Riders get chance to assuage some of last year’s pain

What do you remember about the deciding fifth game of last season's USHL first-round playoff series between the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and Indiana Ice?

Tense drama? Great up-and-down hockey? Inspiring comeback? One of the best games played at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena?

That all fits. But Eric Robinson remembers something else.

“Crying,” the RoughRiders forward said. “That's all.”

Yes, there is crying in hockey, especially when your season ends on a goal with 15 seconds left in regulation. That's how Indiana beat the Riders, 7-6.

The Ice went on to capture the Clark Cup. The RoughRiders went on to wonder why sports can be so cruel sometimes.

“Definitely number one,” said RoughRiders center Zach Lehrke, when asked where it ranked among his toughest hockey losses. “It was still tough days afterward.”

“It was a great game, back and forth, both teams battling,” said Riders Captain Jeff Costello. “A shot from the point (by Torrey Krug) with 15 seconds left. I've never heard The Stable go totally quiet like that. We get another chance at them this year, though.”

Funny how it works sometimes. The RoughRiders and Ice are paired again in the first round of the USHL playoffs. Game 1 of the best-of-5 series is tonight at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena; Game 2 is Friday. The series shifts to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4, if needed, with a deciding game 5 next week in Cedar Rapids.

Deja vu. Well, the RoughRiders hope not.

“It's definitely motivation,” Lehrke said. “You don't want to lose again like that.”

“We're playing well,” Costello said. “We just need to come out every single night and play our game.”

The thing about junior hockey is there is so much turnover season to season because guys move on to college and/or the pros. Only five RoughRiders - Costello, Lehrke, Robinson, defenseman Bryce Aneloski and goalie Troy Grosenick - were around last season, and Grosenick didn't even play in Game 5.

RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson was quick to point that out when asked what he recalled about Game 5 last season.

“We have 18 new players, they have probably 16,” Carlson said. “It's about Wednesday night at 7 o'clock.”