The Buffaloes answered quickly as superb attackman Noah Kaufman (6 goals, 1 assist) put one past Ty Wilson less than a minute later to tie the score. After that, the Rams scored four straight goals on Buffalo goaltender Taylor Rice, including two by Mike Hamm (2g, 0a) to jump out to a 5-1 lead.
CSU continued scoring as Mike Napolilli (6g, 2a) scored three of his goals in the first on his way to CO-MVP of the tournament along with fellow Ram attackman Ryan Ferrin (3g, 1a). The Rams closed out the first quarter with an 8-3 lead as the storm clouds began to move in. Kaufman scored again to cut the lead to four at 12:13 of the second, but Mike Roth (5 g, 0a) answered just before the lighting got too close for the refereesí comfort. A thirty minute break gave each team a chance to go over strategy as they waited for the storm to pass over.
When play finally resumed, both teams were a little bit sluggish as they tried to get their legs back underneath them. Napolilli and Roth scored three goals in a minute for the Rams and the half-time lead was 12-5. A short half-time was given so that the teams could get right back on the field.
CSU came out of the gates with a quick goal by Roth. Kaufman got one right back and then State went on a four goal run. The lead looked safe at 17-6 with 8:27 left, but the Rams did not score again for the rest of the quarter. The Buffaloes began chipping away at the lead with goals by attackmen Kaufman, Damon Corkin (2g, 1a), and Dave Gottlieb (1g, 0a).
A goal by speedy midfielder Steve Ozmai (3g, 1a) with :21 left in the third brought CU to within six. Despite an illegal stick penalty against the Buffaloes in which the Rams finally broke the CU run, the Buffs kept on coming with goals by their talented midfielders Jesse Modica (1g, 0a), Dan Ellis (1g, 1a), Jay Erickson (1g, 2a) and Ozmai. All of the sudden, the Buffaloes were only down 18-15 with almost 11:00 left in the fourth. CU had capitalized on four man-up goals in their 9-1 third and fourth quarter explosion.
CSU needed an answer, so they turned to their potent attack. Napolilli scored with 9:07 left to push the lead to four and the scoring stopped for almost seven minutes. Ferrin scored again for State to break the backs of the Buffaloes with 2:53 left. Another goal by midfielder Jim Hasson (2g, 1a) with a minute left sealed the deal for CSU as they took away the RMILL crown from three-time champion BYU. The Ramsí face-off middies Andy Wolper and Pat Lambert played well against Jay Erickson in tough battles all day long. Ty Wilson also played well, making the saves when he had to.
Ryan Davis (1g, 4a) played a tremendous game at attack for the Rams as well. In the end, two storms, one by Mother Nature and one by the Colorado Buffaloes weren’t enough to overcome the Rams as the first seed in the RMILL wasn’t able to take home the crown for the third year in a row.
With the USLIA tournament seedings announced, the Buffaloes will move on to play the Virginia Tech Hokies in the first round in St. Louis. The Rams get a first round bye with a #4 seed and will play the winner of the Michigan-Minnesota State game. BYU will also represent the RMILL as they take on USLIA newcomer New Hampshire in the first round. The RMILL sends three teams to St. Louis to lead all other leagues.
The national tournament starts on Wednesday the tenth and will run until Saturday the thirteenth of May.
Goals: CSU- 21: Napolilli (6), Roth (5), Ferrin (3), Hasson and Hamm (2), Williams, Katz, and Davis CU- 15: Kaufman (6), Ozmai (3), Corkin (2), Erickson, Ellis, Gottlieb, and Modica
Assists: CSU- 11: Davis (4), Napolilli (2), Hasson, Ferrin, Sisbarro, Katz, and Husson CU- 6: Erickson (2), Kaufman, Ozmai, Ellis, and Corkin Goaltenders:
CSU: Ty Wilson (8 saves, 15 goals against) CU: Taylor Rice (12 saves, 21 goals against)
Penalties: CSU- 12 for 10:00 CU- 13 for 11:30
Extra Man: CSU- 5/10 CU- 5/9
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CSU | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 21 |
| CU | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 15 |