Corridor Cross Checks: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders shrug off rough start to 3-in-3 weekend with 2 convincing wins

CEDAR RAPIDS — When you lose the first game of a three-in-three weekend by a 7-1 score, that’s not good. That’s a real bad sign.

But it turned out that real bad sign was for Cedar Rapids RoughRiders opponents instead.

The Riders regrouped from a Thursday night beating at the hands of Green Bay by beating the Gamblers the following night in Wisconsin, 4-2, then coming home and blanking the Waterloo Black Hawks, 4-0.

That’s a lift for a club that is fighting to get into the United States Hockey League playoffs.

“The guys did what they needed to do to get points,” said RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson.

“I think it’s just we all are coming together closer. Sticking to our identity,” said RoughRiders winger Jake Percival. “We know what we’re supposed to do now. We feel we’re a closer team than any other team in the league, and that’s what we’re striving to show. That we’ll beat you by being closer than you. I think we proved that coming back after a tough loss Thursday night. Showing up the next night, then coming back here and winning 4-0. Everyone contributed, and that’s big right now. Everyone is contributing.”

Percival had an assist in Thursday night’s loss, a goal in Friday night’s win and two goals Saturday night. The second was a beauty: outracing a Waterloo defenseman for a puck that escaped along the boards just outside the C.R. blue line, going in and five-holing a shot through Waterloo goalie Emmett Croteau.

Goalie Bruno Bruveris made 20 saves for his second USHL shutout, and the RoughRiders had officially turned around what initially looked like a rough weekend. Cedar Rapids has an 18-20-1-1 record for 38 standings points, which is one behind Green Bay for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Riders have one game in hand. The top six teams in each division qualify for the postseason.

Friday night’s win was just the fourth on the road this season for Cedar Rapids. The RoughRiders have a league-worst 4-16-1-0 record away from ImOn Ice, compared to a very good home record of 14-4-0-1.

“I think we’ve played a ton of good hockey on the road, and we’ve been learning as the season goes,” Carlson said. “There are very few road games that I haven’t liked. We have played very good hockey on the road. You don’t win at the Resch Center (in Green Bay) on a Friday night without playing a really good hockey game. You don’t win at Waterloo without playing good hockey. You don’t win at Des Moines without playing really well. Those are tough barns. So I think this team has played very well on the road all year.”

Iowa Heartlanders

The first-year ECHL club has climbed out of the basement in the Central Division, thanks to a three-game win streak. The Heartlanders beat Tulsa at home in a shootout this past Wednesday night, then swept Kalamazoo in a weekend series in Michigan.

Iowa has a 20-23-6-1 record for 47 standings points, which is two more than seventh/last-place Indy. The Fuel do have a pair of games in hand, however, on the Heartlanders.

The top four teams in each of the ECHL’s four divisions qualify for the league playoffs. In the Central, Toledo has 67 standings points and leads by a large margin over Wheeling and Fort Wayne.

The fourth-place team is Cincinnati with 53 points, though, again, the Cyclones have two games in hand on Iowa.

Iowa received a boost last week with the return of forward Yuki Miura. The rookie pro from Japan and fan favorite hadn’t played since Dec. 29 because of a lacerated liver incurred when he fell into the boards during a game.

He scored a goal in his first game back Wednesday against Tulsa.

This week

Another three-game week for the Heartanders, all at home.

First up is Wednesday night against the Wichita Thunder at Xtream Arena. Then the Fort Wayne Komets come to Coralville for games Friday and Saturday nights.

Puck drop for all three is 7.

The RoughRiders have a home-and-home this weekend with the Madison Capitols. Friday night’s game is in Wisconsin, while the teams play Saturday night at ImOn Ice.

Puck drop is 7:05. It’s “Guns N’ Hoses Night,” as the RoughRiders honor local fire and police departments.

Madison goes into the weekend eight points ahead of Cedar Rapids in the USHL’s Eastern Conference.

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