Clark Cup Playoffs, Round One

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Waterloo Black Hawks

Game One: Cedar Rapids @ Waterloo, Friday, April 11, 7:05PM

Game Two: Cedar Rapids @ Waterloo, Saturday, April 12, 7:05PM

Game Three: Waterloo @ Cedar Rapids, Wednesday, April 16, 7:05PM

Game Four: Waterloo @ Cedar Rapids, Friday, April 18, 7:05PM (if necessary)

Game Five: Cedar Rapids @ Waterloo, Saturday, April 19, 7:05PM (if necessary)

Recent Action

Tuesday, April 1

Chicago 5 Cedar Rapids 4 (SO)

Friday, April 4

Indiana 6 Cedar Rapids 4

Saturday, April 5

Waterloo 3 Cedar Rapids 2 (OT)

At a Glance

Cedar Rapids

33-22-5, 71 points

3rd place East Division

Coach/GM: Mark Carlson

Waterloo

38-17-5, 81 points

2nd place East Division

Coach/GM: P.K. O’Handley

Headlines

Marquee Match-up: The RoughRiders are about to meet the Waterloo Black Hawks in a playoff series for the first time ever. The Riders and Black Hawks did meet in a single round robin playoff game last spring. The Hawks won that game 6-0 to eliminate Cedar Rapids from the postseason.

Narrow Margin: The Riders earned one point for last Saturday’s overtime loss to Waterloo to wrap up a third place finish in the East Division- just a single point ahead of fourth place Chicago. Had they not picked up that point against the Black Hawks, the Riders would have faced division champion Indiana in round one.

Downturn: The RoughRiders went 0-3-2 in their final five regular season games.

Great Eight: The Riders are making their eighth straight Clark Cup playoff appearance. The Riders have reached the second round of the postseason each of the last three years and five of the last six years. Cedar Rapids won the Clark Cup in 2005.

Back to Normal: The United States Hockey League has reverted to a traditional playoff format this spring with the top four teams in each division qualifying. Each round will be best-of-five. Last year all 12 teams qualified for the best-of-seven first round which was followed by two second round round robins and single game semi-finals and final.

Well Done: Casey Wellman (22-23-45) scored in each of the Riders’ two games last weekend and finished the regular season as the team’s top goal scorer. Wellman scored seven goals and totaled 11 points in the final ten games of the regular season.

Jonesing: Doug Jones (17-42-59) finished fourth in the league in assists and tied for eighth in points.

A Man Named Brady: Rider goaltender Brady Hjelle finished third in the league in save percentage, tied for third in shutouts (5) and fifth in goals against average (2.5). Hjelle went 22-15-4 and finished tied for fifth in wins despite winning just one of his last nine starts (1-6-2).

Powering Up: The Riders led the league in power play percentage (20.3 percent) during the regular season.

Record Setter: The RoughRiders allowed just 156 goals during the regular season, breaking the team record for fewest goals allowed in a season. The old record was set in 2004-05 when the Riders surrendered 157 goals.

Alumni Spotlight: Calgary Flames forward Dave Moss (2000-01) scored one goal and picked up one assist as the Flames closed out the National Hockey League regular season with a 7-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks last Saturday. Moss and the Flames will meet the San Jose Sharks in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs beginning Wednesday night.

Scouting Report

Waterloo: The Black Hawks won their final seven regular season games, went 12-1-0 in their last 13 games and went 17-2-0 in their last 19 games…The Hawks won three games in four days last week. Waterloo won 2-1 in Green Bay last Wednesday and then drubbed the Gamblers 7-1 in Waterloo last Friday before edging the Riders last Saturday…The Hawks finished the regular season one win short of the team victory record (39) set last year…This is the third time in six seasons under P.K. O’Handley that the Black Hawks have won at least 38 games…Waterloo allowed an average of just 2.5 goals per game- second fewest in the league…The Hawks scored more power play goals (72) and gave up fewer (41) than any other team in the league. Waterloo finished second in penalty killing percentage (85.9 percent) and third in power play efficiency (18.6 percent)… Billy Maday (24-35-59) led Waterloo in goals and points. Maday and linemates Nick Larson (19-19-38) and Brett Olson (17-37-54) are on a tear. Maday closed out the regular season with a seven-game point-scoring streak (6-6-12). Olson finished the regular season on a seven-game point-scoring streak (5-6-11) and a five-game goal-scoring streak. Larson recorded points in his final six games (3-8-11). Larson also rang up a league season high six points (one goal, five assists) in last Friday’s win over Green Bay…Blake Kessel (19-38-57) led all USHL defensemen in goals, assists and points… goaltender Matt DiGirolamo went 7-1-0 with a 1.63 goals against average and a .932 save percentage in his final eight games. On the season DiGirolamo ranked third in the league in wins (25) and minutes played (2437:20) and fourth in goals against average (2.41)… Joe Howe, the Hawks’ other netminder, won his final five regular season starts, posting a 1.17 goals against average and a .945 save percentage while doing so. For the season, Howe ranked third in goals against average (2.12) and fourth in save percentage (.915)…The RoughRiders went 4-1-3 against Waterloo during the regular season. All-time they have gone 30-25-7 in the regular season against the Black Hawks and have posted a 12-16-4 record in Waterloo and an 18-9-3 mark at home...The Hawks reached the Clark Cup final last year only to fall to Sioux Falls. Waterloo won the title in 2004.

Watch/Listen

That’s The Ticket!: RoughRiders playoff 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. Playoff ticket prices range from $8 to $18.

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.