park City then beat Uintah on Saturday and Viewmont on Monday to set up Friday night's winner-take-all final game.

Therein lies a statistic that surely won't sit well the Park City faithful. Through the three Viewmont playoff games, the Vikings led for a total of zero seconds. You read that right, zero. The Vikings trailed in all three games, tying both of the games they ended up winning in the final minute, and then prevailing in OT.

In Friday's game, fueled by the huge crowd of hundreds of frenzied PCHS students and other Miner fans, Park City dominated zone play and puck possession, and outshot the Vikings 37 to 23. But they couldn't get the puck past Viking goalie Landon Ramirez often enough.

"I thought we played well enough to win, and that's hard to swallow," Miner coach Aaron Dufford lamented after the game. "We out-chanced them, outshot them, and outplayed them."

As in the two previous Viewmont games, Park City scored first. At 10:08 Noah Pranschke took a pass from Will Radovan and wristed a laser past Ramirez. But just over a minute later, a weird play got the goal right back for Viewmont. Jeremy Wiser put a shot on O'Connell that the Miner netminder deflected up into the air with his stick. Park City defenseman Zac Polukoff and O'Connell then tried to grab the descending puck, but instead it deflected into the PC net for a Viking goal. The period ended 1-1.

Radovan was the highlight of the second period, as he broke free on two breakaways. Unfortunately, neither found the back of the Viking net. The score remained 1-1 through two.

In the third, Park City's Derek Sederman led a swarming Miner assault. All night, Park City players scrapped for loose pucks in front of the Viking net, but were unable to get them free and past Ramirez. This time, however, Miners Will Miele and Harry Hanskat battled the Viking defenders and Miele pushed the puck between Ramirez's pads for the go ahead goal at 9:47.

Park City looked to be heading toward the title. But the referee whistled Miele for goalie interference at 1:21, although it appeared that the Viewmont defender pushed Miele into Ramirez. On the ensuing power play, Viewmont's leading scorer, Alex Barrus, stole the puck behind the Miner net and looked to be heading for a wraparound attempt. Instead, he veered out to the short side and fooled O'Connell who had already moved to the far post, tying the score with just 51 seconds left in the game.

In the first overtime, the Miners dominated, but the closest they came to the winning goal was Pranschke's crossbar shot. It stayed knotted through a second OT period, and was finally decided just nine seconds into the third overtime period.

This was the final game of Park City's huge 15-player senior class. "This is the best class in PCHS history in terms of character, playing ability, and success," said Park City Hockey trustee Scott Benson. "All 15 have added to the building of one of the best hockey programs in the state."

Dufford chimed in on that theme. "It's going to change this program quite a bit next year, losing all these seniors. I think we'll have a strong team, but it will be a very different team," he said. "Our seniors are a great group and are off to bigger and better things. I know that they will be respectful, contributing young men to our society."

The Miners would like to thank all the fans who made the trips down to Salt Lake throughout the playoffs and who have fueled the team's three-year home unbeaten streak. We'll see everyone again in September!

The post Viewmont takes down PCHS Hockey appeared first on Park Record.

When last we looked in on our hometown hockey heroes in "Pucks of Our Lives," they had just beaten division rival Uintah on Wednesday, Feb. 19, in the third round of the Utah high school hockey state championships.

The Record press deadline then forced us to say "Stay tuned" in a big radio-soap-opera-announcer voice, as we couldn't detail what happened in Friday night's game against Viewmont. A berth in the state championship game was on the line.

For the Cliff Notes version, the Miners lost, and then won, and then won again, forcing a second "if necessary" game. Well, yes Virginia, it is necessary now. Park City plays Viewmont Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Salt Lake Sports Complex in a single game for the state hockey championship.

OK, let's rewind and check those games out. Suffice it to say, Park City played its worst game of the season against Viewmont Friday night, Feb. 21. The Miners made numerous puck possession errors, gave up a 2-0 lead, moved back ahead 3-2 with 1:35 left in regulation, allowed the tying goal with 30 seconds later, and then lost with 10 seconds remaining in overtime.

But that episode quickly became old news because the Miners had to come right back Saturday night, Feb. 22, now denizens of the losers' bracket, and face the same Uintah Utes they had beaten just three days previously.

Park City had a hangover from the disappointing Viewmont loss and came out flatter than the Pillsbury Doughboy with a bad batch of yeast, allowing two Uintah goals for a 2-0 first period lead. It stayed that way through the second period, although Park City tightened up its play.

Then, in the third period, an assist came from an interesting source. Senior defenseman David Jenkins, injured and out since mid-December from an accidental knee-on-knee hit in an intrasquad JV game, wasn't happy with what he was seeing from his team. He stood up behind the Park City bench at the Salt Lake Sports Complex and started berating his teammates for their play. Paraphrasing, he asked how in the heck he was going to get to come back and play in the national championships if his teammates didn't pick it up.

So they did.

Junior wing Will Radovan's scorching wrist shot, off of a behind-the-net pass from sophomore linemate Will Miele, broke the ice with 11:28 left in the third period. And the Utes started making mistakes as the Miners pressured them mercilessly. With just 3:38 left, senior wing Noah Pranschke scooped up a deflected faceoff win from senior center Carson Walker, moved right and rocketed a wrister that beat the Uintah goalie over the back shoulder to knot the score at 2-2.

Just 26 seconds later, hard work on the wall paid off. Senior center Harry Hanskat and Radovan attacked the two Uintah defenders on the end wall in the Ute zone. The puck moved along the end boards as both players took turns squeezing the Ute defenders. Then, in the right corner, the puck squirted out to an opportunistic Miele in the slot. He was already loaded and launched a slapshot into the upper left corner of the net for the game winner at 3:12: 3-2 Park City.

Fast forward through the Thigh Master infomercial to Monday night's rematch with Viewmont in the potential state championship game at the Salt Lake Sports Complex. Viewmont, without a loss in the double-elimination tournament at this point, would have taken the trophy with a win. But Park City had much to prove after the team's error-filled loss three nights previously and the team came out with an aggressive mindset.

But there were issues. Brent O'Connell, who had been between the pipes for the previous playoff games, couldn't make the start because of the stomach flu. Senior Cameron Kincaid started in his stead. That added to a lengthy list of walking wounded with O'Connell joining Jenkins and Sam Groves (another front-line defenseman whose concussion two weeks ago kept him out of the state playoffs). Soon added to the list was junior center Nixon Barber, who laid out and blocked a Viking slapshot in the second period. Barber suffered a bruised lung and the blood coming from his mouth left a Walking Dead-esque path across the ice to the locker room. (When the team visited him following the game, his prognosis was good.)

The Miners were not to be denied this night, though. Mistakes that came from indecision in the prior Viewmont game were non-existent. Park City players beat the Vikings to loose pucks, made better passes and played as a team.

"We're getting contributions from everyone," head coach Aaron Dufford said afterwards. "It's not just about scoring goals; it's about supporting each other to achieve our goal."

Miele continued his high-energy playoff play, scoring the game's first goal with just 12 seconds left in the first period. Walker and Derek Sederman got the assists off the scrum in front of the Viking net.

The second period stayed 1-0, although Park City hit two posts and Viewmont hit one.

Then two minutes into the third period, a loose puck in front of the Miner goal somehow found its way into the net after it deflected off of two skates. It was the only shot on the night to get by Kincaid, who saved 30 of the 31 Viking shots.

"We had a big contribution from Kincaid," Dufford commented. "His stepping in for O'Connell was big."

With the score knotted 1-1, it was Radovan who finished off the Vikings this night. Junior wing Derek Sederman threw a tight little saucer pass into the center ice area setting Radovan off on a breakaway. His wrist shot beat Viking goalie Landon Ramirez gloveside with 7:36 left in the game.

"When it comes to converting under pressure, Will Radovan has really stepped it up," Dufford said.

Park City then did a nice job of keeping pressure on the Viking defense and keeping the puck in the Viewmont zone. There were chances, but it ended 2-1, knocking Viewmont into the losers' bracket.

And now it's down to one game, winner takes all, for the state championship. Guess we'll need that "if necessary" game, after all.

"It comes down to one game, one opportunity. It's the team that wants it, the team that needs it will prevail," Dufford said. "We have the personnel, the team, and the common goal to achieve it!"

So, you have a date Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Salt Lake Sports Complex. Be there and help the Miners bring home the school's first affiliated state hockey title! Until then, check the team on its Facebook page, Park City Miners High School Hockey.

The post PCHS hockey squad moves on to title game Friday appeared first on Park Record.

Good things come to those who wait.

You could have reminded the two rows of Park City High School hockey team moms of that adage at the Salt Lake Sports Complex Wednesday night. But you would have done so at your own risk.

After all, over the course of this memorable season their sons had scored 121 goals en route to a 13-1 record. Now, in Wednesday's third round of the Utah high school hockey playoffs, along came the Uintah Utes, who through almost two and a half periods had held Park City scoreless.

Patience was starting to turn to panic.

Then, just a half minute into a timely 5-on-3 power play, Park City's Sam Amidon elevated a rebound off a saved initial shot to knot the score at one. Two more goals followed in the next four minutes and Park City came away with a 3-1 win. The win put the Miners into the final of the winner's bracket Friday night against Viewmont (after this issue went to press), heading toward a possible berth in the championship game Monday night.

Over the course of a season filled with blowouts, Park City hasn't faced that kind of adversity late in a game. Pulling out the comeback victory with a dominating third period impressed Park City coach Aaron Dufford.

"I think we overcame a big hurdle in that game," he said. "I'm very happy with the way we were unwilling to quit. We earned that win as a group, as a team, and as a unit. It's a very positive note to continue on with."

The scoreboard wasn't indicative of the flow of the game, as the ice seemed tilted into the Uintah defensive zone. Problem was, Ute goalie Jacob Slaugh was standing on his head. Park City outshot Uintah 12-4 in the first period, but Slaugh made some great saves. The second period was a bit sloppy for the Miners, but in the third their 15 shots doubled Uintah's seven.

"Their goalie played very well," Dufford said. "Between each period we talked about elevating rebounds. We kept chipping away at that wall and eventually they started going in."

It was a Uintah tripping penalty at 10:31 in the third, followed by a slash at 9:19, that opened the door. The first 20 seconds of the 5-on-3 were chaotic, as Miner shots hit Ute skates and pucks were stalled between feet. But then Park City senior center Harry Hanskat grabbed a loose puck and calmed down the play, carrying the puck down the Ute blue line, curling in along the boards and dropping a pass back to junior defenseman Zac Polukoff at the point. Polukoff blasted one of his signature rockets; Slaugh stopped it but gave up a rebound. Sophomore wing Amidon pounced on the loose puck, lifting it above the sprawling Slaugh to knot the score 1-1 at 8:52 of the third.

Park City then swarmed. Slaugh held strong, but the Ute defense deserted him on two plays. On the first, junior center Nixon Barber won a faceoff back to sophomore defenseman Jessie Guyer in the Park City zone. Guyer lifted a popup out over the blue line into center ice. Little did he know that his defensive play was actually a pass to streaking junior wing Will Radovan who broke in on Slaugh and beat him cleanly to put Park City up 2-1 at 5:49.

Then it was up to junior wing Derek Sederman to cap off the night. Park City's season scoring leader, Sederman had been held somewhat in check by Uintah's physical style, but another headman pass, this time from junior linemate Carson Walker, set him off on a breakaway. Sederman deked left, pulled the puck back right, and pushed it past Slaugh for the final tally of the night: 3-1 Park City.

If the Miners were able to win last night's (Friday) game against Viewmont, the team would earn a spot in the state championship Monday night at 8:45 p.m. at the Salt Lake Sports Complex. To find out the result of that game, head to the team's Facebook page, Park City Miners High School Hockey, or check the Utah High School Hockey website. And then make plans to hit the next game in Salt Lake and build a big, loud crowd to help the Miners win the school's first Utah Affiliated High School Hockey State Championship.

The post Third-period goals spur Miners appeared first on Park Record.

Wednesday night you had a choice. You could have headed out to the Park City Ice Arena to watch the PCHS Miners' hockey team take on the Judge Bulldogs in the second round of the state high school playoffs. Or you could have stayed home to watch the Russian pairs figure skaters try not to lose and be sent to the Gulag.

You opted for the sequins and double Salchows? As the Knight Templar in "Indiana Jones" said, "You chose poorly."

In the best game of the season, Park City knocked off the two-time defending state champion Bulldogs 5-4 on Noah Pranschke's wicked wrist shot just nine seconds into overtime. The win kept Park City in the winner's bracket of the playoffs and pointed the Miners toward a showdown with southern division rival Uintah this Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Salt Lake City.

Park City was riding a 27-game home winning streak coming into the Judge game. Plus, it was Fan Appreciation Night, with the promise of free hot dogs, cupcakes, and the like after the game. The combination made for a huge, raucous crowd that rode the emotional ups and downs of the game.

"It was so loud," Miner assistant captain Harry Hanskat said afterwards. "Every hit, every near miss on our shots, the crowd went nuts. It was awesome."

And Park City didn't take long in giving the crowd what it wanted. Just over a minute into the game, senior winger Pranschke passed the puck to junior linemate Will Radovan in the right corner. Radovan found some space, drove toward the net and put a shot on Bulldog goalie Colin Bonk. Bonk made the save, but Radovan pushed in his own rebound to open the scoring at the 13:50 mark of the first.

From there, the defenses dominated, limiting shots in the period to eight for Park City and six for Judge. The period ended 1-0 Park City.

In the second, the Bulldogs quickly put the bite on any thoughts the Miners had about an easy win. A Miner defensive breakdown led to the tying goal just three minutes into the second. But Park City came right back at the 10:42 mark when senior center Carson Walker put a rebound off a Zack Slusher shot into an open Judge net.

However, less than a minute later, Judge took advantage of another defensive mistake to again knot the score. The period ended that way at 2-2.

"We're a little light on 'D' right now with two big injuries to David Jenkins and Sam Groves late in the season," said Miner head coach Aaron Dufford, commenting on the defensive difficulties. "That hurt us a bit on the back end."

The Miners took control of the game in the third. At 9:29, Hanskat took advantage of some jousting behind the net between senior linemate TJ Mayo and Judge defenseman Ben Keller. Hanskat grabbed the puck when it squirted free, quickly darted out in front, and beat Bonk in the five hole off the inside of his left pad.

Things stayed that way for the next seven minutes until Mayo broke in across the Judge blue line and ripped a wrist shot over Bonk's shoulder to put Park City up 4-2 with only 2:52 left. It looked like the game was in hand and the crowd let out its collective breath.

But you don't get to be two-time state champions by accident and Judge showed its mettle when another defensive mistake and a great individual effort resulted in two quick goals at 2:19 and 1:32. So much for the two-goal lead — the game ended regulation knotted 4-4.

With defibrillators readied for the now nervous crowd, the game went into a five-minute overtime.

The puck dropped and the line of Radovan, Pranschke and junior center Nixon Barber took turns with the puck as it entered the Bulldog zone. Radovan was closed off and passed to Pranschke just inside the top of the left faceoff circle. His perfectly placed wrist shot cleanly beat Bonk. Final: 5-4 Park City.

Park City is now one of four remaining undefeated teams, along with Viewmont and Murray from the northern division, and Uintah from the south. The Miners will face Uintah at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex, 645 South Guardsman Way. Should Park City win that game, the Miners will then play the Viewmont/Murray winner at 7:15 p.m. Friday.

Skip the ice dancing and the Ukrainian judge bribing and make plans to be there to help boost the Park City run toward a possible state hockey title.

The post Miners knock off defending champs appeared first on Park Record.

Sometimes there's just no explanation for stuff. "Cheese food." Your appendix. The Theory of Relativity (if you can explain that, you're not reading this). Why Kim Kardashian is famous. Brussels sprouts. Why the "g" is silent in gnome. The point of mosquitoes. Why the I is before the E except after C

Or how the Park City High School hockey team lost 4-1 to a .500 Utah County Independent North team last Thursday night in Provo.

It was Park City's first loss of the season in the team's regular season finale. And to add to the "some splainin' to do" theme, UCI North had lost its three previous games to teams that the Miners had crushed by a collective total of 38-0.

Go figure.

Charlie Slusher, father of PCHS senior Zach Slusher, summed it up best afterwards. "Sometimes, no matter what you do, no matter how many shots you have on goal, or how well you play, nothing goes in and you lose," he said.

Despite outshooting the Warriors 31 to 17, with about half of the Park City shots being excellent scoring opportunities, the Miners could only get one shot past UCI North goalie Scott Scoville. That goal came early in the second period when senior wing TJ Mayo scored unassisted. Otherwise, it took one Warrior first-period goal and two second-period goals to seal the deal (the fourth goal came with an empty PC net).

Park City Head Coach Aaron Dufford thought his team controlled the majority of the game as evidenced by the shot totals, but he wasn't pleased with aspects of the game. "We didn't have consistency in output through each line and we had defensive blunders that hurt us," he explained. "I felt we came out at 60 percent and stayed there all night. Even at 60 percent we controlled a majority of the game, but it shows that you need to come with 100 percent each night or else you can be surprised and find it difficult to overcome a deficit."

So, the Miners finish the regular season at 9-1, 13-1 overall on the year. Park City ends up as the champion of the Southern Division of Utah High School Hockey; Viewmont is the champion of the Northern Division. Park City has earned a bye in the first round on Wednesday, Feb. 5 (the team is playing a practice game versus the Regulators U16 travel team at the PC Ice Arena at 6:30 p.m.). The Miners will play their second round game on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the PC rink against the winner of the Judge/Herriman game. Please make plans to grab some friends and pack the ice arena for the final home game of the 2013/14 season!

The post Miners hockey squad loses regular season finale appeared first on Park Record.

Oh the humanity. Someone's beating up the Stars in Park City. And just one day before Sundance! Call Mary Hart. Call Nancy Whatever Her Name Is. Call Billy Bush. Run a front-page story in Variety.

Wait, these weren't those stars — no need to alert the paparazzi. These were the Salt Lake Stars independent hockey team, and they were just the latest victim of the juggernaut otherwise known as Park City High School Hockey. Wednesday night at the Park City Ice Arena, the Miners whipped the Stars 5-1 for the team's 13th win of this unblemished season.

If you've been following PCHS Hockey this season, you know that a 5-1 game could qualify as a nail biter, but the outcome was never in doubt. The only thing that kept it close at all was Park City's parade to the penalty box. On the night, Park City took 10 minor penalties, along with three 10-minute misconducts.

The real stars of the night were the Park City seniors. To celebrate Senior Night, the team's massive class of 15 seniors was introduced with their parents in a ceremony before the game. The group has gone from worst to first in their tenure on the ice and are leaving the Park City program in far better shape than when they burst onto the scene four years ago. The seniors, alphabetically, are: Slater Benson, Robbie Derber, Harry Hanskat, Dakota Janes, David Jenkins, Cameron Kincaid, TJ Mayo, Brent O'Connell, Noah Pranschke, Ryan Shirey, Zach Slusher, Erik Stevning, Matias Tomczyk, Carson Walker, and Connor Zimmerman.

Park City Head Coach Aaron Dufford commented on his seniors. "It's tough to imagine all of these seniors leaving," he said. "They have left a lasting legacy on this program and PCHS. They've put Park City on the high school hockey map."

It seems this penchant for dumb penalties could be the only thing that could derail Park City's run to a state championship. When looking at the list of penalties from the game, all of the night's penalties were taken by players putting their personal issues in front of the team's goals — roughing, cross checking, head contact, checking from behind, high sticking, tripping, charging.

Dufford wasn't pleased. "There are no excuses for the penalties. They were selfish and uncalled for," he said and then added a few words for the wise. "The mental game is where we lost last year. It's going to be mental whether we win or lose this year. It just depends on if we want to make the commitment to the team or not."

Just like last week, Wednesday's game didn't wait for late arrivals. The Miners scored just 17 seconds in on a wrist shot from Noah Pranschke, set up by TJ Mayo. Pranschke added a second goal midway through the period, assisted by junior Will Radovan. And then, with just six seconds left in the period, Carson Walker took a rebound off a shot by junior Derek Sederman and roofed it for a 3-0 end to the first period.

Park City's penchant for penalties messed up the second period, but Sederman scored twice in the third on assists from Erik Stevning and sophomore Will Miele to end the scoring 5-1 Park City.

The Miners have only one game left in the regular season on Thursday, Jan. 30, against the Utah County North independent team at Peaks Ice Arena in Provo. Then, it's on to the playoffs. Park City will host first and second round games on Wednesday, Feb. 5 and 12. So, plan on packing the house and getting the drive for a state championship off to a rousing start!

The post Park City hockey takes glimmer off Stars appeared first on Park Record.

In America we like things big and grandiose. They're not just the plains, they're the Great Plains. It's not the canyon, it's the Grand Canyon. The Mississippi River is the Mighty Mississippi. Baseball finals? Puhleeze, it's the World Series. The Super Bowl. Supersized fries. Tacos grande. 320-pound linemen. SpongeBob marathons.

But there comes a time (except in a hot dog eating contest) where a person could wonder when enough is enough.

When it comes to the 2013/14 season of the Park City High School hockey team, a person who didn't eat a turkey leg like Henry the Eighth could be pondering that question about now.

Wednesday night at the Park City Ice Arena, the Miners treated the Riverton Silver Wolves as if they were part of the government's eradication program of the '50s and '60s, thumping them 12-0. The win ran the team's record to 12-0. That's pretty gaudy in itself, but it's nothing compared to goal differential. On the season, Park City's snipers have scored 120 goals, while only allowing six to be scored against them.

That's big, American-esque. Like Oprah. Like the Mall of America. Like a meat lover's pizza with extra sausage. Like a monster truck running over a Honda Civic. Big.

While all the teams in Utah High School Hockey would love to have that goal differential, it points to a problem with the season thus far for Park City. Beyond the Vernal game (a 3-1 win), the team hasn't really been tested so it's hard to predict how the Miners will react when first facing adversity this season in the playoffs. With only two more regular season games remaining before the playoffs begin on Feb. 5, time is running out to find an opponent that really tests this Park City team.

Against Riverton, the test lasted about the length of time of a hernia test. Cough. It was only 29 seconds in when senior center Harry Hanskat scored off an assist by senior wing Noah Pranschke. Thirty-four seconds later, junior wing Derek Sederman netted the second Miner goal on a pass from senior Matias Tomczyk. The period's third goal came at 5:39 when senior center Carson Walker scored on a sweet setup from Sederman.

In the period, the Silver Wolves managed but one shot on Park City goalie Brent O'Connell, and it wasn't really a shot but an icing that wound up on net. Park City had 19 shots. For the game, Riverton would total only two shots to Park City's 46. O'Connell, and later Cameron Kincaid who played the second half of the game, could have been running a craps game in the net behind them for all the action they saw.

Three more goals came in the second period, followed by six in the third. On the night, Walker and Pranschke both tallied hat tricks. Sederman had two goals and two assists.

Next up for Park City is the Salt Lake Stars independent team Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Park City Ice Arena. This game is the final home regular season game for the Miners, and it's Senior Night, so make plans to be there and celebrate the 16 seniors of PCHS Hockey!

The post Miners eradicate Silver Wolves appeared first on Park Record.

When you're outscoring opponents by double digits, when you're allowing only a handful of shots on your own goal, when you're holding the puck in the other team's end for longer periods of time than the stars of Duck Dynasty went to elementary school, you're not exactly the most gracious host. This time of year, you could even call it Grinch-like.

That was the story Wednesday night, Dec. 18, at the Park City Ice Arena as the Park City High School hockey team posted another dominating performance in a 10-1 win over Corner Canyon. This night, even Cindy Loo Who couldn't have warmed the cold hearts of the Miners, as they out-shot the Chargers 31 to 10. It was Park City's 11th win of the season without a single loss.

But, like the Grinch, the Miners showed the holiday spirit after the game, when they gathered up toys and stuffed animals for the team's first charity drive to benefit Toys for Tots in Salt Lake, St. Mary's Food Bank/Outreach in Park City, and The Christmas Box House in Salt Lake. A total of 12 huge bags of toys and stuffed animals were collected. The donation drive was in coordination with Corner Canyon and will be continued in the future.

On the ice, with only three more regular season games remaining, Park City is beginning to turn its focus to the playoffs. Miner coach Aaron Dufford has been bringing up additional players from Park City's two junior varsity teams to give them varsity time in case they are needed for the playoffs.

"We need to have a team that is deep enough to achieve despite possible injuries and sickness," he said afterwards.

Moreover, he's working on the team's mindset. In a speech to the team after the game, he addressed that.

"We are a good team," he said to the team, "but we have not proven to be a great team. Our past two years we have had good, promising teams but have failed down the stretch. We will continue to be a good, strong team until we prove we are great."

Dufford is worried about some players looking at their stats, rather than the success of the team.

"We don't have room for individualism. We don't have room for personal goals," he continued. "We need a team that puts itself above individual efforts. It's going to take everyone pulling in the same direction."

Pulling in the same direction wasn't a problem Wednesday. As has happened in some games, Park City dominated play early on, but couldn't get the puck in the net. Junior wing Will Radovan tallied the team's two first period goals on feeds from David Jenkins and Will Miele. One defensive lapse allowed a Charger goal to end the period 2-1 Park City. It was the closest a game has been since early in the season.

But then Whoville really got its Grinch on, so to speak. Park City added four goals in the second and four in the third to steal any thoughts of an upset. Junior wing Derek Sederman had two goals, along with single tallies from Carson Walker, Zach Slusher, Harry Hanskat, Nixon Barber, Zac Polukoff, and Robbie Derber.

That wraps up the 2013 portion of the PCHS schedule, with the next game in three weeks on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014, at the Park City Ice Arena at 6:30 p.m. The playoffs will begin on Feb. 5.

The post Miners Grinch-like in win over Chargers appeared first on Park Record.

No one needs to tell miners that theirs is an extremely dangerous occupation. You could slowly suffocate from silicosis. You could fall down an abandoned shaft. You could get run over by a careening ore cart. You could blow yourself up with a misplaced blast of dynamite. Or you could get buried in a collapse.

It's just that those collapses don't usually consist of three-inch discs of Vulcanized rubber.

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the Park City Ice Arena, that is exactly the kind of collapse that hit Cole Peterson, goalie of the Bingham Miners. The visiting Miners from Park City buried Peterson and Bingham under 19 goals for the team's 10th win of the season.

The tables have definitely turned on this rivalry between different sets of Miners. When members of this Park City team were mostly freshman four years ago, Bingham crushed Park City 15-0 and the team openly switched sticks (right-handed shooters taking left-handed sticks and vice versa) during the game to punctuate their domination.

Memories are elephant-esque in hockey and maybe there was something to that in the final 19-0 score, but Park City put only 37 shots on the Bingham net. Problem is, over half of them went in.

Regardless, it wasn't close. Park City continued its offensive zone possession domination, allowing only three shots on goal from Bingham. Any time the puck did break out it was taken away by the disciplined Park City defense of Dakota Janes, David Jenkins, Robbie Derber, Jesse Guyer, and fill-in forward come defenseman Nixon Barber.

Sophomore wing Will Miele got things started just one and a half minutes in with a goal assisted by junior Will Radovan. After that, there was more scoring than an episode of "Desperate Housewives." Senior wing TJ Mayo had four goals; junior wing Derek Sederman had a hat trick, as did Radovan. Just for good measure, the defensive corps scored five goals on its own.

The win kept Park City perched atop the Southern Division of Utah high school hockey. Next up is Corner Canyon, Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Park City Ice Arena. This is the final game of 2013 for Park City, so let's deck the halls and have a big crowd of students and locals on hand.

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The Thanksgiving eve crowd at the Park City Ice Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 27, consisted of the regular rabid student section, parents, visiting family members, a sprinkling of pilgrims, and a handful of AWOL balloon wranglers from the Macy's Parade. When the two teams took to the ice, all in attendance expected to see another in the series of memorable high school Miner/Wasp rivalry showdowns.

Instead, for over half the game they were treated to a Barbershop duet of sorts.

But in place of Sweet Adeline, this twosome of Easton and Nixon Barber harmonized by scoring five of Park City's first six goals, leading the way to a 16-0 mauling of the Wasps. The win moved the Miners to a perfect 9-0 on the season and kept the team atop the southern division of Utah high school hockey.

Coming on the heels of a 15-0 Park City branding of the Herriman Mustangs the previous week, the Miners are on quite a roll. Through the team's nine games the scoring differential is 79-5. Harlem Globetrotters versus Washington Generals, anyone?

But this night belonged to the Barber brothers. Nixon is a junior center and one of the two assistant captains on varsity. Easton is a sophomore and one of the assistants on the junior varsity White Team, but was called up for this game due to absentees on the varsity.

Easton, as if he were dressed in a bright orange pastel shirt, bow tie, and bowler hat over his helmet, waited until seven minutes in to get the Barbershop tunes started, scoring off of an assist from defenseman Zac Polukoff. Nixon joined in unassisted with just .2 seconds left in the period to make it Barbers/Park City 2, Wasatch 0 through one.

In the second, junior scoring machine Derek Sederman (who would eventually net his own hat trick in just the second period) temporarily interrupted the Barber show, scoring off a second setup from Polukoff at 10:46 of the second.

Then it was back to the Barbershop. Easton one-upped big brother Nixon at 9:32, deflecting another Polukoff shot into the Wasatch net. But then Nixon took the lead, scoring at 6:40 from winger TJ Mayo and then again at 5:03 from defenseman Dakota Janes.

From there on out, it was as if the Wasps were the ones targeted for the Thanksgiving stuffing. Park City added four more goals in the second and six in the third to make the final 16-0.

The Miners are off this week, but return to the ice Wednesday, Dec. 11, against the Bingham Miners at County Ice Arena in Murray. The Miners then return home for three games in a row on Dec. 18, Jan. 8, and Jan. 15 at Park City. Keep up with all things PCHS Hockey on the team's Facebook page, Park City Miners High School Hockey.

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