The United States Hockey League takes a week and a half off every Christmas, giving everyone a chance to get a break and recharge. The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders go into their break fresh off a pair of weekend wins against the Chicago Steel.
The Iowa Heartlanders are on a five-game win streak going into a pair of big games this week at home against the Toledo Walleye. Iowa is four points back of Toledo for first place in the ECHL’s Central Division.
A.J. Reyelts of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders was honored Monday as the United States Hockey League’s Goalie of the Week. The 18-year-old Minnesota resident’s mother and father both played hockey in college and his older brother plays junior hockey in the NAHL as a forward, which is how A.J. got started as a goaltender.
Defenseman Jules Boscq of the Iowa Heartlanders had a pair of goals in his team’s overtime loss Sunday to Bloomington. Those were the first two of his pro career in North America. The 22-year-old from France appears to have a bright future.
Matthew Sop of the Iowa Heartlanders is tied for second in the ECHL in points a dozen or so games into the season. The 21-year-old rookie forward is living away from home for the first time, spending his entire career playing junior in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontari.
The NCAA Division I Council last week voted to allow players from the three Canadian Hockey League major junior leagues to play college hockey, beginning next season. They had been ineligible for American college hockey previously because they receive financial stipends. How this new ruling affects the United States Hockey League, of which the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are a member, is anyone’s guess at this point.
Forward Daniel Astapovich of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders played in the United States Hockey League two seasons ago. He spent last season in the lower-level North American Hockey League, getting another USHL shot this season.
Of all things, Dakota Raabe of the Iowa Heartlanders was a surfer growing up in Southern California, a member of his high school’s surfing team.
Riese Zmolek played junior hockey for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, played college hockey and then played professionally for the Iowa Heartlanders. His brother, Will, played junior hockey for the RoughRiders and is in his first season with the Hearlanders.
Forward Will Calverley was literally knocked out of game for the Iowa Heartlanders this past March at Cincinnati. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher and didn’t play again the rest of the ECHL season. After contemplating hanging up his skates for good, Calverley decided to continue to play and is an alternate captain for Iowa, which begins its season at home this weekend.
The family of first-year Cedar Rapids RoughRiders forward Jason Musa evacuated its home in Southwestern Florida because of Hurricane Milton. Musa is part of a hockey playing family, with his father a former professional player and his brothers college hockey players at Massachusetts.
In the first edition of Corridor Cross Checks for the 2024-25 hockey season, we take a look at the upcoming ECHL season for the Iowa Heartlanders and Week 3 of the United States Hockey League season for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
With NIL exploding and a lawsuit filed to possibly allow major junior players in Canada the chance to play college hockey, how that all could affect the United States Hockey League is a burgeoning topic of discussion.
Winger Loa Milfors came over to North America and the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders this past January from his native Sweden. It was a tough adjustment but he made it and seems in line for a productive second season in the United States Hockey League.
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders won all five of their preseason games and hope to carry that momentum into the United States Hockey League’s regular season. That regular season begins Thursday for the club at the league’s Fall Classic in suburban Pittsburgh.
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