Cedar
Rapids RoughRiders
Weekly
Update
September 21,
2004
THIS WEEK
Saturday, September 25,
7:35PM @ Buccaneer Arena,
Urbandale
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs.
Des Moines Buccaneers
RECORDS
(2003-04)
Cedar
Rapids
34-22-4, 72
points, 2nd place East Division
Des
Moines
29-26-5, 63
points, 4th place West Division
COMING IN
The RoughRiders will open their
sixth United States Hockey League campaign this Saturday after going 4-2 in the
preseason. The Riders dropped their
final two exhibition games after winning their first four. The Riders finished last weekend’s Buc
Bowl preseason tournament with a 1-2 record.
The RoughRiders return three of the
top four and four (Jon Grabarek, Rob Ricci, Matt Vokes and Greg Collins) of the
top six point scorers on last season’s club. The Riders nine returning skaters were
responsible for roughly half of the club’s offensive output last season,
combining for 103 goals, 169 assists and 272 points in 2003-04. The Riders scored a total of 207 goals
last year.
The RoughRiders are 4-1 in season
openers and are 3-1 when opening on the road. This is the second time the Riders have
opened up in
Des
Moines. The
Riders kicked off the 2002-03 season with a 3-1 win over the
Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers lost each of their four Buc Bowl games to finish last in
their own pre-season tournament.
The Bucs were outscored 24-9 in those four defeats.
Des Moines closed out the overall exhibition
season with a 1-5 record.
In contrast to the RoughRiders, the Buccaneers will be able to count on
just five skaters who were members of last season’s club. Those five players totaled 21 goals, 35
assists and 56 points last season- one point less than the Riders’ Grabarek
produced on his own last season.
The Bucs return to the East Division
this season after spending last year in the west.
LAST WEEK
Cedar
Rapids
Thursday, September 16:
Cedar Rapids 6
Des
Moines 4 (Buc Bowl)
Matt Vokes
(
2-1-3) and Ted
Purcell (
1-2-3) led
the RoughRider attack with three points apiece. Erik Felde and Brandon Svendsen both had
one goal and one assist. Alex
Stalock and Dan Tormey split time in goal.
Tormey made 15 saves on 16 Buccaneer shots in the final 30:08 to earn the
win. The Riders outshot
Des Moines 43-40
Saturday, September 18:
Chicago 3
Cedar
Rapids 0 (Buc Bowl)
Chicago goaltender Shane Connelly stopped
all 24 RoughRiders shots. Ed
Neville played the first half of the game in goal for the Riders and suffered
the loss after surrendering two goals on twenty shots. Alex Stalock made nine saves and gave up
one goal in the final 30 minutes.
The RoughRiders allowed a pair of power play goals.
Sunday, September 19:
Waterloo 5
Cedar
Rapids 4 (Buc Bowl)
The Riders,
who never led, suffered their first loss to
Waterloo in three preseason meetings with the
Black Hawks. Sean Muncy and Jon Grabarek both had one goal and one assist for
the Riders, while Matt Arhontas and Corey Quick both scored twice to lead the
Waterloo
attack. Ed Neville was dented for
four
Waterloo
goals in the final 29:59 and took the loss. The RoughRiders were outshot
43-22.
Des
Moines
Thursday, September 16:
Cedar Rapids 6
Des
Moines 4 (Buc Bowl)
The Bucs
fell despite Ryan Raven’s hat trick and a 37-save effort from goaltender Pat
Watson.
Friday, September 17: Tri-City
7
Des Moines 1 (Buc
Bowl)
The Bucs
surrendered six unanswered goals after Chad Rau scored for
Des Moines early in the
second period to tie the game at one.
The Storm outshot
Des
Moines 21-4 in the first period and 54-16 on the
night. Cory Gershon made 47 saves
to limit the damage. Tri-City
scored three power play goals on nine opportunities.
Saturday, September 18:
Omaha 8
Des
Moines 2 (Buc Bowl)
The Lancers
built a 5-0 lead and never looked back as the Bucs suffered another lopsided
defeat. Jim Erickson and Matt Greer
scored third period goals for
Des
Moines.
Watson was removed at
7:04 of the third period after giving up six goals on 29
shots. Gershon was beaten for the
last two Lancer goals. The Bucs
were outshot 41-21.
Sunday, September 19:
Indiana 3
Des
Moines 2 (Buc Bowl)
Ryan
Raven’s goal at
4:34 of the
third period narrowed the
Indiana lead to 3-2, but the Buccaneers were
unable to produce an equalizer, despite throwing 13 shots at the Ice net in the
third. Pat Borgestad scored the
Bucs’ other goal. The Buccaneers
gave up more than 40 shots (41) again as Watson made 38 saves to keep the game
close.
TOP RETURNING POINT
SCORERS
Cedar
Rapids
GP G
A
PTS
Jon
Grabarek
56
22
35
57
Rob Ricci
60
17
22
39
Matt Vokes
55
17
21
38
Greg
Collins
57
10
24
34
Shane
Lovdahl
60
11
17
28
Des
Moines
GP G
A
PTS
Pat
Borgestad
57
12
23
35
Ryan
Raven
36
4
5
9
Chris
Kane
57
3
3
6
Alan Dorich
53
1
2
3
Rory
Farrell
44
1
2
3
LEADERS
(2003-04)
Cedar
Rapids
Goals- James Brannigan
(23)
Assists- Jon Grabarek
(35)
Points- Jon Grabarek
(57)
Plus/Minus- Jon Grabarek
(+19)
Penalty Minutes- Zach Miskovic
(139)
Power Play Goals- Jon Grabarek
(6)
Shorthanded Goals- Bryan Horan
(2)
Shane
Lovdahl led USHL defensemen in goals (11) and was fifth in points (28)…Derek
Peltier was third among defensemen in assists (26) and points (33)…Joe Fallon
was tied for third among goaltenders in wins (25) and shutouts (4) and ranked
fifth in minutes played (2370:16).
Des
Moines
Goals- Mike Erickson
(37)
Assists- Marty Mjelleli
(36)
Points- Mike Erickson
(61)
Plus/
Minus- Jesse
Lane
(+13)
Penalty Minutes- Travis Anderson
(124)
Power Play Goals- Mike Erickson
(8)
Shorthanded Goals- Mike Erickson
(3)
Erickson
tied for the USHL lead in goals, was eighth in points and tied for second in
shorthanded goals (3)…Samir Saliji was tied for third in game winning goals
(7)…Dwight LaBrosse led goaltenders save percentage (.925) and was eighth in
goals against average (2.56).
RETURNING GOALTENDERS (2003-04
STATISTICS)
Cedar Rapids
TEAM
GP
MIN
GAA
W-L-SOL
SO
SPCT
Dan
Tormey
Des
Moines
15
786
3.43
6-7-0
1
.907
Cedar
Rapids
12
564
2.66
4-6-0
1
.921
TOTALS
27
1351
3.11
10-13-0 2
.913
Des Moines
TEAM
GP
MIN
GAA
W-L-SOL
SO
SPCT
Pat
Watson
Des
Moines
20
1079
2.89
9-7-1
3
.919
WHO’S HOT
Cedar
Rapids
Matt Vokes:
3-1-4 in three Buc Bowl
games
Sean Muncy:
2-1-3 in three Buc Bowl games
Brandon Svendsen:
1-2-3 in three Buc Bowl
games
Ted Purcell:
1-2-3 in three Buc Bowl games
Dan Tormey: 2GA, 30 saves, 1-0 in 60:09 over
two Buc Bowl games
Des
Moines
Ryan Raven: 4-0-4 in four Buc Bowl
games
Jim Erickson:
1-2-3 in four Buc Bowl
games
WIN-LOSS
(2003-04)
Cedar
Rapids
Des
Moines
Home:
19-9-2 (4)
Home:
16-11-3 (9)
Away: 15-14-1 (5)
Away: 13-15-2
(6)
vs. East Division: 18-13-1
vs. East Division:
8-11-1
vs. West Division:
16-10-2
vs. West Division:
21-15-4
GOALS
(2003-04)
Cedar
Rapids
Des
Moines
Goals For: 207 (2)
Goals For: 202
(3)
Goals Against: 188 (8)
Goals Against: 200
(9)
SPECIAL TEAMS
(2003-04)
Cedar
Rapids
Des
Moines
Power Play: 16.5% 46/279 (5)
Power Play: 16.0% 42/263
(7)
Penalty Kill: 84.1% 38/239
(5)
Penalty Kill:
82.0% 48/267
(9)
Shorthanded Goals
For: 6 (8)
Shorthanded Goals For: 7
(6)
Shorthanded Goals
Against: 9
(10)
Shorthanded Goals Against: 5
(4)
SERIES
vs.
Des Moines
GP
W-L-SOL
PTS
H
A
OPP REC
OPP PTS
2003-04
4
2-2-0
4
1-1-0
1-1-0
2-2-0
4
All-Time
24
14-7-3
31
7-4-1
7-3-2
10-9-5
25
Top Point Scorers/Season Series
(2003-04)
Cedar
Rapids
GP G
A
PTS
Matt
Vokes
4
2
5
7
Brian
Pouliot
4
3
2
5
Greg
Collins
4
1
4
5
Des
Moines
GP
G
A
PTS
Marty
Mjelleli
4
3
3
6
Adam
Miller
4
3
3
6
Pat
Borgestad
4
2
2
4
Top Goaltenders/Season Series
(2003-04)
Cedar
Rapids
GP MIN GAA W-L-SOL
SO
SPCT
Joe
Fallon
2
119
3.01
2-0-0
0
.908
Dan
Tormey
2
119
4.03
0-2-0
0
.881
Des
Moines
GP
MIN
GAA
W-L-SOL
SO
SPCT
Dan
Tormey
2
97
4.30
1-0-0
0
.892
Pat
Watson
2
119
2.51
1-1-0
0
.935
ROUGHRIDERS
ROSTER
The RoughRiders removed forward
Brett Beckfeld and goaltender Ed Neville from their active roster yesterday to
reach USHL regular season limit of 23 players. Beckfeld will continue his career with
the Bozeman Icedogs of the North American Hockey League.
The RoughRiders return ten players
from last season’s team: forwards Greg Collins, Jon Grabarek, Billy Loupee, Sean
Muncy, Rob Ricci and Matt Vokes; defensemen Ray Eichenlaub, Shane Lovdahl and
Zach Miskovic; and goaltender Dan Tormey.
COACHES
Cedar
Rapids
Mark Carlson, 6th year
(143-125-27)
Mark Carlson has been the
RoughRiders’ coach since the team arrived in
Cedar Rapids in 1999-2000. He has led the RoughRiders to four
straight winning seasons and four straight berths in the Clark Cup
playoffs. The Riders are one of
just three USHL teams to have reached the post season each of the last four
years.
Carlson enters this season just
seven wins short of the 150 victory plateau. He earned his one hundredth coaching win
on
January 11,
2003 when the RoughRiders defeated the Sioux City Musketeers 3-1 in
Sioux City. Carlson coached 295 regular season games
over the course of the Riders’ first five seasons. He will be behind the bench for his
three hundredth USHL game when the RoughRiders visit the Indiana Ice on Sunday,
October 17.
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
Lowell and was a 1987 draft
pick of the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
Des
Moines
Bob Ferguson, 18th year
(514-301-38); 9th year
Des
Moines (258-134-29)
Bob Ferguson collected his five
hundredth career USHL coaching win on
January 17, 2004 when the Bucs defeated the St. Louis
Heartland Eagles 2-1 in
Chesterfield,
Missouri.
Ferguson is the first coach in USHL history to
reach the 500-win plateau.
Ferguson is in the midst of his second tour
with the Bucs. Prior to his first
stint in
Des
Moines, he spent nine years as coach of the the Sioux
City Musketeers. Since returning to
the Bucs bench in 2001-02 after spending six years in minor pro hockey,
Ferguson has
turned in a record of 88-77-16.
During his first run in Des Moines (1990-95) Ferguson led the Buccaneers
to two Clark Cup (playoff) championships (1992 and 1995), two Anderson Cup
(regular season) titles (1994 and 1995) and two junior A national titles (1992
and 1995). During his time in
Sioux City (1981-90),
Ferguson led the Musketeers
to the Anderson and Clark Cups in 1982 and 1986 and a national tournament
victory in 1986.
HISTORY
Forward Jon Grabarek
recorded 57 points last season to set the RoughRiders single season point
scoring record. Grabarek entered
2004-05 fourth in team history in career goals (29) and fifth in career assists
(39), points (68) and power play goals (10).
Defenseman Zach
Miskovic did not miss a regular season game in his first two seasons with the
RoughRiders. Miskovic enters
2004-05 ranked fourth in club history in career games played
(120).
Defenseman Shane
Lovdahl set a RoughRider record for most goals by a defenseman with 11 last
season.
The Buccaneers have
won a total of three Clark Cup (playoff) titles (1992, 1995 and 1999), four
Anderson Cup
(regular season) championships (1994, 1995, 1998 and 1999) and three junior A
national tournaments (1992, 1995 and 1998).
COLLEGE
COMMITMENTS
Cedar
Rapids
Justin
Abdelkader (
Michigan
State), Phil Axtell (
Michigan Tech), Greg Collins (
New
Hampshire), Ray Eichenlaub (
Miami of
Ohio), Matt
Vokes (Brown).
Des
Moines
John
McCarthy (
Boston
University),
Chad Rau (
Colorado
College), Pat Watson (
Merrimack)
UPCOMING
EVENTS
All fans attending the RoughRiders’
home opener against the Waterloo Black Hawks on Saturday night, October 16 will
receive free RoughRiders 2004-05 magnet schedules courtesy of AM-1360 The Fan,
Aspen Athletic Club, i wireless and Lindale Mall.
The RoughRiders will also host their first food drive night the evening
of the home opener. The Riders and
the Cedar Rapids Jaycees will team 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.
It’s Mascot Day
when the RoughRiders host the Des Moines Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, October
24 at
4:00. Ricochet, the Riders’ furry equine
mascot, will be joined by a host of equally huggable mascots from all over
Eastern Iowa during the
game.
On Saturday, November 13 fans will have the chance to get up close with
the Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8 Budweiser Born On Date Car. The Born On Date car will be on display
during the RoughRiders’ game against the Green Bay Gamblers. Earnhardt, one of
NASCAR’s top young drivers, has won nine Nextel Cup races during his five year
career, including this year’s Daytona 500. Earnhardt Jr. is the son of the late
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Christian rock group Ramshackle will perform after the RoughRiders’ game
against the Lincoln Stars on Friday, November 19.
COMMUNITY
This Friday, the RoughRiders’ Matt
Vokes, Billy Loupee and Ted Purcell will be joined by Ricochet at
Arthur
Elementary School for the Arthur PTA
Walkathon beginning at
1:00PM.
Ricochet will also take part in the
Robins Round-up this Saturday from
11:00AM to
12:00PM and will complete a busy weekend Sunday afternoon
at the Alzeimer’s Association’s Memory Walk. The Memory Walk will be held at
Noelridge
Park.
TICKETS
2004-05 season tickets are currently
available through the RoughRiders’ business office (247-0340). In addition to their seats, season
ticket holders also receive a host of exclusive benefits.
In addition to full season tickets,
the RoughRiders also offer three different mini-plan packages. Fans can watch
the Riders take on their archrivals, the Waterloo Black Hawks, with an i
wireless Corridor Cup Mini-Plan or enjoy weekend games with five or ten game
packages.
The Family Pack enables fans to get
four green zone seats, four hot dogs, four fountain drinks and a game program
all for just $44. The Family Pack is available for all of the RoughRiders’
Friday and Sunday home games. The first Family Pack Night is Sunday afternoon,
October 24 when the Riders host the Des Moines Buccaneers at
4:00.
Single game tickets will go on sale
in October on a date to be announced.
Ticket prices range from $8.00 to $17.00 including a 50-cent facility
fee.
ON THE AIR
RoughRiders
regular season and playoff games- including Saturday’s opener- will again be
broadcast on AM-1360 The Fan in
Cedar Rapids and
800-AM KXIC in
Iowa
City this season.
Brian Lavelle provides play-by-play.
Up-to-the-minute live game updates for all USHL action are available on
line at www.pointstreak.com/prostats.