Rocky Mountain Roughriders Enter Playoffs at Chicago Nike Bauer 2010

Lance Pennington and Joakim Jutras Protect the Net

Darien, IL - Early Sunday morning the Rocky Mountain Roughriders started playoff play when they faced the New Jersey Freeze on the Darien Sportsplex Wales arena. The Freeze entered the playoff match undefeated in the tournament just as the Roughriders.

The NJ Freeze were a well disciplined, strong skating hockey club but were unable to match the pace of the Roughriders. The playoff system was a bit unusual in that the quarter-final and semi-final rounds were played as two 15-minute halfs. Having 406 teams in a tournament equates to some strange ice times and some unique scheduling situations.

Since the games were so short, each team had to be diligent in getting the puck in the net and not taking any penalties. The Roughriders were successful on both counts. Yannick Crete continued his scoring streak when he put the Roughriders on the board first at 7:10 of the first period with an assist from Lance Pennington.  The first period ended with the Roughriders leading 1-0.

At the 6:31 mark of the second period, Yannick Crete once again struck gold with a fantastic rebound shot from Michael Bouincontri.

With time expiring in the game, Adam Durkee sealed the win with a world class shot snipe from just outside the hash marks from a nice feed from Austin Shick.

Joakim Jutras recorded another tournament shutout turning away every Freeze shot he faced. The Roughriders advanced to the semi-final round to face the Indianapolis Jr. Ice.


Official Gamesheet

Next Game: Semi-Finals - Roughriders vs. Indianapolis Jr. Ice