RoughRiders weekly
Published on October 1, 2008 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders News Release
This Weekend
Saturday, October 4, 6:05PM
Pepsi Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Indiana Ice
At a Glance*
Cedar Rapids Indiana
33-22-5, 71 points 39-15-6, 84 points
3rd place East Division 1st place East Division
Coach/GM: Mark Carlson Coach/GM: Jeff Blashill
*-2007-08 records and finishes
Headlines
Happy Anniversary: The RoughRiders open their tenth United States Hockey League season this weekend. All-time the Riders have gone 7-2-0 in season openers and have won six of their last seven openers.
Familiar Faces: The RoughRiders bring back ten players who spent time with the team last season. Forwards Dean Chelios, Ben Lynch, Nick Oddo, Kyle Flanagan and Mike Seidel, defensemen Matt Donovan, Doug Leaverton and Paul Phillips and goaltender Mike Johnson- who spent the bulk of last year in the North American Hockey League but did play two games with the Riders- have all returned for another season in Cedar Rapids. Seidel (16-27-43) is the Riders' top returning scorer. Seidel is back for a third season with the Riders. Bergman also returns for a third USHL campaign, though he started last season at Notre Dame before rejoining the Riders.
Preseason Performers: The RoughRiders went 3-0-0 to win last weekend's Fall Classic preseason tournament in Sioux City. While the Des Moines Buccaneers also went 3-0-0 at the Fall Classic, the Riders won the tie breaker by posting a superior goal differential. First year forwards Greg Burke (3-2-5) and Jared Rickord (1-4-5) both enjoyed five-point weekends. Overall, the Riders finished the preseason 5-1-0.
Fall Fireworks: The RoughRiders scored a league-high 19 goals at the Fall Classic and found the net 36 times in six total preseason games. The Riders twice scored ten goals in a single exhibition contest- they defeated Des Moines 10-3 on October 21 in Cedar Rapids and downed the Omaha Lancers 10-6 last Friday.
Ins and Outs: The RoughRiders have removed forward Vince Mihalek from their active roster in order to meet USHL regular season roster requirements.
Necessary Force: The expansion Fargo Force enters the United States Hockey League this season. The USHL remains a 12-team league- the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets ceased operations following last season. With the addition of the Force to the West Division, the Buccaneers have moved to the East Division.
Tenth Anniversary Tidbit: The RoughRiders opened their first ever regular season with a 3-2 shootout win over the Sioux Falls Stampede in Sioux Falls on September 24, 1999. Rob Silvia made 34 saves to backstop Cedar Rapids to victory in a battle between two expansion teams. With the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena still under construction, the Riders would go on to play their first 25 games on the road.
Scouting Report
Indiana: The Ice went 3-2-1 in preseason...on September 12 Indiana fell to the United States National Team Development Program's Under-18 team 5-4 in overtime...the following weekend the Ice split a pair of home games with Chicago, dropping the Steel 5-1 on September 20 before falling 3-2 one night later...at the Fall Classic Indiana followed up a 6-2 win over the Omaha Lancers last Thursday with a 6-3 victory over Fargo last Friday. A 4-1 loss to the Steel last Saturday kept Indiana from an unbeaten tournament...Brandon Richardson (3-2-5) was Indiana's top point producer at the Fall Classic. Richardson and Dan Cecka (3-1-4) both scored three goals in as many games over the weekend...Brett Bennett- who played for Boston University the last two seasons- and Chris Paliafato split time in goal for Indiana in the preseason...third year Ice forward Brent Gwidt (8-14-22) is Indiana's top returning point scorer; Will MacDonald (10-9-19) is the team's top returning goal scorer...in all, the Ice bring back just four players- forwards Gwidt, MacDonald and Alex Handy and defenseman Brian Harrison- from last year's squad. The four Ice veterans have played a total of 205 career USHL games...Mark Blashill has taken over as the Ice's head coach and general manager after Charlie Skjodt, who spent just over one season behind the Indiana bench, was promoted to President of Hockey Operations in the offseason. Blashill joins the Ice after spending six seasons as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio) and four years prior to that as an assistant at Ferris State...The RoughRiders went 2-5-0 against the Ice last season; Indiana posted a 5-2-0 record against the Riders. The Riders went 0-3-0 in Indianapolis. Last year marked the first time in the history of the match-up that the Ice won a season series against the Riders. All-time Cedar Rapids has gone 20-9-0 against Indiana.
Last Week (Preseason)
Thursday, September 25
RoughRiders 4 Fargo 0
Friday, September 26
RoughRiders 10 Omaha 6
Saturday, September 27
RoughRiders 5 Tri-City 3
Promotions
Opening Night Presented by Collins Community Credit Union: The first 1,000 fans through the doors for the Saturday, October 11 home opener between the RoughRiders and Waterloo Black Hawks will receive guaranteed-win Collins Community Credit Union scratch cards. Scratch card prizes include RoughRiders replica jerseys and t-shirts and funds toward the opening of a membership at Collins Community Credit Union.
Magnet Schedule Giveaway: All fans in attendance at the home opener will also receive free 2008-09 RoughRiders magnet schedules courtesy of St. Luke's Iowa Health System, St. Luke's Velocity Sports Performance, Aspen Athletic Clubs, i wireless and AM 1360 The Fan.
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.
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.
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.
United States Hockey League Stories from October 1, 2008
- Buccaneers rename arena "Buccaneer Arena" - Des Moines Buccaneers
- RoughRiders weekly - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
- Fargo Force Single Game Tickets On Sale Today - Fargo Force
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.
