COMING IN
The RoughRiders enter the final weekend of the regular season tied for first place overall in the United States Hockey League with the Waterloo Black Hawks and Omaha Lancers and tied for the top spot in the East Division with the Black Hawks.
The Riders are gunning for their second Anderson Cup (USHL regular season title) in three years and their third straight East Division title.
The Black Hawks will play three games this week while the Riders and Lancers both have just two games left. The Hawks host Lincoln Tuesday and Green Bay Friday before visiting Cedar Rapids Saturday. Omaha hosts Sioux City Friday and Lincoln Saturday.
The Riders entered last week five points behind Omaha in the race for the Anderson Cup, but collected a total of five points from their three games while the Lancers suffered three straight losses.
The Riders won back-to-back games over the weekend after dropping a 4-3 shootout decision last Tuesday at Chicago. After earning one point for the shootout loss to the Steel, the Riders defeated the Gamblers 3-2 last Friday in Green Bay and dropped Indiana 4-1 last Saturday in Cedar Rapids.
The Riders have now totaled 36 wins and 77 points, more than in any other season in team history with the exception of the 2004-05 campaign. The Riders won 42 games and collected 89 points on the way to the Anderson and Clark Cups that season.
The Riders have scored a team record 234 goals this season. The Riders lead the league in total goals and rank second in goals per game (4.0).
The Riders’ Jacob Cepis (34-37-71) broke the RoughRiders’ individual single season goal scoring record when he scored his thirty-second of the year last Tuesday in Chicago.
With two goals last Saturday, Cepis reached one hundred career points as a RoughRider and also became the third player in team history surpass 70 points in one season.
Cepis leads the USHL in goals and ranks second in points.
The Riders set a club record by picking up their twenty-first home win of the season last Saturday. The Riders will return home Saturday night having won eight straight games at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena- another team record.
Saturday night’s game will also settle this season’s battle for the i wireless Corridor Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner of the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo regular season series. The Black Hawks hold the lead in the series heading into the weekend, having gone 4-3-0 against the Riders this season.
The Ice has lost five straight games. Indiana suffered three losses last week. The Ice fell 5-2 last Tuesday at Waterloo and was thrashed 7-1 by the Black Hawks last Friday on home ice before taking the loss in Cedar Rapids last Saturday.
The five game losing streak is the Ice’s longest skid of the season. Indiana has been outscored 27-9 over its last five games.
Indiana has gone just 4-11-0 in its last 15 games and 6-14-1 in its last 21 outings.
The Ice’s Garret Roe (24-38-62) is tied for eighth in the league in point scoring. John Kemp (15-45-60) is tied for fourth in assists.
Indiana is the most penalized team in the USHL. Ice players spend an average of 29.6 minutes per game in the box.
The fourth place Gamblers’ loss to Cedar Rapids last Friday clinched third place in the East Division for the Ice. Indiana will meet Green Bay in the opening round of the Clark Cup playoffs. The Ice will have home ice advantage in that series.
The Black Hawks have won four of their last five games and eight of their last ten.
The Hawks were forced to play four games in five nights last week and came away with three wins. Waterloo opened the week with last Tuesday’s win over Indiana but suffered a 5-1 set back in Sioux Falls one night later. The game played last Wednesday was originally slated for March 2 but was rescheduled because of bad weather. The Hawks rebounded with back to back romps over the weekend, following up last Friday’s victory in Indianapolis with a convincing 9-4 win over Chicago one night later on home ice.
The Black Hawks are the top defensive team in the USHL. Waterloo surrenders just 2.6 goals per game. The Hawks have allowed just one goal in each of their last four games.
After scoring 16 times in two games last weekend, Waterloo is now averaging 3.8 goals per game- third most in the league. The Hawks have scored at least four goals in seven of their last eight games.
The Black Hawks’ James Marcou (23-43-67) ranks sixth in the league in points and
assists.
Joshua Turnbull (25-28-53) is the Hawks’ top goal scorer.
Waterloo’s Matthew DiGirolamo and Ryan Rondeau form a formidable goaltending tandem. Rondeau has taken over the league lead in goals against average (2.46) after DiGirolamo, who is now tied for third (2.60), led the way much of the season. DiGirolamo ranks eighth in save percentage (.904); Rondeau is tied for ninth (.903). DiGirolamo, who has gone 21-9-0, ranks sixth in wins; Rondeau has posted a 16-8-3 record.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Riders will face either the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets or the Chicago Steel in the best-of-seven opening round of the Clark Cup playoffs. The Junior Blue Jackets are currently in fifth place in the East Division, five points ahead of the sixth place Steel. Chicago will close out the regular season with four games this week while the Ohio has just two games remaining.
The Riders will have home ice advantage in round one. The Riders’ first round series will open on a date to be determined next week.
Under the revamped 2007 USHL playoff format, all 12 teams qualify for the postseason. In the first round the first place team in each division will face the sixth place team in that division, the second place teams will meet the fifth place teams and the third place teams will meet the fourth place teams. All first round series are best-of-seven.
The second round will consist of two divisional round robins. The three East Division teams that advance from the first round will play one another once and the three opening round survivors from the west will also meet one another once.
The top two teams in each round robin will advance to single game single elimination semi-finals. The semi-final winners will then meet in a single game final. The semi-finals and final will be played at a single site which will be determined at a later date. The top seeded semi-finalist will have first option on hosting the final four.
LAST WEEK
Cedar Rapids
Tuesday, April 3: Chicago 4 Cedar Rapids 3 (SO)
The Riders came from behind three times in regulation to earn one point. Pat Cannone scored with 2:27 left in regulation to tie the game at three and force overtime. The Steel outscored the Riders 3-2 in the shootout.
Friday, April 6: Cedar Rapids 3 Green Bay 2
The Riders scored twice in 18 seconds late in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win. Ian Slater tied the score at 18:51 of the third and Casey Wellman scored the game winner with just 51 seconds left in regulation.
Saturday, April 7: Cedar Rapids 4 Indiana 1
Jacob Cepis scored twice and Richard Bachman made 43 saves to propel the Riders.
Indiana
Tuesday, April 3: Waterloo 5 Indiana 2
The Ice fell behind 4-1 in just over a period and never recovered. Jake Skjodt and Eric Miller scored the Indiana goals
Friday, April 6: Waterloo 7 Indiana 1
The Ice surrendered seven unanswered goals after Garrett Roe gave Indiana a 1-0 first period lead.
Saturday, April 7: Cedar Rapids 4 Indiana 1
The Ice fell despite throwing 44 shots at the Cedar Rapids net. Brian Arrigoni scored the only Indiana goal.
Waterloo
Tuesday, April 3: Waterloo 5 Indiana 2
Billy Maday scored the game winning goal and added two assists to key the Black Hawks.
Wednesday, April 4: Sioux Falls 5 Waterloo 1
The Black Hawks surrendered the game’s first five goals before Matt Arhontas got Waterloo on the scoreboard with just over five minutes left in the third period.
Friday, April 6: Waterloo 7 Indiana 1
Ryan Cramer and Isak Tranvik both scored twice as the Black Hawks ripped off seven unanswered goals after falling behind 1-0.
Saturday, April 7: Waterloo 9 Chicago 4
Isak Tranvik scored two goals and Paul Weisgarber (one goal, two assists) and Matt Arhontas (three assists) both collected three points as the Black Hawks romped.
LEADERS
Cedar Rapids
Goals- Jacob Cepis (34)
Assists- Jacob Cepis (37)
Points- Jacob Cepis (71)
Plus/Minus- Jacob Cepis (+17)
Penalty Minutes- Kevin Wehrs (128)
Power Play Goals- Robin Bergman (17)
Shorthanded Goals- Aaron Bogosian (4)
Indiana
Goals- Garrett Roe (24)
Assists- John Kemp (45)
Points- Garrett Roe (62)
Plus/Minus- Jake Skjodt (+3)
Penalty Minutes- Ryan Scott (160)
Power Play Goals- Garrett Roe, Jake Skjodt (13)
Shorthanded Goals- Greg Squires (3)
Waterloo
Goals- Joshua Turnbull (25)
Assists- James Marcou (44)
Points- James Marcou (67)
Plus/Minus- Vince LoVerde (+23)
Penalty Minutes- Pasko Skarica (139)
Power Play Goals- James Marcou (12)
Shorthanded Goals- Matt Arhontas, Tim Gilbert, Joshua Turnbull (2)
WHO’S HOT
Cedar Rapids
Pat Cannone: four game point scoring streak (2-5-7) ended last Saturday…13 points (three goals, ten assists) in his last 11 games
Jacob Cepis: four goals (and one assist) in his last five games…nine points (four goals, five assists) in his last nine games…+5 in his last three games…+10 in his last nine games
Brett Dickinson: four assists in his last three games…twelve points (four goals, eight assists) in his last twelve games
Mike Seidel: seven points (four goals, three assists) in his last five games…19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in his last 14 games
Ian Slater: 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his last 12 games
Kent Patterson: unbeaten in regulation (4-0-2, 2.77, .919) in his last six games
Indiana
John Kemp: 14 points (four goals, ten assists) in his last nine games
Eric Miller: seven goals (and one assist) in his last six games
Garrett Roe: ten points (four goals, six assists) in his last nine games
Greg Squires: nine points (three goals, six assists) in his last eight games
Waterloo
Matt Arhontas: five points (two goals, three assists) in his last three games…nine points (three goals, six assists) in his last nine games
Brett Barta: eight points (two goals, six assists) in his last seven games
Ryan Cramer: 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his last nine games
Blake Kessel: nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his last six games…14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in his last 11 games
Billy Maday: seven points (three goals, four assists) in his last seven games
James Marcou: five points (two goals, three assists) in his last four games…38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in his last 24 games
Kyle Reeds: 16 points (six goals, ten assists) in his last 15 games
Isak Tranvik: four goals in his last two games…14 points (eight goals, six assists) in his last ten games
Josh Turnbull: seven assists in his last six games…16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in his last 14 games
COACHES
Cedar Rapids
Mark Carlson, 8th year (254-176-42)
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.
Indiana
Jack Bowkus, 2nd year (38-38-1)
Jack Bowkus replaced Dean Grillo as Indiana head coach on January 25, 2006 and guided the Ice to a 12-11-1 record and a berth in the 2006 Clark Cup playoffs. Bowkus joined the Indiana staff at the start of the 2005-06 season as an assistant after coaching in the California Wave youth program for eight years. As a player, Bowkus skated briefly for the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers before spending four seasons (1984-88) with the Saskatoon Blades of the major junior Western Hockey League.
Waterloo
P.K. O’Handley, 11th year (296-303-45); 5th year Waterloo (156-116-24)
O’Handley is now in his fifth season with the Black Hawks. He guided the Hawks to the 2003-04 Clark Cup title and the 2002-03 East Division title. He also led Waterloo to three straight playoff berths before that streak was snapped last year.
O’Handley won his one hundredth game as Waterloo coach when the Black Hawks defeated the Indiana Ice 5-4 in overtime on October 14, 2005.
O’Handley spent seven years (1991-98) as the head coach of the North Iowa Huskies, the team that moved from Mason City to Cedar Rapids to become the RoughRiders after the 1998-99 campaign. He posted a 140-187-21 record behind the Huskies bench. Prior to returning to the USHL with Waterloo, O’Handley was an assistant coach in the pro ranks for four seasons.
HISTORY
Jacob Cepis (34-37-71) broke the RoughRiders’ single season goal scoring record when he scored his thirty-second of the year last Tuesday in Chicago. Cepis snapped the old mark of 31 goals set last season by Chad Costello.
With two goals last Saturday, Cepis became the third RoughRider to reach one hundred career points and took over sole possession of second place in the team career goal scoring rankings. He also became just the third player in club history to top 70 points in a season.
Cepis (46-54-100) trails only Ted Purcell (138) and Jon Grabarek (129) in the team career point scoring rankings. He lags behind only Grabarek (54) in career goals as a RoughRider.
Cepis joined Costello and Purcell in the Riders’ 70 point club. Costello (76) and Purcell (71) both topped 70 points last season.
Casey Wellman scored the third Cedar Rapids goal in last Friday’s win at Green Bay- the team record breaking two hundred thirtieth of the season for the Riders. With Wellman’s late game winner the Riders broke the old club record of 229 goals set in 2004-05. The Riders are now up to 234 goals this season.
By picking up their twenty-first home win of the year last Saturday the Riders set a team record for most home victories in one season. Cedar Rapids won 20 games in a 32-game home schedule in 2000-01 and 19 games in a 30-game home schedule in 2001-02.
The Riders will return home Saturday night having won eight straight games at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena- another team record. The Riders established a new record on March 30 when they picked up their seventh win in a row at the ice arena- a 7-4 defeat of Waterloo. The old record had stood for better than six years since the Riders put together a six game home winning streak from January 26 through February 12, 2001.
Cedar Rapids’ March 20 win at Chicago was the two hundred fiftieth regular season victory in RoughRider history and likewise, the two hundred fiftieth of Rider boss Mark Carlson’s USHL coaching career.
The Riders have now totaled 36 wins and 77 points, more than in any other season in team history with the exception of the 2004-05 campaign. The Riders won 42 games and collected 89 points on the way to the Anderson and Clark Cups that season.
The Riders have topped 70 points for a fourth straight season and for the fifth time in the last six years.
This is the Riders’ fourth straight 30-win campaign and also the sixth time in the last seven years that the Riders have picked up at least 30 victories.
Robin Bergman has set a new team record for most power play goals in one season (17). Bergman has surpassed the old mark of 14 set by Phil Axtell last year.
Pat Cannone scored the Riders’ team record-setting twelfth shorthanded goal of the season in March 17 win over Ohio. The old record of 11 shorthanded goals was originally set in 1999-2000.
Aaron Bogosian has scored four shorthanded goals to break the team record originally set by Brandon Svendsen. Svendsen scored three times while shorthanded in 2004-05.
The Riders will finish this season with a better record at home than on the road, the first time they will have done so since 2003-04. The Riders’ road record was superior to their home record both last 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 is about to stretch to seven consecutive playoff berths.
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 Ice moved to Indiana from Danville following the 2003-04 season.
The Riders eliminated Indiana in the first round of the Clark Cup playoffs in both 2005 and 2006.
The Black Hawks missed last spring’s Clark Cup playoffs after qualifying each of the prior three years. The Hawks went 23-30-7 last year after posting winning records each of the prior three seasons.
The 2003-04 Clark Cup title was the first in Black Hawk history. The 2002-03 division title was the first in twenty-four years for the Hawks. Prior to that campaign, Waterloo last finished at the top of a division in 1979-80, the USHL’s first season as a junior league.
COLLEGE COMMITMENTS
Cedar Rapids (12)
Richard Bachman (Colorado College), Robin Bergman (Notre Dame), David Boehm (Massachusetts), Aaron Bogosian (St. Lawrence), Rob Bordson (Minnesota-Duluth), Jacob Cepis (Bowling Green), Brett Dickinson (Quinnipiac), Evan Stephens (Dartmouth), Matt Tomassoni (Miami of Ohio), Kevin Wehrs (Minnesota), Scott Wietecha (Ferris State), Tommy Wingels (Miami of Ohio)
Indiana (12)
Nick Bailen (Bowling Green), Michael Del Mauro (Harvard), Mike Embach (Ferris State), Alex Kangas (Minnesota), Eric Kattelus (Michigan Tech), Brian Keane (Massachusetts), John Kemp (Nebraska-Omaha), Eric Olimb (Nebraska-Olimb), Brett Peterson (Minnesota State-Mankato), Mike Phillipi (Nebraska-Omaha), Garrett Roe (St. Cloud State), Jake Skjodt (Nebraska-Omaha)
Waterloo (15)
Matt Arhontas (Princeton), Brett Barta (St. Cloud State), Ryan Cramer (Bemidji State), Matt DiGirolamo (New Hampshire), Jan-Mikael Juutilainen (Nebraska-Omaha), Blake Kessel (New Hampshire), John Lee (Denver), Vince LoVerde (Miami of Ohio), Billy Maday (Notre Dame), James Marcou (Massachusetts), Kyle Reeds (Dartmouth), Ryan Rondeau (Yale), Craig Smith (Wisconsin), Isak Tranvik (Quinnipiac), Joshua Turnbull (Wisconsin)
Highlights
Justin Abdelkader, who scored the game winning goal with just 19 seconds left in regulation as Michigan State defeated Boston College 3-1 in last Saturday’s national title game in St. Louis, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 NCAA Frozen Four.
Chris Snavely and Tyler Howells- who assisted on Abdelkader’s game winner- also skated for MSU’s title-winning team.
Abdelkader and Howells were both named to the All-Tournament team.
ROUGHRIDERS ROSTER
Forward Danny Dries remains suspended after receiving a game misconduct for fighting with less than five minutes remaining and a match penalty in the Riders’ March 25 win at Ohio. He will be available to return to action when the playoffs begin.
Forward Tommy Wingels was suspended from the Riders game last Tuesday at Chicago after being assessed a game misconduct for charging in the third period the Riders’ March 31 loss at Waterloo. He was back in action for both of the Riders’ games last weekend.
TICKETS
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 are 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.