RoughRiders carry on minus 4 players

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's a challenge they ought to be used to by now. It's actually easier this time around for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

At least they'll have their coach.

Riders Michael Parks, Sam Warning, Cason Hohmann and Tommy Fallen left Thursday morning to be part of a United States team playing in the World Junior ‘A' Challenge in Canada. It's the third consecutive season the team will play four games without four of its top players.

Head coach Mark Carlson led the two previous U.S. teams to gold, but it's Waterloo's P.K. O'Handley heading the Americans this season. So at least there's that.

“Of course, it's going to affect the whole team,” said Riders forward Peter Sakaris.“But we've got a lot of guys, a lot of depth on the team. We've got a lot of guys who can come in and play. Everyone pretty much is saying to themselves this is a chance to come in and prove themselves and (get) themselves more ice time when thoseguys come back.”

That's exactly what Carlson wants to hear.

“It creates opportunities for the other guys, yeah,” he said.“We think we've got some good depth on this team. It's been a fine line as far as which guys are playing in which positions and in what situations. Some of these guys can really have the opportunity to make some statements. That's pretty exciting.”

The RoughRiders are 6-1 going into a weekend that sees them host Indiana tonight and travel Saturday night to Des Moines. Nineteen guys already have at least one point, which goes back to that depth thing.

This is a tough stretch of the schedule, considering the next six games after tonight are on the road. Eleven of Cedar Rapids' first 16 games are away from The Stable.

“We're just going to come out and play the games,” Sakaris said. “Just as we always would. Then just go from there.”

This and that

-- Hohmann's incredible four-goal game last Friday night against Dubuque is now a great three-goal game. His first tally has been given to Warning instead, who earned it the hard way by having a puck thrown at the cage from Hohmann on left wing deflect off his face and into the net.

Ouch.

-- Goaltender Brady Hjelle committed this week to Ohio State. After playing with the Riders in the 2007-08 season, Hjelle spent two seasons at Minnesota-Duluth before deciding to transfer and coming back to town this season.

He'll have two seasons of eligibility remaining at OSU.

-- Sakaris said he has de-committed from Clarkson University. He originally was going to play there with his older brother, Demetri.