Displaced RoughRiders head back to the road

CEDAR RAPIDS - A few Cedar Rapids RoughRiders wandered out the side door of their locker room Wednesday afternoon to watch some of the state volleyball tournament. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

The Riders are being temporarily displaced as main tenants of the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena while the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union takes over. It's a one-year thing, while the U.S. Cellular Center is remodeled.

Call this a minor inconvenience.

"It's a little different," said RoughRiders defenseman Blake Butzow. "You don't have pro teams here, so a lot of people pay attention to us, I guess. This week it's volleyball. It's nice to kind of stay low key."

The Riders have had to practice on the Ice Arena's Olympic-sized rink this week. That's about the only significant difference.

The team is in a stretch of four in a row, seven of eight games and 11 of 13 on the road, including Friday night at Fargo and Saturday night at Sioux City.

"We play the schedule they gives us," RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson said.

They're playing that schedule with significant injury issues right now. Carlson doesn't like to divulge particulars, so it doesn't get out to opponents, but it is known that defenseman Chris Dienes is out with a broken wrist.

He and teammate Ryan McGrath (broken wrist) were among four players who missed Wednesday practice because of injury or illness. Cedar Rapids dressed just five defensemen in their win last Saturday over Muskegon.

"We'll just keep playing," Carlson said.