Category: PIHA

Team Blue: Minor League Champions

Team Blue flew into Colorado knowing they would have a minimum of five games and a maximum of eight games to play in a two day span. As it would turn out, the team would need to use all eight games to claim the team’s first league championship in just their first season in the league. First up for Team Blue was the best of three semifinal matchup against the Western Conference’s top ranked Littleton Fire. Game 1 was an intense game where both teams had several opportunities, but stellar goaltending kept the score low. The Fire outlasted Team Blue and took the game 2-1. Realizing the Fire was a very talented group, Team Blue collected themselves and came out strong in game two. After Team Blue jumped out to an early lead, the young Fire team took several penalties. Team Blue took advantage of their power play opportunities. The Fire then lost their cool and had two players and a coach ejected for unsportsmanlike penalties. The final in game two would be Team Blue 5 and Fire 0. Game 3 was a battle. The Fire came back very strong and led for much of the game. Team Blue stayed close, but it seemed as though whenever they tied the score, the Fire would capitalize and regain the lead. With just under two minutes remaining, Nate Klusewitz scored for Team Blue to tie the game. Overtime was needed to decide game three. Less than two minutes into overtime, Chris Lerch rushed the puck up the boards and into the Fire zone where he shot the puck through the goalie’s five hole. Team Blue won the game 5-4, and earned a spot in the championship against the number one team from the Eastern Conference, the Suffolk Sting. BFN5FJ6AHEZQ

The Sting and Team Blue met twice during the regular season. The Sting took both games in hard fought battles. The PIHA Championships would be a different story. Game 1 of the championship went to overtime, and the Sting eventually won, despite Team Blue’s numerous opportunities in the overtime. With both teams having played several games already that day, it was obvious that game four would be won by the team in better shape. Team Blue came out hungry, and skated hard for both 10 minute halves to take a convincing 5-1 win. This was the Sting’s first loss of the season. Games 3, 4, and 5 would be the next morning. Sunday morning brought game three of the minor championship. Again, it was the Sting out playing Team Blue and taking the game 4-2. Knowing if they lost one more game they would lose the championship, Team Blue buckled down and played a great game to win game four 3-1. The series was tied at two, and the winner of game five would be named the 2009-2010 PIHA Minor Division Champion. The Sting took a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal, but would not be able to score again as Team Blue goalie Joe DiNapoli played an amazing game. Team Blue also scored in the first half on a one-timer power play goal by Colt Solliday. The score going into the second half of the game was 1-1. The second half was all Team Blue as Nate Klusewitz scored on the power play to give Team Blue a 2-1 lead. Chris Lerch would then lock things up with a goal to make the score 3-1. A costly 5 minute penalty on the Sting in the last four minutes of the game ended any chances the Sting had at making a come back. Team Blue won the game, and the championship with the 3-1 win.

Colorado Springs Thunder Sweep Games 1 and 2 of the 2010 PIHA Finals

Colorado Springs, Colo. — The host Colorado Springs Thunder didn’t disappoint their hometown crowd as they swept the Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Grizzlies in the first two games of the 2010 PIHA Finals, 2-0 and 4-3 (OT), tonight here at the Tour Arena.

In the first game Dan Lamb stood tall in net for the Western Conference champs, turning aside every shot he faced to lead the Thunder to a 2-0 victory. After a scoreless first half, the two teams continued to thwart each other’s chances until the Thunder finally struck with less than one minute left in the game. Brian Yingling converted on a pass from CJ Yoder and beat Grizzlies goalie Andrew Goworek at 11:09 to give the Thunder a 1-0 advantage. Yoder then added an empty-net goal at 11:31 to seal the 2-0 win. The Thunder outshot the Grizzlies 19-11.

In the second game, the teams once again were scoreless in the first half. The second half saw the Thunder take a 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the half on a power-play goal from Nick Gonnella at 1:12, and an even-strength tally from CJ Yoder at 1:38. The Grizzlies responded with a goal of their own from Andrew Brodsky only 18 seconds later to pull the Grizzlies within a goal. Thunder forward Brian Higney then lit the lamp at the four-minute mark to extend the Thunder lead to 3-1.  However, the Grizzlies took advantage of some Thunder mistakes to score two unanswered goals late in the game to send it to overtime. Philip Cocozzo struck at 6:34 on the power play and Chris Wolf registered a pretty three-on-three breakway goal at 9:34 to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Thunder, which earned a power-play opportunity with only 10 seconds remaining in regulation, didn’t waste any time sealing the game in OT. Still skating on the man advantage to open overtime, Brian Yingling received the puck down low to the left of Grizzlies netminder Andrew Goworek and sent a nifty pass across the top of the crease to a waiting CJ Yoder who buried the puck only 57 second in to give the Thunder the 4-3 win. The Grizzlies outshot the Thunder, 22-16.

“We’re happy we came away with the results we did tonight,” said Thunder Head Coach Dave Needham. “The Grizzlies are a strong team, and we don’t expect them to let up tomorrow night. We’re going to have to play smart at both ends of the floor tomorrow, and good things will continue to happen.”

The Thunder now have the upper hand in the best-of-seven series heading into Games 3 and 4 tomorrow night at 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. (MST) at the Tour Arena in Colorado Springs. Tickets are still available and fans across the country can also catch the action live on the Web at Justin.TV.

PIHA Announces All Weekend Championship Games Will be Live on the Web

Colorado Springs, CO. – When the New Jersey Grizzlies take on the Colorado Springs Thunder anyone in the world will be able to watch as games 1-7 will be shown LIVE on the web. Today the league announced that ALL the weekend’s games will be showcased on Justin.TV.  With the amazing capability of the camera system at beautiful Tour Arena in Colorado Springs, all minor series games will also be broadcast, with interviews and play-by-play, throughout the weekend. Be sure to follow your favorite team as they fight their way to a PIHA championship. Log onto Justin.TV and catch all the action.

The Colorado Springs Thunder are known for helping people out, especially when it comes to one of their own. The Thunder organization would like to share the story of Christopher Holmes with you, our fans. Chris, aka “Topher”, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in late December 2009. Christopher and his family have been a fixture here at Tour Arena for a number of years. Chris has played every form of inline hockey starting with rec leagues, Colorado Lightning, Middle and High School, Stallions, and Youth World Division. In 2006 Chris joined the Thunder organization as stick boy and later became locker room/bench manager through the 2009 PIHA championship year. His mom Chrissy even owned the Stallions Penalty Box for awhile in 2008 and his dad Larry has coached at several levels, including being on the Thunder bench when they clinched the Western Division Championship.

Christopher has started his fight to rid his body of this nasty disease and now must undergo chemotherapy in 21-day cycles, which includes many different forms of chemo, IVs, many different meds, shots, blood counts, and doctor checkups. Chris is also going to finish up his sophomore year at Falcon HS online, and he just can’t wait till he can get back on the floor and continue playing hockey. So if you happen to see Chris or his mom or dad, stop by and wish them well for they would appreciate that.

The Thunder will “Bic it for Chris” after Saturday night’s games 3 and 4. Players like Yingling, Yoder, Lamb, Serby, and several others within the organization will be shaving their heads for a minimum $5 donation to help a family in need.

A Rocky Fight for the Founders Cup

Colorado Springs, CO – It’s only one week away and the Colorado Springs area is already hopping with anticipation for PIHA’s 2009-2010 Finals. The surprise Eastern Conference Champion, New Jersey Grizzlies, have their flights booked while the Suffolk Sting and Pennsylvania Team Blue minor franchises are also making their plans for the Rockies in hopes of calling themselves CHAMPIONS! The weekend of February 19-21 will showcase some of the best talent in the country and “is going to be a weekend these players, families, and fans will not forget,” says PIHA Finals Event Manager, Teresa Miller. “We are excited about making the weekend an event, although everyone is excited for the hockey, we are putting together youth tournaments, exhibition games, a Friday night Happy Hour, and a tribute of hair shaving for a struggling member of the Thunder to round out some of the best hockey to ever come to Colorado.”

Obviously the weekend’s main attraction will be the New Jersey Grizzlies taking on the Colorado Springs Thunder in a battle to claim PIHA’s 9th Founders Cup. The seven game series will display a boat load of talent as three of the top four leading scorers in the league, Brian Yingling (31-26-57), Robbie Fulton (20-31-51), and CJ Yoder (18-30-48), take to the Tour Arena floor in hopes of leading their respective teams to a championship. The Grizzlies come into the Finals on a huge high note after stunning a Suffolk Sting team that had only lost 1 game in regulation all year long. While the Thunder, after scampering into the playoffs, have shown that they are clicking on all cylinders after sweeps of the Fort  Collins Catz and then rival Parker Prowlers. Both teams are very well coached as Denis Jelcic leads a very physical and young

Grizzlies team while Dave Needham is on his second road to the PIHA Finals in as many years at the helm for the Thunder. All games will be held at the beautiful Tour Arena in Colorado Springs, CO. with games #1 and #2 on Friday night beginning at 8pm. Games #3 and #4 will be Saturday at 8pm, with games #5, #6, and #7 on Sunday, if necessary, beginning at 11am.

The weekend also features the minor league beasts from the East taking on the best from the West as the Suffolk Sting and Pennsylvania Team Blue make the trip to face the Loveland Catz and Lakewood Fire. These matchups are not set at this point but already look to be heated and very fun to watch. East #1 will play West #2 and West #1 will take East #2 in three game series with winners and losers facing one another in a 5 game series later in the weekend. There will be plenty of hockey for these teams and their fans.

But the weekend will not only be featuring PIHA hockey. PIHA has set up a Finals Committee and this group is setting up all kinds of events for the weekend. One of the biggest events will be a shaving of the head as some of the Thunder players have decided to “bic it for Chris”. Chris Holmes, a member of the Thunder and die hard roller hockey player for several years, has recently been diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease and is fighting cancer. With the help of the fans and the heads of the Thunder, donations will be accepted for a shot with the clippers! The weekend is going to be not only exciting for PIHA, but also for everyone in Colorado Springs!

Sting gets Stung by Grizzlies

It was a snowy forecast for the weekend, but, Grizzlies General Manager Denis Jelcic and Sting General Manager Jason Muro got together on Friday afternoon and decided the games must go on!!! “We are tired of weather stopping games, we wanted to play, so Jelcic said they would be here no matter what, I told the refs to get here and we played says Muro.  So some of the Grizzlies arrived on Friday Night along with Jelcic were players Phil Cocozzo, James Manganaro and Chris Wolf…” I love the fact that the weather men were wrong again, we got up and there was no snow on the ground, good thing we didn’t cancel like the rest of the area.” says Jelcic.  Kris Moore, Andrew Goworek, Andrew Brodsky, Jeff Grabowski,Tom Youmans and Robbie Fulton would brave the storm and jump on the Long Island Expressway on Saturday morning.  Youmans would ride with our biggest fans, his parents Tom and BJ who were emotionally up and down the whole day….”These were good games, up and down all day….wow” Says Tom Youmans Sr……

The games were something to talk about.  Game 1 the Sting would score first before the Grizzlies would tie it and take a 3-1 lead.  Sting Coach Tim McManus pulled the Sting goaltender for their back up who backstopped them to a 4-3 win in game 1.  Game 2 the Grizzlies would take a 1-0 lead, only to be tied 1-1, and then the Grizzlies scored the next two goals to take a 3-1 lead (more…)

Western Conference Comes Down to Another Battle For I-83

Colorado Springs, CO – They’ve called it the “road war” for the past three years after the Pikes Peak Prowlers relocated from Colorado Springs and became the Parker Prowlers. The Battle for I-83 has turned into one of the league’s premier rivalries and this year it has gone to another level. In 2008, the Prowlers first year at the beautiful Parker Fieldhouse, the home team won only 7 games and missed the playoffs, in ’09 Parker ended up just less than .500 and lost in the first round to the Colorado Springs Thunder but now they are a team to be reckoned with. Starting this Thursday night the Parker Prowlers will roll down I-83 and back into their old barn to face the first place Colorado Springs Thunder once again.

The Thunder come off a sweep of the Fort Collins Catz and look to be getting back in stride for the playoff push,  while the Prowlers had a huge series from PIHA veteran Jon Ingrum as he scored five goals including the game winner in overtime of the third and final game against a very talented Lakewood Fire. “He’s playing his best when we need him to. That’s all you can ask from a guy that your team counts on to win games,” says Prowler head coach John Bovee.

The Western Conference will be decided during this five game series beginning this Thursday night at the Tour Arena. Game time is 8:15pm with general admission tickets at $7.00 or a Series Pass can be purchased for $10. Games 3, 4, and 5 if necessary will be Friday night with the puck drop also at 8:15. If you can’t watch the games from a Tour Arena stadium seat then check out all the action LIVE on the web at Justin.TV.

-from thepiha.com

2010 PIHA Finals Head West Into the Rockies

The PIHA league office has announced today that the 2009 – 2010 Finals will head back out to the Rocky Mountains and beautiful Tour Arena. “After calls to all the league owners we decided to designate a place for the finals this season after planning to go to the highest ranked home rink. All of the facilities are packed during the month of February, which is a good thing, but SIHA owner Jeff Ingrum, and everyone out in Colorado were happy to put one weekend aside for our finals. It’s the perfect place for our big event. With great grassroots programs already established by SIHA and the opportunity for TV production by Comcast, no matter who is in that last series the place should be rocking,” says PIHA founder Charley Yoder.

Finals weekend will be February 19-21 and will consist of a 7-game Pro series beginning Friday night with games 1 and 2 starting at 8:15. Games 3 and 4 on Saturday night again at 8:15pm and then if necessary games 5, 6, and 7 on Sunday. Four minor teams, 2 from the East and 2 from the West, will also play 3-game series to see who the best in the country at that level is, while the Rocky Mountain Division will display their women’s division playoffs during the weekend. There will also be plenty of youth games, a Tournament of Champions, and tons of giveaways and prizes for the many fans that will enjoy the event. ALL games will be broadcast LIVE over the internet on Justin tv and tickets will be available online soon.

Tour Arena is one of the premier facilities in the country and has all the essentials for a great weekend. Tour Arena is perfect for professional roller hockey with four locker rooms plus two Pro rooms, a big screen for replays, stadium seating, the Buffalo Wild Wing Suite, and a bar to watch the games from. The SIHA organization has a tournament at Tour Arena every weekend from January thru May with teams from all over the country hashing it out during RC Sports Nationals for three weeks in June. “We heard that we may have the opportunity to host the PIHA Finals this year and after a very quick meeting with the owner we were very excited to get back to Mr. Yoder with an emphatic yes! The Colorado Springs Thunder have done a ton for our youth development here in the state and if we can give our players the opportunity to see the top two teams in the country we want to do that. We are very excited for the weekend,” said facility manager Bill Mulhern.

2010 PIHA Season on the Move!

piha_logoSo far in the 2010 PIHA season every team has played at least 2 games and already some very interesting game turnouts have occurred, proving that this season the action will be as good as ever!

When you look at the standings for one you will notice that in the eastern conference the Harrisburg Lunatics are not in first place. This is quite a shock given there teams talent being headed by Jay Mazer, there three time Mason Dixon championships for the past three years, and little change in their roster from last season. Rather, out in front in the eastern conference holding on to 1st place is the ISCA grizzlies and their goal-scoring powerhouse Robbie Fulton.

The Suffolk Sting have only played two games and have won both, they are definitely the team to watch on the east coast featuring a trio of Greg Thompson, John Pinheiro, and John McGuinness. (more…)

Thunder Extinguish Blizzard; Charity Jersey Auction a Success!

thunder2009halloweenThe Colorado Springs Thunder kept their hold on top of the PIHA Rocky Mountain Division standings as they swept the Denver Blizzard, 6-2 and 7-1 in front of a packed house at the Tour Arena on Friday night. The Thunder extended their winning streak to four games, and improved their record to 7-1-0-0, while the Blizzard fell to 0-4-0-0.

More importantly, the evening was also the Thunder’s Fifth Annual Jersey Auction, with proceeds this year benefiting the Marion House, a charity in Colorado Springs that provides a soup kitchen, community outreach, client services, and children’s services for families in need. Over the past five years, the Thunder organization has raised more than $10,000 in support of local charities.

“As an organization, we make it a priority to be involved in the community,” said Thunder Captain CJ Yoder. “We once again had a great turn-out for our jersey auction, and raised almost $3,000 for a great cause. (more…)

Thunders 5th Annual Jersey Auction, Halloween Style

Colorado Thunder HalloweenYear after year the Colorado Springs Thunder out do themselves throughout the community and within their own organization and the month of October will be no different. Someone among the organization obviously enjoys the Halloween season and has persuaded the team to do the same. This Friday the Thunder will take on the Denver Blizzard in a rematch of the Rocky Mountain Division Finals from a year ago and will be showing off Halloween black and orange uniforms for their 5th charity jersey auction. Proceeds from the silent auction, which has raised more than $10,000 over the last four events, will be donated to the Marion House in Colorado Springs.

This year the Denver Blizzard will be joining the festivities at Tour Arena and will be coming into a hostile environment after revamping a veteran hockey team that ended up second in the division and handed the Thunder their only loss during the 2008-09 regular season. The Blizzard have moved towards a younger, quicker team that will be in for a huge test on the 30th, as the Thunder look to keep the fans happy in hopes of raising big numbers for the Marion House. (more…)

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