Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Update
Published on February 3, 2009 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders News Release
This Week
Friday, February 6, 7:05PM
Kearney Event Center, Kearney, Nebraska
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Tri-City Storm
Saturday, February 7, 7:05PM
Mid-America Center, Council Bluffs
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Omaha Lancers
Last Week
Friday, January 30
Cedar Rapids 6 Chicago 1
Saturday, January 31
Cedar Rapids 5 Des Moines 4 (OT)
At a Glance
Cedar Rapids Tri-City Omaha
25-8-3, 53 points 6-32-0, 12 points 21-13-4, 46 points
2nd place East Division 6th place West Division 2nd place West Division
Coach/GM: Mark Carlson Coach/GM: Tom Rudrud Coach/GM: Bliss Littler
Headlines Rolling: The RoughRiders have won five straight games- their second longest winning streak of the season- and are now unbeaten in regulation (7-0-2) in their last nine games.
January Jump: The RoughRiders went 9-1-2 last month, making it the best January in team history.
Onward and Upward: The Riders are now one point behind the Green Bay Gamblers- who have won twelve straight games- in the race for both first place overall in the United States Hockey League and the top spot in the East Division.
Top of the Charts: The Riders have scored at least five goals in each of their last three games and in four of their last five outings to retake the league scoring lead (4.1 goals per game). The Riders also lead the league in goals allowed (2.2 per game).
Stingy: Last Saturday night marked the just the fourth time in 36 games this season that the Riders have surrendered more than three (non-shootout) goals.
Mighty Mike: Mike Seidel tied Ted Purcell's team career point scoring record of 138 by picking up one assist in each of the Riders' two games last weekend. Seidel was not originally credited with an assist in Saturday night's game, however a scoring change on Scott Winkler's tying goal late in the third period of that game resulted in Seidel being credited with an assist after the fact. Seidel has totaled 49 goals and 89 assists in three seasons with the RoughRiders. This year Seidel (18-30-48) ranks third in the league in points and assists and is tied for sixth in goals.
Workin' Overtime: Darren Rowe's goal at 2:55 of sudden death Saturday night gave the Riders their first overtime win of the season. The Riders are now 1-1 in games decided in overtime. They are 2-2 in games that remain tied through the extra period and are settled in the shootout.
Rockin' Robin: The Riders' Robin Bergman (13-17-30) is riding a five game goal scoring streak- during which he has scored six times- and a six game point scoring streak (6-3-9).
O from D: Defenseman Matt Donovan (12-16-28) scored one goal and picked up one assist last Friday and now leads USHL defensemen in goals and is now tied for lead among blue liners in points.
Between the Pipes: Goaltender Mike Johnson has won four straight games. Troy Grosenick, the other half of the Riders' netminding tandem, is unbeaten in regulation (5-0-1) in his last seven games.
Star Struck: Five RoughRiders- forwards Seidel, Kyle Flanagan and Jeff Costello, defenseman Donovan and goaltender Johnson will play for the East Division in tomorrow night's USHL Prospects/All-Star Game in Sioux Falls.
Ins and Outs: Forward Greg Burke (shoulder) will miss the remainder of the season. Burke will begin his college career at New Hampshire in the fall. Forwards Jeff Costello (broken hand) and Tobias Nilsson-Roos (concussion) were both injured in the Riders' January 23 game at Chicago and have both missed the Riders' last four games. Troy Grosenick (concussion) was also injured in the January 23 game and sat out three games before returning to the lineup last Saturday night.
Alumni Spotlight: Forward Justin Abdelkader (2004-2005) was called up by the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings last week and played for the Wings last Saturday and again last night before being returned to the Grand Rapids Griffins- the Red Wings' American Hockey League affiliate- earlier today. This stint was Abdelkader's second in the NHL- he also played two games for Detroit at the end of last season after completing his collegiate career at Michigan State.
Tenth Anniversary Tidbit: Prior to posting a 9-1-2 record in the month just completed, the Riders enjoyed the best month of January in team history in 2007 when they went 7-2-0.
Scouting Report Tri-City: The Storm has lost 19 straight games...Tri-City lost three games last week. The Storm fell 5-2 last Tuesday at Omaha and then lost both ends of a home-and-home series against Lincoln over the weekend. Tri-City suffered a 6-2 defeat last Friday on home ice and went down 4-3 on the road last Saturday night...The Storm has not won since defeating Omaha 5-4 on November 29...The Storm is currently on pace to win a total of just 10 games...Tri-City is both the only team in the league to have scored fewer than 100 goals (87) and the only club to have given up more than 200 (201)...The Storm has been outscored by an average of three goals per game (5.3 to 2.3)...Tri-City also ranks last both on the power play (11.5 percent) and the penalty kill (77.6 percent)...The Storm has gone 0-16-0 against East Division opposition...Anthony DeCenzo will be Tri-City's only representative in tomorrow night's USHL Prospects/All-Star Game. DeCenzo (12-14-26) is the top point producer currently on the Storm roster. Mike Cichy scored ten goals and totaled 29 points in 26 games with Tri-City before being traded to Indiana last month...The Riders have won their first two meetings with the Storm this season.
Omaha: After defeating the Storm last Tuesday, the Lancers split a pair of games in Fargo over the weekend. Omaha won 5-3 last Friday. A 2-0 loss one night later ended the Lancers' four game winning streak...Starting with a 3-2 overtime win over the RoughRiders on December 12, Omaha has gone 10-3-1 in its last 14 games. Before that win over the Riders, the Lancers went 11-10-3 in their first 24 games...The Lancers are now three points behind the Lincoln Stars in the race for first place in the West Division.
The Stars do have two games in hand on the Lancers...Pat Mullane (20-23-43) is tied for second in the league in goals and tied for fifth in points...Louis Leblanc (18-20-38) is tied for sixth in goals and is tied for ninth in points...Jeff Teglia (16-7-4, 2.87 .901) is tied for third among goaltenders in wins...The Lancers are riding an eight-game home winning streak and have gone 12-1-1 in 14 games at the Mid-America Center since dropping their first two home games of the season. The Lancers kick off a five game home stand Friday night against Chicago...The Riders have already clinched their season series with the Lancers. Cedar Rapids has gone 2-0-1 against Omaha. Saturday's game is the final meeting of the season between the two teams.
Watch/Listen That's The Ticket!: RoughRiders single game tickets can be purchased in person at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office, over the phone at (319) 261-4625 or online at www.roughridershockey.com. The ticket office is open from noon to 5:00PM on weekdays and from noon through the end of the second period on game days. Ticket prices range from $7 to $17 in advance and from $8 to $18 on game days.
On the Air: All RoughRiders regular season and playoff games are broadcast on AM-1360 The Fan in Cedar Rapids. Brian Lavelle provides play-by-play.
Catch the Coach: Catch up on all the latest Rider news with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders' Coach's Show with Mark Carlson Wednesday nights at 6:00 on AM-1360 The Fan. The half hour show is broadcast live from Union Station on 16th Avenue SW in Cedar Rapids. RoughRiders Coach and General Manager Mark Carlson and RoughRiders radio broadcaster Brian Lavelle are joined by Riders players on each edition of the Coach's Show.
Online: Courtesy of B2 Networks, free audio webcasts of Riders games are available at www.roughridershockey.com. The RoughRiders and B2 also offer pay-per-view video webcasts of all RoughRiders games. Fans can click on the "Watch RoughRiders' Games Live" icon at www.roughridershockey.com to catch the action. The broadcast is available to fans with a high speed DSL or cable modem internet connection. The charge for video webcasts is $6 per game.
United States Hockey League Stories from February 3, 2009
- USHL All Star Game Broadcast Live on B2CableTV.Com - USHL
- Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Update - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
- Fargo Force Home Friday, Saturday and Sunday - Fargo Force
- Waterloo Black Hawks Weekly - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Tropp to Return to Michigan State - USHL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
