7 straight wins, 3 empty net goals for Riders

CEDAR RAPIDS - The chant began in the final minute and grew louder and louder.

“Pull your goalie!” the 2,810 fans on hand at The Stable teased the Indiana Ice bench. “Pull your goalie!”

Hang around the rink long enough and you'll see some pretty unique things. Like the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders scoring three empty net goals in a 7-2 win over Indiana.

Gotta be a United States Hockey League record, doesn't it?

“Never seen it,” said Riders winger David Boehm. “But I've played Indy a few times over the years, and they're very offensive (minded). I understand that they were trying to come back. They were playing to win. You've got to respect that.”

Two goals from Boehm and one from Nick Lappin gave Cedar Rapids (31-15-3, 65 points) a 3-0 lead with 10 minutes left. With nothing to lose, Indiana Coach Jeff Blashill pulled goalie Casey DeSmith in favor of a sixth attacker, only to see Stephen Collins score into the vacant goal.

The Ice then scored twice and went on the power play with 3:41 to go. DeSmith was pulled for a 6-on-4 man advantage, with C.R.'s Jordan DiGiando and Derek DeBlois foiling the move again with empty netters a minute apart.

Cason Hohmann scored on a breakaway with 30 seconds left for the final margin.

“Honestly when I was out there the first time, I thought there was a delayed (penalty) call,” DiGiando said. “I mean, it was 5-on-5 with 10 minutes left and there was no goalie.”

“I thought it was good strategy,” offered Riders Coach Mark Carlson. “It was a good move by their staff trying to get (a goal).”

The bottom line was a seventh consecutive victory for the RoughRiders, who moved five points ahead of Indiana for second place in the East Division. There's another game between the clubs on tap tonight at The Stable.

Cedar Rapids is 14-0-1 in its last 15 games. Amazing, amazing stuff.

“Every game is the same in importance for us,” Carlson said. “That's not going to change.”

Cedar Rapids outshot Indiana by a 41-21 margin, with Cody Campbell getting the win in goal. It was hard to figure out what was more unique for the Riders: getting three empty netters or having five of their goals unassisted.

Or perhaps it was Boehm scoring twice without the benefit of an empty net.

“Don't need it,” he said with a smile. “Don't need it.”

Here's video of DiGiando's failed penalty shot attempt in the first period: