Depleted Dynamite Roster No Match for a Full Blizzard

The Denver Dynamite may have been eliminated from the playoffs the weekend prior to this past one, but they still had a chance to play spoiler to the Colorado Blizzard and send the expansion FC Denver packing to the National Finals in San Diego.

Even before this match was reduced to a spoiler, the Dynamite were looking continue their dominance over the Blizzard this year and send the regular season out with a BANG by signing a former MVP with three MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League) championships under his belt, former player/coach Chris “Solo” Handsor, for the remainder of the season (and for a possible post season at the time).

But the “Force” was not with the Dynamite as they ended the season on a 2 game slide starting with the loss of Chad Pearson and Josh Elbaum due to injury in the weeks before.  Adding insult to injury, Sean Stedeford, Roby Monroe and Mark Cromie turned on top of a flight issue that prevented Handor from making it to the game.

After allowing 3 goals in the first quarter, the Dynamite appeared to have gotten thing under control in the 2^nd as they not only doubled the Blizzard with shots on goal, but also shut them down completely and head into the lockers still only down 3-0.

Missing a veteran crew in the back proved detrimental in the third period to the Dynamite as time after time they found themselves unable to mark the back post let alone clear many of goal keeper Garrison Goodener’s initial saves.  With 3:13 remaining in the match, Denver would finally stop the bleeding, and end the Blizzard shutout with a Tony Thomas Power Play Goal off a human Wall Pass from Tony Avery to George Hunt.

The Dynamite will still see action on Sunday, March 3^rd at 6:00PM as they are set to host the first annual All Star Game at the Apex Field House. Appearing on the North roster for the Dynamite are Garrision Goodner, Jay Hamilton, Tony Thomas, Tony Avery, Mike Ogletree, Josh Elbaum and Travis Carey.

Dynamite and Blizzard Draw in a 4-4 Thriller

On Saturday night the Dynamite hosted the league leading Colorado Blizzard in their home opener, in front of around 350 fans at the APEX Fieldhouse.  The Dynamite came out fighting, looking much sharper than they did in their league opener against FC Denver.  After having the majority of the opportunities in the first quarter, the Dynamite were the first to get on the board with a Tony Avery goal, assisted by Robert Garcia with two minutes remaining.   

In the second quarter, the Colorado Blizzard would strike back in a big way, showing why they are the defending division champions and current leaders.   Mitch Lobdell got it started for the Blizzard, evening the score 1-1 with 10:30 left on the first half clock.  Four minutes later with the Blizzard attack now in full force, Jesus Ramirez with his back to the goal, deflected in a blistering John Molet shot off the inside of his leg to give the visitors their first lead.  Only a minute later Eric Goldberg would score, assisted by Clayton Zelin to extend the Blizzard lead to 3-1.  With three minutes remaining in the half, Jesus Ramirez would give the Blizzard a 4-1 lead.  Going into the break, it appeared that Colorado had all the momentum. 

Only four and a half minutes into the third quarter, the Dynamite received their sixth team foul and would have to kill a 2 minute penalty.   As time ran out on the Blizzard power play, Tony Avery sprinted off the bench to receive a Mike Ogletree pass on his way to scoring a breakaway goal.  The third quarter would end without another score. However the Dynamite had chipped away at the lead, trailing 4-2.  

After killing a Dynamite power play at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Blizzard would be awarded a second penalty after a Jay Hamilton blue card, only to have Mike Ogletree steal a Blizzard pass and score a breakaway shorthanded goal with 11:40 remaining on the clock.  Not only did the Dynamite kill the power play, but they now found themselves within one goal.  With 4:09 remaining, Blizzard Forward Michael Archuleta was given a 5 minute major penalty and a red card for violent conduct.  The Dynamite would have the man advantage for the rest of the match, or until they scored.  With 2:02 remaining, the Dynamite also brought in Jay Hamilton as the 6th attacker.  After a few near misses, the Dynamite got the equalizer with 58.8 seconds remaining in the match, as Keegan Miller assisted on a Travis Carey goal.  The buzzer sounded with the game ending in a 4-4 stalemate.   

It was a highly spirited and competitive match, and without a doubt the best game of the season so far.  The Dynamite showed great resolve after going down 4-1 to earn a tie.  Tony Avery led the Dynamite attack with 7 shots and 2 goals.  Mike Ogletree played a key role on defense for the Dynamite after missing the season opener.   The Dynamite hope this will be a building block, as they look to avenge a US Arena open cup loss against the CSC Cavalry next Saturday, at 8:00pm in Monument.  

Rocky Mountain Roundup - Week 10

The 2011-12 Rocky Mountain Division season ended in fitting fashion, with a doubleheader between the top two clubs.  After 2 postponements, the league leading Blizzard finally were able to play the Dynamite at their new home in Arvada.

Game one saw the Dynamite jump out to an early and impressive 2-0 lead.  This served as a wake up call for the Blizzard, who bounced back to tie the match by halftime 2-2, and dominated the second half to win 6-2.  Eric Goldberg would lead the Blizzard with two goals.

The now 7-0 Blizzard and 3-3-1 Dynamite would play one more time, and this time it would also count as the Division championship, due to financial and time issues preventing a separate final.  The Blizzard would prove yet again why they are the Division's best, picking up where they left off in game one and storming to a 3-0 lead.  The clubs would trade goals to go into the final break at 4-1.   The Blizzard would continue the onslaught in the second half, extending the lead to 7-1.  The Dynamite would have two nice goals to bring the final score to 7-3 Blizzard.  It was an impressive performance by Odobong Obetette, who had 3 goals and 2 assists, and a total of 4 goals and 3 assists on the night. 

The Blizzard are the first club to go undefeated and win the Rocky Mountain Division Title.  (The Colorado Predators went undefeated in the regular season in 2007-08, but were upset by Albuquerque in the Championship Final) 

A pleased Coach Wells had this to say, after the season ending performance:  "We came up here tonight expecting a battle, and the way the Dynamite came out with 2 quick goals it looked like we were in for a long night. As shifts were coming in and out of the bench, I was making my rounds telling each shift to calm down and play our game, work the patterns, read what they are giving you. It was our 3rd shift that calmed everything down and began to pressure as a group, and the 1st and 2nd shift followed by example. As soon as we started playing collectively as a group you could see the shift in momentum, and the guys started connecting passes that lead to goals. Once we took control of the game you could see the confidence building in the players and it was obvious they were focused from that point on. I'm very proud of the players and the effort they put forth over the course of the season, and we look forward to representing the Rocky Mountain Division in San Diego in March at Nationals. An 8-0 season is really tough with the quality of teams we have in the Rocky Mountain Division, and I hope that we can carry this momentum and good form into Nationals. Thanks to all the Teams in our Division."


The Final Standings look like this......

Rocky Mountain Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
Colorado Blizzard	8	8	0	0	24			Undefeated and headed to San Diego
Denver Dynamite	8	3	4	1	10			With a strong core of players the future is bright.....
Ft. Collins Fury	8	3	4	1	10			Add some depth, and the Fury will be back among the Division elite...
Edwards Freedom	8	0	6	2	2			Perhaps the best winless team in PASL-Premier?

The domination by the Blizzard also showed in individual statistics.  In goalkeeping, Justin Dzuba led the Division with a 2.25 GAA in 4 starts, while his teammate Michael Archuleta had the second lowest GAA with 3.86 in 3 starts.  Eric Goldberg was the Division's goal leader, with 11 on the season.   Odobong Obetette tied Zach Speed of Fort Collins for second with 10 goals, but Obetette also led the Division with 12 assists.  Duane Pelz of Edwards came in 4th with 7 goals, and Tony Avery of Denver finished 5th with 6.  Jay Hamilton of the Dynamite finished 2nd in the Division in assists, with 8. 


The Blizzard will take the next 2 weekends off as they prepare for the PASL-Premier Nationals, March 9-10 in San Diego.  The Blizzard have depth at all positions, including two solid goalkeepers in Dzuba and Archuleta.  The defense (as well as goalkeeping) has always been a strong point for the Blizzard, with  players like Jimmy Wade, Kelly Robinson, and John Molet.  The five previously mentioned players all have PASL-Pro experience with the Dynamite, or the Colorado Lightning in the case of Archuleta.  If Obetette and Goldberg continue to produce on offense, this club will be a contender in San Diego.  Of course anything can happen at the PASL Nationals, but the Blizzard's depth should have them well prepared for a tournament where you could play as many as 6 games in 2 days. 


There are 5 other divisions in the PASL-Premier, and the Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, and Great Lakes will decide their championships this coming weekend, punching 4 more tickets to the finals.  The South Central Division will play through the final weekend before Nationals.  The San Diego Sockers Reserves will likely be in as hosts, plus a few at large berths.  Stay tuned for a special PASL-Premier finals preview edition of the Roundup, where we will take a look at not only the Blizzard's group opponents, but the tournament in general.

Dynamite Close Season with Two Losses

The Dynamite season culminated with their largest challenge of all, a doubleheader against the undefeated, division leading Colorado Blizzard.   Both matches were played by PASL-Premier tournament standards, two 20 minute halves.

Game one would see the Dynamite jump out to an early lead.  With 15:20 left in the half, Tony Avery collected the rebound of a Justin Ferguson shot to put Denver ahead.  Jay Hamilton would score at 14:10 to give the Dynamite their largest lead at 2-0.  An Eric Goldberg goal with 8 minutes remaining would wake up the Blizzard, who followed this up with a breakaway goal by Greg Hubbard to even the score at 2-2 by halftime.

The 2-2 stalemate would hold 10 minutes into the second half, until the Dynamite could contain the Blizzard no longer.  A Jesse Black goal (assisted by Odobong Obetette) at 9:25 would get things started for the Blizzard.  A minute and a half later, Eric Goldberg would score his second goal for the Blizzard, off a rebound from a Kelly Robinson shot.  Obetette scored for the Blizzard with 3:23 remaining to put the Blizzard up 5-2.  The Dynamite then pulled Goalkeeper Brandyn Bumpas for 6th attacker Jay Hamilton, but it was the Blizzard who would capitalize with a Brian Contreras empty net goal to put the match away, 6-2.

 The teams would waste no time getting started with game two, with a 5 minute break.  Not only was this the final match of the regular season, but it would also double as the division championship game.  The Blizzard would pick up right where they left off, with a Eric Goldberg goal with 17:40 left in the first half.  At 14:53 a Jonathan Dzuba goal (assist by Jesse Black) would keep things going for the Blizzard.  With 5:50 left, Odobong Obetette would score his first in game two to give Colorado a 3-0 lead.  Denver would finally answer as Greg Borchers corralled the rebound off a Mike Ogletree shot and put it in the back of the net.  However the Blizzard would answer back with another Obetette goal with 28 seconds remaining to take a 4-1 lead into the half.

Obetette, who factored in on 5 of Colorado's 7 goals in game two, kept the Blizzard on a dominating pace in the second half by assisting Kelly Robinson at 15:50 and Jesse Black at 10:20.  At 9:30 Obetette would score his third goal (assisted by Yves Chinje), earning a hat trick to cap off a great night, giving the Blizzard a commanding 7-1 lead. Despite the 6 point gap, the Dynamite started to show signs of life, kick started by Tony Thomas who scored at 3:54 and then assisted on a Justin Ferguson goal at 3:35.  However it was too little too late as the Blizzard would win 7-3.  

Not only did the Blizzard earn the right to represent the Rocky Mountain Division at the PASL-Premier Nationals, they did so in an impressive fashion, finishing at 8-0.  The Dynamite played well, but could not stop a Blizzard squad that was firing on all cylinders.  While the Blizzard prepare for Nationals in San Diego, the 3-4-1 Dynamite look to build on an overall positive finish, and continue to improve next season.