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

Roughriders tie Blues, Fushimi nets Hat-trick



Team Doctor, James Fretwell, runs into superstar Alex Ovechkin



Chesterfield, MO - The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16AAA team hit the ice in Chesterfield, Missouri this afternoon facing the #6 St. Louis Jr. Blues at the Hardees Ice Arena. The Roughriders did it again. They fell asleep in the first period and it nearly cost them the game. The Roughriders gave up two goals in the first period and went into the first intermission behind by two goals. The Roughriders have had a tendency to start slow this year. Looking back at prior game statistics, if the first period were wiped free from the scoresheet, the Roughriders would have 8 more wins! Getting a good start is crucial for the Roughriders and, unfortunately, they came out slow against St. Louis and they made the Roughriders pay.

The second period was an entirely different story. The defensemen tightened up their game, improved their breakout passing and overall made better decisions. What happened next was near magic! Brandon Fushimi and his linemates Vincent Guimond and Braiden Miller combined for 3-goals and turned the tables on the Blues. Brandon Fushimi was absolutely on fire in the second and managed three goals...indeed a break out game for the kid. Vincent Guimond had an equally impressive breakout game tallying 4 assists.

Max Shusterman buried a strong slapshot from just inside the blueline to grab the fourth and final goal for the Roughriders half way through the third period. The Roughriders did a good job protecting the lead until about 5 minutes left in the 3rd, when the Blues slipped the puck passed Francis Marotte.

Both Roughrider goalies saw action during the game, each giving up equal numbers of goals.

The Roughriders gear up for a rematch of the Chicago Fury tomorrow at 9am. The last time the two teams met the game was extremely equally played until late in the third period when the Fury grabbed a late goal. The Fury then grabbed the empty netter goal to seal the win.

Week in Review

Westminister, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16AAA wrapped up another week of hockey by splitting with the Pikes Peak Miners. The Roughriders grabbed a win on Saturday afternoon beating the Miners by a score of 2-1 and grabbing 2-points in the CAHA league. The boys played a solid game and were in control of the game until about 2 minutes left in the game when the Roughriders were assessed two untimely penalties. The Miners were able to net a powerplay goal to bring the game to within one. Jared Young played well between the pipes and Caleb Pola had, perhaps, one of the most exciting goals in recent memory when he grabbed the puck, raced down the side boards, tripped, and as he was sliding passed the goalie he managed to pull the trigger and roof the puck in the back of the net...spectacular.

On Sunday the Roughriders traveled to Colorado Springs for the second game of the series. The Roughriders played an amazing game and had the puck in the Miners zone for 39 of the 51 minute game. Unfortunately for the Roughriders they had perhaps one of the least prepared referees the AAA hockey league has seen. Nobody likes to place blame on an officiating crew, however, in this situation it may be warranted. At one point the Roughriders were killing off a 5 on 4 penalty so they took the puck behind the net to kill time. The referee whistled the play dead and assessed a two minute minor penalty for Delay of Game??!! Despite the abysmal officiating, one thing is clear and that is the Roughriders need to find a way to put the puck in the net. It is not for a lack of trying as the Roughriders put 39 shots on net and came away with only 1 goal.

The Roughriders ended the week in the 39th spot in the country.

The Roughriders are off to St. Louis on Thursday for a 4 game Tier I Elite League Showcase where they will repeat there matchup from the last showcase facing the St. Louis Jr. Blues, Chicago Fury, Madison Capitals, and the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals.

Roughrider Organization goes 15-4-2 over the weekend

Denver, CO - All Rocky Mountain RoughRider teams were in action this weekend.   The U13, U14 and U15 teams all competed in the Silver Stick Regional Tournament over the weekend with a combined record of 12-2-1.   The U13 AAA team won the Silver Stick Regional Tournament with a score of 5 to 2 in the Championship game.   The U13 team went 5-0-1 over the weekend with big contributions coming from the entire roster.   Jared Resseguie finished off the tournament with a hat-trick in the Championship game.   Andre Kurtz led the U13 RoughRiders in scoring with 7 goals and 5 assists for 12 points in 6 games.   Both goaltenders Cody Christofferson and David Fessenden held their opponents to 10 goals against in 6 games combined with the play of the entire defenseman core led by Captain Jovan Zimmerman.   Congratulations go out to the Rocky Mountain RoughRIders U13 AAA team.

The RoughRiders U14 AAA team competed in the Silver Stick Regional tournament losing in the semifinals eventually but went 4-1 outscoring their opponents 27 to 10 over 5 games.   The U14’s were led by their goaltender Daniel Geiger and an entire team effort which had all players hit the score sheet with Austen Peterson and Hunter Hop leading the way with 7 points each in the 5 games.

The RoughRiders U15 AAA team competed in the Silver Stick Regional tournament with a record of 3-1.   The U15’s were led by Lucas Brown who had 8 points and Keanu Gallegos who had 6 points in the 4 games.   Marc Audet had 3 wins between the pipes.

The RoughRiders U16 AAA team competed in their second Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL) Showcase hosted at Big Bear Ice Arena this weekend.   The U16’s started off the Showcase with a high paced game that ended in a 2-2 tie against the St. Louis Jr. Blues who are currently ranked number 1 in the Country.   The U16’s went 2-1-1 over 4 games with wins against the Madison Capitols and Milwaukee Admirals.   The U16’s were led by their defenseman core and goaltenders Jared Young and Francis Marotte allowing only 7 goals against in 4 games.

The RoughRiders U18 AAA team had two T1EHL league games against Russell Stover over the weekend.   Friday night the U18’s lost 3-1 with Russell Stover scoring a late empty netter.   Sunday morning the U18’s offense woke up outscoring Russell Stover 5-0 led by 2 goals and 2 assists from Rudy Junda and a shut out performance in net by Jonathon Loeffler.

Roughriders drop a close one to #3 Chicago Fury

Denver, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16 dropped a close game, 3-1, to the #3 Chicago Fury on Saturday morning. The Roughriders gave up two early goals on two defensive miss queues and had to battle back into the game. At 12:48 of the second period Caleb Pola brought the game back to within one goal when snuck the puck passed Jeremy Wik who was exceptional in net for the Fury.

The Roughriders played some of their best hockey of the season and was deserving of the victory. John Paris, Jr. had his team well prepared and focused for this game and it was a strong battle from the opening puck drop until the final buzzer.

The Roughriders outshot the Fury 23-19 according to the official scoresheet, however I am pretty sure both teams faced more shots than that.


Official Scoresheet

Roughriders Grab Tie against Top Rated Team in the Country

Roughriders celebrate their second goal.

Denver, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughrider U16AAA took to the ice this afternoon against the top-rated U16AAA in the country, the St. Louis Jr. Blues. The Roughriders have yet to win a game in Tier I Elite League play, despite playing well in every game. Every game has been closely contested with all but one game decided by only a goal. The Roughriders have had a solid couple of weeks of development since their last Showcase and look to grab a couple of wins.

The opening series started out like so many other games this year with a lot of back and forth action in the first period, but no scoring. The Roughriders are still looking for a way to get fired up for first period action. The St. Louis Blues took advantage of the slow start by getting on the board first. Charlie Combs grabbed the first goal of the game at 15:37 of the first period giving the Blues a 1-0 lead.

The Showcase format consisted of three 17-minute periods with ice makes between periods. After the first ice make the Roughriders hit the ice with their usual second period vigor. Chad Pietroniro put the Roughriders on the board when his slapshot hit a Blues defenseman stick and deflected down and into the net at 5:36 of the second period knotting the game a one a piece. Assists on the play went to Brendan Bilotta and Dejon Marsh.

Caleb Pola found the net about a minute later on a tremendous individual effort. Pola managed to poke the puck free, run the puck down and fire a laser over the goal tenders left shoulder giving the Roughriders a 2-1 lead at 5:57 of the second period.

The Roughriders couldn't maintain the lead for long as Alex Jasiek brought the game back to twos at 8:03 of the second period when he snuck a rebound Jared Young. The remainder of the game would be skated even and end in a tie giving the Roughriders just their second point in 6 tries in Tier 1 Elite League play.

Jared Young managed 30 saves on 32 shots.


Official Gamesheet

Roughriders Advance Player Development

The Rocky Mountain RoughRiders’ organization is in its third season and was formed through the alliance of four of the top northern Colorado Tier II youth hockey associations: Arvada Hockey Association, Boulder Hockey Club, Hyland Hills Junior Hockey Association and Northern Colorado Youth Hockey.
These four organizations came together in a joint effort to create an elite Tier I hockey program that is supported by the vast assets of the combined group. The goal is to create and maintain a quality youth hockey experience where young people are given the tools and direction to progress to the next level of hockey. The founding associations agree that providing a positive and healthy environment is key to the success of the organization and will produce not just better hockey players, but better people. The organization, which was originally called Team Rocky Mountain, had a successful first season fielding U18, U16 and U15 independent AAA teams.

The second season (2010-11) began with an affiliation with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League and TRM changed its name to the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders.

The organization joined the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) for the 2010-11 Season. The RoughRiders had a very successful 2010-11 season in the NAPHL where their U14 team won the NAPHL league championship, their U18 team lost in the championship final game and the U16 team finished 47-15-4 and finished the season ranked in the Top 15 in the Nation.

The three teams (U14, U16 and U18) combined record in NAPHL league games was 44-21-4. For the 2010-11 season, the RoughRiders fielded U14, U15, U16 and U18 AAA teams. Much of the RoughRiders’ early success can be credited to their experienced professional coaching staff.

The 2011-12 season will be the Third Season for the Rocky Mountain Rough-Riders. The RoughRiders made another huge step for their program and were fortunate to be accepted to compete in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League for the 2011-12 season.

The RoughRiders are icing U13, U14, U15, U16 and U18 AAA teams for the 2011-12 season. The RoughRiders play out of the Ice Centre at the Promenade in Westminster, CO, Boulder Valley Ice Arena in Superior, CO and the Apex Ice Arena in Arvada, CO. The RoughRiders’ No. 1 goal is the development of their players not only on the ice but off the ice and moving players to the next level. 

Roughriders Beat Dallas Alliance 5-0

Caleb Pola drives the net for a short handed goal.

Denver, CO - In the second meeting in as many days, the Roughriders beat the Dallas Alliance. Four second period goals gave the Roughriders some breathing room to earn a 5-0 victory and a season record of 7-5-1.

The Alliance found themselves in penalty trouble right out of the gates. Being a man down against the Roughriders is not a good place to be. The frustration of a tough road schedule had the Alliance taking unnecessary penalties and further hurting their cause.

Chad Pietroniro got the Roughriders U16AAA team up on the board first and netted the eventual game winner when he cranked in a slapshot from the top of the circles beating Roger Bissonnette over the left shoulder with assists going to Vincent Guimond and Braiden Miller. The Roughriders really caught fire in the second period with 4 goals, 2 coming from Paige Maul and a goal from Caleb Pola and Braiden Miller. Maul grabbed back to back goals with assists going to Guimond, Weisbeck and Fushimi.

With 15:15 gone in the second period, Caleb Pola nabbed an unassisted short-handed goal. Moments later Braiden Miller won the opening faceoff, split both defenders and buried the second short-handed goal in a row.

Finishing on a strong note will set the Roughriders up well going into next weekend for the Tier I Elite Leauge Showcase when they take on the top ranked team in the country, the St. Louis Jr. Blues.


Official Gamesheet

Dallas Alliance come to Denver for 2 game series

The Game gets physical in front of the net!

Denver, CO - The Dallas Alliance traveled to Denver for a two game series with the Rocky Mountain Roughriders. The Alliance also had the Colorado Thunderbirds and Pikes Peak Miners on their schedule during the road trip. The only odd part of the itinerary was that all the games were scheduled at Big Bear Ice Arena. With the money the arena saves on paint and landscaping, one might think that they could get the clock working. After two weekends in a row, no such luck.

The first period got underway with each team figuring out what each team brings to the table. The Alliance brings a physical and gritty brand of hockey while the Roughriders bring a blend of physicality and finesse.  It took a while for either team to find the net, but at 16:21 of the first period Chad Pietroniro found it in a beautiful fashion on a one timer from just inside the blue line on a pass from Guimond and Miller. This would ultimately prove to be the game winner.

On Thursday night, Coach John Paris, Jr. gave his defense men some new tools for their hockey toolbox. He worked on escape moves and reads to make on attacking forwards. The new tools really paid dividends as the Roughrider breakout worked better than it had all season.

The second period would be huge for the Roughriders as they would break out with a 4-goal flurry. Paige Maul netted back to back goals at 1:52 and 8:37 of the second period respectively with assists going to Fushimi, Guimond and two to Weisbeck. The Dallas Alliance found themselves in penalty trouble for most of the period. Frustration had clearly set in on the Alliance bench and the trouble with the clock only made matters worse. Brandon Fushimi took a holding penalty at 14:25 of the second that proved to be beneficial to the Roughriders as Caleb Pola netted an unassisted short-handed goal, the first short handed goal of the season for the Roughriders, at 15:15 of the second period. A short 7-seconds later, Braiden Miller took the ensuing faceoff straight down the ice, splitting both defenseman burying a backhander in the opposite top corner of the net at 15:21 of the second period for back to back short handed goals to end the scoring for the Roughriders.

The third period did not have any scoring as the Roughriders would cruise to a 5-0 victory, however there were some fireworks at just 19 seconds into the third period when Brennan Miller for Dallas and Vincent Guimond for the Roughriders didn't see eye to eye and had quite the rumble at the offensive blue line. Both players were assessed four minute double-minors for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Jared Young was sharp in net and stopped all 19 shots he faced while Joe Sheppard VI stopped 34 of 39. The two teams matchup again tomorrow morning at 8:30am at Big Bear Ice Arena.

OFFICIAL GAMESHEET

Roughriders Drop First game against Thunderbirds

Paige Maul drives a shot towards net.

Westminster, CO - The most anticipated in state match up of the season finally arrived last night at the Promenade Ice Centre. The 3-0-0 Thunderbirds traveled across Denver to face the 3-1-0 Roughriders. The stands were near capacity by the opening faceoff.

The Thunderbirds set off early and set the tempo of the game. The Roughriders U16 AAA team, perhaps, offered a little too much respect to the visiting Thunderbirds. Respect that had yet to be earned. At 5:16 of the first period the Thunderbirds got on the board first when Justin Weber beat Jared Young glove side. The Roughriders found themselves a man down when Nate Werhane was called for hooking. Dominic Turgeon buried a backdoor pass up top shelf for a power play goal to give the Thunderbirds a 2-0 lead. The Thunderbirds carried the momentum into the second period.

The second period had the Roughriders finding their stride and getting things going offensively.  The Thunderbirds got a quick goal but, Brenden Bilotta got the Roughriders on the board putting in the rebound from a Paige Maul shot. The Roughriders were right back into the game at 3-1. Zed Padgett got the Roughriders to back within one when he buried a wonderful individual effort goal in the top left corner. Padget streaked down the near side boards, skated around two Thunderbirds and buried his shot in the top left corner and rekindled the comeback.

The comeback, however, was short lived as a defensive turnover right in front of the goal resulted in a quick Thunderbird goal. Momentum and confidence are such big factors in AAA hockey that rebuilding from a couple goal deficit are tough. The Roughriders, to their credit, managed to pull the game back together and gain some momentum for the followup game tomorrow at Big Bear. The 6-2 final score was not completely indicative of the final play. The Roughriders look to rebound against the Thunderbirds on Saturday.


Official Gamesheet

Roughriders Handle Miners in Odd Series

The Roughriders celebrate a goal.

Colorado Springs, CO - The Rocky Mountain Roughriders U16AAA team finished a two game series with the Pikes Peak Miners. The first game was held on Saturday at the Promenade at 3:15pm on center ice. The game started out as so many CAHA games do with a lot of hard grinding forechecking.  Each team was struggling to find any flow and both squads were aggressively forechecking the puck. The first period ended in a stalemate.

The second period had the Roughriders hitting their stride. The hard hitting line of Cade Warner, Max Shusterman and Alex Barber set the tempo for the team. Sometimes the 4th line is called on to get the rest of the boys going. Braiden Miller broke the seal on Grant Payne on a beautiful redirection from his new linemate Caleb Pola and defenseman Nate Werhane. The Miners were on their heels most of the period, however their style of play, particularly disrupting the flow of the game, was working pretty well for them. The Miners knotted the game up at one goal apiece at 7:40 of the second when Jeremy Solat beat Jared Young short side. Perhaps they had lulled Young to sleep as he only saw 5 shots the entire period.

The third period was all Roughriders. Coach Paris, not happy with what he was watching, shook up his top two lines. Bilotta was asked to center Maul and Fushimi while Miller moved over with Pola and Sanchez. The move proved beneficial as the varying styles of play of the new lines complemented each other well. The Roughriders closed out the scoring and secured a 3-1 victory when Fushimi buried a rebound sent in by Bilotta and Maul.

Jared Young faced 21 shots and made 20 saves for a 95.2% save percentage.

On Sunday the Rougriders traveled down in to Pikes Peak country to settle up on the second game of the series. The second matchup had the Roughriders working against a trapping and chaotic Miners system. The game, honestly, was a little difficult to watch as a fan as all the flow in the game is gone. The Roughriders kept the puck in the offensive zone for a majority of the game.

At just 1:17 of the first period, Vincent Guimond netted the first goal and the eventual game winner when he beat Tanner Saucerman with a little sauce of this own. The Roughriders continued the offensive pressure and ended up netting a total of 4 goals and keeping the Miners off the scoreboard.

The new lines, although still working on chemistry, started producing well and now look forward to this weekend's matchup against in-state rivals, Colorado Thunderbirds.

Official Gamesheet Game 1

Official Gamesheet Game 2