McGing, Colton grow to become brothers

CEDAR RAPIDS - Thursday night was a special night at the Moffatt house in Cedar Rapids.

Dan and Tanya Moffatt and their children, 14-year-old Becca and 17-year-old Andrew, were gathering around the kitchen table for the annual Halloween task of cleaning out pumpkins and carving faces into them.

Their other 'sons” were going to be there, too. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players Hugh McGing and Ross Colton live with the Moffatts and wouldn't miss carving pumpkins for anything.

'When they first move in, we tell the kids ‘We consider you to be a part of our family,'” Tanya Moffatt said. '‘How much you choose to be a part of our family is up to you.”

McGing and Colton are kind of what the United States Hockey League is all about. They're from totally different parts of the country (McGing from Chicago and Colton from Robbinsville, N.J.), thrown together last fall to live despite not knowing each other or the people taking them in.

They've grown to become forward linemates on the ice and friends off it, not to mention a definite part of the Moffatt family.

'The other morning, Ross was making breakfast, and Hugh was jumping in and helping,” Moffatt said. 'Hugh was cracking all the eggs open, while Ross was cooking hash browns. I think that shows why their line works together so well.”

'It's definitely nice to have someone around you've lived with for a couple of years,” McGing said. 'Ross and I are really close. That's a good thing to have.”

Their relationship took awhile to develop. Though they attended Cedar Rapids Washington High School together, Colton (19) was two years older than McGing (17).

Colton is a huge New Jersey Devils fan, McGing a diehard Chicago Blackhawks rooter. That's oil and water.

'It's just like first time living out here, not being used to having a brother,” Colton said. 'We got rid of that really fast, though. Playing ping pong in the basement, watching Netflix together and hanging out and having a good time, now we have a really good relationship.”

They profess to having similar personalities, though Moffatt described McGing as being a little more quiet. When told there is usually one voice in the RoughRiders locker room that always seems to be heard more distinguishably than others, she knew exactly who it belonged to.

'Let me guess. Ross?” she said with a laugh.

'We've got a whole new team this year, and I think some guys are still pretty shy,” Colton said. 'So after a win, some guys might not feel comfortable jumping around in here. But I like to loosen the room up a little bit. I try and get guys more comfortable with each other, so I can do that by joking around and dancing or whatever, I'll do it. Just try to get guys to open up a little bit.”

Colton leads the RoughRiders with nine points (three goals, six assists) in eight games, with McGing chipping in with three goals and two assists in eight games. Cedar Rapids (5-2-1) hosts Bloomington on Friday night and Des Moines on Saturday night.

'I think we're the same personality wise,” McGing said. 'We're not much different. We're both outgoing, both like to have fun.”

'You need to get them together and get them arguing a little bit,” prodded RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson.

Apparently that happened the other day before practice, during the team's Kangaroo Court. Not many guys agree with the fun-hearted fines they are assessed.

'I think those two have always been buds,” said Riders defenseman Logan Von Ruden, who lived with McGing, Colton and the Moffatts last season. 'But their relationship has, for sure, gone from just buddies to basically brothers.”

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