Playoff Series Preview: PP Thunder vs Golden Fire

📅 Game Schedule:
🕘 Game 1: March 8, 2025 – 8:30 AM
🕘 Game 2: March 8, 2025 – 4:30 PM
🕘 Game 3 (If Necessary): March 8, 2025 – 10:30 PM

🏆 Best-of-Three Series – Winner advances to the Rocky Mountain West Division Final on March 9, 2025, against the winner of Mile High Mavin Tugboats vs. Manitou Vikings.

Regular Season Head-to-Head

February 1, 2025: 🔥 Golden Fire 2 – 1 Pikes Peak Thunder
February 1, 2025: ⚡ Pikes Peak Thunder 3 – 2 Golden Fire

The top-seeded Pikes Peak Thunder enter as heavy favorites in this series, but the Golden Fire will be confident after splitting the season series. They remain one of only four teams to defeat the Thunder this season.

Pikes Peak Thunder (1st Seed)

Regular Season Record: 🔥 18-2-0

The Thunder have been the most dominant team in the Rocky Mountain West, finishing the regular season with an impressive 18-2-0 record. Led by Tyler Harkins, the league’s most dominant scorer, Pikes Peak has been nearly unstoppable.

Key Players to Watch:

⭐ Tyler Harkins (#22, F) – 39 goals, 66 points in 20 games (1st in the league)
⭐ Zach Tomek (#10, F) – 34 points, 2nd on the team
⭐ Johnny Tapia (#5, F/D) – 31 points, top-scoring defenseman

Goaltending:

🥅 Chris Bradford (#1, G) – 18-1-0, 2.64 GAA, .844 SV%, 3 shutouts
Bradford has been the top goalie in the division, boasting the most wins and shutouts while maintaining an impressive .844 save percentage.

Golden Fire (4th Seed)

Regular Season Record: 🔥 4-16-0

The Golden Fire have struggled all season but enter the playoffs with nothing to lose. Their 2-1 victory over the Thunder on February 1 proves they can compete when they execute defensively.

Key Players to Watch:

⭐ Michael Shover (#6, F) – 15 goals, 21 points (1st on team)
⭐ Jack Gorjestani (#97, F) – 18 points, 2nd on team
⭐ Adrian Covi (#87, F) – 17 points, playmaker

Goaltending:

🥅 Juan Romero (#70, G) – 3-7-0, 4.38 GAA, .764 SV%
🥅 James Risenhoover (#49, G) – 1-8-0, 4.38 GAA, .813 SV%
Goaltending has been a weakness for the Fire this season, with both goalies allowing over four goals per game.

Series Outlook & Keys to Victory

🔑 For Pikes Peak: Keep Harkins & Tomek rolling, capitalize on scoring chances early, and rely on Bradford to shut things down.

🔑 For Golden Fire: Limit Thunder’s scoring with a strong defensive effort, slow down Harkins, and get big performances from their goaltenders.

💭 Prediction: The Thunder are the clear favorites, but if the Fire can frustrate Pikes Peak offensively, this could be a closer series than expected.

📌 Winner advances to the Rocky Mountain West Division Final on March 9, 2025, against the winner of Mile High Mavin Tugboats vs. Manitou Vikings.