In this week’s Corridor Cross Checks, we write about a good week for both the Iowa Heartlanders and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. And about the University of Iowa men’s club hockey team, which has qualified for the ACHA Division II national tournament.
Corridor Cross Checks: Tanner MacMaster was playing professional hockey in Sweden, but wasn’t entirely happy with his situation there. His old Quinnipiac teammate Kevin McKernan began selling him on the merits of playing in the ECHL with the Iowa Heartlanders, and now here MacMaster is, making a difference.
HS journalism: Ingersoll playing for Cedar Rapids RoughRiders high school team, trying to move up and move on in his hockey career
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and Youngstown Phantoms are playing their USHL game Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, home of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders acquired forward Jack Musa from Madison in a significant USHL trade last week. Musa was Madison’s leading scorer, a two-year USHL player and commit to college hockey power Boston University.
The Iowa Heartlanders lost their first 20 ECHL games this season away from Xtream Arena. That streak came to a halt this past weekend, with the club winning back-to-back games Wheeling.
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders lost three games in three days this weekend, including a ... rough ... 3-2 overtime loss Sunday to Green Bay at ImOn Ice.
Photos from Sunday’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders game against the Green Bay Gamblers, a 3-2 Green Bay win in overtime.
If you know anything about Mark Carlson and his approach to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders junior hockey program he has built over 23 seasons here, you know there wasn’t much of a celebration of his 750th career coaching victory this past Saturday night.
Mark Carlson has been the only coach the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders have had since their inception into the United States Hockey League in the 1999-2000 season. Carlson won his 750th career game Saturday night as his Riders beat Muskegon .
Iowa Heartlanders defenseman Bo Hanson set a franchise record for games played when he spent three seasons of junior hockey with Muskegon of the USHL. Then it was five seasons of college hockey at three different schools. As a pro, he’s been property of three ECHL franchises already.
Cliff Broxey of Cedar Rapids is a season-ticket holder for Cedar Rapids RoughRiders home hockey games and attends practice multiple times a week at ImOn Ice. The 73-year-old man loves the RoughRiders, and they love him right back.
Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders has had one heck of a month on the ice. He was part of a United States national team that won a gold medal at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge, was to take part in Monday night’s BioSteel All-American Game in Michigan, was included on NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings of potential NHL draft pick. He’s also had two hat tricks and leads the USHL in scoring by defensemen.
The Iowa Heartlanders are last in the ECHL’s Central Division in large part due to lack of success in close games. Meanwhile, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are on a heater, winning their last five games and going 7-2-0-1 in their last 10.
Brendan and Riley Fitzgerald are part of a true hockey family, their fathers front-office guys for their respective National Hockey League clubs. The first cousins grew up playing together and have been reunited this season as members of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
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