Aneloski's 6 points help Riders outlast D.M. (w/video)

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders defenseman Bryce Aneloski asked his mom Friday if she would drive to Dubuque to get some new hockey sticks for him.

He'd been playing with a different model lately and wanted to go back to what he was most comfortable with. Apparently there was a sporting goods store in the Key City that had exactly what he was looking for.

But considering RoughRiders players get their sticks paid for and that it was just Christmas and he'd already gotten his share of presents, mom - in town from Pekin, Ill., for this three-game weekend home set - politely told him no. As usual, mom was right.

Aneloski scored a goal and added five assists to help the RoughRiders survive Des Moines, 7-5, before a boisterous crowd of 2,686 at The Stable. He'd be crazy not to stick with what worked for him big-time Saturday night.

"Yeah, I'm still using the same stick," Aneloski said. "I've been using it the past few games because I ran out of my (old) sticks. I broke them all. I'm just waiting for the re-order."

Cedar Rapids (15-12-2, 32 points) led in the second period, 6-1, but had to get a late Jeff Costello goal to hold off a Buccaneers comeback. There were 17 penalties called and four goals scored in the third, three from Des Moines.

At one point in the chippy period, Riders goalie Troy Grosenick got his helmet knocked off by a Bucs player as he skated past him after making a save. No penalty was called on the play.

RoughRider Zach Lehrke was knocked momentarily loopy by a Des Moines player along the end boards on a borderline hit later in the period. Peter Sakaris and Des Moines' Ryan Walters were given 10-minute misconduct penalties after a confrontation and repeated yapping at each other in the waning seconds. Ugly final 20 minutes or no, the bottom line was a RoughRiders victory.

“You know me by now,” RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson said. “I look at the positives, and we just won a hockey game.”

Costello and Mac Bennett had two goals apiece for the RoughRiders, who have won three in a row and host league-leading Omaha this afternoon at 4:05. But at least offensively, this was Aneloski's game, as he scored from a bad angle in the first period and assisted on all but one of his team's other goals.

He ended the game a plus-three.

“I thought he played a real solid game,” Carlson said.

"A lot of (his points) were assists, so I have to give credit to all the players," said Aneloski, whose 30 points lead USHL defensemen. "Costello played good, all the forward lines played good. I just get the puck in their hands, and they did the work tonight."

It's something about Des Moines that brings out the offense in the RoughRiders. Cedar Rapids has won all four games this USHL season against the Bucs and piled up 27 goals, no less than five in any of the games.

The Riders knocked out Des Moines starting goalie Eric Mihalik with a three-goal first period, then equally dented replacement Charles Williams with a three-goal second. Derek DeBlois and Stephen Collins also had goals for the Riders.

Mitch Cain scored twice for Des Moines. RoughRiders scratches were Jayson Megna, Andy Simpson and Jordan DiGiando, who is sick.

Here is video of Cedar Rapids' first goal of the game, from Costello at a very bad angle in the first period: