The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are still winless, and here’s why

CEDAR RAPIDS — Mark Carlson wasn't quite sure what Murphy's Law was, so there's no way he could believe in it. If there is such a thing, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders head coach/general manager has experienced it this season.

His team goes into its game Friday night at Dubuque with an incomprehensible 0-13-2 record. That any club in the United States Hockey League could be this far into its season without a win is stunning, let alone one that is so consistently successful and that won the Anderson Cup last season for most regular-season standings points.

How did it get to this point? Well, that's complicated.

Murphy's Law, if you will.

'Ultimately it's my responsibility,' Carlson said.

Though Carlson won't confirm it, the RoughRiders were expecting more returning players than they ended up with. At one point, there was the possibility that franchise single-season goal-scoring record-holder Ross Colton, second-leading scorer Hugh McGing, NHL draft pick Matt Filipe and important forwards Justin Cole and Luke Morgan all would return.

None of them did, ending up at their respective colleges instead. That did change this week with Cole leaving the University of Denver and returning to the team.

Then there is the disappointment of the guys who did return largely not improving.

'Our organization has had a lot of success over the years, and all the credit goes to the players and their hard work in the offseason and in their first season here,' Carlson said Friday. 'We've had a lot of second-year players who have done extremely well, and the reason they've done well starts with their personalities, their dedication and their work ethics. All those things. It takes a certain type of person to be successful as an elite athlete. We had some people not make that jump this year. Those players aren't here anymore, and that's all fine. I'm just stating the facts here, it's nothing personal. Everybody is different.'

Carlson has traded second-year guys Sam Sternschein, Pavel Tkachkov, Johnny DeRoche, Will Garin, Matt Gosiewski and Trevor Zins since the regular season began. Garin and Gosiewski were two of five players who were suspended for violating team rules in October.

All five of those guys (including A.J. Villella, Matt Hudie and Nick Bowman) ended up being sent elsewhere. Murphy's Law.

You want more? Assistant coach Doug Leaverton left at the beginning of fall camp to take a job as a scout with the United States National Team Development Program.

Assistant coach Shane Connelly left earlier this week to take an as-yet-to-be-announced position elsewere.

'My response would be we've had a great week of practice, we have made a lot of improvements in our team, we've got about 12 new players since Pittsburgh,' Carlson said. 'We really like our group. We don't have a rear-view mirror. We're looking at the next game.'

As he mentioned, Carlson has worked diligently trying to find a competitive mix of players. An astounding 12 new guys have joined the team since the end of the preseason, which concluded with a pair of games at a showcase in Pittsburgh.

The personnel changes continued this week with the additions of Cole and Estonian forward Robert Arrak. The latter was playing for a club team in Finland and is considered a possible 2017 NHL draft pick.

The newbies appear to have improved the team. Now it's about jelling ... and winning a game.

The Riders come about their record honestly. They have allowed the most goals in the league and scored the fewest.

'I feel like we're really coming together,' Carlson said. 'Everyone knows that we've been through lots of things.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com