Five Cedar Rapids RoughRiders- forwards Robin Bergman, Pat Cannone, Jacob Cepis and Tommy Wingels and defenseman Kevin Wehrs - have been selected to play in the 2006 United States Hockey League Prospects/All-Star Game Tuesday, January 30 in Waterloo.
“We’re very proud of all of these players,” said RoughRiders coach and general manager Mark Carlson. “It’s obviously an honor to be chosen to play in this game and it’s an honor each of these guys is very deserving of. They’ve all played important roles in the success we’ve enjoyed so far this season.”
The Rider representatives will skate for the East Division All-Stars against the West Division stars. Only the Des Moines Buccaneers, who will have seven representatives on the West team, had more players chosen to compete in the All-Star Game than the RoughRiders. All-Stars were chosen by a vote of USHL coaches. This marks the fifth straight year that at least four Riders have been selected to play in the Prospects/All-Star game.
Wehrs is making his second straight all-star appearance, while Bergman, Cannone, Cepis and Wingels will all make their all-star debuts at this year’s mid-season classic.
Wehrs is the reigning USHL Defensive Player of the Week.
The 18-year old earned that honor by collecting six points (two goals, four assists) as the Riders won three games in five days last week. Wehrs has recorded at least one point in each of his last five games, scoring twice and adding six assists during that streak.
On the season, Wehrs is tied for third among USHL defensemen in assists (19), ranks fourth among blue liners in points (26) and is tied for sixth in goals (7). The Minnesota recruit has posted a plus/minus rating of +10.
Wehrs has already topped his offensive totals of last year. The Plymouth, Minnesota native scored five goals and notched 22 points in 2005-06. Wehrs is the only holdover from the RoughRiders’ 2004-05 Clark Cup-winning team. He played four regular season games and two playoff games after joining the team in March of that season. He was selected by the RoughRiders in the third round of August, 2004 USHL Futures Draft with the thirtieth overall choice.
Cepis (22-22-44) is the league leader in goals and points and ranks ninth in assists. The second year Rider is also tied for seventh in the league in plus/minus rating (+12).
Cepis is in the midst of a five-game point-scoring streak, a run during which he has scored five goals and notched six assists. The 20-year old has posted at least two points in each of his last three games and in four of his last five outings. He has enjoyed a total of 15 multiple point nights this season.
Cepis scored 12 goals and totaled 29 points in 58 games with the Riders last year. The Parma, Ohio, native will begin his college career at Bowling Green next season.
Bergman, 18, has scored 14 goals and totaled 25 points in just 23 games this season. The Notre Dame recruit is in his first season in North America. A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Bergman played for Hammarby IF in his homeland last year.
Bergman was ranked ninety-seventh among North American-based skaters in the recently released National Hockey League Central Scouting Service mid-season rankings of draft eligible players.
Wingels, 18, has scored seven goals and notched 17 points in just 19 games. The Wilmette, Illinois native, has bounced back well after missing a dozen games with a broken jaw earlier this season.
Wingels, who will play his college hockey at Miami of Ohio, also made NHL Central Scouting’s mid-season draft rankings. He was rated one hundred forty-seventh among North American skaters.
Wingels played for the Team Illinois midget program last season. He was selected by Cedar Rapids in the second round of the September, 2005 USHL Futures Draft with the fifteenth overall pick.
Cannone, 20, is the Riders’ second leading point-scorer. The Bayport, New York, native has scored 11 goals and picked up 18 assists for a total of 29 points.
Like Wingels, Cannone is a Miami of Ohio recruit. The Riders selected Cannone in the twentieth round of May’s United States Hockey League draft with the one hundred eighty-fourth overall pick. He arrived in Cedar Rapids after skating for the New England Jr. Falcons of the Eastern Junior (B) Hockey League last season.
This year’s Prospects/All-Star Game will be held at Young Arena, home of the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. Last year the West Division All-Stars defeated the East 5-3 in Sioux City.
The RoughRiders (20-10-1, 41 points) are currently tied for first place in the East Division. The Riders return to action with a pair of home games this weekend. The Riders host the Tri-City Storm Friday night and the Green Bay Gamblers Saturday evening. Both games face off at 7:05PM.
Tickets for all remaining RoughRider regular season home games- including this weekend’s- are now on sale. Tickets are available for purchase 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.