Six Cedar Rapids RoughRider alumni have helped Miami (Ohio) to a number one national ranking. Former Riders Pat Cannone, Ray Eichenlaub, Billy Loupee, Alec Martinez, Gary Steffes and Tommy Wingels have all played key roles in the Red Hawks’ rise to the top of the polls.
More former Riders currently play for Miami than for any other collegiate program. M.U. has won its first eight games of the season and has gone 6-0-0 in Central Collegiate Hockey Association play. Coach Rico Blasi’s team kept a firm grip on the top spot nationally by sweeping a pair of games at Northern Michigan over the weekend.
“We’re excited that six of our former players have the opportunity to play for the school that is currently ranked number one in the nation,” said RoughRiders Coach and General Manager Mark Carlson. “Miami is a great academic institution and obviously a national contender on the ice.”
Martinez, a junior defenseman, has scored three goals and totaled seven points so far this season. The 20-year old Rochester, Michigan, native leads Miami blue liners in scoring. Martinez won the United States Hockey League Clark Cup title with the RoughRiders in 2004-05. He scored ten goals and collected 21 points in 58 games in what was his only season in Cedar Rapids. In June Martinez was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round of the National Hockey League Draft with the one hundred thirteenth pick.
Eichenlaub, another junior defenseman, has picked up a pair of assists this season. The 21-year old Wilmette, Illinois product was a two year standout with the RoughRiders and a key member of the Riders’ 2004-05 championship team. That season Eichenlaub set a club record for defensemen by scoring 12 goals. Over the course of his Rider career, Eichenlaub recorded 14 goals and 49 points in 112 games.
Junior forward Loupee, 23, has scored a pair of goals this season. Like Eichenlaub, Loupee capped off a two-year Cedar Rapids career by earning a Clark Cup championship ring in 2004-05. The Bloomfield, Michigan, native scored 12 goals and collected 38 points in 110 games in a RoughRider uniform.
Steffes, 20, is the Red Hawks’ top scoring sophomore. The Grand Blanc, Michigan, native has three goals and seven points on the campaign. Steffes spent the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons in Cedar Rapids, winning the Clark Cup in his first year with the Riders. He totaled a dozen goals and 32 points in 98 USHL games.
Wingels is Miami’s leading freshman goal scorer. The 19-year old forward has scored four times and added one assist. Wingels- another Wilmette, Illinois, native- scored ten goals and totaled 28 points in 47 games with the Riders last season.
Cannone, also a freshman forward, has collected five assists so far this season. The 21-year old from Bayport, New York, was the Riders’ second leading point producer last year, scoring 18 goals and totaling 55 points in 59 games.
More talent is on the way from Cedar Rapids to Miami. Current Rider defensemen Matt Tomassoni and Chris Wideman have both already committed to M.U. Chicago forward Andy Miele, who played a season-plus for the RoughRiders before being traded to the Steel just under a year ago, is also a Red Hawk recruit.
The RoughRiders (7-2-1, 15 points), who lead the USHL’s East Division, return to action this weekend with games against the Omaha Lancers Friday night and the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets Saturday evening. Both games start at 7:05PM.
Tickets for all remaining RoughRiders regular season home games- including this weekend’s games- 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 online at 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.