Newbie Jordan Timmons helps C.R. RoughRiders beat Waterloo in a shootout, 5-4

CEDAR RAPIDS — His head is still spinning a little bit. This week has been a whirlwind for Jordan Timmons.

But it ended in fantastic fashion.

The newest Cedar Rapids RoughRider helped his club to a 5-4 shootout win Saturday night over Waterloo at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena. Timmons scored a goal, added an assist and had the winning try in the shootout as the Riders ended a nine-game losing streak.

'It was a little crazy coming in,' Timmons said. 'One night, I'm told I'm traded, the next day I'm here practicing. So it was a tough transition. But these guys have made it so much easier. We have a great team here, I think we're going to be so much better the second half of the season. I'm really excited.'

An 18-year-old Pennsylvania resident, Timmons was acquired in a trade Tuesday from the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he'd had a goal and nine assists in 20 games. He brings size (6-foot-2, 203 pounds) and skill to the table.

The University of Connecticut commit was Muskegon's first-round draft pick in Phase II of the 2016 USHL Draft. Central Scouting Service has him listed as a 'C' prospect, which means he has a chance to get taken in this summer's National Hockey League Draft.

'I wasn't playing a whole lot in Muskegon, and I had told them a little earlier that if they didn't see a spot for me there to send me somewhere where I would play,' Timmons said. 'They did that, and I think I'm showing that I belong in this league.'

'I just like that he plays hard,' said Riders Coach Mark Carlson. 'He wins pucks, he's heavy on pucks, it's hard to get the puck back from him. He's got a tremendous release (on his shot). And I really like his character so far. He seems to be a real team guy, and he wants to get better. I'm looking forward to working with him.'

The RoughRiders (4-25-2) played uphill virtually the entire game but continually fought back and found a way to get this one. In fact, the only time they led was at the end.

Waterloo's Bailey Conger hopped on a rebound after an initial save from Cedar Rapids goaltender Drew DeRidder for a power-play goal 4:21 in. That's the way the game stayed until early in the second period, when Timmons tied it with his regulation goal.

Waterloo scored back-to-back goals 37 seconds apart later in the period to take a 3-1 lead, giving everyone that here-we-go-again feeling. But Cedar Rapids got a goal from Jason Polin and another from Bobby Hampton to tie it going to the third.

Waterloo defenseman Jake Ryczek scored his second goal of the game, on the power play with 1:40 left to put the Black Hawks back ahead, 4-3. But with DeRidder pulled for an extra attacker, C.R. defenseman Scott Perunovich returned serve with a point shot that found the net with just 31.4 seconds left to tie it.

It's only the second time this season that Cedar Rapids has scored four goals in a game.

Ethan Johnson began the shootout with a successful try for Waterloo, but Polin and Timmons countered. DeRidder stopped the final two Black Hawk attempts to end it.

It's the second win this season for the RoughRiders over their Interstate-380 rival. Their only other two wins have come against Madison.

'I've been saying it all year that there have been nights where we've played real good hockey, but we haven't gotten the results that we wanted,' Carlson said. 'We did a lot of good things last night (in a 3-2 loss to Sioux Falls), too. We've got to continue to shore up our mental errors. But we stuck with it. We just needed one shot there to tie it.

'Then it was a great job there in shootout by Drew, and Polin and Jordan Timmons burying it. That was great. I'm happy for them. These kids have been working their tails off all year long. It's one game, now it's move on to the next one.'

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