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Weekly Update, September 27, 2004

Weekly Update, September 27, 2004

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Weekly Update September 27, 2004 THIS WEEK Thursday, September 30, 7:35PM @ Edge Ice Arena, Bensenville, Illinois Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Chicago Steel RECORDS Cedar Rapids 1-0-0, 2 points, 1st place tie East Division Chicago 0-2-0, 0 points, 5th place tie East Division COMING IN The RoughRiders opened their sixth United States Hockey League campaign last Saturday with a 4-3 shootout win over the Des Moines Buccaneers in Urbandale. Saturday’s win also kicked off a stretch that will see the RoughRiders play three straight games and five of their first six on the road. The RoughRiders are now 5-1 in season openers and are 4-1 when opening on the road. The Riders have won each of their last four season openers. Chicago began the season with back-to-back home losses last weekend. The Steel fell to the Omaha Lancers 5-3 last Friday and suffered a 3-2 set back at the hands of the Indiana Ice the following evening. The Steel return 11 players from the team that last season won the East Division title by finishing one point ahead of the RoughRiders. Foremost among Chicago’s returnees is talented young goaltender Shane Connelly. Danny Charleston (24-34-58), the Steel’s leading scorer in 2003-04, is also back. Eric Slais and David Marshall, both of whom were among Chicago’s top five point scorers last season, are again suiting up for the Steel this season. LAST WEEK Cedar Rapids Saturday, September 25: Cedar Rapids 4 Des Moines 3 (so) Jon Grabarek scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Riders a season opening win. Cedar Rapids built 2-0 and 3-2 leads in regulation, but the Buccaneers twice battled back to tie the game, despite being outplayed- the Riders outshot the Bucs 47-26. Defenseman Zach Miskovic had a power play goal and an assist for the Riders while Ted Purcell and Billy Loupee scored the other RoughRider goals. Chicago Friday, September 24: Omaha 5 Chicago 3 The Steel fell behind 2-0 and 3-2 but twice rallied to tie the game before Omaha’s Dirk Jelitto scored the game winning goal with 3:28 left in the third period. Eric Lampe, T.J. Fox and Kevin Swallow scored for Chicago. Fox and Swallow both found the net on the power play. Penalties proved a major problem for the Steel. Chicago was shorthanded 13 times (including seven times in the first period alone) and surrendered three power play goals. Shane Connelly made 30 saves in the Steel net. Saturday, September 25: Indiana 3 Chicago 2 The Ice made a successful USHL debut at the expense of the Steel, who for a second straight night came from behind twice to tie the score, but again came up short. Chris Clackson scored both Chicago goals, erasing 1-0 and 2-1 Indiana advantages before Travis Winter scored the game winner for the Ice midway through the third period. The Steel fell despite outshooting Indiana 36-30. TOP POINT SCORERS Cedar Rapids GP G A PTS Zach Miskovic 1 1 1 2 Ted Purcell 1 1 0 1 Billy Loupee 1 1 0 1 Matt Vokes 1 0 1 1 Rob Ricci 1 0 1 1 Chicago GP G A PTS Chris Clackson 2 2 0 2 Eric Lampe 2 1 1 2 Danny Charleston 2 0 2 2 (several players tied with one point) LEADERS Cedar Rapids Goals- Zach Miskovic, Ted Purcell, Billy Loupee (1) Assists- Zach Miskovic, Matt Vokes, Rob Ricci (1) Points- Zach Miskovic (2) Plus/Minus- several players tied (+1) Penalty Minutes- several players tied (2) Power Play Goals- Zach Miskovic (1) Shorthanded Goals- none Miskovic is tied for the league lead in point scoring by a defenseman and is tied for fifth in the overall point scoring race after the season’s first weekend. Chicago Goals- Chris Clackson (2) Assists- Danny Charleston (2) Points- Chris Clackson, Eric Lampe, Danny Charleston (2) Plus/Minus- David Sloane (+2) Penalty Minutes- Danny Charleston (14) Power Play Goals- Chris Clackson, TJ Fox, Kevin Swallow (1) Shorthanded Goals- none Clackson is among a group of players tied for third in the league in goals…Charleston ranks fourth in the league in penalty minutes (14)…Connelly was the only USHL goaltender to suffer a pair of opening weekend losses. GOALTENDERS Cedar Rapids TEAM GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT Dan Tormey Cedar Rapids 1 65 2.77 1-0-0 0 .885 Chicago TEAM GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT Shane Connelly Chicago 2 118:29 3.54 0-2-0 0 .891 WHO’S HOT Cedar Rapids Zach Miskovic: 1-1-2 last Saturday Ted Purcell: scored first USHL goal last Saturday Dan Tormey: stopped all five Des Moines penalty shots after making 23 saves in regulation and overtime to earn win in first start against his former team Chicago Danny Charleston: two assists in season opener against Omaha last Friday Eric Lampe: points in each of first two games Chris Clackson: two goals Saturday against Chicago WIN-LOSS Cedar Rapids Chicago Home: 0-0-0 Home: 0-2-0 Away: 1-0-0 Away: 0-0-0 vs. East Division: 1-0-0 vs. East Division: 0-1-0 vs. West Division: 0-0-0 vs. West Division: 0-1-0 GOALS Cedar Rapids Chicago Goals For Per Game: 4.0 (tied 2) Goals For Per Game: 2.5 (6) Goals Against Per Game: 3.0 (tied 6) Goals Against Per Game: 4.0 (tied 8) SPECIAL TEAMS Cedar Rapids Chicago Power Play: 20.0% 1/5 (3) Power Play: 21.4% 3/14 (2) Penalty Kill: 100% 0/3 (tied 1) Penalty Kill: 83.3% 3/18 (8) Shorthanded Goals For: 0 Shorthanded Goals For: 0 Shorthanded Goals Against: 0 Shorthanded Goals Against: 0 SERIES vs. Chicago GP W-L-SOL PTS H A OPP REC OPP PTS 2003-04 6 3-3-0 6 2-1-0 1-2-0 3-2-1 7 All-Time 24 15-7-2 32 9-3-0 6-4-2 9-14-1 19 Top Point Scorers/Season Series (2003-04) Cedar Rapids GP G A PTS Jon Grabarek 6 4 1 5 Shane Lovdahl 6 3 2 5 Derek Peltier 6 1 4 5 Chicago GP G A PTS Danny Charleston 6 4 3 7 Kevin Roeder 6 2 4 6 David Marshall 5 3 1 4 Top Goaltenders/Season Series (2003-04) Cedar Rapids GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT Joe Fallon 5 304:14 3.55 2-3-0 0 .876 Dan Tormey 1 60 0.00 1-0-0 1 1.000 Chicago GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT Shane Connelly 6 363:20 2.64 3-2-1 0 .923 ROUGHRIDERS ROSTER The RoughRiders traded forward Sean Muncy to the Des Moines Buccaneers Monday and added forward Gary Steffes, who had been one of the team’s affiliated players, to the active roster. The status of defenseman Alec Martinez is uncertain for Thursday’s game. Martinez sat out the season opener with an ankle injury. Forward Phil Axtell remains out of the line-up while rehabilitating a knee injury. COACHES Cedar Rapids Mark Carlson, 6th year (144-125-27) Mark Carlson has been the RoughRiders’ coach since the team arrived in Cedar Rapids in 1999-2000. He has led the RoughRiders to four straight winning seasons and four straight berths in the Clark Cup playoffs. The Riders are one of just three USHL teams to have reached the post season each of the last four years. Carlson is just six wins short of the 150 victory plateau. He earned his one hundredth coaching win on January 11, 2003 when the RoughRiders defeated the Sioux City Musketeers 3-1 in Sioux City. Carlson has coached 296 regular season games over the course of the Riders’ five-plus seasons. He will be behind the bench for his three hundredth USHL game when the RoughRiders visit the Indiana Ice on Sunday, October 17. Prior to taking over the RoughRiders in 1999, Carlson spent four seasons as a collegiate assistant coach at Northeastern and Massachusetts-Lowell. In his playing days, Carlson was a forward at Lowell and was a 1987 draft pick of the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Chicago Will Nichol, 2nd year (34-24-4) Will Nichol piloted the Steel to A 34-22-4 record and the East Division title last season in his first year as the club’s head coach. Nichol was a Chicago assistant under Steve Richmond in 2001-02. He spent 2002-03 coaching IMG Academy’s midget AAA team. Nichol has also had assistant coaching stints in the college ranks with Division III Wisconsin-Stevens Point (his alma mater) and Division I Miami of Ohio. HISTORY Forward Jon Grabarek is second in RoughRider history in career goals (37), just one behind club record holder Gerry Hickey. Grabarek also ranks second in team history behind Chase Watson in career assists (49) and points (86). He ranks fifth in club history in power play goals (11). Third year defenseman Zach Miskovic has not missed a regular season game during his RoughRider career. Miskovic ranks fourth in club history in career games played (121). Last season’s division title was the first in Steel history. This is the Steel’s fourth season in Chicago. The club moved from North Dakota in 2000 after spending four years as the Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks. COLLEGE COMMITMENTS Cedar Rapids Justin Abdelkader (Michigan State), Phil Axtell (Michigan Tech), Greg Collins (New Hampshire), Ray Eichenlaub (Miami of Ohio), Matt Vokes (Brown) Chicago Nathaniel Brooks (Massachusetts), Danny Charleston (Nebraska-Omaha), Cody Lampl (Colorado College), Justin Lewandowski (Ferris State), Kevin Roeder (Miami of Ohio), David Sloane (Colgate), Alan Thompson (New Hampshire) UPCOMING EVENTS All fans attending the RoughRiders’ home opener against the Waterloo Black Hawks on Saturday night, October 16 will receive free RoughRiders 2004-05 magnet schedules courtesy of AM-1360 The Fan, Aspen Athletic Club, i wireless and Lindale Mall. The RoughRiders will also host their first food drive night the evening of the home opener. The Riders and the Cedar Rapids Jaycees will team for monthly food drives to benefit the HACAP Food Reservoir. The Jaycees will collect canned food items at the RoughRiders’ first Saturday home game of each month. It’s Mascot Day when the RoughRiders host the Des Moines Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, October 24 at 4:00. Ricochet, the Riders’ furry equine mascot, will be joined by a host of equally huggable mascots from all over eastern Iowa during the game. On Saturday, November 13 fans will have the chance to get up close with the Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8 Budweiser Born On Date Car. The Born On Date car will be on display during the RoughRiders’ game against the Green Bay Gamblers. Earnhardt, one of NASCAR’s top young drivers, has won nine Nextel Cup races during his five year career, including this year’s Daytona 500. Earnhardt Jr. is the son of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. Christian rock group Ramshackle will perform after the RoughRiders’ game against the Lincoln Stars on Friday, November 19. Spiderman will land at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena on Saturday night, November 27. Everyone’s favorite web-slinging superhero will sign autographs and pose for photos as the RoughRiders host the Indiana Ice. COMMUNITY RoughRiders players will be at Hawkeye Downs to sign autographs and meet fans this Friday night beginning at 6:30PM. The RoughRiders’ mascot, Ricochet, will also be on hand to meet young fans. TICKETS 2004-05 season tickets are currently available through the RoughRiders’ business office (247-0340). In addition to their seats, season ticket holders also receive a host of exclusive benefits. In addition to full season tickets, the RoughRiders also offer three different mini-plan packages. Fans can watch the Riders take on their archrivals, the Waterloo Black Hawks, with an i wireless Corridor Cup Mini-Plan or enjoy weekend games with five or ten game packages. The Family Pack enables fans to get four green zone seats, four hot dogs, four fountain drinks and a game program all for just $44. The Family Pack is available for all of the RoughRiders’ Friday and Sunday home games. The first Family Pack Night is Sunday afternoon, October 24 when the Riders host the Des Moines Buccaneers at 4:00. Single game tickets will go on sale in October on a date to be announced. Ticket prices range from $8.00 to $17.00 including a 50-cent facility fee. ON THE AIR RoughRiders regular season and playoff games will again be broadcast on AM-1360 The Fan in Cedar Rapids and AM-800 KXIC in Iowa City this season. Brian Lavelle provides play-by-play. This Thursday’s game will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on AM-1360 immediately following St. Louis Cardinals baseball beginning at approximately 10:00PM. Up-to-the-minute live game updates for all USHL action are available on line at www.pointstreak.com/prostats.

Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 (Archive on Monday, September 27, 2004)

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