Lady RoughRiders ready for nationals

CEDAR RAPIDS - Kevin Brooks calls them the local version of the Jamaican Bobsled Team.

The hockey director at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena and former Cedar Rapids RoughRider started the first all-female hockey squad last year. This week, the Cedar Rapids Lady RoughRiders play in the USA Hockey Tier II Under-19 national tournament in East Lansing, Mich.

Like the Jamaicans in the 1988 Winter Olympics, there are a lot of people asking just what this team from little old Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is doing there.

“The best way to put it is we are a second-year team competing against teams that have had programs for 15 years,” Brooks said. “This is our second year of existence, and we're top 10 in the country. They're going to the national stage. That's pretty good.”

The Lady RoughRiders qualified for the 10-team national tournament by sweeping a best-of-3 series from a team from Chicago two weeks ago for the Tri-State Regional championship. They begin their quest for a national title Wednesday against the Michigan Ice, finishing pool play with games against the Nashville Flyers and Pennsylvania Quakers.

Can they win it all? Not many thought they'd get this far.

“For us, it's kind of like a mini Stanley Cup,” said Maddie Rainey of Cedar Rapids, whose father, Jack, is an assistant coach. “This is like our chance to (win that). It's like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because it might not ever happen again. So you've got to know that and realize that as you're going through the games.”

“I think we have a chance at winning some games if we play like we have been,” said Haley Schmelzer of Cedar Rapids. “We've been staying together through a lot of things this year, and if we play like we did at our districts, we can do anything we really want to.”

There are 18 Lady RoughRiders, ranging in age from 13 to 18. They are not strictly a Cedar Rapids team, considering squad members come from as far away as Forest City and Mason City.

Other cities represented include Atkins, West Branch, Iowa City and Solon. Yet this diverse group has definitely jelled into a “team,” posting a 22-6-4 record.

Not bad for a newbie.

“It's fantastic to have this group of girls go to nationals,” said Schmelzer. “We've tried so hard to do everything we've done ... It's amazing to be the first girls' team from Iowa to do this. It's a dream come true for everybody.”

Brooks said he wants his team to win this week, naturally, but also wants it to appreciate and enjoy being on the national stage.

“I'm really putting the emphasis on the experience,” he said. “That does two things for us. One, this is something they'll have the rest of their lives. They can say they're the first team to do this. They're paving the way. And, also, we play real well when we just go out and don't worry.”

“Anything can happen,” Rainey said. “We have a lot of potential and the opportunity to (do well). We've just got to prove it.”