NAPHL Showcase San Jose: Roughriders 4 Pittsburgh Viper Stars 2

Roughriders Celebrate the Win!

San Jose, CA - Sunday morning brought together a much anticipated rematch between the Rocky Mountain Roughriders and the Pittsburgh Viper Stars. The last time these two team met, September 16, 2010 in Blaine, Minnesota, they skated to a regulation tie at 1-1. What followed next was unbelievable as each team had to send out 20 shooters to decide a shootout. In the end of that match, Colin Biebel grabbed the game winner.

The Viper Stars entered the game with a record of 4-3-2 while the Roughrider's record sat at 5-4-0. The two teams skated pretty evenly throughout the first period until the 13:26 mark when Clayton Bouchard threw the puck of off Joakim Jutras back and into the net for the first goal of the game.

The Roughriders got on the board early in the second period when Yannick Crete got a beautiful power play goal at 4:27 of the second from a great setup from Lance Pennington.

Things started heading south for the Roughriders just after the intermission ice make. As a sidebar, the NAPHL Showcases are a little different than most tournaments, in that there is an ice make exactly halfway through the game. At the 8:30 mark of the second period, the game is stopped, the teams exit to their respective locker rooms and the ice is remade. Just after both teams resumed play in the second period the Roughriders were on a power play. After a bit of trouble getting the power play setup, Peter Karney poked the puck free for the Viper Stars and ran the length of the ice for a short-handed goal. Momentum had swung strongly in favor of the Viper Stars for the remainder of the second period.

The third period, however, brought out the Roughriders that we have come to love. They attacked the ice with passion and enthusiasm and a will that would not be denied. The Roughriders were rewarded on the scoreboard. After missing a wide open net on his previous attempt, Michael Bounincontri made no mistake on his second chance at paydirt when he buried his shot at 4:39 into the third period. A few shifts later Bounincontri is blessed with an exceptional pass up the boards from Maxwell Ross just as he is coming onto the ice from an expired penalty. All alone on the far boards he scoops up the pass and comes into the offensive zone all alone, three dekes and one toe drag later and he is dancing up the ice celebrating the go ahead goal giving the Roughriders a 3-2 lead.

With just over a minute left to go in the game, the Viper Stars pull their goalie to get the extra attacker on. The Viper Stars rifle a few shots at Jutras before Lance Pennington grabs the puck, flicks it up to Crete who finds Robert "RJ" Salvato streaking through the middle of the ice. Salvato breaks through 2 Viper defenders and leaves the puck in the empty net for a nice insurance goal.

The Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 AAA ends the weekend with a respectable 3-2-0 record. For all the Showcase information check out the NAPHL Showcase website here. The Roughrider's currently sit in 7th position after 10 games with 12 points. The Motor City Metaljackets sit atop the leader board after ten games with 17 points.

Official Gamesheet

NAPHL Showcase San Jose: Roughriders 7 Detroit Falcons 5

San Jose, CA - In what can only be described as perhaps the wildest last minute of hockey in the NAPHL Showcase, the Rocky Mountain Roughriders beat the Detroit Falcons 7-5. The Falcons entered the game with a NAPHL record of 4-2-1 while the Roughriders came in at 5-3-1.

The game had all the billings of a great rivalry. The last time the two teams met was back in September when the Roughriders came out on top 6-2.

Joey Marchese buries one of his Hat Trick Goals.

The Roughriders jumped out to a good lead early with 3 goals in the first period. Yannick Crete got the scoring started at 4:49 of the first with a power play goal on a feed from Lucas Blomquist. Joseph Marchese got on the board with another power play goal at 11:03 of the first setup by Robert "RJ" Salvato.  Marchese netted the third goal of the game at 13:04 of the first.

The second period settled down into a defensive battle with the Falcons getting the only goal of the period with a shot from Austin Romzek sneaking past Joakim Jutras.  The second period buzzer sounded with the Roughriders up 3-1.

The third period  started with the Falcons closing the gap to 3-2 with a goal from Tommy Marchin at 3:22 of the period. The Roughriders responded when Yannik Crete redirected a Keegan McCarthy slapshot to the Roughriders back on top 4-2. Bryan Lubin brought the Falcons back to within one on a power play goal at 11:22.

The Roughriders weren't going to be denied in this contest and Yannick Crete made sure of it getting his second goal of the game on an awesome setup by Joseph Marchese. Joseph Marchese wasn't done yet as he finished the Hat Trick for the Roughriders at 16:01 of the third giving the team a 6-3 lead and essentially squashing any chance of a comeback for the Falcons with only 59 seconds left in the game.

This is AAA hockey and the Falcons aren't going to rollover easily. The Falcons line up for the faceoff and quickly get their goaltender off the ice for the extra attacker, however before Drew Galasso can even make it to the bench, Brandon Delekta gets the puck in the net to bring the Falcons within two. Immediately off the ensuing faceoff the Falcons get the puck into the Roughriders zone and net another goal trimming the lead to one at 6-5.  The Falcons win another faceoff at center ice and once again get into the Roughriders zone and setup to get the extra attacker. Felix Jarry pokes the puck free and Robert "RJ" Salvato takes the puck down and burries it in the empty net insuring the win for the Roughriders.

The Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 team currently sits in 6th place in the NAPHL standings as they prepare to square off with the Pittsburgh Viper Stars tomorrow morning.


Official Gamesheet

Up Next: Roughriders vs. Pittsburgh Viper Stars

NAPHL Showcase San Jose: Roughriders 0 Motor City Metaljackets 2

San Jose, CA - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders struggled again on offense this morning as they dropped their second game in a row losing 0-2 to the Motor City Metaljackets. The Roughriders played well as a team this morning, but couldn't get the puck passed Vladyslav Slyusarchuk as he stopped all 14 shots he faced.

Evan Mccarthy got the start between the pipes for the Roughriders and played stellar. The only goal he gave up actually came off of his own defenseman's skate.

The Roughrider's had a chance to tie the game with 1:00 left in the 3rd when they pulled the goalie for the extra attacker, however a turnover in the neutral zone gave Jesse Macintyre and easy empty net dump in, closing out any chance at a comeback. 

Official Gamesheet

Next Up: Roughriders vs. Detroit

NAPHL Showcase San Jose: Roughriders 1 Las Vegas Storm 2

San Jose, CA - The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 AAA team dropped the second game of the NAPHL Showcase to the Las Vegas Storm with by a score of 2-1. The Roughriders hit the ice at 9pm MST last night in what can only be described as an uninspired skate. The Roughriders struggled to get any momentum going right from the start.

After a scoreless first period, Jack Petrino of the Las Vegas Storm found a way passed the Roughrider's netminder, Joakim Jutras for a power play goal. Penalties were pretty even in the second with the Storm called for 2 minor infractions and the Roughriders were called for 3.

The third period looked a little more inspired for the Roughriders as they began to mount a rally when Michael Buonincontri squeezed a slapshot to the top corner to get the Roughriders on the board at 12:48 of the third period with a nice assist from Colin Biebel. The rally was short lived, however as Joseph Sullivan gave the Storm the go ahead goal at 17:00 of the third. The Roughriders pulled their goalie for the extra attacker with 1 minute left in the game but could not get setup in the zone for a valid scoring chance.

The Roughriders gear up to take on the Motor City Metal Jackets at 10am this morning.

Official Gamesheet

Next Up: Rocky Mountain Roughriders vs. Motor City Metal Jackets

NAPHL Showcase San Jose: Roughriders 3 California Titans 1

The Rocky Mountain RoughRiders U16 team beat the California Titans 3-1 in their first game of the NAPHL Showcase in San Jose, CA today. The RoughRiders and Titans equaled each other in shots on goal at 18 a piece.

The Roughriders struck paydirt first at 3:15 of the 1st period when Michael Bouincountri went unassisted to beat the goalie on the short side at 5:07 of the 1st period. Robert "RJ" Salvato got things going at the opening faceoff of the second period when he put the Roughriders up 2-0 on a tremendous effort coming through the zone. He was not going to be denied and with help from his teammates Max Ross and Braiden Miller, they extended the Roughrider's lead.

George Gruber battled in front of the net to grab the 3rd goal for the Roughriders with help from Colin Biebel and Felix Jarry. The Titan's leading scorer, Tyler Moy, snuck the puck passed Joakim Jutras at the 9:53 mark of the third period to bring the Titans to within 2 goals. That is as close at the Titans would get as the Roughriders defense came up big with solid efforts from Lance Penington and Keegan McCarthy and the entire defensive crew.

The Roughriders are back on the ice at 9pm MST tonight as they face the 3-3 Las Vegas Storm.


Official Gamesheet

Next Up: Rocky Mountain Roughriders vs. Las Vegas Storm

Rocky Mountain Roughriders prepare for NAPHL San Jose

Westminister, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 team prepares for the NAPHL Showcase in San Jose, CA this week. The team leaves Wednesday afternoon and begins play on Thursday morning. The Roughriders have 5 games over 4 days and the schedule is as follows:




Tournament Times are Pacific Time:

California Titans 16U

Rocky Mtn Roughriders 16U

Thu, Oct 21

12:00 pm

Sharks East

Las Vegas Storm 16U

Rocky Mtn Roughriders 16U

Thu, Oct 21

8:00 pm

Sharks East

Motor City Metal Jackets 16U

Rocky Mtn Roughriders 16U

Fri, Oct 22

10:00 am

Sharks Center

Rocky Mtn Roughriders 16U

Detroit Falcons 16U

Sat, Oct 23

7:00 am

Sharks South

Rocky Mtn Roughriders 16U

Pittsburgh Viper Stars 16U

Sun, Oct 24

7:00 am

Sharks South

For those that are not traveling with the team, the games are available online at FastHockey.com for about $6/game.

Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 move up to 21 in MyHockeyRankings

With a solid weekend of play and back to back wins against the Colorado Rampage, the 8-2-0 Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 AAA team moved up 5 spots to the 21st spot in the MyHockeyRankings. Last week the Pikes Peak Miners U16 AAA team tied the Colorado Thunderbirds U16 team 4-4 which helped push the Roughriders up a few more spots since they had beaten the Miners in back to back games. As more games get played the rankings will start settling out and be more consistent and more accurate.


As of this week the standings for the Colorado based U16 AAA teams looks like this:

Rank	Team/Website	Record	Rating	AGD	Sched	Details
7	Colorado Thunderbirds 16U AAA	5-1-3	15.30	1.55	13.75
21	Rocky Mountain Roughriders 16U AAA	8-2-0	13.70	1.20	12.50
32	Pikes Peak Miners 16U AAA	4-8-2	12.89	-0.07	12.96
51	Colorado Rampage 16U AAA	0-7-2	11.77	-2.55	14.32

Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 Squash Rampage 5-0

Westminister, CO - On a dreary fall day friends and family gathered at the Promenade Ice Center for the second game in a weekend series versus the Colorado Rampage. Thomas Jarman #88, after breaking two sticks in 5 minutes in last nights game, came prepared with the all-new Bauer Total One hockey stick and came out swinging. On a blistering slapshot from the point, Jarman rifled the puck past the Rampage's Jacob Bryant the put the Roughriders on the board first at the 14:37 mark of the first period with a power play goal.

The second period was littered with penalties again, but unlike Saturday's game, on Sunday the Roughrider's power play was really working well as they went 3 for 7 on the man advantage. Joey Marchese netted the second power play goal at 2:55 of the second period putting the Roughriders up 2-0. Michael Buonincontri lit the lamp on a great individual effort at 7:09 of the second. Yannik Crete tallied the 3rd power play goal of the evening at 12:37 of the third period as Mitchell Snyder sat in the box for the Rampage for crosschecking infraction.

The Roughriders have struggled this season putting in a full game. Several times this season the boys have had the other team down but have never put them out. Tonight the Roughriders skated from opening whistle to the final buzzer. Yannik Crete put the final exclamation point on the game as he buried a pass from Thomas Jarman with 1 second on the clock.

Joakim Jutras was impressive again getting a shutout stopping all 24 shots and improving his season save percentage to .952.


Official Gamesheet

Next up: Roughriders vs. Thunderbirds U15. Sunday Oct. 17, Promenade Blue rink @ 3:15pm

Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 Squeak by Rampage 2-1

Monument, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 walked out of the building with a win on Saturday evening but it was no easy task as both teams struggled to get the puck passed the goaltenders. In the first meeting of the season between the two teams, things started out well for the Roughriders as Adam Durkee struck paydirt at 6:54 of the first.  Durkee picked up the puck on the sideboards, slid just over the blue line, spread the sauce and buried the puck where grandma hides the peanut butter...top shelf!

The second period brought with it a flurry of penalties that really wreaked havoc on the flow of the game. The Rampage were called for 5 penalties while the Roughriders tallied 2 infractions.  The Roughriders went 0 for 5 on the power play in the second.

The Rampage's Mitchell Snyder evened the match at 1 when he banged a rebound passed Joakim Jutras at 3:51 of the third for a power play goal. Questionable clock management gave the Rampage about 9 seconds of additional time with the extra attacker. The Roughriders killed off 3 more power plays before Michael Buonincontri got the go ahead goal at 12:02 of the 3rd period.

Austin Schick left the game with an undisclosed injury in the first period while Josh Ferrari made his debut in a Roughriders jersey this season.

Official Gamesheet

Next Up: Roughriders vs. Colorado Rampage Sunday Oct. 10, 2010 3:15pm @ Promenade 

Rocky Mountain Roughriders...Two Games On Tap This Weekend

The Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 team 2-0-0 in league play, gears up for two games against the Colorado Rampage. The Rampage are currently sitting a 0-0-1 on the season in League play with a 3-3 tie against the Pikes Peak Miners. The Rampage have a few injuries at the moment but will still put out perhaps the two best lines the Roughriders will see all year.

After a strong week of practice, the Roughriders look to stay on a winning streak when they hit the ice Saturday afternoon in North Colorado Springs. Game time is 5:00pm at CSC followed by a home game on Sunday at 3:15pm on the blue rink at The Promenade Ice Arena.

U16 Rocky Mountain RoughRiders open at #28 on MyHockeyRankings.com

September is a busy time of year for the youth hockey community. Tryouts, selections, pre-season camps and the first tournament of the year signify the beginning of a busy year. MyHockeyrankings.com is equally busy getting all the new teams in their database and tracking win-loss records. The Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 opened up September ranked #28 in the country. However, the season is just barely underway and very few games have been played so teams can make radical movements in the rankings with just a few additional wins or losses. Usually by the time 20+ games have been played, the accuracy of the rankings is pretty good.

The U16 team has been playing with more consistency and more intensity in the last few weeks and look to climb steadily up the rankings.

How does MyHockeyRankings.com work? "MyHockeyRankings was developed to share the love of youth hockey with others. It started as a project to share links to other associations and leagues with others. It progressed to teams as my son's team sought competition outside our immediate geographical area. When we started looking at teams, we began to look at records to see if another team might be good competition for my son's team. We quickly realized that a team's record was not an indicator of strength and then we started to wonder who (which team) was really better and by how much. As our team pursued a search for good competition, we made some mistakes that left both us and our opponents less than satisfied after a weekend of blowouts. Over time, MyHockey emerged as a tool to help youth hockey fans, coaches and managers learn more about the sport we all love."

To find out more, you can read the FAQ Here.

League Action: Roughriders 5 Pikes Peak Miners 3

The Rocky Mountain Roughriders beat the Pikes Peak Miners 5-3 Saturday night at the Promenade. In the second league meeting between the two teams in a week. From the opening faceoff it was evident that both teams showed up ready to play, clearly a strong rivalry is in the works.

The Roughriders got on the Powerplay early as Nash Worden was called for an interference. The Roughriders Powerplay is really starting to take shape. The team moved the puck with purpose and were able to get the puck on net several times, although they were unable to get it passed the Miner's netminder, Jared Young.

 Clearly the Miner's game plan was to beat the Roughriders with physical play, however this began to work against them as they took back to back Checking from Behind penalties resulting on a 5 on 3 for the Roughriders. Colin Biebel made no mistake when he caught an open net at 12:21 of the first period for a power play goal, with assists from Durkee and Crete.

Braiden Miller got things started in the second grabbing his first goal of the season on a nice pass from RJ Salvato with the second assist going to Joey Marchese.  Good things must come in two's as Miller squeezed the puck 5-hole on Young for back to back goals after Marchese worked the puck hard against the boards and strong support from McCarthy.

Roughriders Enjoy the Lead

Less than a minute later, Michael Buonincontri (think born in country) grabbed a pass from Hunter Clarke and was all alone in the zone. Two moves later and it was all over except for the crying as the Roughriders stretched their lead to 4-1. The Roughriders headed to the locker room with a comfortable lead.

Right out of the locker room Bobby Valdez redirected a Thomas Jarman shot to light the lamp at 15:09 of the third period for a nice insurance goal.

As in any great rivalry, it isn't over until the final buzzer. The Roughriders were quickly reminded of this when the Miner's went on the power play and Robson Cramer quickly found paydirt closing the gap to 5-2.  Exactly eleven seconds later Anthony Olguin let a slapshot that could he heard around the world go that found the back of the net in a hurry closing the gap to 5-3. Coach John Paris, Jr. called a timeout and ever so gently reminded his boys that there was still 2 minutes of hockey left to play. The Roughriders killed off two minutes of clock and got out with the win.

Joakim Jutras was in net and fended off 35 of 38 shots. The Roughriders move to 2-0 in league play.

Next Up: Colorado Rampage U16 at CSC East at 5PM

Official Game Sheet