Corridor Cross Checks: From Cedar Rapids to Coralville for a second Zmolek brother

CORALVILLE — You can book it. It’s going to happen.

Riese Zmolek played junior hockey for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders from 2015 to 2017. He played pro hockey in the ECHL for the Iowa Heartlanders from 2021 to 2023.

Will Zmolek played junior hockey for the RoughRiders from 2017 to 2019. He’s now with the Heartlanders.

Bennett Zmolek played junior hockey for the RoughRiders from 2018 to 2020. He’s at the University of North Dakota at the moment, but, really, he’s got to be a future Heartlander.

Three brothers, three defensemen whose hockey careers have been a lot about the state of Iowa.

“I was looking at the maps, actually, and saw that this was very close to C.R.” Will Zmolek said recently. “It’s good. I like the area. It’s fun.”

Will, 25, played four years of college hockey at Bemidji State before turning pro. He played three games at the tail end of the 2022-23 season in the American Hockey League and most of last season in the ECHL with the Reading Royals.

The AHL’s Iowa Wild (in Des Moines) signed him to an AHL contract for this season. He went through training camp with the team before being sent to the Heartlanders.

“I thought (camp) was good,” he said. “It’s always a good experience to get there and just kind of learn from the veterans that are there.”

Zmolek picked up an assist in the Heartlanders’ first two games over the weekend, both losses to Fort Wayne (6-5 and 2-1 in overtime. Iowa hosts Bloomington for a Thursday night game (7 p.m. opening faceoff) and travels to Illinois to face the expansion Bison on Saturday night.

“It’s definitely different,” Zmolek said of professional hockey. “Obviously in college, you play Friday and Saturday, and that’s it. You’ve got all week to kind of prepare. Pro is different. You’re playing three games, maybe Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Then you get a quick turnaround and play Wednesday. So I think the most important thing is taking care of the body. Get what you need, make sure you’re doing plenty of extra stuff. Stretch real well, make sure you’re hitting the ice bath. Whatever you kind of need.”

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

The RoughRiders split their weekend, winning at Des Moines (5-3) and losing at home to Omaha (4-1).

Newcomer Nick Romeo had two goals and an assists against D.M. Romeo was acquired in a trade from Dubuque.

Charles Blanchard and Chance Burlison each had their first United States Hockey League goals in the game. Cayden Casey had his second.

Goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, a draft pick of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils over the summer, made 23 saves for Omaha. The only RoughRider to beat him was Daniel Astapovich late in the first period, a goal that gave C.R. a 1-0 lead.

The RoughRiders are 4-5 through nine games. They are on the road for a pair of games this weekend: Friday night at Madison and Saturday night at Waterloo.

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