RoughRiders Set for Home-and-Home with Sioux City
February 25, 2004 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders News Release
Cedar Rapids, Iowa- The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders will play a home-and-home series with the Sioux City Musketeers this weekend. The Riders visit Sioux City Friday evening before returning home to battle the Musketeers Saturday night at 7:05PM.
Cedar Rapids (28-20-2, 58 points) is in second place in the United States Hockey Leagues East Division. The RoughRiders are four points behind the division-leading Chicago Steel.
Last weekend the Riders put together back-to-back wins to halt a season-long four game losing streak. Jon Grabarek scored one goal and had three assists in a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Heartland Eagles Friday. One night later the RoughRiders defeated Chicago 3-0. Dan Tormey made 31 saves to earn his first shutout as a RoughRider.
The Riders won consecutive games for the first time in a month despite playing just four defensmen. In the wake of injuries to Jordy Hart (dislocated shoulder), Ray Eichenlaub (concussion) and Andrew Eggert (sprained ankle), Shane Lovdahl, Derek Peltier, Zach Miskovic and Josh Williams successfully shouldered the load along the blue line.
The RoughRiders have won five straight home games, but have lost seven in a row on the road. The Riders last away win was a 4-3 shootout victory in Chicago on January 17. However, coach Mark Carlsons club will play seven of its final ten games on home ice.
Grabarek was named Lets Play Hockey/USHL Offensive Player of the Week after totaling two goals and six points last weekend. On the season Grabarek (17-31-48) is tied for fifth in the USHL in assists and is tied for seventh in point scoring.
RoughRiders goaltender Joe Fallon (21-11-1) set a new career high for wins as he made 16 saves to backstop the Riders to victory last Friday. In addition to being tied for the league lead in wins, Fallon is also tied for third in shutouts (3) and ranks ninth in goals against average (2.63). Fallon also remains among the leagues busiest goalies, ranking fifth in minutes played (1985:48) and total saves (909).
The Riders Derek Peltier (3-20-23) is tied for fourth among USHL defensemen in points and assists. Shane Lovdahl (9-12-21) is tied for the lead among blueliners in goals and is tied for eighth in points.
The RoughRiders rank fifth in the USHL in goals per game (3.3) and ninth in team goals against average (3.02).
The RoughRiders ranks sixth on the power play (16.3 percent). They rank fourth in the league in penalty killing (84.7 percent).
Sioux City (31-14-4, 66 points) is in third place in the West Division, five points behind the division-leading Tri-City Storm and one point behind the second place River City Lancers.
The Musketeers will have a chance to leapfrog River City and close the gap on Tri-City when they visit Kearney, Nebraska, to take on the Storm tonight.
The Musketeers posted 5-1 wins over the Sioux Falls Stampede last Wednesday on the road and last Friday at home before falling 5-1 to the Lincoln Stars last Saturday.
Blair Yaworski (two goals, one assist) and Adam Krug (one goal, two assists) both had three points in last Wednesdays victory. Domenic Maiani led the Sioux City attack last Friday with a goal and an assist. The Musketeers fell last Saturday despite outshooting the Stars 42-28.
Saturdays loss ended Sioux Citys three game winning streak. The Musketeers have gone 12-3-1 in their last 16 games and have gone 16-4-1 in their last 21 games. Sioux City has suffered back-to-back regulation losses just once this season.
The Musketeers have gone 8-0-1 in their last nine home games. Coach Dave Sicilianos club has gone 10-2-2 since moving from the Sioux City Auditorium into their new home, theTyson Events Center in mid-December. The Muskies have also won three straight road games and seven of their last eight away tilts.
Matt Hartman (17-23-40) is the Musketeers top scorer, just ahead of Maiani (14-23-37) and defenseman Michael Hodgson (9-28-37). Hodgson leads USHL defensemen in assists and points and is tied for the lead in goals.
The combination of Jeff Lantz and Jimmy Spratt has proven to be a highly effective goaltending tandem for Sioux City. Lantz ranks second in goals against average (2.21) and is tied for second in save percentage (.924). He has turned in a record of 18-7-1 with two shutouts. Lantz was also named Goalies World Magazine/USHL Goaltender of the Month for January after going 5-0-1 with a 2.29 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and one shutout over the course of the month. Spratt is tied for third in shutouts (3) and is sixth in goals against average (2.40) and save percentage (.915). He has gone 13-5-3 on the campaign.
The Musketeers also boast the second best team goals against average (2.49) in the USHL. Sioux City is sixth in the league in goals scored per game (3.2) despite taking 34.1 shots per outing, the second highest average in the USHL.
With a success rate of 15.3 percent, the Musketeers in the bottom half of the league (ninth) on the power play. Sioux City has been solid on the penalty kill (83.7 percent).
Whos Hot
The RoughRiders Rob Ricci has scored in a franchise record-tying four straight games and has a chance to break the team record for longest goal scoring streak if he can find the net Friday night in Sioux City.
Grabarek has scored two goals and totaled six points in his last two games after putting up just one goal and three points in his previous eight games.
Sean Muncy has two goals and four points in his last four games.
The Musketeers Maiani is riding a seven game point scoring streak (6-4-10).
Krug is in the midst of a four game point scoring streak (2-6-8).
Yaworski has three goals and nine points in his last seven games.
Hartman has two goals and eight points in his last seven games.
Spratt is unbeaten in regulation (6-0-1) in his last seven starts. He has posted a 1.98 goals against average and a .932 save percentage during that run.
Head to Head
The RoughRiders have gone 1-2-1 against Sioux City this season. In the last meeting between the two clubs, the Musketeers dumped the Riders 7-3 February 15 at the Tyson Events Center. The Riders are 0-2 at the Musketeers new home and have been outscored 11-4 in their two games in Sioux City this season.
Sioux Citys Yaworski (4-5-9) and Krug (3-6-9) are the top point producers in the season series. Ricci (4-2-6) leads Cedar Rapids.
Fallon has gone 1-1 posting a 4.03 goals against average and .831 save percentage against the Musketeers. Lantz has gone 3-0 with a 3.30 goals against average and a .898 save percentage against the Riders.
All time, the RoughRiders are 7-12-3 against Sioux City. Over their five seasons, the Riders have gone just 1-9-1 in Sioux City.
Historically Speaking
Ricci is the seventh player in Cedar Rapids club history to score in four consecutive games and the third to do so this season. Riccis linemates, Jon Grabarek and James Brannigan, both put together four game goal-scoring streaks earlier this season. Grabarek scored five times in a four game span from November 8 through November 15. Brannigan scored once in each of four straight games between November 26 and December 2.
The RoughRiders seven game road losing streak is still well shy of the team record of 12 straight road losses in one season, a run the Riders endured between November 26, 1999 and March 25, 2000. That road skid carried over into the start of the following season and stretched to a total of 16 games.
Siciliano, now in his eleventh season in the league, is the second winningest coach in USHL history with a 384-145-31 record.
This is Sicilianos fourth season as Musketeers coach. He led Sioux City to the Clark Cup (playoff) title in 2002. Last year, the Musketeers went 36-18-6 and finished third in the West Division with 78 points. The Muskies were eliminated by the River City Lancers three games to one in the opening round of last springs playoffs.
In a previous stint in the USHL, Siciliano spent seven highly successful years behind the bench of the now defunct Thunder Bay Flyers from 1986 through 1993. He led the Flyers to the Clark and Anderson Cups in 1988 and 1989 and to another pair of Anderson Cups in 1991 and 1992. The Thunder Bay native was named USHL Coach of the Year in 1987, 1989 and 1991.
RoughRiders Roster
Defensemen Ray Eichenlaub (concussion) and Jordy Hart (dislocated shoulder) and forward Brian Pouliot (concussion) are expected to return to the line-up this weekend.
The status of defenseman Andrew Eggert (sprained ankle) is uncertain for this weekend.
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)
Sioux City: Justin Bostrom (Minnesota), Mike Curry (Minnesota-Duluth), David Deterding (Bemidji State), Matt Hartman (St. Cloud State), Michael Hodgson (Bowling Green), Johan Kroll (Ohio State), Dominic Maiani (Ohio State), Blair Yaworski (Yale)
Upcoming Events
The RoughRiders next Family Pack Night is Friday, March 12, when the Tri-City Storm visits the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.
Jim Craig, the goaltender for the gold medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, will be at the RoughRiders game against the Waterloo Black Hawks on Wednesday, March 17. Craig will sign autographs from 6:00PM to 6:45PM 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.
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.
The RoughRiders are now offering a flexible new discount ticket option, the Power Play Punch Card. The punch card enables fans to make the initial purchase of a 5- or 10-ticket card and redeem it for tickets to the game or games of their choice.
Both 5- and 10-ticket punch cards are available for discounted rates for all seating zones. After purchasing the card, fans can simply bring it to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office and receive up to five or ten tickets to the game or games of their choice in exchange for the same number of punches on the card.
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).
On the Air/On-line
RoughRiders regular season and playoff games- including this weeks- are broadcast on AM-1360 The Fan in Cedar Rapids and 800-AM KXIC in Iowa City.
Up-to-the-minute live game updates for all USHL action are available on line at www.pointstreak.com/prostats.
Fans can check out the new and improved RoughRiders web site at www.roughridershockey.com.
The RoughRiders Coachs Show with Mark Carlson returns tonight at 6:00PM on AM-1360 The Fan. The coachs 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 February 25, 2004
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