RoughRiders Roll Into Three Game Week
March 16, 2004 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders News Release
Cedar Rapids, Iowa- Fresh from clinching a berth in the Clark Cup playoffs last weekend, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders roll into a stretch of three home games in four nights this week. The Riders, who are unbeaten (3-0-1) in their last four games and have gone 5-1-1 in their last seven games, take on the archrival Waterloo Black Hawks Wednesday night, battle the Green Bay Gamblers Friday and face the Sioux Falls Stampede Saturday. All three games start at 7:05.
Cedar Rapids (31-21-3, 65 points) is in second place in the United States Hockey League's East Division, five points behind the Chicago Steel. The RoughRiders won back-to-back games last weekend. The Riders defeated the league-leading Tri-City Storm 6-3 last Friday and shutout the Lincoln Stars 4-0 the following evening. Saturday's win guaranteed the RoughRiders a fourth straight trip to the post-season.
Last weekend's wins extended the RoughRiders' home winning streak to a team record eight straight home games. The Riders have not lost at the ice arena since suffering a 5-3 defeat to Green Bay on January 13. On the season, the RoughRiders have gone 17-7-2 at home.
With a successful week, the RoughRiders could tie or break the team record for wins in a season (33).
Coach Mark Carlson's team will play each of its next four games on home ice. The winner of Wendesday's tilt with the Black Hawks will take home the Iowa Wireless Corridor Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner of the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo regular season series.
In last Friday's game James Brannigan and Brandon Naurato both scored twice and Bryan Horan had one goal and two assists. Saturday, Joe Fallon made 25 saves to post his fourth shutout of the season.
After scoring three times last weekend, Brannigan now leads the RoughRiders with 23 goals on the season. Jon Grabarek (18-32-50), who had a pair of assists last Saturday, is the team's top point scorer.
Fallon (24-11-2) is tied for the league lead in wins, ranks fourth in shutouts (4), fifth in minutes played (2230:48) and ninth in goals against average (2.61).
The Riders' Shane Lovdahl (9-15-24) is tied for the lead among defensemen in goals and is eighth in points. Peltier (4-22-26) ranks fourth among blue liners in assists and is tied for fifth in points.
After scoring ten goals last weekend and fifteen in their last three games, the RoughRiders rank fourth in the USHL in goals per game (3.4). The Riders are seventh in team goals against average (3.04).
The RoughRiders rank seventh on the power play (15.7 percent) and fifth in penalty killing (84.7 percent).
Waterloo (26-25-3, 55 points) is in fourth place in the East Division. The Black Hawks are locked in a tight battle for the final two playoff spots in the east with Green Bay and the Danville Wings. The Hawks are just a single point ahead of fifth place Green Bay and are a mere two points behind third place Danville. Coach P.K. O'Handley's Black Hawks do have a game in hand on both the Gamblers and Wings.
Waterloo lost back-to-back road games last weekend. The Black Hawks fell 2-1 to St. Louis on Friday night despite outshooting the Heartland Eagles 50-25. Danville dropped the Hawks 4-2 on Saturday to move into a third place tie with Waterloo. The Wings then took over sole possession of third by defeating River City 4-3 Sunday.
The Black Hawks have staggered a bit over the last month. Since extending their season long winning streak to six games on February 15, the Hawks have gone just 4-7 over their last eleven games.
Joel Hanson (14-36-50) is the Black Hawks' top point scorer and ranks third in the league in assists. Joe Pavelski (17-26-43) is the club's top goal scorer. Mike Radja (15-20-35), Matt Fornataro (12-23-35) and Peter MacArthur (15-19-34) have also been key offensive contributors.
Waterloo's Kevin Regan has been among the busiest goaltenders in the USHL this season. Regan (24-18-1) is tied for the league lead in wins and shutouts (5), ranks fourth in minutes played (2510:43) and seventh in goals against average (2.46).
The Black Hawks are the third lowest scoring team in the USHL. Waterloo averages just 2.8 goals per games. The Hawks rank fifth (2.81) in team goals against average.
The Black Hawks have excelled on special teams. Waterloo ranks second on the power play (19.0 percent) and third in penalty killing (86.2 percent).
At 9-16-2, the Black Hawks have the league's third worst road record. Waterloo has lost its last four road games and has gone 1-6 in its last seven away contests.
Green Bay (25-26-4, 54 points) won back-to-back home games last weekend, but remains one point out of the final playoff spot. The Gamblers defeated River City 3-2 in a shootout last Friday and dumped Sioux Falls 4-2 one night later.
Last Friday, Victor Oreskovich scored at 16:09 of the third period to tie the game 2-2 and force overtime and, eventually, the shootout. Ryan Carter (two goals), Nate Dey (one goal, one assist) and Jimmy Kilpatrick (two assists) led the Green Bay attack in the win over the Stampede. Troy Davenport made 60 saves on the weekend on the way to a pair of wins.
The Gamblers have gone 8-4-1 over their last thirteen games to battle back into playoff contention. Coach Mark Osiecki's team faces a critical game tonight against the Steel in Chicago.
Kilpatrick (20-21-41) leads the Gamblers in points, just ahead of Carter (19-20-39). Kilpatrick and Dey (20-13-33) are tied for the team goal scoring lead. Defenseman Mitch Ganzak (6-28-34) leads the club in assists and ranks second among USHL defensemen in assists and points.
Davenport has shouldered most of the Green Bay goaltending load. He ranks third in the league in minutes played (2526:01), fifth in wins (22-17-3) and tenth in goals against average (2.66).
Offense has not come easily for the Gamblers, who rank ninth in the league in goals per game (2.8). Green Bay has been fairly solid defensively, posting the league's six best team goals against average (2.89).
The Gamblers have the league's third weakest power play (15.5 percent) but can call on the third stingiest penalty kill in the USHL (15.5 percent).
Green Bay has gone 9-15-3 away from home on the season and has just one win in its last five road games (1-3-1) and only a pair of victories in its last ten away outings (2-6-2).
Sioux Falls (14-38-3, 31 points) is in last place overall in the USHL. The Stampede, which trails its nearest neighbor in the West Division standings- fifth place Lincoln- by a whopping 25 points, has long since been eliminated from playoff contention.
As difficult as this season has been for the Stampede, coach Mark Kauffman's club has played some of its best hockey of the campaign in recent days. Last Saturday's loss in Green Bay came after the Stampede had won a season high three straight games, a streak that culminated in a 3-2 victory in Chicago last Friday.
In Matthew Ford (32-31-63) and Jim McKenzie (26-35-61), the Stampede can boast two of the league's most dangerous forwards. Ford ranks third in the league in goals and assists, while McKenzie ranks fifth in assists and points.
Kasey Moreland was in goal for all of the Stampede's recent three game winning streak. For the season, Moreland has gone 6-13-1 with a 3.56 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.
The Stampede is the only club in the league with a team goals against average above 4.0 (4.15). Sioux Falls is also near the bottom of the league offensively. The Stampede rank second to last in goals per game (2.5).
Sioux Falls' struggles have extended to special teams. The Stampede ranks last in penalty killing (78.9 percent) and second to last on the power play (13.6 percent).
The Stampede have the USHL's second worst road record (5-21-2) but have won two of their last three away from home.
Who's Hot
The RoughRiders' Bryan Horan has three goals and seven points in his last five games.
Brannigan is in the midst of a four game point scoring streak (4-2-6).
Rob Ricci has six goals and ten points in his last nine games.
Brandon Naurato has three goals and five points in his last five games.
Fallon has gone 4-0-1 over his last five games.
The Black Hawks' Radja is riding a five-game point scoring streak (3-4-7) and has four goals and 12 points in his last ten games.
Pavelski has five goals and 12 points in his last 12 games.
Regan has given up just five goals in his last four games.
For the Gamblers, Carter has four goals and ten points in his last seven games and has gone for six goals and 16 points in his last 13 games.
Dey has scored four times in his last four games, while Oreksovich has three goals in his last three games.
Kilpatrick has two goals and seven points in his last six games.
The Stampede's Ford saw his seven game point scoring streak (10-5-15) halted last Saturday night.
McKenzie has four goals and nine points in his last five games and six goals and 14 points in his last eight contests.
Head to Head
Tomorrow night's game is the eighth and final meeting of the season between the RoughRiders and Black Hawks. Tomorrow evening's winner will take home the Iowa Wireless Corridor Cup.
The Black Hawks have gone 4-3 against the Riders to pick up eight points, while the RoughRiders have seven points against the Hawks on a 3-3-1 record.
In the last meeting between the two clubs, the Black Hawks scored a 3-1 win on February 14 in Waterloo. The Riders have gone 1-1-1 against the Hawks in Cedar Rapids.
Hanson (1-5-6) is the leading scorer in the season series. Brannigan (4-1-5) leads the RoughRiders. Four players- the RoughRiders' Billy Loupee (4-0-4) and Rob Ricci (2-2-4) and the Black Hawks' Joe Pavelski (3-1-4) and David Meckler (3-1-4)- have registered four points apiece in the season series.
Fallon has been highly impressive against Waterloo, going 3-2-1 in six games with a 1.98 goals against average and a .941 save percentage. Regan has gone 4-3 in seven games against Cedar Rapids and posted a 2.46 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.
All-time, the RoughRiders have gone 12-14-4 against Waterloo.
The RoughRiders close out their six-game season series with the Gamblers Friday night. With a 3-1-1 record and seven points in the first five meetings, Green Bay has already clinched the series.
The Gamblers won the last meeting between the two clubs, claiming a 2-1 win on January 23 in Green Bay. The teams split their first two meetings of the season at the ice arena.
Grabarek (4-4-8) is the RoughRiders' top scorer against Green Bay, followed by Matt Vokes (3-3-6), Brannigan (2-4-6) and Ricci (2-4-6). Jeff Hazelwood (3-5-8) has done the most damage for the Gamblers, just ahead of Oreskovich (3-4-7).
Fallon has gone 1-1 with a 2.45 goals against average and a .933 save percentage in three games against Green Bay. Davenport is 3-1-1 against the Riders with a 3.17 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
All-time, the RoughRiders have gone 14-12-2 against Green Bay.
The RoughRiders have won each of their first four meetings this season with Sioux Falls. Along the way, the Riders have outscored the Stampede 18-6.
The Stampede, along with the Sioux City Musketeers, is one of two West Division teams the RoughRiders will face six times this season. The Riders took on each of the other four West Division clubs four times. The RoughRiders finish the regular season with a game in Sioux Falls on March 27.
Vokes (3-4-7) and Grabarek (1-5-6) have led the Cedar Rapids onslaught against the Stampede this season. Ford (3-1-4) and McKenzie (1-3-4) are Sioux Falls' top point producers against Cedar Rapids.
Fallon has surrendered just two goals while winning both of his starts against Sioux Falls. He made 25 saves while shutting out the Stampede 5-0 on January 20 in Cedar Rapids.
Moreland and Craig Vardy have both gone 0-2 against the RoughRiders. Moreland has posted a 3.62 goals against average and a .887 save percentage against Cedar Rapids, while Vardy has turned in a 5.14 goals against average and a .859 save percentage.
All-time, the RoughRiders have gone 9-10-3 against Sioux Falls.
Historically Speaking
The RoughRiders' team record-setting eight game home winning streak eclipses the old mark of six straight home victories set between January 26 and February 9, 2001.
The RoughRiders' team single season records for wins (33) and points (73) were set in 2001-02.
Lovdahl's nine goals are tied for the team record for defensemen. Chris Snavely first set the record two seasons ago.
Horan's two shorthanded goals are also tied for a club record. Horan is the seventh player in team history to score a pair of shorthanded goals in a season.
The RoughRiders are seeking to reclaim the Iowa Wireless Corridor Cup after the Black Hawks took home the trophy last season. The Riders won back-to-back Corridor Cups in 2000-01 and 2001-02. The Hawks claimed the cup in 1999-2000- the first season it was awarded
O'Handley is in his second season behind the Waterloo bench. O'Handley led the Black Hawks to a 38-17-5 record and berth in the Clark Cup semi-finals last season. For his efforts, he was named the USHL's 2002-03 Coach of the Year.
O'Handley spent seven years as the head coach of the North Iowa Huskies, the team that moved from Mason City to Cedar Rapids to become the RoughRiders after the 1998-99 campaign. He posted a 140-187-21 record behind the Huskies bench.
Overall, O'Handley has gone 204-229-29 as a USHL coach. O'Handley picked up his 200th USHL coaching victory on February 15 when the Black Hawks defeated the St. Louis Heartland Eagles 3-1.
Last season Waterloo won a division title for the first time in twenty-four years. Prior to last year, Waterloo last finished at the top of a division in 1979-80, the USHL's first season as a junior league. That season the Hawks won the three-team South Division with a 27-19-2 record and 56 points in 48 games.
Mark Osiecki is in his seventh season behind the Green Bay bench. The Gamblers are 207-152-43 under the 1998-99 USHL Coach of the Year. Osiecki led the Gamblers to the 2000 Clark Cup (playoff) title. He earned his 200th career coaching victory on February 14 when the Gamblers defeated the Steel 3-2 in Chicago.
All-time, Green Bay has twice claimed each of the Clark Cup (first in 1996), Anderson Cup regular season title ('96 and '97), and Gold Cup national title ('96 and '97).
In his playing days, Osiecki, a defenseman, skated in 93 National Hockey League games for the Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota North Stars between 1991 and 1993. Prior to turning pro, Osiecki won an NCAA title with the University of Wisconsin in 1990.
This is Mark Kaufman's first season as Stampede coach. Kaufman returned to the junior ranks this season after spending eight years in college and minor pro hockey. He had previously spent time in the USHL as coach of the Rochester Mustangs from 1988 through 1992. Kaufman went 104-81-7 over four seasons behind the Rochester bench. He led the Mustangs to the Gold Cup (junior A national title) in 1990.
Last season Kaufman coached the Kalamazoo Wings of the United Hockey League to a 29-39-8 record. Prior to that, he spent four years as the head coach of the Richmond Renegades of the East Coast League. He began his sojourn through the pro ranks with a two year stint (1996-98) as an assistant with the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the American Hockey League. Kaufman also spent the 1993-94 season in college hockey as an assistant at Ferris State University.
Tony Gasparini spent most of last season as Sioux Falls' head coach before departing on March 11. Ted Belisle finished the season as interim coach.
College Commitments
RoughRiders: Derek Peltier (Minnesota), Brian Pouliot (New Hampshire), Ray Eichenlaub (Miami of Ohio), Greg Collins (New Hampshire), Jamie Carroll (Providence), Bryan Horan (Providence), James Brannigan (Colorado College), Joe Fallon (Vermont), Jordy Hart (Merrimack)
Waterloo: Matt Fornataro (New Hampshire), Peter MacArthur (Boston University), Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin), Mike Radja (New Hampshire), Kevin Regan (New Hampshire)
Green Bay: Luke Beaverson (North Dakota), Ryan Carter (Minnesota State- Mankato), Nate Dey (St. Cloud State), Mitch Ganzak (Miami of Ohio), Sean Garrity (St. Cloud State), Chris Kelley (Harvard), Jeff Hazelwood (Maine), Kyle Klubertanz (Wisconsin), Victory Oreskovich (Notre Dame), Brad Smith (Connecticut), Mike Taylor (Harvard), Dan Venard (Notre Dame)
Sioux Falls: Matt Ford (Wisconsin), Jim McKenzie (Michigan State), Jeff Prough (Brown)
Upcoming Events
Dudley Fleck will drive his late model RoughRiders stock car in tomorrow's Cedar Rapids St. Patrick's Day Parade. Fleck will drive the RoughRiders car this summer at Hawkeye Downs.
The RoughRiders will kick off "Old School Hockey Week" tomorrow night. Jim Craig, the goaltender for the gold medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, will be at the RoughRiders-Black Hawks game. Craig will sign autographs beginning at 6:30PM on the ice arena concourse. Miracle, the movie depicting the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
On Friday night, when the RoughRiders meet Green Bay, the Hanson Brothers, who gained fame for their antics in the classic 1977 hockey film Slap Shot and the 2002 sequel Slap Shot 2, will entertain fans during the first intermission and will also sign autographs free of charge throughout the game. Photos of the Hanson Brothers will be available for $10. To find out more about the Hansons, fans can go to their official web site, www.hansonbrothers.net.
When the Stampede visits the ice arena on Saturday night, the RoughRiders will pay tribute to the best in 1980's hockey hair with Mullet Night. Prior to the game, Pizazz Salon & Spa will give free mullet cuts to fans at the arena from 5:30 to 7:00. The winner of the first intermission mullet contest will receive two Delta Connection certificates good for free round trip tickets.
For $5, fans will have a chance to skate with the RoughRiders after Saturday's game.
Fans can join the RoughRiders for dinner at North Country Steakhouse on Blairs Ferry Road in Cedar Rapids after Saturday night's game. Riders' players, coaches and staff will all be dining with fans at North Country.
Friday, March 26, will be White Out Night as the RoughRiders play their final regular season home game against the Chicago Steel. Fans are encouraged to wear white and roar the RoughRiders on to the Clark Cup playoffs. The first 4,000 fans through the gates will receive free RoughRiders/Nike "Hockey Hankies."
Tickets
Tickets for the rest of the RoughRiders' regular season home dates are now on sale at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office. Tickets can be purchased over the phone at (319) 261-4625 or in person at the ice arena. 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. Barring special promotions, ticket prices range from $8.00 to $17.00 including a 50-cent facility fee.
Also for the first time this season, the RoughRiders are offering the Family Pack. The Family Pack enables fans to purchase four green zone tickets, four hot dogs, four soft drinks and one game program all for just $44 at selected games.
More Family Pack and Punch Card information is available through either the ice arena ticket office or the RoughRiders' downtown business office (319-247-0340).
RoughRiders Clark Cup playoff tickets will go on sale to the general public tomorrow at noon at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office. As the RoughRiders need to win nine playoff games (three best-of-five series), to claim the Clark Cup, all adult playoff tickets will be available for just $9. Youth playoff tickets will cost just $5 for those 18-and-under.
On the Air/On-line
RoughRiders regular season and playoff games- including this week's- are broadcast on AM-1360 The Fan in Cedar Rapids and 800-AM KXIC in Iowa City.
RoughRiders games are also webcast at www.roughridershockey.com.
Up-to-the-minute live game updates for all USHL action are available on line at www.pointstreak.com/prostats.
The RoughRiders Coach's Show with Mark Carlson returns next Wednesday at 6:00PM on AM-1360 The Fan. The coach's show is broadcast live every other Wednesday from North Country Steakhouse on Blairs Ferry Road in Cedar Rapids.
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United States Hockey League Stories from March 16, 2004
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- RoughRiders' Brannigan Named Let's Play Hockey/USHL Offensive Player of the Week - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
- Storm closing in on Anderson Cup - Tri-City Storm
- RoughRiders Welcome Jim Craig Wednesday Night - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
- RoughRiders Roll Into Three Game Week - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
- Thomas named Affiliated Foods MVP - Tri-City Storm
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