Conor Lovett’s pair of goals lift Cedar Rapids RoughRiders to 4-1 win over Green Bay

CEDAR RAPIDS — He insists there’s no pressure.

Conor Lovett is 20 years old, will turn 21 in early May. That ages him out of the United States Hockey League.

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders forward left Merrimack College last year after his freshman season in search of a new Division I hockey home. The clock is ticking for him, but he’s not panicking.

Games like Sunday afternoon probably show you why.

“I just wanted a legitimate time to develop for college. So that’s what I’m doing, and we’ll see how it goes,” Lovett said, after he scored twice in the Riders’ 4-1 win over Green Bay at ImOn Ice. “I’m talking to a few schools right now. I’m not too worried. I’m just trying to take my time with it and focus on playing right now.”

A native of Franklin, Mass., located between Boston and Providence, R.I., Lovett’s goals (his ninth and 10th this season) were beauties.

He took a pass from teammate Adam Flammang and ripped a shot from the low right circle over the shoulder of Green Bay goaltender Rastislav Elias for a power-play marker just 1:05 into this game. Midway through the second period, he found space in the slot, received a pass from teammate Jake Percival and wristed one off the inside of the left post and into the net for a 2-1 Cedar Rapids lead.

Brendan Fitzgerald and Andy Moore scored in the final six minutes of the third for the final margin. Moore’s goal came on the always rare 2-on-0 after a Green Bay turnover at the RoughRiders blue line.

“Conor’s getting better all the time,” said RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson, who picked up a win on his 53rd birthday. “Two goals tonight, has been producing of late. Been killing penalties for us all year, plays on the power play, been real good on faceoffs, has good speed. He’s a real good player.”

Lovett’s older brother, Ryan, plays at Dartmouth, so perhaps that’s where he’ll end up. Who knows?

“This is a very similar league. Just a lot of great guys, a lot of great players, all Division I hockey players,” Lovett said. “There’s not a huge difference (between D-I and the USHL), so the jump from here to college is not very big, I’d say.”

These teams split their weekend home-and-home series. Green Bay (17-17-2-1, 37 standings points) won at home Saturday night, 3-2, with the RoughRiders (15-18-1-1, 32 standings points) arriving home around 4 a.m.

Puck drop was just 12 hours later. Just part of it in the USHL.

Bruno Bruveris was sharp in net, stopping 22 of 23 Green Bay shots. The RoughRiders had 36 shots on goal, outshooting the Gamblers in the third, 11-3.

“I thought we got better as the game went on, for sure,” Carlson said. “The penalty kill was good (Green Bay was 0 for 3). We worked hard for our goals, got a real nice game in there from Bruno in the cage, which was good. And we’re learning about the league. I think this was the first time we got home at 4 in the morning and then had to play at 4. That’s the first time we’ve done that, and with so many new players, we’re learning that. It was a good job by the guys.”

Cedar Rapids hosts Chicago on Friday night, then travels to Dubuque the next night. It sits in seventh place in the eight-team Eastern Conference, five points in back of fifth-place Green Bay and Youngstown.

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