This Week
Friday, October 26, 7:05PM
State Fair Coliseum, Lincoln, Nebraska
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Lincoln Stars
Saturday, October 27, 7:05PM
Cedar Rapids Ice Arena
Lincoln Stars vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
Last Week
Friday, October 19
Indiana 7 Cedar Rapids 5
Saturday, October 20
Cedar Rapids 7 Des Moines 1
Headlines
Nobody’s Perfect: The RoughRiders suffered their first loss of the season last Friday night. They had won their first three games, a run that equaled the longest winning streak at the start of a season in team history. Cedar Rapids also started the 2001-02 campaign with three straight wins.
Bouncebackability: The Riders responded to their first setback with a convincing win over Des Moines last Saturday. The Riders matched their single game goal-scoring season high in the 7-1 victory. The Riders also scored seven in an October 5 opening night win over the Chicago Steel.
High Five: The RoughRiders equaled a team record by scoring five goals in the second period of last Friday’s game. The Riders had twice before scored five times in a single period: on December 8, 2000 in the second period of a 7-2 win at Des Moines and on October 15, 2005 in the second period of an 8-2 home win over Sioux City.
Ice Storm: The Riders gave up seven goals in last Friday’s loss to Indiana. They have surrendered a total of just four goals in their other four games combined.
All Good Things Must Come to an End: Paul Carey’s goal at 13:40 of the first period last Friday ended Brady Hjelle and the Riders’ shutout streak at 122:31. Carey was also the last player to score against Cedar Rapids before the shutout streak started, finding the net at 11:09 of the first period of the Riders’ October 6 win over the Ice. In addition, Carey’s goal last Friday was the first the Riders have given up at even strength this year.
Plenty of Hjelle: Hjelle rebounded by making 29 saves on the way to the win last Saturday night. He nearly shut out the Bucs, keeping Des Moines off the scoreboard until Brad Walch finally found the back of the net with 4:03 left in the third period. Hjelle has played every second of the RoughRiders’ first five games and leads the United States Hockey League in minutes played (300). He also leads the league in save percentage (.934), wins (4) and shutouts (1) and ranks second in goals against average (2.2).
Home Sweet Home: The Riders have won each of their first two home games and have outscored their opponents 10-2 in doing so. Last Saturday’s win over Des Moines followed a 3-1 victory over Indiana in the Riders’ October 6 home opener.
Terrific Thompson: Tyler Thompson (5-4-9) piled up five points in two games last weekend. Thompson tied a club record by collecting three second period assists last Friday. One night later he scored a pair of goals. Thompson has recorded at least one point in each of his first five games and is tied for third in the league in points, ranks fourth in goals and is tied for eighth in assists.
And Boehm Goes the Dynamite: After registering one assist last Friday, David Boehm broke loose for two goals (one of them shorthanded) and two assists the following evening. Boehm notched four points Saturday night after collecting just two points over the Riders’ first four games.
One Way Traffic: The RoughRiders and the as yet unbeaten Omaha Lancers are tied for the league goal scoring lead. Both have scored 26 times in their first five games. At the other end, only the Lancers have given up fewer goals- 10- than the 11 surrendered by the Riders.
Extra Special: The RoughRiders rank second in the league on both the power play (27.0 percent) and penalty kill (89.2 percent). The Riders went 0-for-2 on the advantage last Saturday night- the first time this season they have failed to score at least one power play goal. The Riders can console themselves with the knowledge that they did score their first two shorthanded goals of the campaign last weekend. Last Friday Ben Lynch started the Riders’ second period onslaught by scoring while Cedar Rapids was a man down. One night later the first of Boehm’s two goals came shorthanded.
Fabulous Firsts: Paul Phillips scored his first career USHL goal last Friday. Vince Mihalek potted his one night later.
Alumni Spotlight: Former RoughRider goaltender Richard Bachman (2006-07) backstopped tenth-ranked Colorado College to a season-opening upset sweep of number three Minnesota last weekend in Colorado Springs. The freshman stopped 23 Golden Gopher shots in a 3-1 win last Friday and one night later was even better, making 38 saves- including 21 in the third period alone- as the Tigers scored a 2-1 overtime victory.
Scouting Report
Lincoln: The Stars fell to the Tri-City Storm 6-3 on home ice last Friday evening before rebounding to snap a three game losing streak and a four game winless streak (0-3-1) with a 2-1 win over the Stampede in Sioux Falls last Saturday night…Jason Gregoire enjoyed a three-point weekend, scoring one goal and assisting on the other in the Stars’ win last Saturday after also picking up an assist one night earlier. Gregoire (2-4-6) is the Stars’ top point scorer, while Ryan Kretzer (3-2-5) leads the team in goals…The Stars have lost two of their first three home games…While veteran Nick Hopper (1-3-1, 3.69, .892) has seen the bulk of the action in goal for the Stars, it was first year netminder Kevin Murdock who stepped to the fore last weekend. Murdock first made his USHL debut last Friday night, replacing Hopper in the third period after the starter had given up five Tri-City goals. One night later Murdock earned his first career victory by stopping 17 Sioux Falls shots…Goals have been hard to come by for Lincoln. The Stars have scored just 14 in their first six games- the second fewest in the league. The fact that the Stars have gone just 1-for-33 on the power play this season has not helped matters…Former Lincoln and Omaha assistant Jim McGroarty is in his first season in charge of the Stars, having taken over from Steve Johnson during the offseason. Johnson piloted the Stars through the team’s first 11 USHL seasons, guiding Lincoln to two Clark Cup (playoff) titles, three Anderson Cup (regular season) titles and three West Division titles…The Riders went 2-2-0 against Lincoln last season. All-time they have gone 13-16-6 against the Stars and have posted a 7-7-4 record in Lincoln.
Promotions
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’ game against the Lincoln Stars this Saturday 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.
Collins Community Credit Union Hockey Pen Night: The first 1,000 fans through the doors for the Riders’ Friday, November 2 game against the Waterloo Black Hawks will receive a free hockey stick pen compliments of Collins Community Credit Union.
Faith and Fun Night Featuring All But Screaming: Cedar Rapids-area band All But Screaming will perform after the RoughRiders’ game against the Chicago Steel on Saturday, November 3 to cap off the Riders’ annual Faith and Fun Night. All But Screaming’s brand new EP Electric Lights is now available at www.allbutscreaming.com. All But Screaming is composed of David Lunsford (lead vocals, guitar), Shane Lunsford (bass, vocals), Josh Misener (lead guitar, vocals) and Jake Niederhauser (drums).
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.