Roughriders get ready for Districts

Westminster, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16 get ready for the Rocky Mountain District Playoffs beginning on Thursday, March 1. The Roughriders ended up in second place in the State Playoffs beating the Colorado Rampage in back to back games and ultimately losing a very closely contested game to the Colorado Thunderbirds U16 by a score of 2-1.

Thursday, March 1     Bigt Bear-North     12:15pm--2:15pm     Regulators vs. Roughriders
Friday, March 2         Big Bear-South      12:00pm--2:00pm    Dallas Stars vs. Roughriders
Saturday, March 3     Big Bear-North       7:15am--9:15am      Rampage vs. Roughriders

Roughriders U16s get outworked by Roughrider U15s

Westminister, CO - After 7 days of rest, the Roughriders returned to the ice on Saturday, in hopefully a healthier state than when they left Detroit. The U16AAA team had been battered by injuries and was effectively skating with 12 players at times.

The Roughrider U16 team  faced off against their own U15 squad in what was supposed to be one of the easier games on the U16 schedule. Well, in AAA hockey, if you show up expecting to win it usually doesn't happen. The U16 team started the game with a lot of jump and energy and played good hockey, out-shooting the U15 team 16-4, however at the end of the 1st Period the U15 team was up one goal to none. The U15s were the benefactors of what can only be considered a lucky bounce and skated to the intermission with the lead.

The U16 team looked unprepared to do the work necessary to win any and every game in this high level game. The U15 team, led by Lucas Brown, went on to score 2 more goals and shutting out the U16 team finishing with a final score of 3-0.

Roughriders get past Oakland Grizzlies 4-2

Trenton, MI - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders faced off against the Oakland Grizzlies tonight at the Kennedy Ice Center in Trenton, Michigan. The Roughriders pulled together a short bench and did what they needed to do to complete the win.

Paige Maul netted a hat trick on the night and Braiden Miller grabbed the game winning goal, but it was Brenden Bilotta that was named the game MVP by Coach Paris. In what looks to become a new tradition with the U16 Roughriders, Coach John Paris, Jr. named the three stars of the game. First star went to Brenden Bilotta, second star was Paige Maul and third star went to Braiden Miller.

Here is Brenden Bilotta's MVP post game interview.

Next Game: 17 December 2001 at 11:20am vs. Cleveland Barons

Roughriders head to Detroit for 4-pack in Tier 1 Elite League

Troy, MI - After going 1-4 in their last 5 games, the Rocky Mountain Roughriders look to get back on track in Michigan where they will face the Oakland Grizzlies in Friday night and then play the Cleveland Barons and Victory Honda on Saturday and then finishing up with the #1 rated Belle Tire on Sunday morning.

The games, all or some, will be available online if adequate internet service is available at the rink. Follow the instructions below.

If successful, you will be able to view the games live on www.ustream.com.

It is not necessary for you to create an account to view, but if you want to chat with others, it will require you to build a free account and login.

When you type in ustream.com, it will take you to the home page of ustream.tv. In the SEARCH area at the top, center of the page, type in colorado rampage 16aaa and hit enter.

Roughriders drop second game to Russell Stover

Riley Hillis celebrates opening goal

Independence, MO - In the second game in a two game series, the Roughriders came up short on the scoreboard again. The score, however, wasn't really the tale of the tape. The Roughriders played perhaps there best game of the year. For the second game in a row the Roughriders put up 4 points on offense. It looks like the forward lines may have found their stride, their rhythm, their mojo.

Riley Hillis got things going for the Roughriders at 10:41 of the first period when he fired a clapper from the blue line that went top shelf and knocked the water bottle 5 feet in the air sending the goaltender's water everywhere! The Roughriders were on the board and in style with assists going to Braiden Miller and Alex Sanchez! But the dynamic duo of Galt and Kucera were quick to respond and evened the match at 14:17 of the first. The Roughriders would be able to skate into the first intermission with the lead when Caleb Pola buried a short-handed chance on and assist from Brandon Fushimi.

The Roughriders would strike again at 6:28 of the second period as Cade Warner would net the powerplay goal on a feed from Brandon Fushimi giving the Roughriders a 3-1 lead. Russell Stover wasn't about to go away quietly and grabbed the next two goals late in the period sending the game into the second intermission knotted at 3 goals a piece.

The third period started with the duo of Galt and Kucera connecting again to give Russel Stover their first lead of the game at 2:53 of the third period. The Roughriders were playing great hockey and weren't done scoring yet either. At 4:38 of the third, Caleb Pola nabbed his second goal of the game on a feed from Alex Sanchez. The game was tied at 4. Both teams battled hard in what could only be described as exciting hockey. Ultimately Russell Stover would get the go ahead goal at 12:44 of the third and going on to win the game 5-4.

The Roughriders U16 can only take away positives from these two games. The forward lines are working well together, the systems are working well as long as the players execute. If the Roughriders continue to play like this, they will be competitive against any team.


Official Gamesheet

Coach Paris resumes duties in Independence, Missouri

John Paris, Jr. manages things on the bench

Independence, MO - Coach John Paris, Jr. took the Rocky Mountain Roughriders to Independence, Missouri for a two game series with Russell Stovers for Tier I Elite League action. The team made the trip across Kansas in a chartered motor coach. The trip across the plains of Kansas was mostly uneventful.

 The first game took place at the all-new Independence Ice Center, home of the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League. The Roughriders came out playing fantastic hockey. Russell Stover is a quality hockey team with two key players that need to be watched, Kucera and Galt. The Roughriders did a good job keeping those two guys under control.

Francis Marotte got the start in net as the Roughriders are still looking to name a #1 goaltender. Russell Stover strikes first just 2:52 into the match as they sneak a snapshot into the top side corner of the net. Caleb Pola got things going for the Roughriders at 4:03 of the first period on a self-assisted goal. His first shot climbed over the net and hit the back glass, fell to the ice and Pola scooped up the loose puck and buried his second chance tying the game at 1. The Roughriders continued to have many solid scoring chances but can't quite get the puck in the net. With 5.6 seconds left in the first period Russell Stover gets a faceoff in the Roughriders zone, they pull the goalie to get an extra skater, win the faceoff and find an unprotected five hole to take the lead 2-1 going into the locker room.

The second period continued with fast paced action. Russell Stover grabs a 3-1 lead when Evan Mills stumbles on a fat rebound sitting just outside of the crease at 12:35 of the second. Jared Young takes over for Marotte in net to bolster the Roughriders defenses. At 11:05 of the second period, the Roughriders cough up the puck at the blueline and Russell Stover capitalizes on the mistake and make the Roughriders pay by grabbing a 4-1 lead. Brendan Bilotta and Riley Hillis elevate their game with extra hustle and some big hits to rally their teammates. Russell Stover isn't phased by this and snags another goal at 4:45 of the second and a really strange deflection ticking the score up to 5-1. Marotte goes back in net at this point. Paige Maul gobbles up a loose puck at center ice and races towards the goal 1 on 0. Two dekes and Maul find paydirt for the Roughriders closing the gap to 5-2 at 3:20 of the second.

Braiden Miller battles Russell Stover for loose puck

Cade Warner found himself on the first line after Vincent Guimond dinged his shoulder. Warner grabs the puck on the sideboards and hits a streaking Miller at center ice. Miller is off to the races 1 on 0 against the goalie and, again, two dekes later hits paydirt getting one back from Russell Stover to close the gap to 5-3 at 2:50 left in the second.

Heading back out to the ice for the third period the Roughriders looked poised and ready for the comeback. Russell Stover hoped on a loose puck and buried a shot to go ahead 6-3. Braiden Miller isn't done battling and challenges a loose puck in the corner, wins the battle and fires a shot straight down the goaline and buries the puck in the net against the far pipe to bring the match back to 6-4. Just as soon as the Roughriders get some momentum going it seems to fade. Russell Stover nets another goal right off the faceoff at 11:24 of the third and stretch the lead to 7-4. The Roughriders continue to battle hard for the rest of the game in what is a very high quality, high paced hockey game.

Marotte faced 27 shots and managed 22 saves, while Young faced 7 shots with 5 saves. Braiden Miller led the charge up front with 2 goals and Caleb Pola had a good night with 1 goal and 1 assist.


Official Gamesheet

Rocky Mountain Roughriders Board of Directors reinstate coach John Paris, Jr.

Westminister, CO - After an investigation into allegations regarding Code of Conduct violations by the Board of Directors, Coach John Paris, Jr. has been reinstated as Head Coach of the Roughrider U16AAA team. The investigative team found no wrong doing and has handed the team back to Coach Paris with no restrictions. Coach Paris has assured the Board to continue to adhere to all applicable USA Hockey, CAHA and Roughrider Policies as he has done for his entire tenure as the Roughriders Head Coach. Coach Paris looks forward to getting back with his team and continuing with the development of youth hockey players.

Board of Directors Suspend Coach John Paris, Jr.

Westminister, CO - The Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Roughriders issued this statement today.

The RockyMountain RoughRiders Board of Directors met earlier this week.  After much debate and careful consideration, the Board of Directors have made the difficult decision to suspend Coach Paris from his duties effective immediately for code of conduct violations.
I will be at the Promenade at 6pm tonight to answer questions from parents and we will have a parents meeting after tomorrow's game.
Regards,
Randy Kanai
President
Rocky Mountain RoughRiders

We will continue to follow this story as it unfolds.

Roughriders Capitolize Against Madison

Chesterfield, MO - The Roughriders hit the ice on Saturday afternoon for their second match of the day. This would be a rematch against the Madison Capitols. The last meeting had the Roughriders walking away victorious and this match would end up with the same result.

The Madison Capitols showed up with a mere 12 skaters for this contest. This makes it tough to compete against 4 lines as conditioning becomes a factor, especially in the latter stages of the game. The Roughriders quickly set the tone on the ice when Braiden Miller netted the first goal of the game at 5:15 into the first period. Miller found the net on a nice setup from his linemates Guimond and Fushimi. The new pairing of Miller, Guimond and Fushimi has proven to be a good pairing and the linemates move the puck well to each other and have developed good on ice chemistry.

Zed Padgett kept things going by scoring the second goal for the Roughriders at 2:07 of the second period. Assists came from Alex Barber and Brendan Bilotta. The Roughriders controlled the puck for a majority of the game and kept the Capitols at bay for most of the game. Francis Marotte got the start in net, made all 14 saves and secured the shutout.

Cade Warner netted his first Tier I goal at the 7:50 mark of the second period, a powerplay goal. Warner scooped up the loose puck in front of Nathan Siclovan and slammed the puck into the twine to give the Roughriders a 3-0 edge in the match with an assist being awarded to his long time hockey wingman, Braiden Miller.

Alex Sanchez rounded out the scoring at 12:00 of the third period on a rebound from a Paige Maul shot. The 4-0 lead would be held for the duration of the game. The Roughriders had little resistance from the short benched Capitols.

Official Gamesheet

Roughriders give #3 Chicago Fury a run until the end

Chesterfield, MO - In the second game of the St. Louis Tier I Elite League Showcase, the Rocky Mountain Roughriders play a fantastic game of hockey, only to give up the comeback at the end of the third period in a 5-3 loss.

The Fury jumped out to an early lead when Tommy Stanislavski grabbed the opening goal at 6:56 of the 1st period. The Fury netted the second goal, putting the Roughriders down 2 goals early, on a Jake Slaker goal. The Roughriders may have been down, but they certainly were not out. In fact, the Roughriders were playing perhaps their best hockey of the season. Caleb Pola finally got the payout for the teams hard work when he buried a shot at 10:04 of the first period to cut the lead in half.

The Fury, rated #3 in the country, was not going to go away quietly and their top scorer, Jet Bell, was to be sure of that when he put the Fury up 3 goals to 1 at 12:51 of the first period. Brandon Fushimi grabbed a quick goal on a Vincent Guimond assist to trim the lead to one goal at 16:27 of the first period. The Fury were able to carry the lead into the intermission and first ice make, however the Roughriders were nipping at their heels.

With just 2:26 off the clock in the second period, Brenden Billota tied the game on a tremendous effort. The Roughriders were skating neck and neck with the Fury. The Roughriders were the better team in the second and seemed to have all the lines working well together. At 9:19 of the second period, the Fury were able to grab the lead back on a Niko Hildenbrand goal. Despite a barrage of shots on goal by the Roughriders, the Fury skated into the intermission with a one goal lead.

The Roughriders were far from finished. Continuing on a great second period of action, the Roughriders came out skating hard. A strong forecheck and a relentless back check were the order of the day. Back and forth, up and down the ice both teams raced. This was a game that drew a crowd and on any other day could have charged for admission. At 16:05 of the third period, just 55 seconds left in the game, the Roughriders were pressing hard in the offensive zone when the pucked popped out of the zone and right onto a charging Fury stick. Russ Ferro made no mistake in capitalizing on the turnover and ended the Roughriders comeback.

It is hard to lose any game, but knowing that you competed to the final buzzer with one of the top teams in the country is a good building block to grow on.

Shots were virtually even with Jared Young facing 29 shots for the Roughriders and Churchill facing 30 for the Fury.

Official Gamesheet