bout 1,200 people can be found
filing into Snow King Sports
and Events Center on any
given weekend in the winter in
Jackson, Wyoming.
The stands fill up with not a seat to be
found, and kids wearing the home team's jer-
sey press up against the glass, usually in front
of a crowd that is three deep and wrapped all
the way around the boards.
Jackson is objectively a ski town. There
are three resorts in the greater Teton
County, and the Teton Range overlooks
everything that goes on in the town. But
on any given weekend in the winter in
Jackson, if you squint, you just might think
it's a hockey town.
All credit to the Moose.
Before 1997, Jackson had its own junior
team that played in the American Frontier
Hockey League for several years before
folding. In stepped current owner and
general manager Bob "Howie" Carruth
who turned the junior Grizzlies around
into what it is now, a Senior A team—the
Moose—that is inextricably intertwined
with its larger community.
"The Moose, come Friday, Saturday night,
we're entertainment," Carruth said. "That's
what we are… What we are doing the rest of
the week in the community, though, is coach-
ing, mentoring."
Moose players have come to Jackson from
various professional, collegiate or junior
hockey backgrounds. Nowadays, they play
for the Moose, a nonprofit organization, for
the love of hockey, the crowd and the com-
munity they are a part of.
It is also a priority for these players to give
back to the community as much as they can.
The Moose hosted the Fire Department
of New York's hockey team for a fund-
A
STICKS
SKIS
PHOTOS BY Brad Boner
18
// MAY 2024 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM
Jackson,
Wyoming,
May
Be
A
Skiing
Destination,
But
It
Continues
To
Be
Home
To
A
Passionate
Hockey
Community
STICKS STICKS
SKIS SKIS
by:
Kyle
Leverone
