Boulder Jr. Bison

Purchase season tickets for all the Jr. Bison home games and get a special discount.  More information will be posted soon or Contact Bison Team Manager Ed Smith for more information.

Are you looking for a fun and rewarding experience?  Then the Boulder Jr. Bison are looking for you!

Each year 16 to 20 year old players from around the world try-out or are recruited for a roster spot with the team. As they are selected, the players are placed in host homes for the season.  The Jr. Bison are currently looking for families who are interested in housing a player for the upcoming season which begins in mid-August, and ends in mid-to-late March. 

Host families receive a monthly stipend for each player they house along with free season tickets.  If you would like to get more detailed information, please contact Team Manager, Ed Smith via email at edward_s_smith@ml.com  or by phone at (303)912-5432.

Thank you for considering being an integral part of helping a young man achieve his dreams! 

The Boulder Junior Bison are pleased to announce it has signed Goaltender Michael Porter to protect the home net from any opposing pucks for the 2010-2011 season.  Porter played last season for the Boulder Bison youth Midget major AA team.  " I have had the chance along with assistant Coach Jeff Neitenbach to watch Michael play last season and skate against him this season, and we both feel he can do the job for the team.  He is also a great kid that is dedicated to the game which in this sport can carry you a long way." stated head coach Brent Cullaton. Porter was attending the TGI camp this past week at the Apex arena where a 3 on 3 tournament style games occured at the end of the camp day, Michael impressed the Jr. Bison coaches stopping D1 college players and NHL pro's to finalize his spot as one of the goaltenders the Bison wanted. " We watched him play and really honed in on how he talked and reacted to playing against Division 1 College players and pro's, he didn't look out of place at all said assistant Coach Jeff Neitenbach, we are excited to see what he can do in the season."  Michael's thoughts on becoming a Jr. Bison " This season I am incredibly excited to be in net for the Jr. bison.  After spending my last season of youth hockey at Boulder, I love the atmosphere and community that the rink and teams have.  This season I want to compete as hard as I can to put the team in the best position to win every game.  I also hope that I can work hard for Coach Cullaton and Coach Neitenbach and continue to push my game to the next level." The Jr. Bison open camp on August 6th at BVICE.

The Boulder Jr. A Bison are pleased to announce the signing of defensman Peter Ferm to a contract for the 2010-2011 season.  Peter comes to the Bison from Missoula, MT where he was a captain on the Missoula H.S State Championship team. " I had the chance to run a bench at JPS and Peter happened to be on that team.  He is a team player that plays a very physical style and will give us some added strength on the blue line stated head coach Brent Cullaton.  Peter is a 91 birthyear with two years of junior hockey remaining.  Here is Peter's thoughts on being a Bison " I am very excited and honored to play for the Bison this upcoming season.  I am looking forward to being coached by Coach Cullaton, and to work hard toward reaching our team goals and helping my teammates be successful."  The Bison beigin the season at home vs Mid West rival El Paso Rhino's on September 24-26 at Bvice.

Due to the success of jr. Bison prospects making NAHL main camps we have had to change our camp dates to August 6th, 7th & 8th to ensure a top quality camp.  We apologize for any inconvenience but this was unforseeable and needed to be done to give all players the best opportunity to make our team.

The Boulder Jr. Bison are pleased to announce that (F) Steven Shaffroth has been accepted to the Milwaukee School Of Engineering.  Shaffroth was a big component of the Bison success this season after returning from school after a semester from Utica College.  Shaffroth helped lead to the Bison to it's first Nationals apperance and his second in as many years.  Shaffroth scored 33 points in 25 games for the Bison this season. " I am proud of Steven and very happy for him.  he is a very intelligent student and will have a great career either on or off the ice.  It was a pleasure to Coach him."  shaffroth who hails from Arvada is the 6th player to be accepted to NCAA to continue playing hockey and pursue a great education.

The Boulder Jr. Bison are pleased to announce the signing of former youth stand out Dante Ruscitti for the 2010/11 season.  Dante Ruscitti, 17, is a native of Colorado, and has played his entire hockey career for Boulder Hockey Club.  Ruscitti, a center, played last season for the Boulder Bison Min AA team, which was ranked 5^th in nation and qualified for Nationals. Last season, Ruscitti was 4^th goals, 4^th in assists and 4^th in total points in the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association, and helped lead his team to a State Championship and a trip to Nationals. Ruscitti is looking forward to playing Juniors for Brent Cullaton and the Jr. Bison. “I am really exited for the opportunity to develop at a higher level and look forward to the change in competition, style and surroundings that playing in Junior offers.”   Ruscitti scored 24 goals and added 32 helpers in 51 games last season.  "We have watched Dante play on numerous occasions and both Assistant Coach Jeff Neitenbach and I feel he has the potential to become a solid junior player." said Head Coach Brent Cullaton.  The Bison will have try out camp open on July 23rd at BVICE.

The Boulder Jr. Bison after having a Cinderella season receive more great news.  Five of it's 2009/10 team will be attending college and playing hockey at the NCAA level next season.  (G) Taylor Fant, (F) Jordan Roberts, (D) Mark Owen and (D) Hurley Kane have all been accepted into Worcester State College for the 2010/11 season and (F) Brendan Galley has been accepted to Castleton State College.  " I am thrilled for these guys said Head Coach Brent Cullaton, they earned it by the hard work and dedication they put into our great season.  I'm sure they will all have a great College hockey experience."  The Bison are expecting a few more NCAA signings to come here in the near future.  "We will have a lot of holes to fill, but filling a spot because a player moves on to College hockey is what my job is all about.  I look forward to the challenge as does my assistant Jeff Neitenbach.  We both hope to continue our success and keep moving players on that is junior hockey and what we pride ourselves in moving players on to better levels and opportunities in the game.  The 2010/2011 Jr. bison camp will open on July 23rd at BVICE.

Jr. Bison Awards:

• MVP - Derek Scanlon
• Rookie of the year - Daniel Turgeon
• Most improved - John DeSpain
• Unsung Hero - Anthony Cullen & Nick Sutton
• Coaches Award - Mark Owen

Junior Bison assistant captain and veteran defenceman Derek Scanlon has joined the Laredo Bucks of the Central hockey League for the 2009/10 playoffs.  Scanlon skated with the Bucks back in January while head Coach Brent Cullaton filled in as an emergency forward on a depleted Bucks roster.  Scanlon impressed Head Coach and 17 year NHL veteran Terry Ruskowski enough to earn an invite to come be an amateur player with the Bucks on there playoff run.  Scanlon will only get to see game action barring injuries to the twenty man roster previously set.  Head Coach Terry Ruskowski said " I really like Derek's attitude he comes to work and shows he wants it, I like that in young kids, he is a good skater and has been working out since I told him back in Colorado.  I look forward to watching his progress in practice and giving him an opportunity to start next season."  The Bucks are tied 2-2 vs the Allen Americans in the best of seven series.

The Boulder junior Bison inaugural season has come to an end at Nationals falling 4-2 but playing spoiler to the Dubuque Thunder birds.  The Thunder birds needed 1 more goal to qualify to the final 4, but a solid effort by the Bison prevented that.   On a season that finish at 40-18-2, the Bison staff could not have asked for much more.  'I am very happy with the effort and the preparation that was brought each and every night by the team.  We had different guys step up and contribute on a regular basis.  That' what a team is all about."  The Bison will begin to prepare for next season with hopes of another crack at the Thorne Cup.

The schedule is out for the 2010 Jr.A Nationals tournament in Marlborough, MA.  There is only 12 teams remaining in Junior hockey and the Jr Bison are one of them.  The Jr Bison punched there ticket to this years Nationals by beating out the El Paso Rhinos in the Mid West division finals 2 games to 1.  The Bison will depart Wednesday March, 24th to Marlborough in preparation for what will be there biggest test of the season.  The Bison open against the New Hampshire Monarchs the top team in the country, and follow it up against the Norpac champion Helena Big Horns on Saturday  and finish the round robin against the CSHL #2 team.  Here is an in depth look at the Schedule:all games will be played at New England Sports center and on Fast Hockey.

The Boulder Jr. Bison rode there cinderella story season all the way to the end with a 2-1 loss on Sunday at Polar Ice to the reigning WSHL champion Phoenix Polar Bears.  The Bison won game 1 of the best of three series with a 5-4 OT win on friday night with a goal at 7:48 by Jamison Wicks.  On Saturday another playoff classic, the Bison were down 2-1 with 9 seconds to go and with 1.2 seconds remaining AJ Tesoriero scored on a wrap around to force OT yet again.  In OT the Polar Bears would score on a pretty two on one play to force a game 3 winner take all.  The Bison threw everything they had at the Polar Bears on Sunday outshooting them 38-22, but a struggling PP and solid Polar Bears PK proved to be too much.  The Bison scored a goal at the buzzer to tie but the official waived it off saying the puck entered after the buzzer.  The Bison now prepare for what will be there biggest test of the year as they head to Jr. Nationals in Marlborough, MA on March 25, where the top 12 remaining Junior A teams in the country will compete for that number one spot.

Bison Hand El Paso First Ever Series Loss at Home

After sweeping the Tulsa Rampage last weekend in Boulder to advance to the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) Division Championship series, the Bison traveled to El Paso, Texas to take on the perennial league powerhouse El Paso Rhinos.

Going into the three game series on Friday night in El Paso, the Bison knew they had a tough task in front of them.  During the regular season, the Bison were able to beat the Rhinos just three times out of twelve total games – once in El Paso and twice in Boulder.  But the Bison were peaking at the right time, taking a ten game winning streak into Friday night’s match-up.

In game one, the Bison came out strong and took a 3-1 lead into the third period on goals by Daniel Turgeon, Jeremy Rolfe and AJ Teserero.  Backed by the strong presence of Taylor Fant between the pipes, the Bison held on for a 3-2 win, handing the Rhinos its first home playoff loss in team history.  The Bison was going into Game 2 with a one game lead!

In Game 2 on Saturday night, the Bison came in loose and feeling very confident.  They fell behind by a goal twice, but came back strong tying the game at two on goals by Jordan Heffner and Ryan Gauthier.  The Bison went into the third period down 4-2, but playing well and within striking distance.  Unfortunately a two-game sweep was not in the cards and the Bison left the building licking their wounds after a 10-2 trouncing.  Obviously the momentum was with the Rhinos going into the decisive Game 3 on Sunday.

Game 3 started at 5:30pm in El Paso.  The Bison seemed focused and determined prior to game time.  When the puck was dropped, the Bison came out strong and overwhelmed the Rhinos in their own building.  Just half way through the first period the Bison had bagged four unanswered goals, two by Daniel Turgeon and one each by Steve Shaffroth and Brendon Galley.  The Bison were building what could have been an insurmountable lead.  But there were still two and a half periods of hockey left and the Rhinos could score in bunches as they did in Game 2.  The Bison needed to maintain their offensive pressure.  The first ended at 4-0.

The Rhinos came out hard in the second period and refused to go away quietly in their barn.  The play went back and forth, but the Rhinos were able to light the light only once and the led was cut to three going into the final period.  The period ended at 4-1.

As expected, the Rhinos threw everything they had at the Bison at the start of the final period, and at just the 1:01 mark the Rhinos scored to put the pressure on the Bison.  It was 4-2 and the Rhino goal sparked more energy in the home team and fans.   The Bison were back on its heels for the first five minutes of the period and tensions were high.

As the minutes slowly ticked away and the home team fans grew louder and louder, the Bison showed great determination and discipline, and kept the Rhinos at bay.

In the final three minutes, the Rhinos were all over the Bison trying to get within one, but Taylor Fant would have none of it and he shut the door in net.  With about two minutes left in the game, the Rhinos were forced to pull their goalie and with only 9 seconds left in the game, Jordan Roberts broke into the Rhinos zone and buried an empty netter to solidify the win for the Bison.

Nine seconds later, the gloves and sticks flew into the air as the Bison players celebrated their inaugural season with a team pile-up in the Bison crease – in El Paso.  The Bison did what no other team could do – they beat the Rhinos to advance to the WSHL League Championship series next weekend in Phoenix, AZ or Fresno, CA.  In addition, they will represent the WSHL at the Junior A Tier III National tournament in Massachusetts on March 25^th.

The Boulder Bison took down Tulsa two games straight to advance to the WSHL Western division Conference finals in their first season.  The Bison drew energy from a packed rowdy bvice crowd and had strong veteren play from the teams leaders and goalies. " I am proud of my players, every player stepped it up and have bought into the team concept!"  The Bison will prepare this week and take there game into El Paso and try to out work a solid El Paso team to earn a nationals and WSHL finals birth.

The Boulder junior Bison returned home today from San Antonio,Tx where they took down the Diablos in 3 staright games on hatricks from F Ryan Gauthier and D Jordan Heffner.  Gauthier buried a hatrick in back to back games for the Bison while adding 3 assists to boot.  Heffner's hatrick came off a great pass and an even better finish.  "It's not often you see a hatrick let alone three and one coming from a defenseman said head coach Brent Cullaton, but the guys are playing good hockey and preparing for the playoffs."  The Jr Bison head this weekend to Tulsa to finish off the regular season.  The playoffs begin February 26th, 7:45pm at Bvice.  Fans are asked to wear white to show a white out support for the Bison.

The Boulder jr. Bison went 2-0-1 this weekend in Tulsa, OK, to assure that the first round of playoffs will be at bvice by securing 2nd place.  The Bison battled friday night vs a tough Tulsa team losing 3-2 while short handed in over time.  The ot loss which garnered a point meant the Bison only needed two more wins to secure home and ice in the first round of play offs.  The herd came out strong winning Saturday 6-1 and sunday 7-2.  The Playoffs will begin on February 26th at Bvice.  here is a look at the schedule:

Friday February 26, Bison vs Tulsa  Bvice 7:45pm

Saturday February 27, Bison vs Tulsa Bvice 7:45pm

Sunday February  28, Bison vs Tulsa Bvice 7:15pm

Be sure to come out and support your jr Bison team in it's inagural playoff run toward the Thorne Cup and a Nationals birth.

The Boulder Jr Bison started off slow but managed to over come the San Antonio Diablos on youth grad night 6-1 at bvice.  The weekend sweep lifts the Bison to just wins to clinch the 2nd spot heading into playoffs in their inagural season.  Head Coach Brent Cullaton was proud of the way his team played stating "I thought everybody worked hard and as a team really wanted to win, we need that work ethic every game from now on out."  The Bison head out on the road this week to Tulsa for a preview of the first round match up.  Once the seeds are set a play off schedule wil be posted! 

The Jr Bison begin to prepare for their final home weekend series as they take on the San Antonio Diablos this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The Jr Bison have only five weekends remaining in regular season play, and are in a battle with 3rd place Tulsa Rampage for the second spot and home ice advantage.  Tulsa has never been lower than second seed heading into playoffs.  San Antonio bolsters a solid squad after starting out the year shorthanded.  The Bison know how hard they have to work to win the weekend series and inch closer to solidifying second spot.  "we will be working a lot of systems this week to work towards solid playoff hockey".  The Bison have added defenceman Jordan Heffner to it's roster. Head Coach Brent Cullaton says" Jordan is a guy I have liked since watching at Kenai River camp, I didn't pursue him because he was going to play hockey and attend Ferris State which I support 100%.  When i heard he was back then I was excited! He will add a good punch to our d core and is a welcomed addition by the staff and players." Come out and support your Jr Bison in their final regular season home stand at BVIce.

The Boulder Jr. Bison swept the New Mexico Renegades this past week end in Rio Rancho,NM.  Bison players John DeSpain and Jordan Heffner both tallied their first junior goals to help seal the victories.  Coach Jeff Neitenbach who ran the bench alone stated "everyone worked hard guys we needed to step up stepped it up this weekend".  The Bison are currently in a second place race with a strong Tulsa Rampage team who also swept a weekend series vs San Antonio.  It will be a tight race till the end and the team that is willing to sacrifice and work hard will hold a second place and home ice advantage in the first round of the Thorne Cup playoffs.  The Bison have a bye weekend and host the San Antonio Diablo's in what will be their last home series of the regular season.  Fans are asked to please come out and help rally your Jr.Bison to a last home victory.

1/11/10
The Jr. Bison went to El Paso this weekend for what most touted to be the division final prelude.  But after going 0-3 and having a 14 goal differential the Rhino's showed there superiority once again.  Game 1 saw an evenly matched first 10 minutes until two let downs pathed the way for a 7-1 El Paso victory.  Saturday the Bison came out strong going up 3-0 at the end of the first.  But a line brawl which sparked the quiet Rhino faithful charged up El Paso and a 6 goal second period ended in a 7-4 El Paso victory.  Sunday El Paso proved to be too much blowing the doors off the Bison 6-1 and clinching the regular season division championship for another year. " I think we got a good wake up call this weekend, we are in a slump and it's going to take all 25 players to get out of it."  With the 3 losses and Tulsa's sweep of New Mexico with games in hand puts Tulsa only trailing the Bison by 2 points for the second spot and home ice advantage in the first round.  The Bison go to New Mexico for a three game series this weekend.

Despite showing a 1 and 3 record the Jr Bison played exceptionally well in Las Vegas at the WSHL annual Showcase tournament.  The Bison started out Friday afternoon vs the Pheonix Polar Bears winning 3-2 on a late Daniel Turgeon goal and solid goaltending from Taylor Fant.  Friday night the Bison played the highly touted Fresno Monsters, the Bison played good but lost 2-1 on a fluke bounce off a Bison defenceman skate while killing off a 5 0n 3 pk.  Saturday night the Bison came out flat and underestimated a tough San Diego Gulls Squad losing 5-3.  Sunday the Bison played  good hockey but faced it's toughest opponent of the tournament the Idaho Steelheads where they were beaten 5-1.  But the Bison staff thought a lot of good came from the tournament " I thought we played solid but now we really see and have first hand knowledge of what it takes to be a champion and the level you must not only compete and play at but maintain for a whole 60 minutes and through out a series to become a winner at this level." The Bison begin the second half of the regular season in the new year on Jan 8 at first place rival El Paso.

The Boulder Jr. Bison wanted to be at 20 and 10 going into the Showcase tournamnet and took three wins in a row in New Mexico to accomplish that goal.  Friday night the Bison won a close 6-3 battle with rookie Jacob Robertson tallying his first junior goal.  Saturday night they came out to play handing New Mexico an 8-0 loss with goaltender Taylor Fant recording his first shut-out of the season. Sunday the Bison came out with a purpose and went on to win 6-3 to complete the weekend sweep.  The Jr. bison practice this week to prepare for the upcoming Show case tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  "This will be a good test for us as to where we stand among the league leaders and what it will take to be a contender this season". 

Goaltender Jonathan Marston is a part of Jr.Bison history as he recorded the first shut out in franchise history Sunday afternoon with a 4-0 win vs the New Mexico Renegades.  " I'm very proud of Jonathan, he comes to work everyday and is very deserving of that shut out  said goaltending coach CK Wolfe." F Mark Owen scored 2 goals leading the Bison while the defence kept the Renegades to under 12 shots each game.  " We need to play with that defensive mindset each and every night to be a contender in the end.  this is the 2nd half of the season and it's time to bear down, evry chance counts now.  The Bison hit the road this weekend for a three game series in New Mexico.

The Boulder Jr Bison came out Saturday after a sloppy 6-3 Friday night victory and dominated the Renegades at BVICE with an 8-2 win puitting the Bison at 16-10 overall and second place in the mid-west division.  Strong goaltending by Taylor Fant led the way to the Bison victory along with strong play infront of him and 2 goals from F Ryan Gauthier.  The Bison continue the series today at 4:30pm at BVICE.

Former Jr. Bison forward and assistant captain Danny Zawacki has been named to the NOJHL Tier 2 Junior A. Allstar game on January 2nd in Temiscaming, PQ.  Zawacki who was called up on September 27th to the North Bay Trappers has registered over a point per game and currently sits in 4th place in scoring on the Trappers at 9 goals and 7 assits in 15 games playing nearly half of the remaining players games played. " I am extremely proud of Danny's accomplishments as is the organization". Both Dennis Hefter BHC president and Matt Huckins BHC Hockey Director said they are also very proud to see Daniel Zawacki a former BHC player have the opportunities he is making for himself, he is a good role model for the younger BHC players to look up to.

The Tulsa Rampage came into Bvice on a mission Friday night and executed a perfect game plan taking down the Bison 4-2.  Saturday night the undisciplined Bison ran into penalty troubles and got trounced 6-1.  " We put ourselves in bad situations where we get frustrated and take selfish undisciplined penalties. When your killing half the game it hurts your teammates because some are killling the penalty while others sit and are cold so you have either no momentum or too tired to mount a come back." Sunday the Bison came out with their backs against the wall and fought hard to come out with a 5-3 win to keep posession of 2nd place.  "Tulsa is a team we will probably face in the playoffs, so giving them any chance of hope is going to make for a tough series. They have a new coach who has turned them around now they are contenders and we can't just show up for a victory everything we do has to be earned from here on out." I'm happy we won but in the big picture we lost the series that's unacceptable especially at home." The Jr Bison have Thanksgiving week off to go re focus and prepare for the second half of the season.