Busy Blacker shines as RoughRiders topple Madison, 4-1

CEDAR RAPIDS - This was the 11th straight start in net for Ben Blacker, and he had the perfect answer when asked how many more in a row he could make.

'As many as they need,” the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders goalie said Friday night, after his club's 4-1 win over Madison at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Blacker is 'the guy” now for the Riders, the unquestioned number one. He shared time most of last season and the first couple months this season with Ryan Larkin, but Larkin injured a hip, had to have surgery and is out the rest of the way.

This is Blacker's team. Zach Laracque was brought in from a lower-level club in Colorado to replace Larkin but is still adjusting to the United States Hockey League and hasn't played, yet.

'I think it's really starting to sink in that they are calling on me for a few more games,” Blacker said. 'It's great, I'm thankful for the opportunity. It's a great challenge, and a great way to get better.”

He made 37 saves to help Cedar Rapids (11-6-1, 23 standings points) win for the second night in a row, the third time in a row overall and for the fourth time in five games. The RoughRiders blasted Waterloo on Thanksgiving night, 5-1, and host the Black Hawks on Saturday night at 7:05.

Coach Mark Carlson won't spill the beans, but you've got to think Blacker will get the nod again for the 12th straight time and third time in as many nights.

'I think goalies, they want to play a lot,” Carlson said. 'It's day by day, so we're not concerned with that. It's all about tomorrow now. That's it.”

Blacker - an 18-year-old from Oakville, Ontario and a Western Michigan commit - has posted an 8-6 record, 2.16 goals against average and .928 save percentage this season, very good numbers. He admits he is getting used to the mental rigors of playing every night.

'That has been an adjustment,” he said. 'You are looking more at how you are preparing yourself. Getting extra sleep, making sure you are eating right, things like that. Just making sure you are taking care of your body. On the mental side, you just take one game at a time. You focus on the next one. If they call you, they call you, and you work on that one. You just take one day at a time, one game at a time.”

Sam Sternschein got the game's first goal 2:20 into the second period, throwing a puck across the crease that hit off the skate of a Madison defenseman and trickling into the net past goaltender Ryan Edquist. Cal Burke's one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Matt Filipe made it 2-0 four minutes later.

The RoughRiders sealted things with goals from Hugh McGing and Filipe in the third period. McGing deflected a long shot from defenseman Jack Ahcan past Edquist at the 12:58 mark, then Filipe scored shorthanded, stealing a puck between center ice and the Madison blue line, skating in and rifling home a wrister.

Blacker had his shutout bid end with just 2:50 left when Sam McCormick pounced on a rebound, just after Cedar Rapids had killed off a Madison power play.

'I did want that shutout, but we got the win, and that's all that matters,” Blacker said.

'I thought the second and third periods we played well,” Carlson said. 'We had a tough game last night. We did enough to get it done.” He was asked what his team has done different the past two weeks to get this win streak.

'Not a lot different from when we've lost games,” he said. 'We've lost some games where we've probably played better than in some games we've won. The guys are working, we've got guys improving. If I were to say anything, I'd say we're seeing improvement from a lot of players. Which is good.”

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