USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

RoughRiders weekly

Published on February 18, 2008 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders News Release


Headlines

Three Point Week: The RoughRiders earned three points from three games last week. The Riders picked up one point for a 4-3 shootout loss to Sioux City last Tuesday, fell 5-1 last Friday in Sioux Falls and defeated Lincoln 4-1 last Saturday. The Riders have now suffered just one regulation defeat in their last five games (3-1-1).

Happy Home Again: The Riders snapped a four-game home winless streak (0-3-1) with last Saturday's victory at the ice arena.

Extra Special: The Riders scored all four of their goals on special teams last Saturday. The Riders scored three times on the power play and once shorthanded. Cedar Rapids boasts the league's top power power play (19.7 percent).

Jonesing: Doug Jones's (11-31-42) eight game point-scoring streak (2-8-10) was halted last Friday in Sioux Falls. Jones ranks fourth in the United States Hockey League in assists and ninth in points.

D-fense!: The RoughRiders have given up just one goal in each of their last five wins. On the season the Riders rank second in the league in goals against (2.6 per game).

Twenty for Hjelle: Brady Hjelle last Saturday became the third USHL goaltender this season to reach the 20-win plateau.

Fun at the Field House: The RoughRiders and Ice will battle at Conseco Field House- the 18,000 seat home of the National Basketball Association's Indiana Pacers- Saturday night rather than at the Ice's full time home rink, Pepsi Coliseum. Saturday evening's game is a "Pack the House Night" fundraiser for Indianapolis-area charities. The Riders defeated Indiana at Conseco 4-3 in a shootout on February 10 of last season in Cedar Rapids' only previous visit to the building.

King Teddy: RoughRider alumnus Ted Purcell scored his first National Hockey League goal in the Los Angeles Kings' 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames last Friday night after being recalled from the American Hockey League's Manchester Monarchs earlier in the day. The Flames' Dave Moss, the other Rider alum currently skating in the National Hockey League, played against Purcell and the Kings last Friday. Purcell picked up an assist one night later in a 4-3 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. This is Purcell's second stint with the Kings this season- in all he has totaled three points in seven NHL games.

Ins and Outs: Doug Leaverton has been suspended for two games after being assessed a game misconduct penalty for fighting with less than five minutes remaining in last Saturday's game. Leaverton will miss tomorrow night's game against Green Bay and Friday night's game against Indiana.

Alumni Spotlight: Ryan Webb (2001-02) of the Southern Professional Hockey League's Jacksonville Barracudas scored the go-ahead goal in the Barracudas' 5-2 win over the Twin City Cyclones last night. On the season Webb (21-18-39) is tie for the seventh in the SPHL in goals.

Scouting Report

Green Bay: The Gamblers split a pair of games in Ohio last weekend. Green Bay was blanked 2-0 last Friday before rebounding for a 5-2 win the following evening...Last Saturday's victory was just the Gamblers' second win in their last 19 games, a stretch during which they have gone 2-14-3...The Gamblers allow a USHL-worst average of 3.9 goals per game while scoring just 2.4 goal per outing, the second lowest average in the league...The Gamblers have been shut out four times in their last ten games and a total of seven times this season...C.J. Lee (13-11-24) leads the Gamblers in goals and is tied with Cameron Burt (3-21-24) for the team point-scoring lead...Mike Borisenok (11-12-23) has scored five goals in his last five games and collected 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his last nine games...Goaltender Aaron Crandall picked up the win last Saturday in Columbus, ending a personal five game losing streak and an eight game winless streak (0-7-1)...The RoughRiders are 5-0-0 against the Gamblers this season. All-time they have gone 37-16-3 against the Gamblers and have posted a 16-9-2 record in Green Bay.

Indiana: The Ice is unbeaten in regulation (7-0-1) in its last eight games and has gone 10-1-3 in its last 14 games...Last Friday Indiana suffered a 2-1 shootout loss in Lincoln before downing Tri-City 6-4 last Saturday in Kearney, Nebraska...13 of the Ice's last 18 games have gone to overtime and nine of those 13 have gone to the shootout. During that stretch Indiana is 3-1 in games decided in overtime and 6-3 in shootouts. On the season the Ice is 3-2 in games settled in sudden death and 9-3 in shootouts...The Ice ranks second in the league in goal scoring (3.8 per game)...Greg Squires (18-34-52) leads the league in points, is tied for second in assists and ranks tenth in goals. Squires is riding a five-game point scoring streak (3-5-8) and has recorded 17 points (five goals, twelve assists) in his last ten games...John Kemp (8-43-51) leads the league in assists and is tied for second in points...Paul Carey (23-23-46) is tied for second in goals and tied for seventh in points...Indiana has the best home record in the league- 19-2-3...The Riders have gone 1-2-0 against the Ice this season. All-time the Riders have gone 19-6-0 against Indiana.

Promotions

Star Wars Night Present by Clifton Gunderson: This Friday evening is Star Wars Night Presented by Clifton Gunderson. Break out your light saber and join Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and their intergalactic pals as the riders take on the Indiana Ice. In addition the first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive free rally towels courtesy of Clifton Gunderson.

Watch/Listen

That's The Ticket!: RoughRiders single game tickets can be purchased in person at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office, over the phone at (319) 261-4625 or online 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.

Be Flexible: The RoughRiders are again this season offering the Flex Plan, which enables fans to purchase books of ten ticket vouchers that can be redeemed in any quantity for any regular season home game during normal box office hours. Fans who purchase the flex plan receive a significant discount ($21 off game day ticket prices) and can still enjoy the games of their choice in the seats they want.

On the Air: All RoughRiders regular season and playoff games are broadcast on AM-1360 The Fan in Cedar Rapids. Brian Lavelle provides play-by-play.

Catch the Coach: Catch up on all the latest Rider news with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders' Coach's Show with Mark Carlson Wednesday nights at 6:00 on AM-1360 The Fan. The half hour show is broadcast live from Union Station on 16th Avenue SW in Cedar Rapids. RoughRiders Coach and General Manager Mark Carlson and RoughRiders radio broadcaster Brian Lavelle are joined by Riders players on each edition of the Coach's Show.

Online: Courtesy of B2 Networks, free audio webcasts of Riders games are available at www.roughridershockey.com. The RoughRiders and B2 also offer pay-per-view video webcasts of all RoughRiders games. Fans can click on the "Watch RoughRiders' Games Live" icon at www.roughridershockey.com to catch the action. The broadcast is available to fans with a high speed DSL or cable modem internet connection. The charge for video webcasts is $6 per game.

Check out the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United States Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central