This Week
Friday, October 19, 6:05PM
Pepsi Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Indiana Ice
Saturday, October 20, 7:05PM
Cedar Rapids Ice Arena
Des Moines Buccaneers vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
Last Week
Friday, October 12
Cedar Rapids 4 Green Bay 0
Headlines
Start Me Up: The RoughRiders and Omaha Lancers are the only United States Hockey League teams still in possession of perfect records. The Riders have won their first three games for just the second time in team history. The Riders also started the 2001-02 season 3-0-0. The Riders went the first six games of the 2004-05 campaign without suffering a regulation loss, beginning that season 5-0-1.
Hjelle Donut: Riders goaltender Brady Hjelle made 34 saves while posting his first career USHL shutout last Friday night in Green Bay. Hjelle’s whitewashing of the Gamblers was the first shutout in the league this season. Hjelle and the Riders have gone a total of 108:51 without allowing a goal. Paul Carey of Indiana was the last player to solve Hjelle, scoring at 11:09 of the first period of the RoughRiders’ 3-1 win over the Ice on October 6. Hjelle also holds the early league lead in goals against average (1.0), save percentage (.969) and wins (3).
Defense Department: The Riders have given up fewer goals (3) than any other team in the league.
5-on-5 Equals Zero: Hjelle and the RoughRiders have not yet given up an even strength goal this season. Chicago scored once on the power play and once shorthanded in the RoughRiders’ 7-2 season-opening win over the Steel on October 5. Carey scored Indiana’s only goal on the power play in the Ice’s October 6 loss to the Riders.
Balancing Act: While the Riders have scored 14 goals for a healthy average of 4.7 per game, no individual Rider has record more than three points. Tyler Thompson (3-0-3)- the only Rider to have scored three goals- Matt Donovan (2-1-3), Kyle Flanagan (2-1-3), Bryce Aneloski (1-2-3), Matt Tomassoni (1-2-3), Ian Slater (1-2-3) and Scott Mathis (0-3-3) have all notched three points.
Bullseye for Ben: Forward Ben Lynch scored his first USHL goal last Friday in Green Bay.
Extra Special: The RoughRiders have connected on nine of thirty power plays this season and rank second in the league in power play efficiency (30.0 percent). All but five of the goals scored by the Riders this season have come on the man advantage. Cedar Rapids went 3-for-11 last Friday night in Green Bay. The Riders were perfect on eight penalty kills Friday evening and on the season rank third in the league (91.7 percent) in penalty killing. They have given up just two goals on 24 opponent power plays. The Riders lead the league with a special teams index (power play percentage plus penalty kill percentage) of 121.7.
Ins and Outs: The Riders last Thursday dealt forward Stefan Salituro to the Mahoning Valley Phantoms of the North American Hockey League. Ian Slater (hand) returned to the Rider lineup last Friday night after missing the October 6 home opener against Indiana.
Alumni Spotlight: Former RoughRiders accounted for three of Miami’s four goals as the Red Hawks completed a home sweep of Vermont with a 4-1 win Saturday night. Rider alumni Gary Steffes (2004-06), Alec Martinez (2004-05) and Tommy Wingels (2006-07) all scored in the victory for Miami. Rider alumnus Pat Cannone (2006-07) joined in the fun by assisting on Martinez’s goal. In all a total of six Rider alums- Steffes, Martinez, Wingels, Cannone, Ray Eichenlaub (2003-05) and Billy Loupee (2003-05)- skate for M.U.
Scouting Report
Indiana: Like the Riders, the Ice played just once over the weekend, defeating the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets 6-5 in a shootout last Saturday night in Indianapolis. The Ice was less than a minute away from a regulation win, but gave up the tying goal with just 54 seconds left in the third period…Paul Carey (3-1-4) scored two goals and picked up one assist in the win. Carey is the only Indiana skater to have collected more than two points over the club’s first two games…Scott Darling (1-1-0, 3.88, .860) has been in goal for each of the Ice’s first two games. Darling stopped 20 Ohio shots in regulation and overtime and seven more in the shootout last Saturday…the Riders’ October 6 win over the Ice improved Cedar Rapids all-time record against Indiana to 19-4-0. The Riders have gone 10-1-0 all time in Indianapolis.
Des Moines: The Buccaneers downed the Lincoln Stars 4-1 last Saturday night in Urbandale in the Bucs’ only game of the weekend…Nelson Arcibal scored the game winning goal and a clinching empty netter and also recorded an assist last Saturday. Arcibal (2-2-4) is the only Buccaneer who has registered more than two points…The Bucs have played each of their two completed games against the Stars. Des Moines opened the season with a 3-2 loss on October 5 in Lincoln….Des Moines’ October 6 home opener against the Tri-City Storm was stopped early in the third period because heavy fog inside 95 KGGO Arena made playing conditions too dangerous. The Bucs’ trailed 2-1 when play was stopped. The game will be completed on November 3 prior to a regularly scheduled game between the Storm and Buccaneers…Joe Rodwell (1-1-0, 2.02, .935) has seen all of the action in goal for the Bucs so far this season…The Bucs have gone 13-for-13 on the penalty kill in their two completed games and 18-for-18 including their yet to be finished game against Tri-City…The Buccaneers will host the Sioux City Musketeers Friday night…The Riders went 1-2-1 against Des Moines last season; the Bucs posted a 3-1-0 record against Cedar Rapids. All time the Riders have gone 27-12-4 against Des Moines.
Promotions
Pink Game: The RoughRiders and St. Luke’s Hospital have teamed up to turn this Saturday’s match-up between the Riders and Des Moines Buccaneers into a special “Pink Game” which, along with a series of related auctions, will benefit the St. Luke’s Spirit Fund. Fans can bid right now on a special super fan package that includes the chance for a group of six to sit on the RoughRiders bench during warm-ups prior to Saturday night’s game and six tickets to that contest. Also up for bid courtesy of VenuWorks (formerly Compass) is the rare opportunity to drive one of the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ice resurfacers following the Saturday evening’s game (certain restrictions apply). The RoughRiders and St. Luke’s have teamed up with ScoreBid to hold the online auction. The auction can be accessed through the ScoreBid link on the Riders’ web site, www.roughridershockey.com. $1 from the price of every ticket sold to Saturday’s game will go directly to the Spirit Fund. In addition, the RoughRiders’ goaltenders and the game officials will wear special pink jerseys Saturday night. Those jerseys, as well a number of autographed pink RoughRider replica jerseys, will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the Spirit Fund. Pink ribbons will also be painted in the ice for the game. The evening will be capped off by a special pink fireworks show outside the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena after the game. The Spirit Fund provides financial assistance to women diagnosed with breast cancer.
Score for the Community Night: The RoughRiders have teamed with a host of local businesses for Score for the Community Night, an effort that will enable numerous community and non-profit groups to attend the RoughRiders’ Friday, October 27 game against the Lincoln Stars free of charge. For Score for the Community Night participating RoughRiders corporate partners and other local businesses purchased a total of nearly 2,000 tickets at a discounted rate that were then donated to a wide array of Cedar Rapids charitable organizations. Among the groups benefiting are Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Central Iowa, the ARC of East Central Iowa, the Boys & Girls Club of Cedar Rapids, Waypoint and many others.
Watch/Listen
That’s The Ticket!: RoughRiders single game 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.
Be Flexible: 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) and can still enjoy the games of their choice in the seats they want.
On the Air: All RoughRiders regular season and playoff games are broadcast on AM-1360 The Fan in Cedar Rapids. Brian Lavelle provides play-by-play.
Online: Courtesy of B2 Networks, free audio webcasts of Riders games are available at www.roughridershockey.com. The RoughRiders and B2 also 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 catch the action. 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.