Corridor Cross Checks: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders pick up offensive firepower in trade

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders made a trade splash last week when they acquired forward Jack Musa from the Madison Capitols.

The Riders gave up a 2023 Phase I fourth-round draft pick, Phase II second and sixth-round draft picks and future considerations to acquire Musa, 19, who is in his second season in the United States Hockey League.

A Boston University commit, Musa, a Florida native, had 17 goals and 33 points in 38 games this season for Madison, which has fallen out of playoff contention. He had 19 goals in 57 games last season for the Capitols.

The RoughRiders also acquired a 2023 Phase I sixth-round pick and Phase II eighth-round pick in the trade.

Cedar Rapids split a pair of games with Dubuque this past weekend, winning at home, 5-2, and losing the next night on the road, 3-2. Dylan Hryckowian had two goals.

Zaccharya Wisdom had a goal in both games last weekend. He leads the RoughRiders with 24 this season, which ranks fourth in the USHL.

C.R.’s Ryan Walsh leads the league in assists (34) and is second in points (50).

The Riders have an 18-15-4-2 record for 42 standings points, which is sixth of eight teams in the Eastern Conference. The division is tightly packed, with just six points separating second and sixth place.

Cedar Rapids plays Friday night at first-place Chicago (55 standings points), then hosts Waterloo at 7:05 Saturday night.

Iowa Heartlanders

The ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders will be playing on home ice for awhile. A long while.

A seven-game homestand at Xtream Arena begins this weekend. The Wheeling Nailers make the trip from West Virginia to play the Heartlanders on Friday and Saturday night at 7:05 and Sunday afternoon at 2:05.

Iowa split a pair of road games this past weekend, winning at Indy, 4-2, and losing at Toledo, 6-2.

Tommy Parrottino scored his team-best 13th goal for the Heartlanders in the win. Darion Hanson made 33 saves for his first victory in net since being acquired in a trade from the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates.

Iowa has a 10-25-9-1 record for 30 standings points. That’s seventh and last in the Central Division.

The top four teams in the division qualify for the Kelly Cup playoffs. The fourth-place team in the Central is Fort Wayne, with 52 standings points.

Attendance talk

As we begin the home stretch of the hockey season, let’s take a look at how the clubs representing the Corridor are faring at the gate.

The Heartlanders have drawn 36,161 fans in 20 home games, an average of 1,807 per game. That is last in the 28-team ECHL.

Wheeling is next to last at 1,903 fans per game. Fort Wayne leads the league with an average of 7,689, followed closely by Toledo at 7,549 and Jacksonville at 7,321.

The RoughRiders have drawn 43,291 in 22 home games at ImOn Ice. That’s an average of 2,061 fans per game, which is ninth out of 16 teams in the USHL.

Sioux Falls is at the high end of USHL attendance at 5,007 fans per game. The United States National Team Development Program is last at 1,155 fans a game. Youngstown is next to last at 1,212.

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