NAPHL Showcase I: Blaine, Minnesota - September 16 - 19, 2010

The North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) has announced the schedule for its first event of the 2010-11 season, which will be held from Sept. 16-19, 2010 at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine Minnesota. The U18 RoughRiders will play five league games while in Blaine. After opening up against the Pittsburgh Viper Stars, the RoughRiders will play games against the Pikes Peak Miners, the Omaha AAA Hockey Club, the Motor City Metal Jackets and the U18 Wenatchee Wild.

The schedule below is from the NAPHL website and may be subject to change. Like all schedules, confirm and reconfirm everything. Sometimes last minute changes happen. Since the tournament is in Blaine, Minnesota, the game times listed in the schedule may be based on the Central Time Zone. This will be the first appearance by the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders in NAPHL play. The RoughRiders will have teams in Blaine at the U14 and U16 age divisions as well.

Rocky Mountain RoughRiders U18 - NAPHL Showcase - Blaine, MN Schedule
Date	Time	Rink	Home	Away
9/16/2010	8:00 AM	Schwan 4	Pittsburgh Viper Stars	Rocky Mountain RoughRiders
9/16/2010	6:00 PM	Schwan 5	Rocky Mountain RoughRiders	Pikes Peak Miners
9/17/2010	2:00 PM	Schwan 5	Rocky Mountain RoughRiders	Omaha
9/18/2010	12:00 PM	Schwan 7	Motor City Metal Jackets	Rocky Mountain RoughRiders
9/19/2010	8:00 AM	Schwan 5	Wenatchee Wild	Rocky Mountain RoughRiders

In addition, the North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced the schedule for this season’s Future Prospects Tournament, which will also be held from Sept. 16-19 with games being played at the Schwan Super Rink, Fogerty Arena in Blaine and Centennial Arena in Circle Pines, Minnesota.

Both events will be held in conjunction with the eighth annual Sherbrook/NAHL Showcase Tournament, which has evolved into one of hockey's most prestigious and well-attended events of the entire season.

For scouting purposes, the four-day Showcase Tournament, in which all 26 NAHL teams play four regular-season games, is a can't-miss for every NCAA program and NHL team as they get their first look at some of the best and brightest hockey talent North America has to offer. For more information on the Sherbrook/NAHL Showcase Tournament, visit NAHLShowcase.com.

U18 Rocky Mountain RoughRiders: NAPHL Showcase & State Tournament Dates

The Rocky Mountain RoughRiders organization are members of the NAPHL (North American Prospects Hockey League). The NAPHL has teams spread across the country from the east coast to the west coast. In order for teams to get their league games played as efficiently as possible, the league schedules showcases. The NAPHL Showcases are somewhat like a tournament in the respect that many teams travel to a scheduled location in order to play games.

In its second season, the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) has grown to 38 teams. This season there will be 18 Midget Major (U18), 14 Midget Minor (U16) and 6 Bantam Major (U14) teams from 19 programs that compete at the Tier I AAA level. The NAPHL is comprised of five regular-season events leading up to its Championship Tournament Series in which the top teams at each level compete for a league championship. The NAPHL, which is sanctioned by USA Hockey, utilizes the USA Hockey Officiating Development Program and is designed to maximize the exposure of all the Midget and Bantam participants through the NAHL's high-profile recruiting events which attract hundreds of college, junior and professional scouts.

Rocky Mountain RoughRiders U18 Showcase/Tournament Schedule
2010-2011 Dates	Tournament	Location
9/16 - 9/19	NAPHL Showcase	Blaine, MN
10/21 - 10/24	NAPHL Showcase	San Jose, CA
11/11 - 11/14	Games TBD	TBD
12/3 - 12/5	NAPHL Showcase	Foxboro, MA
1/14 - 1/17	NAPHL Showcase	Troy, MI
1/28 - 1/30	NAPHL Showcase	Darien, IL
2/18 - 2/21	NAPHL Showcase	Ann Arbor, MI
2/24 - 2/28	CAHA Tier I State Playoffs	TBD, Colorado

The Rocky Mountain RoughRiders are looking forward to its first season in the NAPHL. The dates have been set for the NAPHL Showcases for the 2010-2011 season. Keep in mind, anything is subject to change and it is always good to check the NAPHL and the RoughRiders websites.

Recap: Thunderbirds 4 RoughRiders 2 (9/6/2010)

Recap: Thunderbirds 4 RoughRiders 2. This was a fast paced game from the onset. The Thunderbirds scored the first goal in the first period followed by a RoughRiders goal in the first. Near the end of the second period, the Thunderbirds scored three goals in a span of thirty four seconds. The RoughRiders scored the only goal in the third period. Overall, not a bad game and one to use as a springboard. As a side note, this Thunderbirds team has a strong group of players that played on last year’s U16 National Championship team.

Official Gamesheet

The RoughRiders are wearing the dark jerseys in the clip.

Recap: Miners 1 RoughRiders 0 (9/4/2010)

Recap: Miners 1 RoughRiders 0. Labor Day weekend marked the opening of play for the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders U18 team. On September 4, 2010, the RoughRiders played the Pikes Peak Miners in a non-league game. The RoughRiders controlled the play in the offensive zone most of the game and had several good scoring opportunities. However, the team just could not put the puck in the net. Pikes Peak was never able to put together a sustained attack in the offensive zone. The RoughRiders were first to the puck most of the game and won most of the battles. Overall, a very good first game. The game was played at Sertich Ice Center in Colorado Springs and as of 9/6 the game has not been uploaded to PointStreak. At this time, there is no official score sheet posted. I will post a link to the game sheet if/when it becomes available.

Official Gamesheet



The RoughRiders are wearing the dark jerseys in the clip.

About: Rocky Mountain RoughRiders U18 Blog

This blog will follow the U18 Rocky Mountain RoughRiders hockey team throughout the 2010-2011 season. The Rocky Mountain RoughRiders are a Tier I (AAA) hockey organization in Colorado. The RoughRiders organization fields Tier I teams at the U14, U15, U16 and U18 age levels. The organization provides a fantastic option for youth hockey players that are interested in moving to the Tier I (AAA) level of hockey. The RoughRiders also has an outstanding group of coaches at each age level. The Tier I RoughRiders are affiliated with the USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and are also members of the NAPHL. This will be the second season for the organization. They were known as Team Rocky Mountain (TRM) in the 2009-2010 season. The name change came as a result of the affiliation with the USHL RoughRiders.

Now for a disclaimer. This blog is not affiliated with the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders organization. It is merely a blog to provide a recap of games played as well as an informational forum. For official Rocky Mountain RoughRider information, please go to the official Rocky Mountain RoughRiders website. This blog has been created for fun, entertainment and in the end, as a way to provide a kind of historical archive of the 2010-2011 season. There may be some links to past games as well as links to tournament schedules. Throughout the season it will be a "work in progress." Some commentary will be included in the game recaps when possible and only to serve as a reminder of how the games may have been played. Throughout the season there will likely be some games in which very little information is available and we'll do the best we can to provide as much information as we can.

Also, a big thanks goes out to Kevin Simpson who has provided the video of the games. This is absolutely priceless for the families who have players on this team. We enjoyed a full season of great video from the 2009-2010 season. Kevin sets aside a lot of time taking and editing video. Again, a big thanks!

The email address associated with this blog is roughridersu18blog@gmail.com.