For Immediate Release:
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
Weekly Update
October 4, 2004
THIS WEEK
Friday, October 8, 7:05PM @ State
Fair Coliseum, Lincoln, Nebraska
Cedar
Rapids RoughRiders vs. Lincoln Stars
RECORDS
Cedar Rapids
2-0-0, 4
points, 1st place East Division
Lincoln
2-1-0, 4
points, 3rd place tie West Division
COMING IN
The RoughRiders defeated the Chicago Steel 2-1 last Thursday
night in Bensenville, Illinois. The win
was the Riders’ second in as many road games this season.
The RoughRiders are currently in possession of the only
unblemished record in the United States Hockey League. Each of the USHL’s ten other teams has
suffered at least one regulation, overtime or shootout loss.
The Riders are in the midst of a
stretch that will see them play five of their first six games on the road.
Lincoln won at home and lost on the road last weekend. The Stars defeated the Des Moines Buccaneers
5-3 last Friday night. The following
evening, the Stars suffered their first set back of the season, a 7-1 rout at
the hands of the arch rival Omaha Lancers.
The Stars are trying to bounce back after failing to make
the playoffs last season- the first time in the club’s eight year history that
the Stars did not qualify for the post-season.
Eight players return from last year’s club.
LAST WEEK
Cedar Rapids
Thursday, September 30: Cedar Rapids
2 Des Moines 1
Justin
Abdelkader and Matt Vokes both scored and Alex Stalock made 19 saves in his
USHL debut. The Riders built a 2-0 lead
as Stalock shutout the Steel for the first 50:13 of the game. The Steel narrowed the RoughRider advantage
to 2-1 while shorthanded midway through the third period, but the Riders were
able to protect the one goal lead the rest of the way.
Lincoln
Friday, October 1: Lincoln 5 Des Moines 3
The Stars
rolled to a 4-0 lead and never looked back on the way to a convincing win over
the Buccaneers. John Swanson led the
Lincoln attack with a pair of goals.
Brock Trotter and Eli Vlaisavljevich added a goal and an assist
apiece. Jordan Pearce made 24 saves to
earn the win in goal.
Saturday, October 2: Omaha 7 Lincoln 1
The Stars surrendered
a goal just 1:12 into the first period as Omaha went on to build a 6-0 lead. The Lancers broke the game open in the
second period by exploding for three goals in a span of just two minutes
twenty-eight seconds. Erik Condra finally got Lincoln on the
scoreboard at 6:16 of the third period.
Pearce (25 saves) went the distance in goal to take the loss.
TOP POINT SCORERS
Cedar Rapids GP G A PTS
Justin
Abdelkader 2 1 1 2
Zach
Miskovic 2 1 1 2
Rob
Ricci 2 0 2 2
(several players
tied with one point)
Lincoln GP G A PTS
Brock
Trotter 3 2 1 3
Dan Riedel 3 0 3 3
John
Swanson 3 2 0 2
Erik Condra 3 1 1 2
Eli
Vlaisavljevich 3 1 1 2
LEADERS
Cedar Rapids
Goals- several players tied (1)
Assists- Rob Ricci (2)
Points- Justin Abdelkader, Zach Miskovic,
Rob Ricci (2)
Plus/Minus- several players tied (+1)
Penalty Minutes- Justin Abdelkader (4)
Power Play Goals- Zach Miskovic (1)
Shorthanded Goals- none
Miskovic is
among a group of players tied for second in point scoring among defensemen.
Lincoln
Goals- John Swanson, Brock Trotter (2)
Assists- Dan Reidel (3)
Points- Dan Reidel, Brock Trotter (3)
Plus/Minus- Brian Bina (+2)
Penalty Minutes- Ryan Hohl (26)
Power Play Goals- Erik Condra, Tom Sawatske, Eli
Vlaisavljevich (1)
Shorthanded Goals- none
Trotter and
Reider are among a group of players tied for eighth in the league in points…Hohl
is second in the league in penalty minutes (26), while teammate Chris Robinson
(22) ranks fourth…Hohl and Robinson are two of just four players who have
already been called for two major penalties this season…Vlaisavljevich is among
a group of players tied for second in point scoring among defensemen...Jordan
Pearce is tied for second among goaltenders in wins (2).
GOALTENDERS
Cedar Rapids TEAM GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Alex
Stalock Cedar Rapids 1 60 1.00 1-0-0 0 .950
Dan Tormey Cedar
Rapids 1 65 2.77 1-0-0 0 .885
Lincoln TEAM GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Jordan
Pearce Chicago 3 180 3.37 2-1-0 0 .861
WHO’S HOT
Cedar Rapids
Justin Abdelkader: scored first USHL goal last
Thursday; points in each of first two games
Rob Ricci: assists in each first two games
Alex Stalock: made 19 saves, gave up just one goal
to earn win in USHL debut last Thursday
Lincoln
Dan Reidel: three assists in last two games
Brock Trotter: one goal and one assist last Friday
Eli Vlaisavljevich: one goal and one assist last Friday
John Swanson: two goals last Friday
WIN-LOSS
Cedar Rapids Lincoln
Home: 0-0-0 Home: 1-0-0
Away: 2-0-0 Away: 1-1-0
vs. East Division: 2-0-0 vs. East Division: 1-1-0
vs. West Division: 0-0-0 vs. West Division: 1-0-0
GOALS
Cedar Rapids Lincoln
Goals For Per Game: 3.0 (tied 4) Goals
For Per Game: 2.7 (tied 6)
Goals Against Per Game: 2.0 (tied 1) Goals Against Per Game: 3.7
(tied 8)
SPECIAL TEAMS
Cedar Rapids Lincoln
Power Play: 11.1%
1/9 (8) Power Play: 15.0% 3/20
(2)
Penalty Kill: 100% 0/7
(tied 1) Penalty
Kill: 77.8% 4/18
(9)
Shorthanded Goals For: 0 Shorthanded
Goals For: 0
Shorthanded Goals Against: 1 Shorthanded
Goals Against: 0
SERIES
vs. Lincoln
GP W-L-SOL PTS H A OPP REC OPP PTS
2003-04 4 3-0-1 7 2-0-0 1-0-1 1-2-1 3
All-Time 22 8-11-3 19 5-5-1 3-6-2 14-4-4 32
Top Point
Scorers/Season Series (2003-04)
Cedar Rapids GP G A PTS
Sean Muncy 4 2 2 4
Derek
Peltier 4 1 3 4
(several
players tied with three points)
Lincoln GP G A PTS
Dan Riedel 2 3 0 3
Mick Berge 3 1 2 3
Brent
Borgen 4 1 2 3
Goaltenders/Season
Series (2003-04)
Cedar Rapids GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Joe Fallon 4 246:58 1.70 3-0-1 2 .949
Lincoln GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Phillip
Lamoureux 4 243:53 2.71 1-2-1 0 .928
ROUGHRIDERS ROSTER
Forward Gary Steffes made his RoughRider debut last
Thursday. The Riders added Steffes, who
had been one of the team’s affiliated players, to the active roster last Monday.
The status of forward Phil Axtell (knee) and defenseman Alec
Martinez (knee) is uncertain for Thursday’s game. Both sat out the first two games of the season.
COACHES
Cedar Rapids
Mark Carlson, 6th year
(145-125-27)
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 five 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 297 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.
Lincoln
Steve Johnson, 10th year
(327-148-33); 9th year Lincoln (298-129-32)
Steve Johnson has
been Lincoln’s coach since the club’s inception in 1996-97. Prior to taking over in Lincoln, Johnson
spent the 1995-96 campaign behind the bench of the now defunct Fargo-Moorhead
Bears. He piloted the Bears to a
27-18-1 record in their only season in the league.
Johnson has
been named USHL Coach of the Year three times (1995-96, 1999-2000, 2000-01) and
General Manager of the Year (2000-01) once.
Johnson became just
the fourth coach in league history to reach the 300 win plateau when the Stars
defeated the Des Moines Buccaneers 4-3 in a shootout on October 17, 2003 in
Lincoln.
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). Grabarek did not record a
point in the Riders’ first two games.
This marks just the second time in the
RoughRiders’ six year history that the club has won its first two games of the
season. The Riders opened the 2001-02
campaign win three straight victories.
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 (122).
In addition to failing to qualify for the
playoffs last season, the Stars also finished with a losing record (27-29-4, 58
points) for the first time in team history.
The Stars tumbled down
the standings last season just one year after taking home the Clark Cup
(playoff title) for the second time in franchise history. The Stars’ previous Clark Cup title came in
1996-97, the franchise’s first season in the league. Lincoln also won its third Anderson Cup (regular season)
championship in 2002-03. The Stars won
back-to-back Anderson Cups in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
COLLEGE COMMITMENTS
Cedar Rapids
Justin
Abdelkader (Michigan State), Phil Axtell (Michigan Tech), Greg Collins (New
Hampshire), Ray Eichenlaub (Miami of Ohio), Matt Vokes (Brown)
Lincoln
Jordan
Pierce (Notre Dame), Erik Condra (Notre Dame), Eli Vlaisavljevich (Michigan
Tech), John Swanson (St. Cloud State)
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.
Marvel Comics’ 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.
TICKETS
Individual game
tickets for RoughRiders first half home dates- including the October 16 home
opener- are now on sale at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office. Tickets can be purchased over the phone at
(319) 261-4625 or in person at the ice arena.
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 $8.00 to $17.00 including a 50-cent
facility fee.
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.
ON THE AIR
RoughRiders regular
season and playoff games- including this Friday’s contest- 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.
Up-to-the-minute
live game updates for all USHL action are available on line at www.pointstreak.com/prostats.