Rocky Mountain October Recap

The Rocky Mountain Division pro started out in interesting fashion for the first weekend--After a 1-3 start including losing to Demon Dogs by a combined score of 22-2, the Parker Royals folded for the rest of the season. This led to a restart of the Rocky Mountain Division schedule, as not all teams had played the Royals to make those games count.

The debut of the Mile High Blizzard has been a successful one so far, as they went 3-1 in their opening series against the Lakewood Fire. Andrew Bond, Ryan Wass-Tursick, Joey Dolce, and Austin Gipson have averaged over a point per game against the two-time Conference Finalists. They will look to take this momentum into a top-two contest against the Denver Demon Dogs on November 4th in Parker. For the Fire, they won their most recent game 4-2 and are 1 point ahead of the Thunder with two more games played. Rick Acorn leads the team in goals with 3, and fellow Canadian standout John Clewlow leads the team in points with 5.

The Colorado Springs Thunder and Denver Demon Dogs played an entertaining (second time) opening series in Colorado Springs. The crowd filled up the Xfinity Roller Sports Arena, providing a great atmosphere for the contest. The Thunder scored 5 powerplay goals and fended off a late Demon Dogs comeback to win game one in overtime. Denver then came back in game 2 and won the second game 7-5. 2023 Finals MVP Jake Townsend led the way with 3 goals and 2 assists for the Demon Dogs in the series, and CJ Yoder led the Thunder with 3 goals and 5 assists over the two game series.

In the semipro division, the 1st place Black Forest Thunder and 4th place Arvada Fire are only separated by 3 points after their first four games. The Littleton Fire and Aurora Prowlers face each other this upcoming Saturday in Parker, which may end up providing less separation between the teams. 

In the minor division, the Golden Fire debuted strong and rushed out to a 3-1 record after their first four games. The defending division champion Monument Thunder are 2-0 with 2 games in hand, while the Thornton Typhoon came back and won their first game of the season this past Saturday. The Sloans Lake Tugboats have not yet debuted in the division, but expect them to have a good start to the season as well.