Fighting Five: Saints Visit RoughRiders to Finish Weekend
January 5, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - The Dubuque Fighting Saints (22-9-0-0, 44 pts) visit the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (13-14-1-0, 26 pts) for the last of a three-game weekend on Sunday afternoon.
Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup:
1. Clutch Comeback
In Saturday's win over Youngstown, the Fighting Saints erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 in regulation to force overtime and take down the Phantoms 4-3 in a shootout.
The win was just the second this season for the Fighting Saints when trailing to start the third period. Dubuque was 1-7-0-0 when starting the third period with a deficit prior to Saturday's win.
2. Barron Blitz
Michael Barron extended his team lead in points to 28 with an assist on the first tying goal for Dubuque in Saturday's win. Barron is tied for the team lead with 12 goals and paces the Saints with 16 assists this season.
Barron completed the comeback for the Fighting Saints with a shootout-goal in the second round of the shootout.
3. Working Overtime
The Fighting Saints have won all eight games they've played past regulation time this season. Saturday's win was their third shootout victory of the campaign.
Dubuque has five wins in the 3-on-3 overtime, including a 4-3 win at Cedar Rapids on Nov. 22. Lucas Van Vliet scored the game-winner in that contest for Dubuque.
4. Saints Strides
Josh Giuliani was held pointless for five-straight games entering the weekend, but scored three goals against Youngstown on Friday and Saturday. He scored the empty-netter on Friday before scoring on the power-play in the second and tying the game with 1:14 left on Saturday. Giuliani is tied with Barron for the team lead in goals at 12.
Prior to joining the Saints, Edison Engle had four points in 20 games for Des Moines this season. With a pair of assists on Saturday, including his second power-play assist in as many games, Engle has four points in three games for the Fighting Saints.
5. Rider Rundown
The RoughRiders have split a pair of Cowbell Cup matchups so far this weekend as they also play their third game in as many days. On Friday, the Riders traveled to Des Moines and Daniel Astapovich's 10th goal of the season lifted them to a 5-4 overtime win over the Bucs.
On Saturday, Cedar Rapids hit the road to Waterloo and fell 5-3 to the Black Hawks. The Riders enter Sunday's matchup with six wins in their last 10 contests.
Sunday's game begins at 4:05 p.m. CST and is available on Eagle 102.3 and FloHockey.
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United States Hockey League Stories from January 5, 2025
- USHL Alumni Win Gold at World Junior Championship - USHL
- Saints Win Fifth-Straight with Win over RoughRiders - Dubuque Fighting Saints
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- Fighting Five: Saints Visit RoughRiders to Finish Weekend - Dubuque Fighting Saints
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