Corridor Cross Checks: Mark Carlson’s reaction to his 750th career coaching win typically low key

CEDAR RAPIDS — You ask Mark Carlson about starting a Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Hall of Fame, and he flicks away that notion like a good goaltender uses his blocker to deflect a puck harmlessly to the corner.

Too many good players here over the years, he says. He doesn’t want it to be just about hockey anyway, because that’s only part of what his program has been about all these years.

It’s about preparing kids for life, to be successful away from the rink, not just at the rink.

“We told the team this, and I like it, people are starting to talk more about sports teams, talking about the brand,” Carlson said. “The RoughRider brand has always been about teamwork first. Nobody above the team. It’s been like that forever, since day one, before we even played a game.

“So I’ve always felt that it’s important not to have a RoughRiders Hall of Fame and flat out, in some respects, put some people ahead of others. That’s why we haven’t done that.”

If there ever comes a time when a HOF does become a thing, the first person inducted should be Carlson. That’s an easy one.

He hit the 750-win plateau for his head coaching career Saturday night when the RoughRiders beat Muskegon, 7-1, at ImOn Ice. The only coach Cedar Rapids has had since its inception into the United States Hockey League for the 1999-2000 season, Carlson has a 750-546-110 overall record.

He’s 33 wins away from tying P.K. O’Handley for the USHL record for most career coaching victories.

“I certainly don’t want to diminish it because of the respect I have for the league and everybody involved in the league,” Carlson said. “I’ve been fortunate to be involved in it. (750 wins) are nice, for sure. But at the same time, we’re just working away on the same stuff, the day to day. We played a real tough opponent Saturday night in Muskegon and were able to win, and that was first and foremost.

“The other situation was nice to have been a part of it”

Carlson’s RoughRiders have won a Clark Cup (2004-05) and three Anderson Cups for most regular-season standings points in his 23 years at the helm. He has developed over 500 players who have gone on to net Division I college scholarships, 41 National Hockey League draft picks and 28 players who have played in the NHL.

They include multiple-time Stanley Cup winners Alec Martinez and Ross Colton.

His phone blew up with congratulatory texts Saturday night. But other than that, a graphic on the arena scoreboard announcing his milestone, a game puck presented to him by his team in the locker room postgame, and a couple of slices and drinks downtown at Need Pizza, that was about all the celebrating that was done.

You really shouldn’t have expected anything else.

“We’ve got them well trained on being focused on the task at hand,” Carlson said about his team, smiling. “We’re just excited about our group, looks like we’re going to get some guys back now that have been on the sidelines for us injured. We’re just really excited about what the team can do moving forward.”

The Iowa Heartlanders

It’s just a whole ball of woe right now for the ECHL club.

The Heartlanders dropped three in a row at home over the weekend to the Fort Wayne Komets. Of course, there had to be an overtime defeat in there somewhere, which came Sunday in the series finale, 3-2.

Iowa got a pair of goals from Tommy Parrotino for a 2-1 lead but gave up a game-tying short-hander with 3:42 left in regulation, then Shawn Boudrias’ winner 2:13 into the three-on-three OT. The Heartlanders have lost nine overtime games this season and another in a shootout.

Fort Wayne picked up a 5-2 win Friday night and a 2-1 win Saturday night at Xtream Arena. The Heartlanders went 0-5-1 in their six-game homestand against Fort Wayne and Toledo and are winless in their last nine games overall (0-7-2).

Iowa has a 7-22-9-1 record for 24 standings points, seventh and last in the ECHL’s Central Division and next to last overall in the league to Norfolk (17 standings points). The Heartlanders have scored a league-low 94 goals and lost two players last week to an ECHL callup (forward Mitchell Balmas) and ECHL PTO (defenseman Riese Zmolek), both to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.

This Weekend

The RoughRiders have a home-and-home series against the Chicago Steel. Friday night’s game is at ImOn Ice, with a 7:05 opening faceoff. Sunday afternoon, the Green Bay Gamblers come to Cedar Rapids for a game that begins at 4:05.

Chicago leads the USHL’s Eastern Conference with 47 standings points, eight up on the RoughRiders, who are in fifth place in a division in which first through sixth place is separated by just nine points.

The Heartlanders hit the road for three games this weekend. That would be Friday and Saturday night at Wheeling and Sunday at Fort Wayne.

The Heartlanders still have not won a road game this season, an 0-13-7-0 record.

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