What is the USHL?
The USHL,
governed by USA Hockey, is the only Tier I junior league in America. To
compete, players must be 20 years old or younger before the season begins.
However, a player who was born January 1, 1987, would be eligible to play in
the USHL for the 2007-08 season. A
player born December 31, 1986, is not eligible for this season.
What is the purpose of the USHL?
Because of
the extensive practice and game schedule in the USHL, players have an
opportunity to develop their skills at an accelerated pace that might otherwise
be unavailable. The main purpose of the USHL is to help players, coaches, and
officials advance their careers to the college and professional level.
The USHL
prides itself on the professional presentation of an amateur sport. That professionalism manifests itself in the
number of players and coaches who graduate to the collegiate and professional
levels of the game.
How long is the USHL season?
Each team
plays a 60-game regular season schedule starting in early October and finishing
in early April. With exhibition games and playoff games, teams can total nearly
80 games played.
Where do USHL players come from?
The USHL attracts
players from all over the United States
as well as Canada and Europe. The league
has a voluntary draft system to help insure parity among its teams from season
to season.
Are USHL players paid?
Players are not
paid for performing in the USHL. In
accordance with the rules of USA Hockey and the NCAA, the league maintains a
strictly amateur status.
USHL games are regularly
scouted by NHL teams, NHL Central Scouting, and Division I-III universities.
Because playing junior hockey often requires a player to move to the team's
city, the teams help arrange housing and part-time jobs. Community involvement
by the players is also encouraged by each team.
How long have the RoughRiders been in Cedar Rapids?
The 2007-08 season
is the RoughRiders’ ninth in Cedar
Rapids. The
Riders arrived from Mason City
in 1999 after having previously operated as the North Iowa Huskies. The Riders spent the first half of the
1999-2000 season on the road while awaiting the completion of construction on
the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.
How successful have the RoughRiders been?
The RoughRiders
have been among the most successful teams in the USHL since the team’s
inception:
The
Riders have enjoyed seven straight winning seasons and have qualified for the
USHL Clark Cup playoffs each of the last seven years and have finished first or second in the USHL East Division.The
Riders are the only team to have advanced at least as far as teh second round of the Clark Cup playoffs each of the last three years and five of the last six years.The
Riders won both the Clark Cup (playoff) title and Anderson Cup (regular season)
title in 2004-05.The
Riders have won the East Division championship each of the last two years.Nearly
100 former RoughRiders have gone on to play college and/or professional
hockey. Nine past or current Riders have
been selected in the National Hockey League draft.How do I buy RoughRiders tickets?
The RoughRiders
offer a number of convenient ticket-buying options. Tickets can be purchased in person at the RoughRiders
ticket office, over the phone at (319) 261-GOAL or on-line at www.roughridershockey.com. The ticket office is open for both walk-up
and phone orders from noon to five Monday through Friday and from noon through
the end of the second period on game days.
On-line ticketing is available 24 hours a day.
In addition to single game
tickets, the RoughRiders offer a host of other convenient and affordable ticket
options, including group tickets, flex plans, season tickets and luxury
suites. For more information on these
options just call the RoughRiders at (319) 261-GOAL or check out the “tickets”
menu at the top of this page.
What about the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena?
The doors
of the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena first opened in January, 2000. Arena construction was funded by a
combination of public and private sources.
Venuworks currently manages the ice arena under contract with
the city of Cedar Rapids. Compass is responsible, among other tasks,
for scheduling ice time for youth and adult hockey programs, figure skating
programs, recreational skating and all other arena events on both of the
arena’s ice sheets.
Ice arena
concessions are managed by Sodexho, also under contract with the city of Cedar Rapids. Sodexho is the leading food and facilities
management services company in North America.