The Roadrunners lost 4-3 to eventual champion, West Chester University (Pa.), in the first round of the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association’s Division II Championships April 9 in San Jose, Calif.

“We did a great job defensively,” Head Coach Bobby Derian said, noting the Rams scored 296 goals during the season, compared to the Roadrunners’ 99. “The referee said it was the most exciting game he had seen all tournament, and a lot of league officials were talking about how well Metro did. We gained a lot of respect nationally.”

The Roadrunners faced West Chester in the first round after losing their first three games in pool play. Derian said it was the toughest pool of the tournament and two of the teams made the Final Four, including West Chester.

“We had a tough draw,” Derian said. “We played each of those teams extremely well. All of the games were decided in the last minute and a half.

Andrew Smith, defenseman and the club’s co-founder and president, said the experience was amazing nonetheless.

“The best experience for me was traveling with the group of guys on the team,” said Smith, who played his final game for Metro. “We’ve been playing together for quite a while, I know them well. It was really good times just going with the guys.”

Lemon said the fact it was Smith’s last game with the team hit home.

“It was kind of emotional,” he said. “He’s been such a big part of the team, putting it together and running it the last couple of years. He’s definitely a fundamental player and we’ll miss him.”

Smith said while the team wasn’t playing hockey, they remained focused for the most part but let loose after the final game was over.

“Most of the time we kind of hung at the hotel and relaxed,” he said. “We were focused on the games. We had a couple team dinners, we went to a go-kart place in Redwood City, but other than that we didn’t get around too much.

Lemon said the team plans on finishing business in next year’s event.

“We already know we’re one of the best teams in the nation,” he said. “We just need to prove it.”

Metro 6 – CU 1

Metro JV 4 – UNC 5

Metro JV 3 – CSU 5

Do you know the way to San José? Metro’s club inline hockey team does.

The Roadrunners ran away from the Colorado School of Mines, 6-1, in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Roller Hockey Association Division II Championship game Feb. 27 at OD’s Sports Crossing in Fort Collins. The victory earned the team a trip to San José, Calif. to compete in Nationals April 27.

“It was a great team effort all around,” Head Coach Bob Derian said. “We had a lot of great leaders on this team, all very, very unselfish. It was all about us, not about me. Every guy on this team just wanted to win. Period. They didn’t care who scored the most goals or the most assists; it was all about winning.”

Defenseman Cody Lemon put the Roadrunners up 1-0 two minutes into the game before Mines forward, and RMCRHA leading scorer, Craig Crow tied it with a power-play goal six minutes later. The score remained knotted at one until six minutes into the third period, when Metro defenseman Ryan Donahue unleashed a flurry, scoring three goals in two minutes to break the game open. Forward Kyle Brooks added the final fifth goal a few minutes later.

Metro defenseman Cody Lemon nearly scores a goal in the third period of the Roadrunners’ 6-1 victory over the Colorado School of Mines Feb. 27 at OD’s Sports Crossing in Fort Collins. Metro won the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Roller Hockey Division II Championship and earned a trip to San José, Calif. to compete in nationals in April. Photo by Matt Gypin

“It feels awesome,” said defenseman Andrew Smith, who is also the club’s president. “We were pretty dominant last year too, and the championship game we lost by a goal. It feels really good to pull it out and use everyone on the team to be able to win this game and get us to nationals.”

Earlier in the day, the Roadrunners stomped the University of Colorado 6-1 in the semifinals to advance to the championship game. Brooks scored three goals and Bobby Derian, son of coach Bob, added two more. Donahue also scored and defenseman Andy Tillotson had two assists.

Metro’s JV club inline hockey team, competing in the RMCRHA’s B Division, nearly joined varsity at nationals. The Roadrunners came back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to beat the University of Northern Colorado 4-3 in the B Division semifinals before losing 5-3 to Colorado State University in the championships.

The Roadrunners led 2-1 going into the third period of the championships game before the Rams took control with two quick goals and never looked back.

Goalie Mark Gafari said the team was happy to have made it as far as they did and is looking forward to next season.

“We had a pretty good season,” Gafari said. “Today we actually had one of our best games. We made a comeback, which was huge for us, against UNC earlier in the semis and we didn’t give up against CSU, we kept trying. Even though we lost the state championship, as a team we’re happy we made it here. We think we deserved it. We were leading after the third period, which was a shock to them because they came in thinking they had it. Even though they did get it, we as a team felt we played our best and we’re really excited for next season.”

Next season begins next month for the varsity team. Let’s hope they find their way back from San José as national champions.

A month later, Metro rolled off four wins in a row, including victories over Colorado State University, Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. Then the Roadrunners fell off a cliff.

By January, the team was down nine players, including four of their top-five leading scorers, who either left for personal reasons or were not allowed to play because of academic eligibility issues. When it was all said and done, Metro finished the season with a 5-23 record, including 14 losses in a row.

“Overall it was disappointing because we started out really well and we had a lot of expectations, but we didn’t finish the season very well,” said forward Turner Bahn, the team’s captain, president and leading scorer.

Losing nine players at the semester break made it difficult for the team to compete.

“I think if we kept those guys, it would have been different,” forward Kyle Obuhanick said. “Toward the end of the season we were playing with 12 guys on our team. We originally had 25 guys picked for the lineup. It’s hard to win when you’re down your core guys and then secondly, when you have only a couple extra guys on the bench to take your shifts. Bahn said that losing so many players, and games, took its toll on the team.

“I think it definitely affected everybody’s attitude toward playing,” Bahn said. “Practices got way more relaxed. Game situations got way more relaxed. In the locker room before games, the mood was just way more relaxed. Despite the lack of on-ice success this year, Obuhanick said the team still had fun and is excited for next season.

“I think next year is going to be a completely different season,” Obuhanick said. “I think we’re going to have a whole new group of guys coming in. I think we’re going to gain a lot more skilled players. I know the skill players that we did have that we lost at semester are going to come back. So I am really hopeful for next year. I am not discouraged at all.”

Metro 6 – UNC 0

Metro 6 – ACC 3

The Roadrunners club inline hockey team is rolling toward the playoffs after beating both the University of Northern Colorado and Arapahoe Community College Feb. 6 at Rocky Mountain Roller in Lakewood.

The wins were Metro’s eighth and ninth in a row, giving them a 12-2 record for the season and a Rocky Mountain Collegiate Roller Hockey Association Division II No. 1 ranking.

In the first game, goalie Ryan Tennant made 22 saves and recorded a shut out in the Roadrunners’ 6-0 victory over UNC. Forward Bobby Derian scored three goals and assisted on another, while his younger brother Tommy Derian scored one goal and had two assists.

Defenseman Cody Lemon said tight defense, good goaltending and the Derian brothers’ offense were keys to the victory.

Metro defenseman Cody Lemon, center, awaits a faceoff Feb. 6 during the Roadrunners 6-3 victory over Arapahoe Community College. Photo by Matt Gypin

“We played great defense, we weren’t letting them cut into the slot and we got our sticks on them and our bodies on them,” Lemon said. “Ryan (Tennant) has been absolutely solid the last three years, this year more than any other. Offensively, Bobby [Derian] and Tommy [Derian] together are unstoppable: they will pull things you wouldn’t think is possible; miracle plays.”

In the second game, the Roadrunners fell behind 1-0 early and trailed 2-1 after the first period, before rallying to beat Arapahoe Community College 6-3. Lemon said his team came out overconfident and overlooked its opponent.

“I think we just played down to the team,” Lemon said. “We figured we would be able to really beat this team, considering our JV team beat them 7-0 the week before, and we just played down to their level.

“We knew it the second we came off after the first period, our coach ripped into us and we had nothing to say,” Lemon said. “We knew exactly what we were doing wrong; we all knew we were going to pull it out and we weren’t worried about it. We just all looked at each other and said, ‘let’s play the game we know how to play and get this thing taken care of.’ And that’s what we did.”

The Roadrunners will face Colorado State University and the University of Colorado Feb. 20 at Rocky Mountain Roller, before going to Fort Collins Feb. 27 for the regional playoffs. If Metro wins the regional championship, they will be invited to nationals in San Jose, CA in April.

At the end of the fall semester, Metro lost nine players, seven were academically ineligible and two had to leave for personal reasons. Those players included five of their six top scorers. The damage spread from the roster to the locker room and onto the ice as Metro has scored 13 goals in their last seven games since Dec. 11. The opposition has scored 82 in the same span.

The game against the University of Denver Jan. 29 was representative of the previous six as the ‘Runners lost 14-4. Team captain Turner Bahn had a goal and an assist, while forwards Montana Loundagin, Kyle Obuhanick and Michael Walker each had a goal. Forward Steve Call also had two assists.

“It’s not fun to lose your top scorers like that. I am the only one left,” Bahn said.

Metro added seven players during the spring semester, but nevertheless, a net loss of two
players does not tell the whole story. The missing talent speaks greater volumes than the quantity of players lost. One of several notable losses was last year’s leading scorer forward Dan Golden.

“I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn’t know it would be this bad,” head coach Ryan Callahan said. “We don’t have the talent. We will keep 10 guys for next year if we’re lucky.”

Callahan and Bahn were only expecting to lose two or so players until the last minute bombshell at the end of the semester. Now with only three games remaining, Metro will have to rebuild and recruit for next season.

“We had chemistry at the beginning of the season but now we lost it. We have to start all over again. I lost all my line-mates,” Bahn said.

The Roadrunners will play Feb. 5 against Utah State University at the Edge Ice Arena in Littleton, and Feb. 6 against the University of Northern Colorado at the Ice Haus in Greeley. They will finish out the season Feb. 12 against the University of Utah at the Edge Ice Arena.