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Weekly Update: September 19, 2005

Weekly Update: September 19, 2005

<DIV class=Section1> <H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 2.5in">Cedar Rapids RoughRiders </H1> <H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 2.5in">Weekly Update</H1> <H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 2.5in">September 19, 2005<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></H1> <H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">                                                            <o:p></o:p></H1> <o:p> </o:p> THIS WEEK<o:p></o:p> Saturday, September 24, 7:05PM @ <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on">Kearney</st1:City> Events Center, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Kearney</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Nebraska</st1:State></st1:place><o:p></o:p> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place> RoughRiders vs. Tri-City Storm<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> RECORDS (2004-05)<o:p></o:p> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place><o:p></o:p> 42-13-5, 89 points, 1st place East Division <o:p></o:p> Tri-City<o:p></o:p> 33-21-6, 72 points, 4th place West Division<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> COMING IN<o:p></o:p> The RoughRiders will open their seventh United States Hockey League season Saturday after going 4-3 in the preseason.  The Riders went 2-1 in the Buc Bowl preseason tournament last weekend in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Des Moines</st1:City></st1:place>.  <o:p></o:p> The RoughRiders’ Ted Purcell set a new team point scoring record last season (67)and finished fourth in the USHL in points.  Purcell is the top returning point producer in the league.<o:p></o:p> Purcell is the only returnee among the Riders’ top ten point scorers in 2004-05.  Of the Riders’ top fifteen point producers last season, only Purcell and Jordan Pietrus are back this year.  The Riders’ six returning skaters (Purcell, Pietrus, Phil Axtell, Gary Steffes, Brent Cornelius and Kevin Wehrs) combined to produce only a fraction of the Riders’ offensive output last season.  That group was responsible for 43 of the team’s 229 goals, 76 of 367 assists and 119 of 567 points.<o:p></o:p> The RoughRiders are 5-1 in season openers and are 4-1 when opening on the road.  The RoughRiders also played their opener away from home last season, defeating the Des Moines Buccaneers 4-3 in a shootout.<o:p></o:p> Goaltender Al Stalock is back for a second season in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place> after being named Clark Cup Playoff Most Valuable Player last spring.        <o:p></o:p> The Storm will open its sixth regular season on home ice after going 1-2 at the Buc Bowl and 2-2 overall in the preseason.  <o:p></o:p> The Storm can count on fourteen returnees this season, nearly twice as many as the Riders.  The Storm also brings back a higher proportion of its 2004-05 production than the Riders.  Tri-City returnees produced 82 of the team’s 189 goals last season, 134 of its 297 assists and 216 of its 486 points.<o:p></o:p> Tri-City captain Jarod Palmer is the club’s top returning point scorer.  Palmer notched 15 goals and totaled 41 points last season.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> LAST WEEK<o:p></o:p> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place><o:p></o:p> Thursday, September 15: <st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City> 9   IFK <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Helsinki</st1:City></st1:place> 3  (Buc Bowl)<o:p></o:p> Aaron Bendickson, Andy Miele and Ian Slater scored two goals apiece as the RoughRiders rolled out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back on the way to convincing win over IFK Helsinki.  The Riders broke the game open late in the first by exploding for four goals in a span of just over five minutes.  Jordan Pietrus’ unassisted goal made the score 3-0 at 13:26.  At 15:32, Bendickson’s second goal of the period extended the lead to four.  Back-to-back power play goals from Miele (on a 5-on-3) at 17:04 and Evan Stephens at 18:47 enabled the Riders to take a 6-0 lead into the first intermission.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Friday, September 16: <st1:City w:st="on">Sioux City</st1:City> 3  <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place> 2 (Buc Bowl)<o:p></o:p> Sam Gagner and Phillip DeSimone scored third period goals just ten seconds apart to propel the Musketeers to a 3-2 win.  Gagner broke a 1-1 tie at 7:23.  At 7:33 DeSimone gave <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sioux City</st1:place></st1:City> a two goal lead.  Phil Axtell’s power play goal brought the Riders back within one at 14:18, but the Musketeers would hold on for the one goal victory.  Aaron Bendickson had provided the other Rider goal, opening the scoring at 13:07 of the second period.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Saturday, September 17: <st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City> 6  <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Lincoln</st1:City></st1:place> 3  (Buc Bowl)<o:p></o:p> Three unanswered third period goals propelled the RoughRiders to the win.  Kevin Wehrs started the third period onslaught for <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City>.  The defenseman swooped into the right wing circle and rifled a wrist shot past <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Lincoln</st1:City></st1:place> goaltender Steve Jakiel to snap a 3-3 tie at 9:36 of the third.  With just under six minutes remaining, Dustin Cloutier made it 5-3 when his shot from the slot was deflected over Jakiel’s shoulder and into the net.  Jordan Pietrus charged into the goalmouth to bury a Ted Purcell centering pass and extend the Rider lead to 6-3 with two and a half minutes remaining.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Tri-City<o:p></o:p> Thursday, September 15:  <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sioux Falls</st1:City></st1:place> 4  Tri-City 2 (Buc Bowl)<o:p></o:p> Andreas Nodl broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period and Ryan Thang added an insurance goal as the Stampede handed the Storm a Buc Bowl-opening loss.  The Storm had twice earlier bounced back to even the score after falling behind 1-0 and 2-1.  Ryan Gunderson scored the first Tri-City goal with just 22 seconds left in the first period.  In the second period Jon Ammerman provided number two.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Friday, September 16: Tri-City 5  IFK <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Helsinki</st1:City></st1:place> 4 (Buc Bowl)        <o:p></o:p> Mario Lamoureux had two goals and one assist as the Storm held off a late IFK Helsinki charge to pickup the win.  Lamoureux’s second goal gave Tri-City a seemingly comfortable 5-2 lead at 6:51 of the third period, but IFK power play goals from Robert Nyholm and Siim Liivik made things interesting in the late going.  The Storm had seemingly taken command by outscoring IFK 3-0 in the second period.  Lamoureux, Matt Ambroz and Zach Cohen provided the second period goals.  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Saturday, September 17: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Indiana</st1:State></st1:place> 3  Tri-City 2 (Buc Bowl)<o:p></o:p> Goals from Kyle Lawson in the second period and Mark Bernier in the third enabled the Storm to twice erase one goal deficits, but after falling behind 3-2 in the third, Tri-City was unable to come back a third time.  Nick Hopper took the loss in goal for the Storm despite making 31 saves.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> TOP RETURNING POINT SCORERS<o:p></o:p></DIV> <DIV class=Section2> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place>               GP       G          A          PTS<o:p></o:p> Ted Purcell                    58         20         47         67<o:p></o:p> Jordan Pietrus               49         14         11         25<o:p></o:p> Phil Axtell                     26         6          5          11<o:p></o:p> Gary Steffes                 42         1          9          10<o:p></o:p> Brent Cornelius              57         2          4          6<o:p></o:p> Tri-City                         GP       G          A          PTS<o:p></o:p> Jared Palmer                 52         15         26         41<o:p></o:p> Jaroslav Markovic         57         18         21         39<o:p></o:p> Alex Hudson                 56         12         10         22<o:p></o:p> Mario Lamoureux           59         7          15         22<o:p></o:p> Brett Watson                 47         3          18         21<o:p></o:p></DIV> <DIV class=Section3> <o:p> </o:p> LEADERS (2004-05)<o:p></o:p> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place><o:p></o:p> Goals- Justin Abdelkader, Matt Vokes (27)<o:p></o:p> Assists- Ted Purcell (47)<o:p></o:p> Points- Ted Purcell (67)<o:p></o:p> Plus/Minus- Ray Eichenlaub (+30)<o:p></o:p> Penalty Minutes- Zach Miskovic (149)<o:p></o:p> Power Play Goals- Matt Vokes (11)<o:p></o:p> Shorthanded Goals- Brandon Svendsen (3)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Purcell finished second in the league in assists, fourth in points and tied for tenth in plus/minus (+20)…Rob Ricci was tied for eighth in points (60), tied for second in game winning goals (7) and tied for tenth in power play goals (9) and plus/minus (+20)…Vokes and Abdelkader were tied for eighth in goals…Vokes was tied for fifth in power play goals…Abdelkader was tied for tenth in power play goals (9) and tied for tenth in plus/minus (+20)…Shane Lovdahl finished fourth in plus/minus and, among defensemen, finished tied for second in points (37) and assists (30) and tied for tenth in goals (7)… Eichenlaub was third in plus/minus (+30), and, among defensemen, ranked second in goals and fourth in points and was tied for seventh in assists…Svendsen was tied for fourth in shorthanded goals…Miskovic was eighth in penalty minutes…Alec Martinez was tied for fifth among defensemen in goals (10)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Tri-City<o:p></o:p> Goals- J.P. Platisha (25)<o:p></o:p> Assists- Christian Hanson (33)<o:p></o:p> Points- Christian Hanson (52)<o:p></o:p> Plus/Minus- Christian Hanson, Jaroslav Markovic, Chris Zarb (+11)<o:p></o:p> Penalty Minutes- Chris Zarb (147)<o:p></o:p> Power Play Goals- J.P. Platisha (8)<o:p></o:p> Shorthanded Goals- Jaroslav Markovic (4)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Markovic finished tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals…Zarb ranked ninth in the league in penalty minutes<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> RETURNING GOALTENDERS (2004-05 STATISTICS)<o:p></o:p> <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City>               GP       MIN      GAA     W-L-SOL           SO       SPCT   <o:p></o:p> Alex Stalock                  32         1801     2.73      19-9-3               3          .905<o:p></o:p>                         <o:p></o:p> Tri-City                         GP       MIN      GAA     W-L-SOL           SO       SPCT<o:p></o:p> Nick Hopper                  15         575       2.92      5-4-0                 0          .855<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p></DIV> <DIV class=Section4> WIN-LOSS (2004-05)<o:p></o:p> <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City>                           Tri-City<o:p></o:p> Home: 18-8-4 (5)                        Home: 20-8-2 (4)<o:p></o:p> Away: 24-5-1 (1)                        Away: 13-13-4 (5)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> vs. East Division: 34-6-0                        vs. East Division: 18-5-1<o:p></o:p> vs. West Division: 8-7-5             vs. West Division: 15-16-5<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> GOALS (2004-05)<o:p></o:p> <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City>                           Tri-City<o:p></o:p> Goals For: 229 (1)                      Goals For: 189 (5)<o:p></o:p> Goals Against: 157 (2)                Goals Against: 172 (4)<o:p></o:p></DIV> <DIV class=Section5></DIV> <DIV class=Section6> SPECIAL TEAMS (2004-05)<o:p></o:p> <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City>                                       Tri-City<o:p></o:p> Power Play:       24.1%  64/266 (1)          Power Play:       16.8%  46/274  (5)<o:p></o:p> Penalty Kill:       83.8%  39/240  (8)         Penalty Kill:       84.1%   46/289 (6)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Shorthanded Goals For: 8 (t5)                 Shorthanded Goals For: 10 (t1)<o:p></o:p> Shorthanded Goals Against: 2 (1)            Shorthanded Goals Against: 6 (5)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> SERIES<o:p></o:p> vs. Tri-City                   <o:p></o:p> 9/24/05             <st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City> at Tri-City                         2/10/06             Tri-City at <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p> 11/26/05            <st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City> at Tri-City                         3/17/05             Tri-City at <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p> 1/31/06             <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place> at Tri-City<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> GP       W-L-SOL           PTS      H          A                      OPP REC         OPP PTS<o:p></o:p> 2004-05             4          2-2-0                 4          2-0-0     0-2-0                 2-1-1                 5<o:p></o:p> All-Time                        22         11-10-1             23         6-4-1     5-6-0                 11-9-2               24<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p></DIV> <DIV class=Section7> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Top Point Scorers/Season Series (2004-05)<o:p></o:p> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place>               GP       G          A          PTS<o:p></o:p> Justin Abdelkader          4          2          5          7<o:p></o:p> Greg Collins                  4          2          3          5<o:p></o:p> (two players tied with three points)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Tri-City                         GP       G          A          PTS<o:p></o:p> Jarod Palmer                4          4          1          5<o:p></o:p> Christian Hanson           4          1          2          3<o:p></o:p> Michal Lukac                 2          0          3          3<o:p></o:p></DIV> <o:p> </o:p> Top Goaltenders/Season Series (2004-05)<o:p></o:p> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place>               GP       MIN      GAA     W-L-SOL           SO       SPCT   <o:p></o:p> Alex Stalock                  3          178       3.71      2-0-0                 0          .901<o:p></o:p> Dan Tormey                  1          60         1.00      1-0-0                 0          .964<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Tri-City                         GP       MIN      GAA     W-L-SOL           SO       SPCT   <o:p></o:p> Nick Hopper                  2          120       3.00      1-1-0                 0          .854<o:p></o:p> Michael Zacharias          2          120       2.50      1-0-1                 0          .886<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> ROUGHRIDERS ROSTER<o:p></o:p> The RoughRiders removed defensemen Chase Ryan and Matt Miller and forward Luka Vidmar from their active roster yesterday in order to meet USHL regular season roster requirements.  <o:p></o:p> The RoughRiders return a total of seven players from last season’s team: forwards Phil Axtell, Jordan Pietrus, Ted Purcell and Gary Steffes; defensemen Brent Cornelius and Kevin Wehrs; and goaltender Alex Stalock. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> COACHES<o:p></o:p> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place><o:p></o:p> Mark Carlson, 7th year (185-138-32)<o:p></o:p> Mark Carlson has been the RoughRiders’ coach since the team arrived in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:City></st1:place> in 1999-2000.  Last season he led the RoughRiders to the first Clark Cup (playoff) title in team history along with a share of the Anderson Cup regular season title and the East Division title.<o:p></o:p> He has also piloted the Riders to five straight winning seasons and five straight Clark Cup playoff berths.  The Riders are one of just three USHL teams to have reached the postseason each of the last five years.  The Riders have also advanced at least as far as the Clark Cup semi-finals/East Division finals three of the last four years.<o:p></o:p> Carlson reached the 150 victory plateau October 30, 2004 as the RoughRiders defeated the Indiana Ice 4-3.  He earned his one hundredth coaching win on January 11, 2003 when the RoughRiders defeated the Sioux City Musketeers 3-1 in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sioux City</st1:City></st1:place>.  <o:p></o:p> He was behind the bench for his three hundredth game as RoughRiders coach as the Riders defeated <st1:State w:st="on">Indiana</st1:State> 6-5 in a shootout in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Indianapolis</st1:place></st1:City> on October 17, 2004.<o:p></o:p> 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 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Lowell</st1:City></st1:place> and was a 1987 draft pick of the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Tri-City<o:p></o:p> Bliss Littler, 5th year (121-75-20); 3nd year Tri-City (76-33-11)<o:p></o:p>             This is Bliss Littler’s third season as Tri-City coach and general manager.  Littler has piloted to Storm to back-to-back playoff berths.  <o:p></o:p>             Last season Tri-City finished fourth in the West Division during the regular season but upset Anderson Cup co-champion <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Omaha</st1:City></st1:place> in the opening round of the playoffs.<o:p></o:p> Littler directed the Storm to the league’s best record in his first year in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Kearney</st1:City></st1:place>.  For his efforts he was named 2003-04 USHL General Manager of the Year.<o:p></o:p>             Littler arrived in central <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Nebraska</st1:State></st1:place> after spending a season and a half as coach and general manager of the now defunct Topeka ScareCrows.  The ScareCrows went 45-42-9 under Littler.<o:p></o:p> Prior to his tenure in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Topeka</st1:City></st1:place>, Littler had a highly successful seven year (1993-2000) run as coach of the Billings Bulls of the America West Hockey League.  During Littler’s time in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Billings</st1:City></st1:place>, the Bulls won five AWHL Borne Cup titles and went 251-104-30.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> HISTORY<o:p></o:p>             The RoughRiders last season won the Clark Cup, a share of the Anderson Cup and the East Division championship- all firsts in club history.  The Riders went 42-13-5 during the regular season- the best record in team history.<o:p></o:p> The RoughRiders last season set new team records for wins (42), points (89), road wins (24), goals scored (229), power play goals scored (64) and fewest goals against (157).<o:p></o:p> The Riders last season also set new United States Hockey League records for most road wins and longest road winning streak (13 straight from November 9 through February 11).<o:p></o:p> 2004-05 was the Riders’ fourth 30-victory season in the team’s six-year <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City> history.  Last season marked the first time the Riders have won 40 or more games.  <o:p></o:p> Ted Purcell (20-47-67) set new team single season records for assists and points last season.  <o:p></o:p> Matt Vokes (27-25-52) and Justin Abdelkader (27-25-52) tied the Rider record for goals in one season last year.  <o:p></o:p> Captain Rob Ricci recorded points in the Riders’ final fifteen regular season games of 2004-05, breaking the team record for longest point-scoring streak.  Ricci’s run was also the longest point-scoring streak in the USHL last season.    Ricci scored eleven goals and totaled 22 points during that streak.  <o:p></o:p> Ray Eichenlaub set a new team record for most goals by a defenseman with 12 last season.  <o:p></o:p> Shane Lovdahl (7-30-37) set team single season records for most assists and points by a defenseman last season.  <o:p></o:p> Four Riders- Abdelkader (27), Vokes (27), Ricci (26) and Purcell (20)- scored at least 20 goals last year to set yet another team record.<o:p></o:p> 2004-05 also saw Jon Grabarek finish his third and final regular season with the RoughRiders as the team’s all-time career leader in goals (54), assists (75) and points (129).  <o:p></o:p> In 2004-05 Zach Miskovic finished his final regular season with the Riders having not missed a single game in his three years with the team.  In addition to holding the club record for consecutive games played (180), Miskovic also ranks second in club history in total games (consecutive or otherwise).  <o:p></o:p> The 2003-04 Anderson Cup title was the first in Storm history.  Tri-City has advanced as least as far as the West Division finals each of the last two seasons.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> COLLEGE COMMITMENTS<o:p></o:p> <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City> (7)<o:p></o:p> Phil Axtell (Michigan Tech), Jacob Cepis (Bowling Green), Ray Kaunisto (Northern Michigan), Ted Purcell (Maine), Alex Stalock (Minnesota-Duluth), Gary Steffes (Miami of Ohio), David Strathman (Merrimack)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Tri-City (6)<o:p></o:p> Zach Cohen (<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Boston</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>), Brian Connelly (<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Colorado</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">College</st1:PlaceType>), Ryan Gunderson (Minnesota State-Mankato), Jared Palmer (Miami-Ohio), Kyle Lawson (Notre Dame), Jon Ammerman (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">St. Cloud</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> NHL DRAFT PICKS<o:p></o:p> <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cedar Rapids</st1:place></st1:City>               Year     Round   Overall  Team<o:p></o:p> Siarhei Kolasau             2004     5th         151       <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Detroit</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p> Alex Stalock                  2005     4th         112 &nbs