This Weekend

Tuesday, March 25, 7:05PM

Cedar Rapids Ice Arena

Des Moines Buccaneers vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

Friday, March 28, 7:05PM

Mid-America Center, Council Bluffs

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Omaha Lancers

Saturday, March 29, 7:05PM

Cedar Rapids Ice Arena

Omaha Lancers vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

Recent Action

Friday, March 21

Cedar Rapids 4 Indiana 2

Saturday, March 22

Cedar Rapids 5 Tri-City 2

At a Glance

Cedar Rapids

32-19-3, 67 points

3rd place East Division

Coach/GM: Mark Carlson

Des Moines

13-37-4, 30 points

6th place West Division

Coach: Todd Knott

Omaha

39-12-5, 83 points

1st place West Division

Coach/GM: Mike Hastings

Headlines

Clincher: The RoughRiders clinched a berth in the United States Hockey League’s Clark Cup Playoffs with last Friday’s win over Indiana. This marks the eighth straight year the Riders have qualified for the postseason.

Fantastic Four: The RoughRiders have won four straight games and are one victory away from matching their longest winning streak of the season. The Riders won five in a row between November 10 and November 23.

Hawk Hunt: With back-to-back wins over the weekend the Riders pulled within two points of the Waterloo Black Hawks in the race for second place in the East Division. The Black Hawks split a pair of games last the weekend.

Rockin’ Robin: Robin Bergman (8-9-17) has scored four goals in his last four games.

Jonesing: Doug Jones (14-37-51) saw his six-game point scoring streak (3-4-7) come to an end last Saturday against Tri-City. On the season Jones ranks fifth in the league in assists.

Well Done: Casey Wellman (18-23-41) is fresh off a five point (one goal, four assists) weekend and is in the midst of a four game point scoring streak (3-4-7).

Trifecta: Rider goaltender Kent Patterson has won three straight games, stopping 95 of the 99 shots he’s faced during that stretch.

Extra Special: The Riders scored two power play goals in each of their two games last weekend and have now scored at least one power play goal in each of their last ten games. For the season the Riders lead the league in power play efficiency (20.2 percent). The Riders have also killed off 19 of their opponents’ last 20 power plays.

Second Best: The Riders give up just 2.5 goals per game, the second best average in the league.

Ins and Outs: Forward Tyler Thompson returned to the lineup- and scored a goal- last Saturday against Tri-City after being suspended for the Riders’ prior three games. Thompson was suspended after being assessed a match penalty in the Riders’ March 8 game at Des Moines.

Alumni Spotlight: A total of 13 former Riders at eight different schools- Michigan’s Brandon Naurato, New Hampshire’s Greg Collins and Danny Dries, Colorado College’s Richard Bachman, Michigan State’s Justin Abdelkader, Minnesota’s Derek Peltier and Miami’s Pat Cannone, Ray Eichenlaub, Billy Loupee, Alec Martinez, Andy Miele, Gary Steffes and Tommy Wingels- will have the chance to play in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Scouting Report

Des Moines: The Buccaneers lost three games in four nights last week. The Bucs fell 3-2 at Sioux Falls last Wednesday, dropped a 3-1 decision at Sioux City last Friday and went down 4-1 last Saturday in a home rematch with the Musketeers…The Bucs have gone 3-6-0 since Todd Knott took over as interim head coach following the February 29 resignation of Regg Simon…Des Moines is locked into a last place finish in the West Division and is tied with Green Bay for last place overall in the USHL…The Bucs will finish the season with a losing record for just the second time in the last 13 years and the just third time in 18 years…There is also a chance the Bucs will set team records this year for fewest wins and fewest points in a 60-game season. The existing records of 17 wins and 40 points were established in 2004-05…Des Moines ranks last in the league in goal scoring (2.2 per game), power play efficiency (12.7 percent) and penalty killing (80.8 percent) …For all their struggles this season the Bucs have won four of their last five games against East Division foes…Taylor Matson (13-24-37) leads the team in points, while Chris Knowlton (14-12-26) is the Bucs’ top goal scorer…The Bucs defeated the Riders 2-1 on March 8 in Urbandale after the Riders won the first two meetings of the season series. All-time the Riders have gone 29-13-4 against the Buccaneers and have posted a 13-8-1 home record against Des Moines.

Omaha: The Lancers split a pair of games in Green Bay last weekend, falling 3-1 last Friday before rebounding to shut out the Gamblers 4-0 last Saturday…The Lancers have won just one of their last four games (1-2-1)… The Lancers have already clinched the West Division title. Omaha is five points ahead of the Indiana Ice in the race for the Anderson Cup (regular season) title. Indiana does have two games in hand on the Lancers…The Lancers ripped off 12 straight wins between January 25 and February 23 and went 18 games without a loss (16-0-2) between January 11 and February 29. Both streaks are the longest of their kind in the USHL this season…Lancers Coach and General Manager Mike Hastings set the USHL career record for most coaching wins- 518- on February 16 when Omaha defeated the Sioux Falls Stampede 7-0. Hastings is now up to 525 wins in 14 seasons behind the Lancer bench…The Lancers score more goals (3.7 per game) and give up fewer (2.4) than any other team in the league…Omaha’s power play (19.2 percent) ranks second only to the Riders’…Barry Almeida (21-38-59) ranks fourth in the league in assists and sixth in points; Chris Connolly (25-28-53) ranks seventh in goals and tenth in points; Matt Thurber (13-32-45) leads the league in shorthanded goals (6) and is tied for sixth in assists; veteran defenseman Keir Ross leads the league in plus/minus rating (+35)…Goaltender Drew Palmisano leads the league in wins (29) and minutes played (2399:20), ranks second in goals against average (2.03), ranks third in save percentage (.923) and is tied for fourth in shutouts (3)…The Lancers have gone 2-0-0 against the RoughRiders this season. All-time the Riders have gone 12-21-4 against the Lancers.

Promotions

Season Ticket Holders Skate with the RoughRiders: Season ticket holders will have an exclusive opportunity to join their favorite players on the ice following the Riders’ game against the Omaha Lancers this Saturday.

KRNA $50,000 Cash Shot: The RoughRiders and 94.1 KRNA will team up to give three lucky fans the chance to strike it rich with the $50,000 KRNA Cash Shot this Saturday night when the Riders take on the Lancers. One contestant will be chosen at the ice arena the night of the game to join two lucky KRNA listeners in competing on the ice for all that cash.

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.

Catch the Coach: Catch up on all the latest Rider news with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders’ Coach’s Show with Mark Carlson Wednesday nights at 6:00 on AM-1360 The Fan. The half hour show is broadcast live from Union Station on 16th Avenue SW in Cedar Rapids. RoughRiders Coach and General Manager Mark Carlson and RoughRiders radio broadcaster Brian Lavelle are joined by Riders players on each edition of the Coach’s Show.

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.