The Butte Roughriders were a Tier III Junior A

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

team located in

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. The team joined the

Northern Pacific Hockey League The Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) was an American Tier III junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. Its championship trophy was the Cascade Cup. History Established in 2000 as the NorPac Junior Hockey League, the league was ...

's America West Division in 2003 when the league competed at the Tier III Jr. B level. In 2007 The NorPac was granted Tier III Junior A status by

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 Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

. In November 2011, it was announced that the Roughriders had withdrawn from NorPac because they were unable to field the minimum number of players required due to injuries and players leaving the team. The Roughriders played their home games at the

Butte Civic Center The Butte Civic Center is a 7,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Butte, Montana, USA. Opened in 1952, it hosts locals sporting events and concerts as well as political events. It was the home of the Continental Basketball Association's Butte Dare ...

Alumni

The team had a few alumni move on to collegiate hockey and higher levels of

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

, but only had one player of note: Kyle Valentine, a defenseman, who played two seasons at Oakland University (ACHA) in Michigan.

References

External links

Official site
{{Montana Sports Ice hockey teams in Montana 2003 establishments in Montana 2011 disestablishments in Montana Ice hockey clubs established in 2003 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2011 Butte, Montana