Monday, January 24, 2011

Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16AAA Season Statistics

Roughriders Hoist Cup in Richmond, British Columbia
Westminister, CO - As of today, the Rocky Mountain Roughriders are 41-8-2 in combined play which includes league play in both NAPHL and CAHA and also including Tournaments. Mark Twain once said there are three kinds of people in the world "liers, damned liers and statisticians". I hope we don't make any convenient statistics in this post, but there are some really interesting facts that are uncovered here.

The Roughrider U16 AAA team is a very disciplined team. In both CAHA and NAPHL play, the Roughriders are the least penalized team.

Lowest Team Penalty minutes -
in CAHA Tier 1 Play - 110 minutes / 11 games  (10 minutes / game)
in NAPHL League Play - 220 minutes / 20 games (11 minutes / game)

They were also the second least penalized team in the Richmond International Midget Tournament in which they took the Championship.

2nd lowest at Richmond International Midget Tourney (of 28 teams)
64 minutes / 7 games  (9 minutes/game)

When the Roughriders play good defense, they WIN! They currently have the 4th lowest Goals Against Average in the country.


Top 50 Ranked U16AAA Goals Against Avg (1/19/2011)
Team GA  / Game National Ranking
Honey Baked 1.29 3
LA Selects 1.61 4
New Jersey Avalance 1.62 6
RoughRiders 1.75 11 4th lowest GA Avg in the country


The Roughriders have scored more goals in the third period this year.

Goals For Period 1:     67 (29.78%)
Goals For Period 2:     78 (34.67%)
Goals For Period 3:     80 (35.56%)

Average Goals Per Game: 4.41

Goals Against Period 1:  20 (22.47%)
Goals Against Period 2:  33 (37.08%)
Goals Against Period 3:  36 (40.45%)

Average Goals Against Per Game: 1.75

Stats are just that, a bunch of numbers. However these numbers do show an overall trend with the Roughriders. When they manage the puck defensively and move the puck up to their forwards, the other teams have a difficult time stopping them.

A special thanks to Lance Guymon for culling and compiling the statistics referenced in this post!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Roughriders Finish 4-1 in Troy, Michigan NAPHL Showcase and advance to Playoffs!

Troy, MI - The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 AAA team headed to Troy, Michigan to play in the final regular season NAPHL Showcase. The Roughrider U16 team was fighting for a spot in the NAPHL Playoffs and had several different scenarios that could play out to gain that playoff spot. The most obvious scenario would be to win all 5 games to secure that spot, however, after losing the first game to the first place Omaha AAA team the rest of the weekend was basically a 'must win' situation.

Friday:

The Roughriders dropped a close game to Omaha on Friday, January 14th. The Roughriders had a tough time getting traction against Omaha and have all season. For some unknown reason the Omaha matchup gives the Roughriders a rough time. Omaha got on the board first and carried the lead into the second period on a Jordan Boucher-Gould goal. Michael Buonincontri and Adam Durkee both netted goals in the second period to give the Roughriders a short-lived lead.

Late in the second period Omaha struck twice in a row themselves snatching the lead back at 13:56 of the second period. Omaha would score the final goal at 14:28 of the third period sealing a 4-2 victory.

The Roughriders opened the Showcase with a loss, however this only served to motivate the team to a higher level of performance.


Saturday:
Saturday, January 15, 2011 the Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 AAA showed up to play the Indianpolis Jr. Ice. The Roughriders had won the previous two matchups with the Jr. Ice and Saturday was to be no different as the Roughriders won 6-3.

The first period began with the Jr. Ice striking first. Stephen Pack got the first goal of the game at 3:21 of the first period. The momentum swung back heavily for the Roughriders when Max Ross cranked in a shot from Thomas Jarman to knot the game at one goal a piece.

The second period was all Roughriders as Braiden Miller netted back to back goals to give the Roughriders the lead on passes from RJ Salvato and Lucas Blomquist. At 14:40 of the second period, Lucas Blomquist netted a goal of his own with assists going to Robert Valdez and Nathan Guymon securing a 4-1 lead.

The Roughriders finished off with two more goals, one each from George Gruber VII and  RJ Salvato to finish out with a 6-3 win and improve to 1-1 in the Showcase.

Sunday:

The Roughriders faced two opponents on Sunday, luckily the game times were spaced pretty far apart to allow the team some time to rest between matches and secure two more victories. The battle for a playoff spot was heating up by Sunday morning as roughly 6 teams were all vying for a playoff spot.

First up on Sunday morning was the Pikes Peak Miners. The Roughriders have won all 4 prior meetings this season. The Miners were out for a victory and were playing hard. Yannick Crete opened up the scoring when he took and Adam Durkee pass in the high slot and beat Danny Kowalski on the short side for a 1-0 lead. The game was marked with physical play on both sides of the ice, however the Miners were called for 3 penalties in the first while the Roughriders only had 2.

Both teams battled hard during the second period. The ice make halfway through the second period as is common in NAPHL play, gave the Roughriders a 1-0 lead going into the locker room. The Roughriders came out after the ice make and scored a go-ahead goal at 15:40 in the second period. Michael Buonincontri snuck the puck in the net to expand the lead to 2-0.

The third period was perhaps one of the most well played and physical periods of hockey of the Showcase. The Miners closed the gap at 12:49 of the third when Alec Butcher began a short-lived rally for the Miners. The game came to an end with the Roughriders on top by a score of 2-1. There were some extra-curricular activities in the hand shake line and two Miners were assessed 2 minute minor penalties after the game.

...to be continued

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Roughriders Finish Weekend with Lackluster Performance going 1-1-1

Westminister, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughider U16 AAA team finished a 3 game home stand with a loss, a win, and a tie. On Friday evening at the Promenade Ice Center blue sheet, the Roughriders took on in-state rivals Colorado Thunderbirds U16. The Roughriders led the series 2-0-1 going into the game and had a lot of momentum coming off a solid tournament win in Vancouver.

Apparently somebody had forgotten to tell the Thunderbirds that the Roughriders were hot. The Thunderbirds dictated the play throughout much of the game and the Roughriders struggled to get any momentum going. Tyler Spratte got things going for the Tbirds at 8:43 of the first period giving them the early 1-0 lead. Just 3 minutes later Michael Buonincontri brought things back to even when he found the puck sitting on the doorstep and put it in the net. The Tbirds get the next three goals straight and continue to reek havoc on the Roughrider's systems. The Roughriders defense struggled to get control in the zone and breaking the puck out to the forwards was problematic.

At 6:52 of the third period, Adam Durkee breathed a little life back into the Roughriders when he took a Lance Pennington pass and scored short-handed. The comeback was too little too late as the Tbirds closed out the third period and won the game 5-2.

Shots on goal were 44-14 in favor of the Thunderbirds.


Official Gamesheet

On Saturday afternoon the Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 team suited up to take on the Roughrider U15 AAA team once again at Promenade Ice Center. The Roughrider U15 team came out of the gate fired up. They had to set the tone of the game if they were to have any chance at beating the U16 team. The previous meeting was a good, face paced game with the U16's winning 5-2.

The matchup on Saturday was a fast, hard hitting game with both teams working tenaciously to set the tempo. The U15 team was able to compete very well for the first period, but the depth of the U16 roster ultimately was too much for them. 8 different players for the Roughriders scored on their way to a 9-0 victory.

Evan McCarthy got another shutout as he stopped all 8 shots he faced. The U16 team outshot the U15 team 44-8.

Official Gamesheet

Sunday afternoon wrapped up the 3-game homestand when the Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 team took on the Colorado Rampage. If you were paying attention earlier you know this game ended in a tie. The interesting part is what happened to get the game to a tie.

From the opening faceoff you knew this game was worth the price of admission. There was so much energy in the arena it was unbelievable. Both teams knew how important this game was and both teams aimed to win it.

The Rampage struck first when Matt McNichols snuck a rebound passed the Roughriders at 16:16 of the first period. The Rampage are a very physical team and don't layoff any checks. If you are within 4 feet of the puck, you are going to get hit. This physical play, however, is very demanding and will wear a team out.

The Rampage had to back off the physical play for a bit after Alejandro Ochoa went into the backboards off balance and broke his arm. The Roughriders took advantage of the reduced pressure and put in back to back goal to take a 2-1 lead. Thomas Jarman buried a Yannick Crete pass at 4:41 of the second period and then Collin Biebel took a feed from Braiden Miller at 7:38 of the second period.

The Roughriders seemed in control of the game and a sure victory until late into the third period. With just 1:28 remaining in the third period, the Roughriders took an untimely penalty. With the faceoff just outside the Roughriders zone, the Rampage won the faceoff and pulled their goalie for a 6 on 4, extra attacker, powerplay. With 15 seconds remaining in the third period, the Rampage scored to tie the game at 2 goals a piece. The remaining 15 seconds ticked away as the Rampage were able to mount a comeback and tie the game.

The Roughriders outshot the Rampage 27-21.

Official Gamesheet

The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 team heads out for Detroit (Troy, MI) for their final NAPHL Showcase.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Roughriders garner respect from Canadian locals

Westminister, CO - The Roughriders U16 spent 7 days in Vancouver, Canada at the 30th Annual Richmond International Midget Hockey Tournament. The players left a lasting, positive impression on the local residents and hockey players. The Roughriders are a group of respectful young men led by a head coach that is not only passionate about hockey and developing hockey skills, but is also intent in developing quality young men.

James Klassen of British Columbia felt the same way and was kind enough to send a letter to the team.
Hello.

I just wanted to send you an email with congratulations for your Championship at the AAA tournament held last week in Richmond, BC. My son's team was one of your "victims" and we as parents enjoyed watching the players on your team execute some great hockey plays and high-speed decision making. After playing your team in the first game, my son suggested that you would likely take home top spot. He was right.

I realize that travelling such a distance to attend a tournament comes at great cost for all concerned and we hope that our province was welcoming to your team and were good hosts. Our team just had to travel over an hour to get to the games and the cost was much less for us. My son was excited to play teams from elsewhere having played high-level hockey in BC for many years, besides teams from Seattle and region, this was his first opportunity to play teams from Colorado and California (he even scored a goal from his point position in our victory over Tri-Valley).

Anyway. Thanks again for putting the effort into teaching your players so well and for bringing them to the tournament. Congratulations to you; to the players; and to the parents.

Sincerely,

James Klassen, hockey parent from Mission, BC

The Roughriders are at home this weekend for a 3 game homestand.
RoughRiders U16Colorado Thunderbirds U16Fri, Jan 075:15 pm

RoughRiders U15RoughRiders U16               Sat, Jan 083:45 pm

RoughRiders U16Colorado Rampage U16   Sun, Jan 093:45 pm

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Roughriders are Perfect in Canada winning Richmond Tournament

Richmond, BC - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 AAA hockey team won their third consecutive tournament posting a perfect 7-0 record beating some of the best teams in Western Canada. With a season record of 36-6-1, the Roughriders are playing their best hockey of the season so far.

The Roughriders opened the tournament against the Mission Stars and dispatched with them with a 5-2 vicory. The following day the Roughriders met another US team, the Seattle Jr. Admirals. The Roughriders skated to a 5-3 victory. Later that same evening the Roughriders once again stepped on the ice, this time taking on the Kamploops Lions. In a very physical game, the Roughriders responded with their own physical play and earned a 4-2 victory.

The next day the Roughriders awoke to the toughest challenge of the tournament so far when they squared off against a very talented Semiahmoo Ravens team. In back and forth action the Roughriders showed a lot of backbone and played a very defensive game beating the Ravens 3-1.

The tournament consisted of three 20 minute periods which is 9 more minutes of hockey per game than a CAHA or NAPHL game. Conditioning and recovery played a very important roll in games of this length. John Paris, Jr. took advantage of the long game times by rolling his first two lines against the opponents first two lines until he noticed fatigue in the opposition. Then he rolled his depth throwing lines 3 and 4 into the mix. When you have 20 talented players this proves to be a winning strategy.

The competition continued as the Roughriders met the Ridge Meadows Rustlers at 1pm on Thursday. The Rustlers are a quality hockey team with an impressive record. From the opening faceoff the Rustlers took it to the Roughriders, but in the end the Rustlers were no match for the Roughriders who took the 5th victory of the tournament winning 4-1.

The Roughriders continued to play as a complete team as they met the Langley Eagles in the 6th game of the tournament. Everything went the Roughriders way as they skated to an 11-4 victory and secured their spot in the Championship game.

With about 14 hours to recover from the previous days action, the Roughriders were back on the ice for the Championship Game. The Roughriders were perfect in the Yzerman division posting a 6-0 record. They faced the Tri Valley Blue Devils who were 5-1 in the tournament. The Roughriders simply were not going to be denied as they cruised to an 8-0 victory.

Yannik Crete was named the tournament MVP as he posted 7 goals, 10 assists and 8 penalty minutes.


Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 5Mission Stars 2 Mon, Dec 27 11:45 am final
Seattle Jr Admirals 3Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 5 Tue, Dec 28 12:30 pm final
Kamloops Lions 2Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 4 Tue, Dec 28 8:00 pm final
Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 3Semiahmoo Ravens A1 1 Wed, Dec 29 1:00 pm final
Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 4Ridge Meadows Rustlers 1 Thu, Dec 30 12:00 pm final
Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 11Langley Eagles A1 4 Thu, Dec 30 5:30 pm final
Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 8Tri Valley Blue Devils 0 Fri, Dec 31 11:15 am final