Corridor Cross Checks: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders surging in part due to goaltending tandem

CEDAR RAPIDS — James Norton said it better than anyone else probably could have said it.

“It’s been kind of a crazy year for me, bouncing around a little bit,” the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders goaltender said. “But I’ve been happy everywhere I’ve ended up. I’m glad this season is ending in Cedar Rapids.”

The 20-year-old from Scarborough, Ontario, played junior hockey home in Canada last season and eschewed invitations to summer tryout camps by some United States Hockey League clubs to sign with the Minot Minotauros of the North American Hockey League, where he played for former RoughRiders goaltender Cody Campbell. The NAHL is Tier II junior, the USHL is Tier I.

Norton tore it up, getting a call from the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints to come in and be their goalie for a couple of weeks while their regular netminder played in the World Junior Championships. He tore it up some more, catching the attention of the RoughRiders, who added him to their roster in mid-January.

He’s 6-3-1-1 with a 2.96 goals against average in 11 games with Cedar Rapids.

“Talking to family and everyone else, this was just a really good opportunity,” Norton said. “It was unexpected when I got the call to come here.”

The University of Massachusetts signee has combined with Rudy Guimond to form a very nice goalie tandem for the RoughRiders, who are 5-0-1 in their last six games. Cedar Rapids has crept up to sixth place and the final available playoff spot in the USHL’s Eastern Conference.

“I think Norts has done a nice job, Rudy has done a real nice job,” said RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson. “Norts has some experience behind him, for sure. Rudy, like any young forward, D or goalie, is gaining experience. Now it’s March, and all of his hard work and efforts have paid off. But we’ve just got to stay focused on the next game.”

“Calm in the net. Not a lot of movement,” Norton said, describing his game. “Ultimately I’m just trying to stop as many pucks as I can anyway I can.”

The RoughRiders head to Michigan this weekend for a tough pair of games against the United States National Team Development Program’s Under-18 team. That’s the older of The Program’s two teams that compete in USHL games.

Cedar Rapids swept last weekend, beating Eastern Conference leader Dubuque at home, 5-3, then winning at Waterloo, 4-2. Zack Sharp was named the USHL Defenseman of the Week after notching two goals and two assists in those games.

Cedar Rapids has 11 regular-season games remaining.

“I think we’ve been improving all year. I think that’s really it,” Carlson said. “Every game matters. We’re competing our tails off, we’ve worked hard. This team has been through an awful lot this year, more so than any time. Obviously we’ve added some really nice players, our players who have been here have improved. We’ve made decisions to move some players, we’ve had a couple of people mysteriously leave. We’ve been through all kinds of things. That’s life, that’s junior hockey. Our guys have fun playing, it’s a really good group right now. Our dressing room is way better today than it was in October.”

Iowa Heartlanders lose 4 in a row

The Iowa Heartlanders are fading of late, the losers of four straight, including a pair this past weekend at Wichita: 4-3 on Saturday night and 5-2 on Sunday. The four-game losing streak comes on the heels of a three-game win streak.

Iowa has a 22-28-5-2 season record for 51 standings points. That’s seventh and last in the ECHL’s Central Division.

The Heartlanders are 14 points back of Fort Wayne for fourth place and the final available playoff spot in the division. On the good side, the club has 15 remaining regular-season games, 12 of them being at home.

That includes three week against the Wheeling Nailers: 6:35 p.m. Wednesday, 6:35 Friday and 6:05 p.m. Saturday. The final six regular-season games for Iowa are at Xtream Arena.

The Heartlanders rank last in the ECHL in goals with 155. Rookies Louis Boudon and Casey Dornbach lead the team in points: Boudon has 37 in just 39 games (15 goals, 22 assists, as he has spent time in the American Hockey League with the Iowa Wild.

Dornbach has 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) in 40 games.

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