The Superior RoughRiders were a junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

organization based in

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

Boulder County Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises th ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. The team played in the

Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 19 ...

at the Sport Stable in Superior. The Superior RoughRiders are owned by the RoughRiders Hockey Club.

Team history

Under previous ownership, The RoughRiders were formerly known as the Colorado Outlaws from 2007 to 2009. The Colorado Outlaws played in

Westminster, Colorado The City of Westminster is a home rule municipality located in Adams and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 116,317 at the 2020 United States Census with 71,240 residing in Adams County and 45,077 residing in ...

. In 2009, the franchise was relocated to Boulder Valley Ice in nearby

Superior, Colorado Superior is a statutory town in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, with a small, uninhabited segment of land area extending into Jefferson County. According to the 2020 census, the population of the city was 13,094. History Superior's h ...

, and named the Boulder Junior Bison. In its inaugural season in Superior, the team went 40–18–2 for second place in the division. The Junior Bison advanced to the Thorne Cup finals, but lost to the Phoenix Polar Bears. As the runners-up in the WSHL, the Bison qualified for the

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

Tier III Junior A National Championships held in

Marlborough, Massachusetts Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the ...

. The Bison lost all three games, being outscored 19–2. The Bison moved 10 total players either up on call up or to NCAA. In its sophomore year in Superior, the Bison earned a regular season record of 33–12–3 record. During the first round of the WSHL playoffs, the Bison swept the Texas Jr. Brahmas with victories in both games one and two (8–7 in overtime and 11–5). They were then eliminated in the Mid-Western Division Finals, losing the series 0–2 to division rival

El Paso Rhinos The El Paso Rhinos are a junior ice hockey organization based in El Paso, Texas. Their home games are played at the County Events Center located within the El Paso County Coliseum complex. The Rhinos are members of the South Division of the Tie ...

. 11 players from this Bison roster moved on to higher levels of hockey. On April 15, 2014, the RoughRiders Hockey Club purchased the Jr. Bison and renamed the team the RoughRiders after their junior hockey team in the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

, the

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Before moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1999, the team was based in Mason City, where they were known as the North Iowa Huskies. ...

. The team then moved to a new complex called Boulder Valley Ice & Indoor Sports starting with the 2015–16 season. On June 9, 2015, the RoughRiders announced that in order to connect better with their community, the team would be known as the Superior RoughRiders. In 2018, the RoughRiders were no longer listed as members of the WSHL and their website was shutdown.

Statistics

Regular season records

Playoff records

Playoffs *2008 – ''Lost Midwest Division Semi-final'' :''

'' defeated Colorado Outlaws 2-games-to-0 *2009 – ''Lost Midwest Division Semi-final'' :''

'' defeated Colorado Outlaws 2-games-to-0 *2010 – ''Lost Thorne Cup Finals'' :Boulder Bison defeated ''

Tulsa Rampage The Cheyenne Stampede were a United Hockey Union-sanctioned junior ice hockey team in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL). The Stampede played their home games at the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center. The team announced it would not participat ...

'' 2-games-to-0 :Boulder Bison defeated ''

'' 2-games-to-1 :'' Phoenix Polar Bears'' defeated Boulder Bison 2-games-to-1 *2011 – ''Lost Mountain Divisional Finals'' :Boulder Bison defeated '' Texas Jr. Brahmas'' 2-games-to-0 :''

'' defeated Boulder Bison 2-games-to-0 *2012 – ''Lost Mountain Divisional Finals'' :Boulder Bison defeated ''

Cheyenne Stampede The Cheyenne Stampede were a United Hockey Union-sanctioned junior ice hockey team in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL). The Stampede played their home games at the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center. The team announced it would not participat ...

'' 2-games-to-0 :'' Idaho Jr. Steelheads'' defeated Boulder Bison 2-games-to-1 *2013 – ''Lost Mountain Divisional Finals'' :Boulder Bison defeated ''

'' 2-games-to-0 :''

'' defeated Boulder Bison 2-games-to-0 *2014 – ''Lost Mountain Divisional Semifinals'' :''Phoenix Knights'' defeated Boulder Bison 2-games-to-1 *2015 – ''Lost Mountain Divisional Quarterfinal'' :''Salt Lake City Moose'' defeated Colorado RoughRiders 2-games-to-1 *2016 – ''Lost Mountain Divisional Semifinals'' :Superior RoughRiders defeated ''Salt Lake City Moose'' 2-games-to-1 :''Colorado Jr. Eagles'' defeated Superior RoughRiders 2-games-to-0 *2017 – ''Lost Mountain Divisional Quarterfinals'' :''Utah Outliers'' defeated Superior RoughRiders 2-games-to-0 *2018 – ''Lost Mountain Divisional Semifinals'' :Superior RoughRiders defeated '' Casper Coyotes'' 2-games-to-0 :''Utah Outliers'' defeated Superior RoughRiders 2-games-to-1

Alumni

The Bison had a number of alumni move on to

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...

, ACHA Division I and II, and higher levels of junior ice hockey, and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

ice hockey, including:

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Team Website

Official League Website
Ice hockey teams in Colorado Ice hockey clubs established in 2007 2007 establishments in Colorado Boulder County, Colorado