Elliot Desnoyers scored with a minute left in three-on-three overtime Wednesday as the Iowa Heartlanders beat Kansas City, 5-4, at Xtream Arena. It was just the third home win this season for the ECHL club and came on its annual Kids Day, with 2,300 tickets reserved for school children from the Corridor area.
Photos from field trip day at the Iowa Heartlanders vs. Kansas City Mavericks hockey game at Xtream Areana in Coralville, Iowa on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.
In this week’s edition, we crunched the numbers in games between Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams in the United States Hockey League. The East is dominating them.
Hawke Huff was better known last hockey season for being more of a defensive defenseman. Acquired in a trade from Sioux Falls, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders second-year guy has added much more offense to his game this USHL season.
The 3ICE professional hockey league announced Thursday it will play its fourth season at Xtream Arena in Coralville this summer. The league is played like NHL overtime: three players per side and a goaltender. Former NHL legends such as Grant Fuhr and Ray Bourque coach teams in the league.
The Professional Hockey Players’ Association released an open letter to fans last week that gave its side of ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations between it and the ECHL. The PHPA said it is seeking proper rest for its players, increased salaries and renumeration for corporate and jersey auctions.
The ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders had a tough three-in-three weekend road trip over the weekend. The club lost Friday night at Cincinnati but rebounded to win there Saturday and Sunday at Toledo, despite posting just nine shots on goal.
Here’s another edition of Corridor Cross Checks. Forward Jason Musa of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders is a point-per-game player thus far in his second season in the United States Hockey League.
Kyle DeBarge played shortstop, left field and center field for the Cedar Rapids Kernels during the 2025 season. But his exceptional defensive play at second base has earned the Minnesota Twins prospect a Rawlings Gold Glove, one of nine in Minor League Baseball to get one.
Defenseman Nolan Orzeck began his professional hockey career in the 2022-23 season with the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders. After almost three years in Texas and Finland, the 24-year-old Calgary native is back in the Corridor.
Justin Graf of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders has had a fine start to his United States Hockey League acreer, picking up six goals and 11 points in his first 11 games. The promising forward wants to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Collin, a forward for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.
Defenseman Will Francis was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia shortly after the conclusion of his junior hockey career with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. After treatment brought him into remission, he relapsed twice while playing at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Again cancer free, he is playing his first full professional season in the ECHL with the Tulsa Oilers.
It was a three-in-three weekend for the Iowa Heartlanders this past weekend as the ECHL regular season began. And it was three one-goal games for the Heartlanders, who went 2-1. The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders split a pair of USHL games this past weekend.
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