3rd Period Rally topples Thunderbirds 7-5

Roughriders beat Tbirds to win CC Showcase

Colorado Springs, CO - Sunday afternoon brought about a match up for the ages. The 13th ranked Rocky Mountain Roughriders faced the 5th ranked Colorado Thunderbirds. The Colorado Thunderbirds U16 AAA team are the reigning National Champions and have a fierce rivalry between the cross town Rocky Mountain Roughriders.

You may have had a full seat for this match but you really only needed the edge of it. The energy and pace of play in the game was nuclear! Both teams played as if it were the national championship.

Adam Durkee gave the Roughriders the lead when he took a Yannick Crete pass, bent that 87 flex stick in half and buried the biscuit where grandpa hides his dentures. 1-0 Roughriders!

The 1-0 lead only lasted a few minutes. At 13:00 of the first period Carter Brodeur found the puck on the back door and cranked it in evening the tilt at 1 goal a piece.  At 15:17 of the first period Lucas Blomquist fired a laser from the point that found its way to the back of the net catching all 12 players on the ice by surprise. An amazing slapshot opened up a 1 goal lead heading into the second period.

The second period didn't go so well for the Roughriders. Penalty trouble spoiled the tempo and opened the door for the Thunderbirds who have a lethal powerplay.  At 10:21 of the second period, Ian Mansfield netted the tying goal for the Thunderbirds.  At 17:57 of the second period, Michael Buonincontri and Nathan Guymon were both assessed penalties, roughing and hooking respectively. The Thunderbirds took advantage of these penalties scoring on the 5 on 3 advantage and scoring several seconds later on the 5 on 4 advantage.

The Roughriders went into the locker room for the icemake a bit stunned looking at a 2-4 deficit. What had just happened? In a game with such high level, high talent teams how do you comeback from a two goal deficit? Only a few people will ever know what coach John Paris, Jr. said in the locker room, but whatever it was it should be bottled and sold. It was pure gold.

The Roughriders hit the ice for the third period and right from the opening faceoff took matters into their own hands.  Just 12 seconds into the third period, Michael Buonincontri grabbed the puck off the faceoff, drove into the zone, and fired a shot beating goalie Chase Horton (the official scoresheet states the goal was scored a 3:12, but the scoresheet is based off 20 minute periods instead of the 17 minute periods played at U16AAA). The goal brought the Roughriders back to within 1 goal at 3-4.

At 6:44 of the third, Thomas Jarman struck gold on a shot from the faceoff dot beating Horton for the second time in just over 3 minutes. Horton was pulled and replaced by Jon Strand. The ensuing tirade on the bench by Horton was reminiscent of a John McEnroe meltdown.

The Roughriders found themselves on the powerplay after Thunderbirds player, Tyler Spratte, found himself in the box on an interference call.  The Roughriders setup on the powerplay and moved the puck with purpose. After Crete and Durkee cycled the puck, Buonincontri took the pass and gave the Roughriders a 5-4 lead!

Comebacks of this nature don't come along very often and they are definitely something to behold. But the Roughriders aren't done yet. At 14:15 of the 3rd period, Buonincontri finds himself all alone with the goalie and there was no razzle-dazzle just a clean shot to beat Strand giving the Roughriders a bit of insurance leading 6-4 and netting him a natural hat trick!

As with any quality team, the Thunderbirds weren't going to go away quietly. Evan Feno got the Thunderbirds back into the game with 58 seconds left on the clock. With less than a minute to play it was still a 1 goal game. The Tbirds called a timeout to strategize and rest their players. The Tbirds came out and won the faceoff and controlled the puck in the Roughriders zone. In a botched attempt to pull the goalie the Tbirds couldn't get the extra attacker on. Finally, the goalie headed towards the bench just as the puck changed possession to the Roughriders. Buonincontri scooped up the loose puck and headed towards the promised land. Just over center ice he fired the puck into the empty net to seal the win and record his 4th goal of the period.

In all the years that I have watched hockey, including Stanley Cup playoffs, CHL Championships, Frozen Four Finals this has to be one of the BEST third period comebacks I have ever witnessed. Impressive.

Shots on goal were even at 18 a piece. Joakim Jutras, however, hangs on for the win.



Official Gamesheet