USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

RoughRider Alums Snag Collegiate Honors

March 26, 2008 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders News Release


Cedar Rapids, Iowa- A total of seven Cedar Rapids RoughRiders alumni- Richard Bachman, Alec Martinez, Justin Abdelkader, Jacob Cepis, Evan Stephens, Zach Miskovic and Joe Fallon- have earned end-of-season collegiate honors.

Bachman, a freshman goaltender at Colorado College, was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player and Rookie of the Year. The 20-year old is just the second player in the 56-year history of the WCHA to collect both honors in the same season. Bachman was also named to the All-WCHA First Team after backstopping fourth-ranked C.C. to the WCHA regular season title and a berth in the NCAA tournament. Bachman, who has gone 25-8-1 in 34 games this year, is tied for second in the nation in wins, ranks third in goals against average (1.82) and save percentage (.933) and is tied for ninth in shutouts (4).

Last year Bachman went 14-10-2 with a 2.99 goals against average, two shutouts and a .913 save percentage in 26 games with the RoughRiders after being acquired in an early season trade with the Chicago Steel. The Highlands Ranch, Colorado, native was superb for Cedar Rapids in last spring's United States Hockey League Clark Cup playoffs, going 4-1 in six games while posting a microscopic 1.28 goals against average, two shutouts and a .951 save percentage. Bachman was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the 2006 National Hockey League Draft with the one hundred twentieth overall choice.

Miami (Ohio) junior Martinez was named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's Best Defensive Defenseman and was also named to the CCHA All-Conference First Team. Martinez, 20, has scored nine goals and totaled 30 points in 40 games this season and will skate for the second-ranked Red Hawks in the NCAA tournament later this week.

Martinez won the Clark Cup title with the RoughRiders in 2004-05. He scored ten goals and collected 21 points in 58 games in what was his only season in Cedar Rapids. Last June Martinez was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round of the National Hockey League Draft with the one hundred thirteenth overall pick.

Michigan State junior Abdelkader was not only named the CCHA's Best Defensive Forward and a CCHA All-Conference Honorable Mention selection, but also received the Ilitch Humanitarian Award as the league's top citizen based on his contributions on and off the ice to his team, his program, his school and his community. Abdelkader, 21, has scored 18 goals and totaled 37 points in 40 games this season.

Abdelkader and the eighth-ranked Spartans return to the NCAA tournament this week after winning the national title last year. It was Abdelkader, in fact, who scored the winning goal in the last April's national championship game.

Abdelkader was Martinez's teammate on the RoughRiders' 2004-05 Clark Cup-winning team. The Muskegon, Michigan, native finished tied for the team lead in goals (27) and totaled 52 points in his lone season in the USHL. Abdelkader was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round of the 2005 National Hockey League draft with the forty-second overall pick. He was drafted earlier than any other RoughRider in team history.

Cepis, a Bowling Green forward, was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team after scoring 15 goals and collecting 31 points in 38 games during his freshman season. The 20-year old finished the campaign as the Falcons' second leading scorer.

Last season Cepis earned First Team All-USHL honors after leading the league in goals (34) and finishing third in points (72). In two years with the RoughRiders the Parma, Ohio, native scored 46 goals and totaled 101 points in 116 games.

Dartmouth's Stephens and St. Lawrence's Miskovic were both ECAC Hockey Third Team All-League selections. Stephens, a 20-year old freshman defenseman, was also named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team after finishing as the Big Green's third-leading point producer with five goals and 22 points in 32 games.

Stephens spent four seasons in the USHL- his last two with the RoughRiders. Last year the Bessemer, Michigan, native played in all 60 of the Riders' games, scoring eight goals and recording 34 points while also posting a plus/minus rating of +15. After starting his USHL career with the Sioux Falls Stampede, Stephens played 114 career games in a Cedar Rapids uniform, totaling 12 goals and 50 points.

Miskovic, a 22-year old junior, led ECAC defensemen with eight goals and registered 20 points in 37 games this year.

Miskovic spent three seasons in Cedar Rapids, capping off his junior career by helping the Riders to the 2005 Clark Cup title. Over the course of his USHL career Miskovic never missed a regular season game. In addition to holding the club record for most consecutive games played (180), The River Forest, Illinois, native also ranks second in team history in total games- consecutive or otherwise. Miskovic scored 12 goals and totaled 49 points during his junior career.

Fallon, a senior goaltender at Vermont, has been named a Hockey East Honorable Mention All-Star after going 15-13-5 in 33 games with a 2.38 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and three shutouts. Fallon capped of his collegiate career by earning Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week Honors. The 23-year old took home the award after making 25 saves in UVM's 3-1 Hockey East semi-final win over Boston University last Friday and stopping 24 more shots in a losing effort against Boston College one night later in the conference title game.

Fallon spent two standout seasons with the RoughRiders before heading to Vermont. In 84 career games as a Rider, the Bemidji, Minnesota, native went 45-28-8 with a 2.66 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and six shutouts. In 2003-04, his final season in Cedar Rapids, Fallon posted some of the best goaltending numbers in the USHL, going 25-13-2 while turning in a 2.73 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and four shutouts. He was selected by the Chicago Black Hawks in the sixth round of the 2005 NHL Draft with one hundred sixty-seventh overall pick.

The current edition of the RoughRiders (33-19-3, 69 points) has won five straight games and is tied for second place in the USHL's East Division with the Waterloo Black Hawks. The Riders return to action this weekend with a home-and-home series against the Omaha Lancers. The Riders will visit Council Bluffs on Friday night before returning to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena to take on the Lancers Saturday evening at 7:05PM.

Tickets for all remaining RoughRiders regular season home games- including this Saturday's game- are now on sale. Tickets are available for purchase in person at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office, over the phone at (319) 261-4625 or on line 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.

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