Vancouver, British Columbia - The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 team opened the Richmond International Midget Hockey Tournament with back to back wins.
On Monday afternoon at the Richmond Ice Centre Igloo, the Rocky Mountain Roughriders squared off against the Mission Stars. Keegan McCarthy got the puck rolling for the Roughriders netting an unassisted goal at the 8:01 mark of the first period. The Roughriders had strong puck movement and showed a lot of energy during the first period considering the substantial amount of travel that was required to get the team to Vancouver.
Thomas Jarman connected with Colin Biebel at 11:45 of the first to give the Roughriders a solid 2-0 lead. The penalties in the first period were almost equal with the Stars getting called for two minor infractions and the Roughriders sitting for one. The second period was more of an equal defensive battle with neither team able to light the lamp in the second period. The Roughriders headed to the locker room after the second with a 2-0 lead.
Mark Ferguson trimmed the lead to one goal when he put the Stars on the board just 1:08 into the third period. Michael Buonincontri recovered the two goal lead when, about a minute later, he netted an unassisted goal putting the Roughriders up 3-1.
They say that a 3-1 lead is the toughest lead in hockey. You are not far enough ahead to consider the game is under control but you are far enough ahead that sometimes teams get complacent and that is exactly what happened at 6:50 of the third period when Mark Ferguson popped his second goal of the game trimming the lead back to one at 3-2.
It took the Roughriders about 6 minutes to respond when RJ Salvato took a Nathan Guymon and Hunter Clark pass and extended the lead to two goals again. With time running out in the third, Thomas Jarman took a Colin Biebel pass and sealed the win for the Roughriders.
Hunter Clark was given the game MVP award by the Tournament association.
On Tuesday afternoon the Roughriders faced off against the Seattle Jr. Admirals. From the outset, it was apparent that the travel had finally caught up with the Roughriders. Every player's feet looked heavy and every stride was labored. However, remarkably, the Roughriders were able to get away with a 5-3 victory.
Michael Buonincontri put the Roughriders on the board first when he beat Sean Healy on the short side with passes from Adam Durkee and Yannick Crete at 0:31 of the first period. Kai Wilkins brought the game to 1 goal a piece when he snuck the puck passed Roughrider netminder Evan McCarthy. Just before the close of the first period, Yannick Crete buried a Buonincontri pass to take a 2-1 lead into the second period.
Yannick Crete worked hard and was in the right place at the right time when he grabbed a feed from Lucas Blomquist and stretched the Roughrider lead to 3-1. The Jr. Admirals were not going away and made it a one goal game at 9:56 of the second when Brad Lelievre sparked a comeback rally. The Roughriders skated into the intermission with a scant 3-2 lead.
The intermission pep talk from John Paris, Jr. did the trick as the Roughriders returned to the ice with more energy and more emotion. A slight miscue at 2:43 of the third period by the Roughriders allowed the Jr. Admirals to trim the lead back to one. Just over a minute later at 3:56 of the third, RJ Salvato gave the Roughriders a bit of breathing room pushing the lead back out to 4-3. It wasn't until 18:01 in the third that Colin Biebel gave the Roughriders an insurance goal. The Roughriders skated out the rest of the game and were quite lucky to come away with a 5-3 victory.
The Roughriders advance to 2-0 in Round Robin play and face the Semiahmoo Ravens tomorrow at Richmond Oval North.
Game 1 Official Gamesheet
Game 2 Official Gamesheet
Go Roughriders! From your Wisconsin Fans!
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