THIS WEEK
Saturday, October 7, 7:05PM @ Cedar Rapids Ice Arena
Green Bay Gamblers vs. Cedar
Rapids RoughRiders
RECORDS (2005-06)
Cedar Rapids
33-21-6, 72
points, tied 1st place East Division
Green Bay
30-26-4, 64
points, 3rd place East Division
COMING IN
The RoughRiders will open their eighth United States Hockey
League season Saturday after winning the Buc Bowl preseason tournament in Des Moines last
weekend. The Riders posted a tournament
best 3-0-0 record, picking up wins over Omaha
(in a shootout), Tri-City and Sioux
City. The
Riders went 4-1 overall on the preseason, winning their last four exhibition
contests. The Riders scored five or more
goals in each of their last four preseason games.
The RoughRiders return nine players from last year’s
team. Jacob Cepis (12-17-29) is the
Riders’ top returning point scorer.
Cepis is, along with Andy Miele and Ian Slater, one of three returning
forwards. Cedar Rapids also brings back five defensemen
(Brett Dickinson, Sergei Kolosov, Evan Stephens, Kevin Wehrs and Scott
Wietecha) and goaltender Pat McGann. That
group was responsible for 40 of the team’s 196 goals, 80 of 316 assists and 120
of 512 points in 2005-06.
The RoughRiders are 6-1-0 all-time in season openers and
have won five straight openers. The
Riders are 1-1-0 when opening on home ice.
Over their first seven seasons, the Riders have won their first home
game four times and lost their ice arena curtain raiser three times.
The Gamblers won two of three at the Buc Bowl, downing
Tri-City and Sioux Falls before falling to Lincoln Saturday. Green
Bay finished the preseason with a 2-2-0 record.
Green Bay brings back eight 2005-06 Gamblers
and two more players- former Sioux City forward
Justin Cseter and former Sioux Falls
defenseman Channing Boe- who played elsewhere in the USHL last season.
Sergio Somma (20-26-46) is the Gamblers’ top returning
scorer. In all, Green Bay’s returnees produced 44 of the
team’s 182 goals last season, 73 of its 263 assists and 117 of its 445 points.
LAST WEEK
Cedar Rapids
Thursday, September 28: Cedar Rapids 6 Omaha 5 (so) (Buc Bowl)
The
RoughRiders jumped out to a 4-0 lead but had to survive an Omaha rally before claiming the win in the
shootout. Andy Miele and Mike Seidel
converted Rider penalty shots while Pat McGann stopped all four Omaha shootout
chances. Tommy Wingels’ two goals keyed
the Rider attack in regulation.
Friday, September 29: Cedar Rapids 5 Tri-City 3 (Buc
Bowl)
Rob Bordson
scored two second period goals, the second of which proved to be the game
winner. Robin Bergman’s late insurance
goal put the game away for the Riders.
Kent Patterson made 33 saves to earn the win in goal.
Saturday, September 30: Cedar Rapids 5 Sioux City 3 (Buc Bowl)
Five
different RoughRiders scored and Pat McGann made 41 saves as the Riders scored
the game’s first four goals on the way to the win.
Green Bay
Thursday, September 28: Green
Bay 5 Tri-City 2
(Buc Bowl)
Nick Tabisz
and Sergio Somma both had a goal and an assist in a game that saw the Gamblers
hold Tri-City to just 18 shots.
Friday, September 29: Green Bay 6 Sioux Falls 2 (Buc Bowl)
Sergio Somma led the Green
Bay attack with a pair of goals and Nick Tabisz
collected three assists. At the other
end of the ice the Stampede was able to throw just 17 shots at Gambler
goaltender Nicholas Graves.
Saturday, September 30: Lincoln 5 Green Bay 2 (Buc Bowl)
Three Lincoln goals in the
third period were enough to break open a tight game. Shea Walters and Nick Tabisz scored for Green Bay.
TOP RETURNING POINT SCORERS
Cedar Rapids GP G A PTS
Jacob Cepis 58 12 17 29
Andy Miele 52 10 17 27
Kevin Wehrs 50 5 17 22
Evan
Stephens 42 4 12 16
Sergei
Kolosov 50 2 8 10
Green Bay GP G A PTS
Sergio
Somma 58 20 26 46
Steve Silva 60 6 14 20
Shea
Walters 59 4 12 16
Nick Tabisz 55 9 4 13
Bryan
Haczyk 28 4 5 9
LEADERS (2005-06)
Cedar Rapids
Goals- Chad Costello (31)
Assists- Ted Purcell (52)
Points- Chad Costello (76)
Plus/Minus- Sergei Kolosov (+9)
Penalty Minutes- Phil Axtell (192)
Power Play Goals- Phil Axtell (14)
Shorthanded Goals- Gary Steffes, Ray Kaunisto (2)
Costello
finished tied for the league lead in points, third in assists, tied for third
in goals and tied for fifth in power play goals (12)…Purcell led the league in
assists and finished fourth in point scoring (70) …Axtell finished second in
power play goals and in penalty minutes…David Strathman finished tied for tenth
in power play goals (10) and, among defensemen, ranked fourth in goals (13),
ranked fiffth in points (32) and was tied for ninth in assists (19)
Green Bay
Goals- Sean Backman (29)
Assists- Kevin Deeth (34)
Points- Sean Backman (56)
Plus/Minus- Brian Roloff (+26)
Penalty Minutes- Eric Gryba (205)
Power Play Goals- Brian Roloff (12)
Shorthanded Goals- Kevin Deeth, Tyler Lehrke (2)
Sean
Backman finished tied for fifth in the league in goals, tied for eighth in
point scoring, tied for sixth in game winning goals (5), tied for fifth in
plus/minus (+24)…Brian Roloff finished tied for seventh in goals (28), tied for
sixth in power play goals and finished third in plus/minus…Gryba led the league
in penalty minutes
RETURNING GOALTENDERS (2005-06 STATISTICS)
Cedar Rapids GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Pat McGann 17 998:14 2.95 5-8-3 1 .910
Green Bay GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
none
WIN-LOSS (2005-06)
Cedar Rapids Green Bay
Home: 15-13-2 Home: 16-13-1
Away: 18-8-4 Away: 14-13-3
vs. East: 23-11-1 vs. East: 18-14-2
vs. West: 8-7-5 vs. West: 11-12-2
GOALS (2005-06)
Cedar Rapids Green Bay
Goals For: 3.27 (3) Goals For: 3.03 (5)
Goals Against: 2.83 (3) Goals Against: 3.05 (7)
SPECIAL TEAMS (2005-06)
Cedar Rapids Green Bay
Power Play: 20.2 66/326 (2) Power Play: 16.5%
44/266 (5)
Penalty Kill: 84.7 42/274 (5) Penalty Kill: 79.1% 63/302 (10)
Shorthanded Goals For: 7 Shorthanded Goals For: 5
Shorthanded Goals Against: 14 Shorthanded
Goals Against: 4
SERIES
vs. Green Bay
10/7/06 Green Bay
at Cedar Rapids 1/5/07 Cedar Rapids
at Green Bay
11/25/06 Cedar Rapids at Green Bay 1/20/07 Green Bay
at Cedar Rapids
12/29/06 Cedar Rapids at Green Bay 4/6/07 Cedar Rapids
at Green Bay
12/30/06 Green Bay
at Cedar Rapids
GP W-L-SOL PTS H A OPP REC OPP PTS
2005-06 7 4-2-1 9 3-1-0 1-1-1 3-3-1 7
All-Time 44 26-15-3 55 16-6-1 10-9-2 18-19-7 43
Top Point
Scorers/Season Series (2005-06)
Cedar Rapids GP G A PTS
Ted Purcell 6 3 8 11
Chad Costello 7 4 4 8
Nik Sellers 7 2 3 5
Green Bay GP G A PTS
(seven
players tied with three points)
Top Goaltenders/Season
Series (2005-06)
Cedar Rapids GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Alex
Stalock 5 304 1.38 3-1-1 1 .957
Pat McGann 2 120:13 2.99 1-1-0 0 .909
Green Bay GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Dan Rosen 2 118:39 3.03 1-1-0 0 .895
Max Strang 3 140:32 2.56 1-0-1 0 .932
Eddie
Neville 3 164:37 3.28 1-2-0 0 .900
ROUGHRIDERS ROSTER
The RoughRiders removed defenseman Brett Barta and forward Paul
Zanette from their active roster yesterday in order to meet USHL regular season
roster requirements.
The RoughRiders return a total of nine players from last
season’s team: forwards Jacob Cepis, Ian Slater and Andy Miele; defensemen
Sergei Kolosov, Brett Dickinson, Evan Stephens, Scott Wietecha and Kevin Wehrs;
and goaltender Pat McGann.
COACHES
Cedar Rapids
Mark Carlson, 8th year (218-159-38)
Mark Carlson has
been the RoughRiders’ coach since the team arrived in Cedar Rapids in 1999. In 2005-06 he guided the Riders to their
second straight East Division title.
He has also piloted the Riders to six straight winning
seasons and six straight Clark Cup playoff berths. The Riders are one of just two USHL teams to
have reached the postseason each of the last six years.
The Riders are the only team to have advanced at least as
far as the Clark Cup semi-finals/East Division finals each of the last two
springs and four of the last five years.
On December 3, 2005 Carlson
picked up his two hundredth career coaching win as the Riders defeated Omaha 2-1 in a
shootout.
The high point
of Carlson’s tenure came when 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 in 2004-05. The Riders went 42-13-5 during the regular
season- the best record in club history- and swept through the first two rounds
of the playoffs before defeating Sioux
City three games to two in the finals. For his
efforts, Carlson was named the
2004-05 USHL Coach of the Year.
Carlson, a native of Lawrenceville, New
Jersey, is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell
where he earned a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing. Also while at Lowell, Carlson
skated in the Hockey East wars for the River Hawks’ hockey team. His on-ice
talent was recognized even before he arrived in Lowell- he was selected in the 1987 National
Hockey League draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After graduating from UML, Carlson
spent one season as an assistant coach at Lawrenceville
School before returning to Lowell to serve as an
assistant to head coach Bruce Crowder. After
helping the River Hawks to a berth in the 1996 NCAA tournament, Carlson spent another three seasons beside Crowder
as an assistant at Northeastern University in Boston.
He earned a master’s degree in education from N.U.
During his time at N.U. Carlson
also acted as recruiting coordinator.
Among those he recruited for the Huskies were Jim Fahey, who now skates
for the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks, and Mike Ryan, who would
later be the top draft pick of the NHL’s Dallas Stars.
Green Bay
Mark Mazzoleni, 3rd year
(51-62-6)
Mark Mazzoleni is in his third year
in charge of the Gamblers. Last season he
piloted Green Bay
to the club’s first Clark Cup playoff berth in three years.
Mazzoleni took over the Gamblers after spending 16 years as
a collegiate head coach, the last five at Harvard. Mazzoleni went 82-72-13 behind the Harvard
bench, leading the Crimson to three NCAA tournament berths and two Eastern
Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament titles.
Prior to taking over at Harvard,
Mazzoleni spent five years at Miami (Ohio) University, where
he piloted the Red Hawks to an 85-83-20 record and the second NCAA tournament
berth in school history.
The vastly experienced Mazzoleni began his coaching career
as an assistant at the University of Illinois-Chicago (1980-85). His first head coaching job was at Division
III Wisconsin-Stevens Points (1986-91) where he piloted the Pointers to three
straight national titles. Mazzoleni next
spent three years as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Minnesota (1991-94).
In his playing days, Mazzoleni was a goaltender at Michigan State from 1976 to 1980.
HISTORY
The RoughRiders have won five
straight season openers since their last opening night loss, a 9-1 defeat at
the hands of the Omaha Lancers on September 23, 2000 in Cedar Rapids.
This Saturday marks the first time
since the Riders scored a 4-1 win over the Lancers at the ice arena on
September 28, 2002 that Cedar Rapids
will play its season opener at home.
The RoughRiders set a new club power play goal record (66)
last season, surpassing the old mark of 64 set in 2004-05.
Last season was the Riders’ third
straight 30-win campaign and also the fifth time in the last six years that the
Riders have picked up at least 30 victories.
The Riders went 42-13-5 on the road over the last two
seasons combined. The Riders’ away
record was superior to their home record both last season and in 2004-05.
The Riders have won back-to-back East Division titles
(sharing the top spot with Des Moines
last season). The Riders won both the
Clark Cup (playoff) title and Anderson Cup (regular season) title in 2004-05.
The Riders are, along with the Omaha Lancers, one of just
two teams who have reached the playoffs each of the last six years. As all 12 USHL teams will qualify for the
postseason this year, that streak will stretch to seven consecutive playoff
berths in April.
The Riders are the only USHL team to advance at least as far
as the division finals each of the last two years. Furthermore, Cedar Rapids is also the
only team to reach the league’s final four in four of the last five
years. Only one team (Sioux City)
has even reached the second round three times in the last five years.
The Gamblers were swept in three straight games by the Des
Moines Buccaneers in the first round of last spring’s Clark Cup playoffs. That postseason appearance was Green Bay’s first in four
years. Prior to last year, Green Bay last appeared in
the playoffs in 2001-02. The Gamblers
also won what was then their fourth straight East Division title in 2001-02.
Green Bay has twice claimed each of the Clark
Cup (1996 and 2000), Anderson Cup (1996 and 1997), and junior A national titles
(1996 and 1997).
COLLEGE COMMITMENTS
Cedar Rapids (7)
Jacob Cepis
(Bowling Green), David Grun (Minnesota-Duluth), Doug Jones (Princeton), Andy
Miele (Miami of Ohio), Matt Tommassoni (Miami of Ohio), Kevin Wehrs
(Minnesota), Tommy Wingels (Miami of Ohio)
Green Bay (4)
Derrick
LaPoint (North Dakota), Channing Boe
(Minnesota State-Mankato), Sergio Somma (Ohio State),
Steve Silva (Northeastern)
NHL DRAFT PICKS
Cedar Rapids Year Round Overall Team
Sergei
Kolosov 2004 5th 151 Detroit
Pat McGann 2005 7th 223 Dallas
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday’s opening night festivities
will include a tail gate party for the whole family before the game and
fireworks outside the arena after the Riders battle the Green Bay
Gamblers. In addition, the first 4,000
fans through the gates receive free RoughRiders 2006-07 magnet schedules
courtesy of St. Luke’s Iowa Health System, Velocity Sports Performance, Aspen
Athletic Clubs, i wireless and AM 1360 The Fan.
Saturday, October 14 is Mascot
Night. Mascots from all over eastern Iowa will join the Riders’ mascot, Ricochet, for an
evening of shenanigans as the Riders take on Chicago.
The game starts at 7:05PM.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics, Wolverine
of the X-Men will bring his super powers to the ice arena as the RoughRiders
collide with Tri-City at 7:05PM on Saturday, October 21. After the game, season ticket holders will
have the chance to take to the ice themselves and skate with the RoughRiders.
Saturday, October 28, is ‘80’s Night
at the ice arena. So break out your
leather tie or leg warmers- and most importantly, don’t forget your mullet-
when the Riders collide with Des
Moines at 7:05PM.
COMMUNITY
This Saturday evening is also the RoughRiders’ first Food
Drive Night of the season. The Riders
and the Cedar Rapids Jaycees will again this season team up 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.
TICKETS
2006-07 season tickets are still available through the
RoughRiders’ business office (247-0340).
In addition to their seats, season ticket holders also receive a host of
exclusive benefits.
The RoughRiders are again this season offering the Flex
Plan, which enables fans to purchase books of ten ticket vouchers that can be
redeemed in any quantity for any regular season home game during normal box
office hours. Fans who purchase the flex plan receive a significant
discount ($21 off game day ticket prices) by investing in bulk tickets and can
still enjoy the games of their choice in the seats they want.
Single game tickets are now on sale. Tickets can be
purchased in person at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office, over the phone
at (319) 261-4625 or on line at www.roughridershockey.com. 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 $7 to $17
in advance and from $8 to $18 on game days.
ON THE AIR/ON LINE
RoughRiders regular season and playoff games will again this
season be broadcast on AM-1360 The Fan in Cedar
Rapids.
Courtesy of B2 Networks, free audio webcasts of Riders games will also
be available at www.roughridershockey.com.
Brian Lavelle provides play-by-play.
The RoughRiders and B2 have also teamed up to offer pay-per-view video webcasts of all RoughRiders
games. Fans can click on the “Watch
RoughRiders’ Games Live” icon at www.roughridershockey.com to watch and listen
to the game. The broadcast is available
to fans with a high speed DSL or cable modem internet connection. The charge for video webcasts is $6 per game.
Real time updates of all USHL games are
available on line at www.pointstreak.com/prostats.