Winger Nico Blachman of the Iowa Heartlanders is a fan favorite and engaging guy who left his Florida home at 13 to play prep school hockey in Minnesota. He has played for 20 junior, college and professional teams in 10 years and vows to keep going as an enforcer type of player.
At this point last month, Mark Carlson was believed to be on the verge of setting the United States Hockey League record for most career coaching victories. But the league then discovered they had miscalculated Carlson’s win total. Having already reached out to RoughRiders alumni and others in the hockey world for comment on playing for Carlson, The Gazette has decided to not wait until next season when Carlson does indeed break the USHL wins record. Here is what NHL players like Ross Colton had to say.
The Iowa Heartlanders beat Wichita on three consecutive days last week. The ECHL club gave up just four goals in those games. The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders dropped three games last week.
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders have picked up standings points in their last six USHL games to climb into a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Part of the surge can be credited to the goaltending tandem of Rudy Guimond and James Norton. Guimond, a Detroit Red Wings draft pick, has been here all season. Norton joined the club in January after beginning the season in the NAHL and excelling in a short emergency stint with Dubuque of the USHL.
The lease for the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders at Xtream Arena in Coralville runs out at the end of this season. Team president Matt Getz said he is confident in an extension and excited about an uptick in home attendance since Christmas.
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders head coach/general manager/president Mark Carlson is two wins shy of tying and three from breaking the United States Hockey League’s career coaching victories record. The Riders play three games this weekend.
Forward Gavin Hain was a draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers who signed an ECHL contract with the Iowa Heartlanders in September. But he’s spent most of this hockey season in the American Hockey League with the Iowa Wild. He’s back in Coralville ... for now.
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders scored three goals in the third period to rally past Sioux City, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at ImOn Ice. The Riders won two of three games in a three-in-three weekend, playing three different goaltenders.
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders have played terrific hockey on the road this USHL season, accumulating 21 of a possible 32 standings points. But they’ve won just three times at home in 18 games, tied for the fewest in the league.
Drew DeRidder signed with the Iowa Heartlanders in the offseason despite knowing he’d begin the ECHL season as the club’s third goaltender. He finally is getting an opportunity to play and is making the most of it.
Defenseman Colin Grable is the captain of this season’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders team. He will turn 21 next week, making him the oldest player on the team and one of the oldest in the United States Hockey League.
Hunter Lellig is from Waterloo, played junior hockey for his hometown Waterloo Black Hawks. After five years of college hockey, he is playing professionally back home with the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL.
Forward Jack Larrigan has played over 140 regular-season games in the USHL. He has played for three teams, the latest the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, where he has excelled.
As the new year rapidly approaches, it seems the perfect time to reflect on the the Corridor’s two hockey clubs have done so far this season. Here’s a look at how the Iowa Heartlanders and Cedar Rapids RoughRIders have fared and what their goals should be heading into 2024.
Iowa forward has degree in kinesology, but wants to keep hockey option open, too
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