Sans Tirone, RoughRiders look for successful season

CEDAR RAPIDS – From here forward, no one needs to talk about it.

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders won't have goaltender Danny Tirone this season. What a late, significant and unexpected loss.

But they're moving on because they have to. So should you.

'It's tough because we love Danny,” winger Andrew Gaus said Wednesday, during the team's Media Day at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena. 'He's one of the best teammates I've ever had the privilege to be with. At the same time, you are nothing but happy for him. It is an awesome opportunity for him, and he's going to do fantastic.”

Tirone had a tremendous 2013-14 rookie season, finishing third in the United States Hockey League in wins and top eight in goals against average and save percentage. He was going to be the backbone of a Riders club that looks good at forward and defense.

But the University of New Hampshire asked him last week to enroll for second semester in January so he could help out its tenuous goaltending situation. Casey DeSmith, who was scheduled to be the school's starter a fourth straight season, was indefinitely suspended after being arrested in early September for domestic assault.

RoughRiders Coach/General Manager Mark Carlson traded Tirone to a lower-level junior team in Massachusetts, so he could play every game and get as ready as he can for college hockey in the new year. That also allows Cedar Rapids more time to develop Ben Blacker and Ryan Larkin, the latter acquired in a trade from the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks.

Both have promise but are 17 and have played nary a second in the USHL.

'This happened so fast, it was kind of hard to comprehend,” said RoughRiders defenseman Clark Kuster. 'Danny left, and we had preseason games that day and the next. We've really just had to move forward. We have Ben Blacker and Ryan Larkin now, and we're excited about that. We believe in them. We've got to trust them, and we do. We're excited to see what they bring in the regular season.”

'We don't look at it as a disappointment,” Carlson said. 'It's a real good opportunity for Danny to get into New Hampshire and battle for a spot right away. We certainly will miss him, as a person and as a player. We've got Ben Blacker, and we like Ben. We've got Ryan Larkin here now, too. We're going to miss Danny, and we wish him all the best, but we've got to move ahead. I think it's a great life lesson for our guys. Away we go.”

Cedar Rapids finished 35-21-4 last season, in second place in the USHL's Eastern Conference. The RoughRiders lost to Dubuque in the first round of the playoffs.

They have 10 returning players, though forwards Cal Burke (five regular-season games) and Erik Foley (one game) saw very limited time as emergency injury fill-ins last season. Alec Marsh is the leading returning goal scorer with 16, while he and Dylan McLaughlin are the leading returning point getters (34 apiece).

McLaughin and forward Andrew Oglevie (12 goals, 28 points in 49 games) are rare fourth-year USHLers, Oglevie only the second guy to play four years in Cedar Rapids.

'They have so much experience and have seen almost everything at this point,” Gaus said.

Foley is one of five RoughRiders on Central Scouting's preseason watch list of possible 2015 NHL draft picks. He is listed as a ‘B' player, which means he is projected right now as a second or third-rounder.

Others on the list are Larkin, Burke, center Adam Gaudette and defenseman Bryce Hatten, all ‘C' prospects (fourth, fifth, sixth round). Carlson swung a trade this week for the USHL rights of forward Austin Cho, another ‘C' prospect, who is on the team's affiliate roster of younger players.

Bottom line, there is talent around.

'I think that stuff is great for our guys, but at the same time, as we always talk to our team about, when the team wins and the team plays well, everybody benefits from that,” Carlson said. 'We have a group this year that has gotten a lot of compliments already. The guys that don't have them, they're going to get them, it's just a matter of time.

'We really like to focus on the team concept. If everyone works hard, plays well, plays as a group, as a team, than everyone gets the benefits from that. Whether it's a guy getting drafted, or getting a scholarship, or maybe even signing out of here as a (professional) free agent. It's all about the team, and playing the game the right way.”

The RoughRiders open their regular season with a home game Saturday night against Dubuque (7:05 opening faceoff). There are two expansion teams in the USHL this season in Bloomington (Ill.) and Madison (Wis.).

Among the new rule changes in the league is one that substantially increases penalty time for fighting. In addition to a five-minute major, combatants are assessed a 10-minute misconduct.

There is a reason the RoughRiders had zero fights in eight preseason games.

'That's a pretty stiff penalty, 15 minutes,” Carlson said. 'We'll see how that works.”

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