THIS WEEK
Friday, December 1, 7:05PM @ State
Fair Coliseum, Lincoln, Nebraska
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Lincoln
Stars
Saturday, December 2, 7:05PM @ Cedar Rapids Ice Arena
Lincoln Stars vs. Cedar
Rapids RoughRiders
RECORDS
Cedar Rapids
12-6-0, 24
points, 2nd place East Division
Lincoln
12-6-1, 25
points, tied 1st place West Division
COMING IN
The RoughRiders split a pair of games last weekend, bouncing back from
last Friday’s 5-3 loss to Indiana with a 3-1
win over Chicago
last Saturday.
The Riders, who have won seven of
their last nine games, remain two points behind the East Division leading
Waterloo Black Hawks.
The Riders are the highest scoring
team in the USHL, averaging 4.6 goals per game.
The Riders enter Friday night’s game
with the best road record (7-1-0) in the USHL.
The Riders have won five straight away from home.
As it was each of the last two
seasons, the Riders’ road record is again superior to their home record
(5-5-0). The Riders have gone 49-14-5 in
away games and 38-26-6 at home since the start of the 2004-05 season.
The Riders’ Jacob Cepis (15-14-29) leads
the league in goals and points. Cepis is
riding a five-game point scoring streak (5-5-10).
The Stars are
unbeaten in regulation (3-0-1) in their last four games. Lincoln
defeated Tri-City 3-2 last Friday before suffering a 5-4 shootout loss last
Saturday in Sioux City.
The Stars have actually scored one
more goal (83) than the RoughRiders (82).
Lincoln
averages 4.4 goals per game- second to only the Riders.
Like the Riders, the Stars have a
better record on the road (8-3-1) than at home (4-3-0).
Lincoln’s Carter Camper (7-16-23)
and Jared Brown (7-16-23) are tied for seventh in the league in point
scoring. The Stars’ Stephen Schultz is
tied for fourth in the USHL in goals (11).
Workhorse goaltender Bryan Hogan has
started 17 of the Stars’ 19 games. Hogan
leads the league in wins (12) and minutes played (1021:50).
LAST WEEK
Cedar Rapids
Friday, December 1: Indiana
5 Cedar
Rapids 3
The Riders
surrendered the game’s final three goals after scoring three straight
themselves. The Riders turned a 2-0
deficit into a 3-2 lead with goals from Jacob Cepis and Doug Jones in the
second period and from David Boehm in the third period.
Saturday, December 2: Cedar Rapids 3 Chicago
1
Robin
Bergman, Pat Cannone and Jacob Cepis scored for Cedar
Rapids while Kent Patterson made 25 saves in the Cedar Rapids net.
Lincoln
Friday, December 1: Lincoln
3 Tri-City 2
Patrick
Johnson scored twice and Colby Cohen provided the other Lincoln goal as the Stars jumped out to a 3-0
lead and held on for the win. Lincoln goaltender Bryan
Hogan made 30 saves on the night and stopped 14 shots in the third period alone.
Saturday, December 2: Sioux City
5 Lincoln
4 (so)
The Stars
rallied from a 4-0 deficit to earn a point.
Mike Kramer scored twice, Patrick Johnson tied the game with 2:45 left
in regulation and Carter Camper also found the net for the Stars. Lincoln hurled
53 shots- 22 in the third period alone- at the Sioux City net before being outscored 2-1 in
the shootout.
TOP POINT SCORERS
Cedar Rapids GP G A PTS
Jacob Cepis 18 15 14 29
Pat Cannone 18 6 11 17
Robin
Bergman 14 9 7 16
David Boehm 18 7 9 16
Kevin Wehrs 18 5 11 16
Lincoln GP G A PTS
Jared Brown 19 7 16 23
Carter
Camper 18 7 16 23
Chad Langlais 19 3 17 20
Stephen
Schultz 17 11 7 18
Mike Kramer 17 9 9 18
LEADERS
Cedar Rapids
Goals- Jacob Cepis (15)
Assists- Jacob Cepis (14)
Points- Jacob Cepis (29)
Plus/Minus- Pat Cannone (+10)
Penalty Minutes- Kevin Wehrs (42)
Power Play Goals- Robin Bergman (5)
Shorthanded Goals- Aaron Bogosian (2)
Lincoln
Goals- Stephen Schultz (11)
Assists- Chad Langlais (17)
Points- Jared Brown, Carter Camper (23)
Plus/Minus- Stephen Schultz, Jason Gregoire
(+7)
Penalty Minutes- Brandon Bollig (57)
Power Play Goals- Mike Kramer (6)
Shorthanded Goals- Danny Baco, Jared Brown, Patrick
Johnson, Mike Kramer, Stephen Schultz (1)
WHO’S HOT
Cedar Rapids
David Boehm: four-game point streak (3-2-5) ended
last Saturday…eight points (four goals, four assists) in his last
eight games
Jacob Cepis: five-game point scoring streak
(5-5-10)
Brett Dickinson: four-game assist streak (0-4-4)
Lincoln
Jared Brown: four-game point scoring streak
(1-3-4)
Carter Camper: nine points (three goals, six
assists) in his last six games
Colby Cohen: six-game point scoring streak
(4-6-10)
Patrick Johnson: four-game point scoring streak
(4-3-7)
Mike Kramer: eight points (four goals, four assists)
in his last six games
Chad Langlais: six-game point scoring streak
(2-9-11)
Bryan Hogan: unbeaten in regulation in his last
four games (3-0-1, 2.94, .897)…started ten straight games
GOALTENDERS
Cedar Rapids GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Richard Bachman 3 180:13 3.00 2-1-0 0 .906
Kent
Patterson 9 542:03 3.10 7-2-0 0 .898
Lincoln GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Bryan Hogan 17 1021:50 3.23 12-4-1 0 .883
Jon Morrow 2 119:51 5.01 0-2-0 0 .821
WIN-LOSS
Cedar Rapids Lincoln
Home: 5-5-0 Home: 4-3-0
Away: 7-1-0 Away: 8-3-1
vs. East: 9-3-0 vs. East: 3-2-0
vs. West: 3-3-0 vs. West: 9-4-1
GOALS
Cedar Rapids Lincoln
Goals For: 4.56 (1) Goals For: 4.37 (2)
Goals Against: 3.39 (7) Goals Against: 3.68 (9)
SPECIAL TEAMS
Cedar Rapids Lincoln
Power Play: 17.7 25/141
(5) Power Play: 21.1 35/166
(tied 3)
Penalty Kill: 79.8 22/109
(10) Penalty Kill: 82.9
24/140 (8)
Shorthanded Goals For: 5 Shorthanded Goals For: 5
Shorthanded Goals Against: 2 Shorthanded
Goals Against: 7
SEASON SERIES
Cedar Rapids vs. Lincoln
11/4/06 Lincoln
7 at Cedar Rapids
5
12/8/06 Cedar Rapids
at Lincoln
12/9/06 Lincoln
at Cedar Rapids
2/13/07 Cedar Rapids
at Lincoln
GP W-L-SOL PTS H A OPP
REC OPP PTS
2006-07 1 0-1-0 0 0-1-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 2
All-Time 32 11-15-6 28 5-9-2 6-6-4 21-7-4 46
Top Point
Scorers/Season Series
Cedar Rapids vs. Lincoln
Cedar Rapids GP G A PTS
Robin
Bergman 1 1 2 3
Pat Cannone 1 0 2 2
(nine
players tied with one point)
Lincoln GP G A PTS
Colby Cohen 1 3 1 4
Kyle
Follmer 1 1 2 3
Carter
Camper 1 1 1 2
Goaltenders/Season
Series
Cedar Rapids vs. Lincoln
Cedar Rapids GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Kent
Patterson 1 58:07 7.23 0-1-0 0 .806
Lincoln GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL SO SPCT
Bryan Hogan 1 60 5.00 1-0-0 0 .881
COACHES
Cedar Rapids
Mark Carlson, 8th year (230-165-38)
Mark Carlson has
been the RoughRiders’ coach since the team arrived in Cedar Rapids in 1999. In 2005-06 he led 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. Carlson’s
RoughRiders went 218-159-38 in his first seven seasons with the club.
The high point of his tenure was leading 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 highly
competitive Hockey East conference as a forward on the River Hawks’ hockey
team. His on-ice talent was recognized even before he arrived in Lowell when he was taken
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,
where he also acted as recruiting coordinator. 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.
Lincoln
Steve Johnson, 11th year
(408-185-39); 10th year Lincoln
(379-169-44)
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
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’ road
record was superior to their home record both last season season and 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 be 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 Stars won the
Clark Cup in 1996-97 (the team’s first season in the USHL) and again in
2002-03. Lincoln also won its third Anderson Cup
championship in 2002-03. The Stars won
back-to-back Anderson Cups in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
The Stars qualified for the Clark
playoffs nine of their first ten seasons in their league. In 2003-04 Lincoln failed to reach the post-season for
the only time in team history. The Stars
also finished the 2003-04 season with a losing record for the only time in team
history.
COLLEGE COMMITMENTS
Cedar Rapids (8)
Richard
Bachman (Colorado College), Robin Bergman (Notre Dame), Jacob Cepis (Bowling
Green), Doug Jones (Princeton), Matt Tommassoni (Miami of Ohio), Kevin Wehrs
(Minnesota), Scott Wietecha (Ferris State), Tommy Wingels (Miami of Ohio)
Lincoln (8)
Jared Brown
(Northern Michigan), Carter Camper (Miami of Ohio), Colby Cohen (Boston
University), Bryan Hogan (Michigan), Mike Kramer (Princeton), Eric Lake
(Northeastern), Chad Langlais (Michigan), Ryan Lowery (Colorado College),
NHL DRAFT PICKS
Cedar Rapids Year Round Overall Team
Sergei
Kolosov 2004 5th 151 Detroit
Richard
Bachman 2006 4th 120 Dallas
ROUGHRIDER ALUMNI
Division
I GP G A PTS
Justin
Abdelkader (Michigan State/sophomore) 15 4 8 12
Phil
Axtell (Michigan
Tech/freshman) 14 2 4 6
Casey
Bickley (Army/senior) 14 3 8 11
James
Brannigan (Colorado College/junior) 14 0 3 3
Jamie
Carroll (Providence/senior) 15 3 1 4
Greg
Collins (New Hampshire/sophomore) 8 0 1 1
Chad
Costello (Northeastern/freshman) 14 6 7 13
Ray
Eichenlaub (Miami
of Ohio/sophomore) 18 3 8 11
Jon
Grabarek (Wayne State/sophomore) 12 0 3 3
Jordy
Hart (Merrimack/junior) 10 1 0 1
Bryan
Horan (Providence/senior) 14 1 2 3
Tyler
Howells (Michigan State/senior) 15 0 7 7
Ray
Kaunisto (Northern Michigan/freshman) 17 0 0 0
Steven
Kaunisto (Lake Superior State/freshman) 15 1 3 4
Billy
Loupee (Miami
of Ohio/sophomore) 13 1 2 3
Shane
Lovdahl (Alaska-Anchorage/sophomore) 13 0 4 4
Alec
Martinez (Miami
of Ohio/sophomore) 18 7 10 17
Zach
Miskovic (St. Lawrence/sophomore) 13 2 4 6
Sean
Muncy (Brown/sophomore) 11 5 5 10
Brandon
Naurato (Michigan/sophomore) 16 5 3 8
Matt
Olinger (Wisconsin/senior) 16 0 0 0
Zach
Pearson (Ferris State/senior) 13 5 6 11
Derek
Peltier (Minnesota/junior) 17 1 1 2
Nate
Perkovich (Lake Superior State/freshman) 16 8 4 12
Jordan
Pietrus (Brown/freshman) 6 0 1 1
Ted
Purcell (Maine/freshman) 13 5 11 16
Nick
Sellers (Lake Superior State/freshman) 9 2 1 3
Gary
Steffes (Miami
of Ohio/freshman) 18 4 1 5
David
Strathman (Northeastern/freshman) 14 1 1 2
Brandon
Svendsen (Bowling Green/sophomore) 16 1 5 6
Shawn
Vinz (New Hampshire/senior) 13 2 0 2
Matt
Vokes (Brown/sophomore) 11 5 4 9
Chase
Watson (Providence/senior) 8 1 0 1
GP W-L-T GAA SV% SO
Joe
Fallon (Vermont/junior) 13 8-4-1 1.61 .929 0
Bobby
Goepfert (St. Cloud State/senior) 12 6-3-3 2.44 .920 1
Alex
Stalock (Minnesota-Duluth/freshman) 14 3-8-3 2.68 .904 1
Dan
Tormey (Minnesota State-Mankato/sophomore) 10 2-7-0 4.28 .856 0
Division
III GP G A PTS
Brett
Beckfeld (Wisconsin-Stevens Point/sophomore) 10 3 4 7
T.J.
Dahl (Wisconsin-River Falls/junior) 10 6 13 19
Professional GP G A PTS +/-
P.J.
Atherton (Johnstown/ECHL) 19 1 12 13 -5
Rico
Fatticci (Tulsa/CHL) 10 2 4 6 +5
Mike
Manley (Trenton/ECHL) 11 1 1 2 -4
Dave
Moss (Omaha/AHL) 23 7 10 17 0
Danny
O’Brien (Fresno/ECHL) 1 0 0 0 0
Alexander
Valentin (Kalamazoo/UHL) 16 0 4 4 -6
Highlights
Miami ‘s
Ray Eichenlaub and Ferris State’s Zach Pearson both had one goal and two
assists as the Red Hawks swept a pair of games from the Bulldogs last weekend…Bobby
Goepfert made 60 saves while surrendering just three goals as St. Cloud State
swept two games from Michigan Tech last weekend.
ROUGHRIDERS ROSTER
Forward Derek Danowski made his
RoughRider debut last Saturday against Chicago
after being acquired from the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets last Thursday.
Forward Robin Bergman (thumb) returned to the Rider line-up
last Friday after sitting out the November 25 game in Green Bay.
Forward Rob Bordson (mononucleosis) has missed the Riders’
last three games.
Forward Tommy Wingels has missed
seven games since suffering a broken jaw November 14 while playing in the USA
Hockey Junior Jamboree in Blaine,
Minnesota.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Riders’ will hold their annual
Teddy Bear Toss this Saturday when
the Stars visit the ice arena. Fans are
encouraged to bring an unwrapped stuffed animal to the game and fling it on to
the ice after the RoughRiders’ first goal.
All teddy bears will be donated to children in need via the Christmas
Toy Shop just in time for Christmas. The
Christmas Toy Shop is a partnership between Toys for Tots and The Salvation
Army which provides holiday toys for children in need up to 17 years of
age. The two groups annually serve hundreds
of families in the Cedar Rapids
area.
COMMUNITY
Ricochet, the RoughRiders’
fun-loving mascot, will spread holiday cheer at the Plumbers’ and Pipe Fitters’
Children’s Christmas Party at Teamsters’ Hall this Saturday morning.
TICKETS
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.