The Thunder won handily, 5-2, in the first game of the night to take a 3-0 lead in the series. The Thunder took a 2-1 leading heading into half time on goals from Brian Yingling and Eric Bogenrief. The second half was also all Thunder, as Yingling and Bogenrief each again to take a 4-1 lead. Andrew Brodsky notched a short-handed tally to pull the Grizzlies to within two goals midway through the second half, but Yingling completed the hat trick at 8:02 against Grizzlies’ goaltender Nuno Costa to make the final score 5-2. The Thunder outshot the Grizzlies, 21-17.

The second game saw the Grizzlies take a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game thanks to an Andrew Brodsky tally at 3:54. But the Thunder responded at 10:05 to tie the game heading into the second half. Skating on the power play, Eric Bogenrief took a pass in the high slot from Brian Yingling and Nick Gonnella, and ripped a low shot past Grizzlies’ goaltender Nuno Costa’s glove side. Thunder captain CJ Yoder then sealed the game at 3:50 of the second half. Skating short-handed, Jesse Tuttle head-manned the puck up the right wing to Yoder who cut in and sent a backhander past Costa for the game winner. With only 1:50 remaining in the second half, Brian Yingling added an insurance goal, ripping the puck top-shelf while on the power-play to make the final score 3-1 in favor of the 2010 PIHA Champion Thunder. The Thunder outshot the Grizzlies, 14-12.

“We are thrilled to win repeat championships,” said Thunder Head Coach Dave Needham. “It was truly a team effort, and the Grizzlies were great opponents. We’d like to thank all the teams in PIHA, our staff, and most importantly our fans for a great season!”

Colorado Springs, Colo

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.

Colorado Springs, CO. –

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.

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.