Saints Beat Cedar Rapids 4-1 to Claim Cowbell Cup
March 28, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release
DUBUQUE, IA - It was a victory for a king. On a night celebrating "Game of Thrones," the Dubuque Fighting Saints "family" defeated the longtime rival RoughRiders from the kingdom of Cedar Rapids 4-1 to capture the coveted Prairie Farms Cowbell Cup. Hayden Shaw had three points and Jacob Nehama stopped 32 shots to help Dubuque earn its sixth win against the RoughRiders this season. With the win, Dubuque moved four points within the RoughRiders for 2nd Place in the Eastern Conference.
After the Waterloo Black Hawks claimed the Prairie Farms Cowbell Cup last season, Dubuque's victory Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,088 brought the trophy back to Dubuque. The trophy, awarded to the team with the best head-to-head record in Eastern Iowa between Waterloo, Dubuque and Cedar Rapids, was won by Dubuque for the third time since it was introduced during the 2011-12 season.
Mitchell Smith opened the scoring 10:17 into the contest for Dubuque. Gordie Green moved the puck back to Smith on the left wing. The forwarded fired a slapshot from the boards that flew past the blocker of Cedar Rapids goaltender Ben Blacker to make it 1-0 Dubuque.
Cedar Rapids would quickly even the score as Erik Foley struck on the power play at 11:35. The forward got the puck in the high slot and fired a snap shot past Nehama's right pad for his 25th goal of the season.
Dubuque would take the lead into the first intermission as Shaw struck on a wrist shot from the left point. Dubuque won a puck battle along the boards and Nathan Sucese moved the puck back to the blue line. Shaw snapped a shot towards the goal that found it's way through traffic and beat Blacker clean to make it 2-1 Dubuque at 18:07.
Dubuque opened the second period with a four-minute power play and scored a pair of goals. Robby Jackson knocked in a rebound at 56 seconds of the middle frame. Shaw maneuvered the puck to Brett Boeing, and the forward skated the puck to the front of the goal. Blacker made a left pad save, but Jackson deposited the rebound to make it 3-1.
Evan Smith would score less than a minute later, deflecting Shaw's shot from the high slot past Blacker to make it 4-1 Dubuque at 1:38. The goal would end Blacker's night, as Ryan Larkin took over in goal and stopped all 12 shots he faced.
In the third period, Cedar Rapids would fire nine shots Nemaha's way, but the goaltender stood tall for his 26th win of the season. Dubuque's penalty kill was superb, holding Cedar Rapids to 1-for-9 on the man advantage.
"Playoffs are Coming" for the Fighting Saints, but first the Fighting Saints complete a three-game weekend tomorrow in Madison. Puck drop from the Alliant Energy Center is 3:05 p.m. The game can be heard on Super Hits 106.1 FM.
United States Hockey League Stories from March 28, 2015
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