Lady RoughRiders Season Recap

The Cedar Rapids Lady RoughRiders have punched their ticket. That's right, for the second straight year they will be playing in the USA Hockey Tier II U19 Girls National Championship Tournament. That's quite a feat considering they have only been a team for 3 years.

“It's kind of funny actually” says head coach Kevin Brooks. “3 years ago we started with 12 girls and teams would say we got this, they're from Iowa. Now they say we don't want to play them, that's the team from Iowa. They have put girl's hockey on the map for Iowa”

The 2010-2011 season started off like any other with high hopes. The Lady RoughRiders had a great returning core group of players and a couple of key additions that bolstered the line-up. They set the bar high and have taken great strides to reach that bar. The record for this season so far is 19-1-4. That's 42 out of a possible 46 points. Starting the season with an 18 game unbeaten streak propelled the Lady RoughRiders up the Tier II national rankings.

Now they are looking to capitalize on some post season success. “Last year when we got to Nationals we were kind of awe struck and just happy to be there. We didn't play our best hockey. This year the girls know what to expect and they want to redeem themselves.” Said Brooks

The girls post season starts with the Midwest Girls Hockey League Championships in Pittsburgh on Feb 25-27. Then the girls travel to Anaheim, Ca on March 29-April 3 for the National Championships.

If you would like to donate to help with travel expenses please visit www.ladyroughriders.com and click on the paypal tab at the bottom of the page. All donations are greatly accepted and appreciated.