USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

RoughRiders Visit River City, Tri-City This Weekend

Published on January 27, 2004 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders News Release


Cedar Rapids, Iowa- The East Division-leading Cedar Rapids RoughRiders hit the road for a pair of testing games this weekend. The Riders will take on the River City Lancers in Council Bluffs Friday night at 7:05 and will then travel to Kearney, Nebraska, to meet the league-leading Tri-City Storm Saturday evening at 7:05.

Cedar Rapids (25-14-2, 52 points) is four points ahead of the Chicago Steel in the race for the top spot in the east. Chicago does have three games in hand on the RoughRiders.

Beginning this weekend, the Riders will play six of their next seven games on the road. The RoughRiders (14-7) have the best away record in the USHL.

The Riders tightened their grip on first place by winning two of three games last week. Zach Miskovic scored two goals and Joe Fallon made 25 saves as the RoughRiders dumped Sioux Falls 5-0 last Tuesday at the ice arena. The Riders fell 2-1 to the Gamblers in Green Bay last Friday as Miskovic scored the only Cedar Rapids goal. However, the RoughRiders rebounded to shutout Danville 2-0 one night later in Cedar Rapids behind a 24 save performance from Fallon.

Fallon has set a new team record by not allowing a goal in his last 147:01 of action. The shutout streak started after he surrendered a shorthanded goal to Chicago's Alex Spezia 17:22 into the second period of the RoughRiders' 4-3 shootout win over the Steel on January 17. Fallon held Chicago off the scoreboard for the remainder of that game (including overtime). He then kept the Stampede from scoring for 59:23 last Tuesday before his night came a to premature end when he was issued a game misconduct penalty. After serving the one game suspension resulting from that penalty last Friday, Fallon returned to stimy Danville Saturday.

Fallon's run has eclipsed the old team record for longest shutout streak (146:43) set by Bobby Goepfert between October 20 and November 2, 2001.

On the season, Fallon leads USHL goaltenders in wins (19-8-1), is tied for the league lead in shutouts (3), and ranks fourth in goals against average (2.32), save percentage (.922) and minutes played (1654:51).

The RoughRiders' Jon Grabarek (14-25-39) is tied for sixth in the league in point scoring and is tied for fifth in assists.

The Riders' Shane Lovdahl (+16), ranks second in the league in plus/minus rating. He is also second among USHL defenseman in goal scoring (8) and is tied for sixth among blue liners in points.

Derek Peltier (2-17-19) is second among defenseman in assists and is tied for fifth in points.

As a team, Cedar Rapids ranks behind only Tri-City offensively, averaging 3.5 goals per game.

Miskovic's first period power play goal last Tuesday against Sioux Falls ended the RoughRiders' 0-for-23 drought on the man advantage. The Riders have now scored on the power play in each of their last three games. On the season, the Riders rank sixth in the USHL in power play efficiency (16.2 percent).

The Riders have killed off 34 of their last 35 shorthand situations to move to fifth in the league on the penalty kill (85.1 percent).

River City (24-10-3, 51 points) is in third place in the West Division. The Lancers are two points behind second place Sioux City and three behind first place Tri-City.

Coach Mike Hastings' club was surprisingly swept last weekend in St. Louis. The Lancers fell to the Heartland Eagles 5-2 last Friday and dropped 4-1 decision last Saturday. River City suffered consecutive regulation losses for just the third time this season despite outshooting the Eagles by a considerable margin in both of last weekend's games. The Lancers put up 44 shots while surrendering 25 on Friday night and threw 31 at the St. Louis net the following evening while conceding a mere 17. Brett Motherwell and Corey Carlson scored the River City goals last Friday while Mick Lawrence provided the only Lancer goal Saturday. Jeff Lerg was between the posts for both losses.

Entering their game tonight against the Black Hawks in Waterloo, the Lancers had lost three of their last five games. Each of those three losses came at the hands of a last place team- two to the Eagles, who occupy the East Division basement and one to the Sioux Falls Stampede, the cellar dwellers in the west.

River City's Paul Stastny (17-26-43) is tied for the league lead in point scoring and ranks second in assists.

Teammate Mike Howe (21-19-40) is the USHL's third leading goal scorer and ranks fifth in points. Howe also leads the league in power play goals (12).

Lawrence (16-23-39) is tied for sixth in the point scoring race and tied for fourth in power play goals (8).

First year goaltender Lerg and veteran Marty Magers have split time between the pipes for the Lancers. Lerg has gone 12-3 and with a 2.38 goals against average (sixth best in the league) and a .905 save percentage. Magers has posted a 12-7-3 record while turning in a 2.58 goals against and a .914 save percentage (tied for seventh).

The Lancers rank third in the league in both goals scored per game (3.4) and team goals against average (2.73). Special teams have also been an area of strength for River City. The Lancers are second in the league on both the power play (20.1 percent) and penalty kill (87.6 percent). River City's strong shorthanded play has been a near necessity- the Lancers lead the league in penalty minutes per game (24.1).

Lancer defenseman Nick Schaus is the individual league leader in penalty minutes (116), while fellow blueliner Colin Trulock (100) is third in PIM's.

River City has excelled on home ice, going 13-3-2 at the Mid-America Center. After dropping their first two home contests of the season, the Lancers have gone 13-1-2 in their last 16 games on home ice.

Tri-City (25-9-4, 54 points) is one point ahead of streaking Sioux City in the race for first place overall as well as the top spot in the West Division.

The Storm has won three straight games. A victory over Des Moines Friday night would enable coach Bliss Littler's team to match its season long winning streak (four games).

Tri-City scored a pair of home wins last weekend. Bill Thomas scored an unassisted goal just nine seconds into overtime to give the Storm a 2-1 victory over Sioux Falls last Friday. Tri-City's Mark Van Guilder had provided the tying goal with 6:08 remaining in regulation. The Storm downed Chicago 7-4 one night later. Ryan Dingle (two goals, two assists), Thomas (one goal, three assists) and Van Guilder (one goal, two assists) led the Tri-City onslaught.

The Storm's Rastislav Spirko (23-15-38) and Thomas (22-17-39) are the league's top two goal scorers. Thomas is also tied for sixth in point scoring, while Spirko is tied for tenth.

Tom Pohl (12-22-34) leads the club in assists.

Peter Mannino and Eric Aarnio have split the Storm's goaltending duties this season. Aarnio has the league's second best goals against average (2.22) and has gone 10-3-4 with a .909 save percentage. Mannino is third in the league in wins (15-6) and eighth in goals against average (2.60). He has a save percentage of .891.

In addition to leading the league in goals per game (3.6), the Storm also ranks among the top defensive clubs in the league. Tri-City has the USHL's second best team goals against average (2.55), surrenders fewer shots per game (24.0) than any other club and boasts the best penalty kill (91.1 percent) in the league.

Combine the league's third best power play (18.5 percent) with the highly effective shorthand unit and the Storm usually has the edge on its opponents in special teams.

Tri-City has an even better home record (14-3-1) than River City.

Who's Hot

The RoughRiders' Bryan Horan has two goals and five points in his last three games.

Miskovic has scored three goals in his last three games and notched four goals and five points in his last five games.

Brian Pouliot has two goals and four points in his last three games.

The Lancers' Lawrence is riding a nine-game point-scoring streak (6-10-16), the fourth longest in the USHL this season.

Howe had a seven-game point-scoring streak (6-8-14) snapped last Saturday in St. Louis. He rang up four goals and seven points during just the last two games of that run.

Stastny has nine goals and 21 points in his last 15 games.

Evan Kaufmann has five goals and eleven points in his last nine games.

Motherwell has three goals and ten points in his last nine games.

The Storm's Thomas has three goals and eight points in his last three games.

Ryan Dingle has two goals and six points in his last three games.

Van Guilder has scored in each of his last three games and in five of his last six outings.

Aarnio has surrendered just a single goal in each of his last two games and in five of his last six appearances. He has suffered just one regulation loss in his last seven decisions (5-1-1).

Head to Head

The RoughRiders and Lancers close out their regular season series Friday night. The Riders (2-1, four points) hold the edge over River City (1-1-1, three points) after the first three meetings between the clubs. A victory on Friday would enable the Roughriders to win the season series, something they have never done against Omaha/River City.

The two teams last got together on January 9 when the Lancers handed the RoughRiders a 4-1 loss at the ice arena. The Riders picked up a pair of wins over River City earlier in the season. The RoughRiders edged the Lancers 4-3 in a shootout on December 12 in Cedar Rapids and spoiled River City's home opener by claiming a 3-2 victory on October 3 in Council Bluffs.

Stastny (2-2-4) is the series' top point scorer, just ahead of teammates Lawrence (2-1-3) and Howe (0-3-3). Cedar Rapids' Lovdahl and James Brannigan have both scored a pair of goals against River City.

Fallon has played every minute of all three games between the two clubs, posting a 2.92 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. Lerg made 27 saves to earn the win on January 9 at the ice arena, while Magers started the first two games of the season series, going 0-1-1 and giving up six goals on 33 shots.

All-time, the RoughRiders have gone 7-14 against the Lancers.

The Riders and Storm have split a pair of games so far this season. Tri-City came away with a 4-1 win on October 18 in Cedar Rapids. The RoughRiders walked out of the Tri-City Arena with a 5-2 victory on November 7.

Pohl (0-4-4) leads the Storm in point scoring against the RoughRiders, while Sean Muncy (2-1-3) tops the Riders after the first two meetings.

The Riders have gone 8-7-1 against the Storm all-time.

Historically Speaking

River City boss Mike Hastings is third all-time among USHL coaches in career wins. Hastings has gone 359-142-31 in nine-plus years behind the Omaha/River City bench. Hastings was named both USHL coach and general manager of the year in 1996-97 and 2001-02.

The Lancers have won the Clark Cup (playoff) championship a USHL record six times, most recently in 2000-01. The Lancers won their third Anderson Cup (regular season) title two years ago.

Last season River City (36-19-5, 77 points) finished fourth in the West Division and fifth overall during the regular season. The Lancers defeated two higher seeds, the Sioux City Musketeers and the East Division champion Waterloo Black Hawks, to advance to the Clark Cup finals where they fell to the Lincoln Stars three games to one. That trip to the finals was the Lancers' third in a row.

Bliss Littler is in his first season behind the Tri-City bench. Littler resigned as Topeka's coach and general manager last January after piloting the ScareCrows to a 20-12-3 record to that point in the season. Littler posted an overall record of 45-42-9 in a year and a half behind the ScareCrows bench.

Prior to taking over Topeka, Littler spent seven seasons as head coach and general manager of the Billings Bulls of the junior A America West Hockey League. During his time in Billings, the Bulls won five AWHL Borne Cup titles.

Alumni Report

Princeton junior Mike Patton had one goal and one assist last Friday as the Tigers came from behind to tie St. Lawrence 5-5. Patton (4-8-12) is Princeton's second leading point scorer on the season.

Michigan junior Dave Moss scored the game winning goal in the Wolverine's 4-1 victory last Friday at Western Michigan. He added an assist in a 7-0 home win over WMU one night later. Moss has three goals and eleven points on the season.

Sophomore goaltender Bobby Goepfert made 18 saves to earn his first shutout of the season as Providence won 3-0 at Lake Superior State last Friday. Goepfert stopped 29 shots as the Friars completed the sweep of the Lakers with a 3-1 victory the following evening. On the season, Goepfert has gone 9-4-2 with a 2.89 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.

Massachusetts-Lowell sophomore Danny O'Brien scored his seventh goal of the season in the River Hawks' 3-2 loss to Brown last Saturday night. O'Brien is fourth on the team with 17 points.

Alabama-Huntsville sophomore Todd Bentley scored his fourth goal of the year in the Chargers' 6-2 victory at Air Force last Saturday. Bentley has eleven points on the season.

Vermont sophomore Joe Gasparini scored in the Catamounts' 9-4 loss to Colgate last Saturday night. Gasparini has three goals and seven points on the season.

RoughRiders Roster

Captain Jamie Carroll remains out of the line-up after suffering a fractured orbital bone in the Riders' December 31 win over St. Louis.

Brett Beckfeld will be suspended for Friday night's game. Beckfeld received a game misconduct for fighting with Danville's Alex Foster with less than five minutes remaining in last Saturday evening's contest.

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).

River City: Stephen Balint (Northern Michigan), Mike Howe (Minnesota), Mick Lawrence (Nebraska- Omaha), Andy Meyer (Providence), David Robertson (Brown), Eric Walsky (Alaska- Anchorage)

Tri-City: Eric Aarnio (Nebraska-Omaha), David Boguslawski (Findlay), Jace Buzek (Robert Morris), John Dingle (Ohio State), Ryan Dingle (Denver), Jack Hillen (Colorado College), Luke Lucyk (Notre Dame), Peter Mannino (Denver), Jake Obermeyer (Michigan Tech), Tom Pohl (Minnesota), Bill Thomas (Nebraska-Omaha), Steve Wagner (Minnesota State), Chris Zarb (Ferris State)

Upcoming Events

The RoughRiders will honor Robert Gallery, the University of Iowa's Outland Trophy winning offensive tackle, when the RoughRiders host the Des Moines Buccaneers on Friday, February 6 at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Gallery will drop the puck in a ceremonial opening face off just before the February 6 game. He will also sign autographs from 6:00 to 6:45PM. Autographs will be available free of charge with paid admission to the game.

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 week's- 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 Coach's Show with Mark Carlson returns tomorrow night 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.

Check out the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2004


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