This Week

Friday, November 30, 7:35PM

Tyson Events Center, Sioux City

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Sioux City Musketeers

Saturday, December 1, 7:05PM

Cedar Rapids Ice Arena

Green Bay Gamblers vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

Last Week

Thursday, November 22

Cedar Rapids 2 Waterloo 1 (so)

Friday, November 23

Cedar Rapids 4 Waterloo 1

Saturday, November 24

Indiana 3 Cedar Rapids 2

At a Glance

Cedar Rapids

12-4-1, 25 points

2nd place East Division

Coach/GM: Mark Carlson

Sioux City

12-4-0, 24 points

2nd place West Division

Coach/GM: Dave Sicilliano

Green Bay

6-11-1, 13

5th place East Division

Coach/GM: Mark Mazzoleni

Headlines

Hot Streak Iced: The RoughRiders’ five game winning streak was halted last Saturday in Indianapolis when the Riders fell 3-2 to the Indiana Ice. The Riders last won five in a row between January 5 and January 13 of last season. The RoughRiders are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.

Leaders of the Pack: The Riders remain in first place in the United States Hockey League’s East Division, even after losing to the Ice last Saturday. The Riders lead the Ice by one point in the race for first, but Indiana does have a game in hand on the Riders.

Plenty to Be Thankful for: The Riders defeated the Waterloo Black Hawks 2-1 in a shootout Thanksgiving night in Waterloo and downed the Black Hawks 4-1 last Friday in Cedar Rapids to sweep the traditional Thanksgiving home-and-home with the Hawks for the first time since 2004. The Riders are now 6-1-1 all time in Thanksgiving night games at Waterloo.

Three in Three: The Riders last weekend went 2-1-0 while playing three games in three nights- something they will not do again this season.

Home Sweet Home: Last Friday’s win was the Riders’ fourth in a row at home. On the season Cedar Rapids is 8-1-1 on home ice.

Saturday Night Fever: Last Saturday’s loss was the Riders’ first on a Saturday night this season. Cedar Rapids won it’s first six Saturday evening contests.

Can’t Get Enough Hjelle: Brady Hjelle took the loss in goal Saturday for the Riders after winning his previous five starts and going unbeaten in regulation (7-0-1) in his prior eight outings. On the season, Hjelle leads the league in save percentage (.938), wins (11) and minutes played (901:41), is tied for the league lead in shutouts (1) and ranks third in goals against average (2.12).

D-Fense!: The RoughRiders have given up fewer goals (38) than any other team in the league. The Riders allow an average of just 2.2 per game.

Fantastic Four: Second year forward Doug Jones (5-13-18) is now the Riders’ top point producer, while fellow veterans Tyler Thompson (7-8-15), David Boehm (6-9-15) and Mike Seidel (6-9-15) are tied for second. Jones is tied for sixth in the league in assists.

Ins and Outs: Forward Justin Bruckel has left the Riders to return to the Empire Junior Hockey League’s Syracuse Stars, for whom he played last season.

Alumni Spotlight: Miami freshman forward Pat Cannone (2006-07) collected five assists as the Red Hawks swept a pair of games from Canisius last weekend. On the season Cannone has scored one goal and notched 12 assists for 13 points. He is one of six former Riders skating for top-ranked Miami.

Scouting Report

Sioux City: The Musketeers dropped a pair of games last weekend after scoring their tenth straight win- a 4-1 victory over Des Moines- on Thanksgving night. The Muskies fell 6-3 last Friday in Sioux Falls and were edged 2-1 by Green Bay on home ice last Saturday. The ten game winning streak is the longest in the league this season…Sioux City coach Dave Siciliano collected his five hundredth career USHL coaching win on Sunday, November 18 when the Musketeers shut out Ohio 3-0. Siciliano is now 502-212-51 in 15 USHL seasons with the Musketeers and the now defunct Thunder Bay Flyers. He is 15 wins shy of tying former Sioux City and Des Moines coach Bob Ferguson for the league’s career win record of 517…Last Saturday’s loss was the Musketeers’ first at home this season. Sioux City won its first seven games at the Tyson Events Center…Only Indiana has scored more goals- 68- than the 66 produced by the Musketeers this season. The Muskies average 4.1 goals per game…Justin Brossman (6-13-19) is Sioux City’s top point scorer. Brossman is tied for tenth in the league in points…Third year USHLer Donnnie Hallmark (8-7-15) is the Musketeers’ leading goal scorer and is tied for sixth in the league in goals. Hallmark has scored eight times in 16 games this season after scoring just six goals in 95 games over his first two seasons combined… Matt Crandell (0-11-11) leads USHL defensemen in assists…Sioux City’s Josh Robinson earlier this month split goaltending duties with the RoughRiders’ Hjelle for the United States Junior Select Team at the World Junior A Challenge in British Columbia. Robinson ranks fourth in the league in save percentage (.917), ranks seventh in goals against average (2.81) and is tied for fourth in wins (7)…The Riders went 2-1-1 against Sioux City last season. All-time they have gone 16-17-4 against the Musketeers and have posted a 4-12-2 record in Sioux City.

Green Bay: The Gamblers rebounded from an 8-3 loss to Chicago last Wednesday by putting together back-to-back road wins over the weekend. Green Bay downed Omaha 3-1 last Friday and nipped Sioux City 2-1 last Saturday…The Gamblers have won three of their last four games after winning just three of their first 14 outings…Green Bay has surrendered a league high 72 goal this season. The Gamblers give up an average of four per game, second most in the USHL…The Gamblers score 2.6 goals per game, fourth fewest in the league…Joe Schiller (6-6-12), Phil Ginand (5-7-12) and Mike Borisenok (5-7-12) are tied for the team point scoring lead…Goaltender Neil Conway has played six of the Gamblers’ last eight games after being acquired from the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League earlier this month. Conway stopped 62 of the 64 shots he faced in last weekend’s two wins…The Gamblers will begin their weekend with a home game against Indiana Friday night…The RoughRiders won their first meeting of the season with the Gamblers, shutting out Green Bay 4-0 on October 12 at the Resch Center. All-time they have gone 33-16-3 against the Gamblers and have posted a 19-7-1 record in home games against Green Bay.

Promotions

Krazy George: Krazy George, the world’s most famous professional cheerleader, will bring his special brand of fun to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena this Saturday during the Riders’ game against Green Bay. Krazy George has performed in front of 25 million fans at sprorting events across the continent over the last 28 years. The “Krazy One” also claims to have invented the wave in 1981.

Skate with the RoughRiders: After this Saturday night’s game fans will have a chance to join the RoughRiders on the ice and skate with their favorite players. Skate rental will be available through the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena for $3.

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 online 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.