1,000th game fittingly a win for Mark Carlson, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

CEDAR RAPIDS — Game 1 was a win. Game 1,000 was, too.

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and head coach Mark Carlson celebrated quite a milestone Friday night at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, though 'celebrated' is too strong a word.

Other than a short pregame video presentation, Mayor Ron Corbett dropping the ceremonial first puck and a few between-periods congratulatory video snippets from some former Riders players, assistant coaches and one of Carlson's sons, this had the feel of just another game. That was unfortunate.

It wasn't just another game, of course. The meaning behind a 4-1 victory over the Waterloo Black Hawks was special.

'Obviously, my job is to make sure everyone is ready to go and prepared,' Carlson said. 'But I did think about it. On the way over here tonight, I left a message for (former scout) Jeff Barratt. He and I were together for 16 full seasons, and I still talk to him all the time. I left him a voicemail and said 'Hey, you've been right beside me for 1,000 games.'

'So it's just things like that. All the conversations with players, coaches. Coaching, all the games, I definitely did reflect on all that.'

The Riders played their first United States Hockey League game Sept. 24, 1999, a shootout win at Sioux Falls. Carlson has been the rock of this franchise, its backbone, its on-ice leader for all 1,000 games.

The only other coach with 1,000 USHL games to his credit is Waterloo's P.K. O'Handley, who was the opposition on this night. It couldn't have been more fitting.

'P.K. and I talked a couple of times during the week, which was very special for me,' Carlson said. 'I really appreciated and cherished the talks we had. We also talked before the game tonight, and that meant a ton to me.

'His strong suggestions to me, which I appreciated, were to try and enjoy this. We talked about his experience ... He just really expressed to me to enjoy it. I certainly took that to heart, respected that. It meant a lot to me.'

This was the 560th win of Carlson's brilliant career here. Cal Burke, Karch Bachman, Ross Colton and John DeRoche scored goals as Cedar Rapids (28-10-3) extended its USHL-leading standings points total to 59.

Ben Blacker had his shutout attempt ended with less than a minute to play. The RoughRiders play Saturday night at Omaha.

'First of all, it's an honor to be a part of the RoughRiders organization,' Burke said. 'To be part of a huge milestone like this makes it all the much more sweeter. Coach told us this week that we'd probably see it everywhere on social media and everything. But it was more important to him for us to get the win and to put another brick in the wall than it was this being the 1,000th game.'

An adhesive chart in the Riders locker room says 'Protect This House,' with a 'brick' being added after each home win. That honor usually belongs to a player, but Carlson got it on this night, complete with his beloved Bruce Springsteen signing 'Born In The USA' blaring in the background.

Perfectly appropriate considering what the coach has built here.

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