Rutherford, Sternschein relishing new opportunities

CEDAR RAPIDS - Imagine being 17 years old and away from home for the first time. You are living with strangers, attending a new high school and trying to get used to a much better level of hockey at the same time.

Then imagine having to pack up and leave all that after just a couple of months and move to another state, another billet family, another high school and another team. Welcome to the lives of Collin Rutherford and Sam Sternschein.

The two were traded for each other last week, Rutherford moving from the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders to the Tri-City Storm and vice versa for Sternschein. In an odd, almost cruel twist, they played against each other Saturday night at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Rutherford had an assist, as his new team won, 4-1.

'Getting traded is part of the game,” Sternschein said with a shrug. 'I've heard it's pretty unusual for high-school players to get traded. But it is what it is, and I'm happy to be here.”

United States Hockey League rules say players in high school cannot be traded without the permission of them and their parents. Rutherford played in just one game with the RoughRiders, while Sternschein had just one assist in eight games for Tri-City.

The agreement to be traded in this case was purely about hockey.

'Coach (Mark) Carlson let me know that the Tri-City coach (Bill Muckalt) had been calling him, trying to get me on the team. He'd been calling for a week or so,” Rutherford said. 'I wasn't getting much playing time in Cedar Rapids, and Coach Carlson said I might get more playing time here. I had to say yes, which I did, because I want to get more playing time ... That was a big motive right there.”

'I was excited for a new opportunity,” Sternschein said. 'I was aware that Coach Carlson wanted me, and I was excited about that. I love it, the guys have been great to me. The first week here, everyone was just really welcoming. The coaches have been great. It's been a great experience.”

Academically, Sternschein said he was in the middle of his second term at his school in Kearney, Neb. He's a senior now at Cedar Rapids Washington.

Rutherford, a New York state resident like Sternschein, was in the middle of his first semester at Washington. His first day at his new school in Kearney will be Monday.

It helps that these two kids are obviously smart. Rutherford has committed to Dartmouth and Sternschein to Cornell.

But you've still got to wonder if their respective heads might still be spinning a bit with all of this sudden change.

'You get used to it pretty quickly,” Rutherford said. 'It's difficult switching schools, but once you get into it, you get used to it. It's fine.”

Jack Ahcan scored a power-play goal three minutes into the game to put the RoughRiders (7-4-1-0, 15 standings points) on top, but Tri-City scored four unanswered goals from there. Carson Meyer had a pair, including an empty netter with 5.2 seconds left.

Cedar Rapids trailed heading to the third period only by a 2-1 margin but took four consecutive minor penalties in the third, which wasn't a good way to try and tie the game. Cedar Rapids hosts Green Bay on Friday night.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com