The Iowa Heartlanders clinched a spot in the ECHL playoffs Sunday. Derek Damon has put together a successful team in his fourth season in the Corridor, his third as head coach and general manager. It has been hard work, for certain, but well worth it for the Maine native, whose ultimate goal is being a NHL general manager some day.
The Cedar Rapids Kernels flew into town Monday to begin preparations for the 2025 Midwest League baseball season. The club announced its 30-man opening-night active roster, and it is stacked with six infielders who are ranked in the top 25 of prospects in the Minnesota Twins farm system.
The Iowa Heartlanders dropped a 3-2 overtime decision Sunday afternoon to Wichita at Xtream Arena. But that one standings point and a Bloomington loss allowed the club to qualify for the ECHL playoffs for the first time in the four-year history of the franchise.
It has a whirlwind month for Mason Kraft. The 18-year-old forward won Minnesota’s prestigious Mr. Hockey award and helped Moorhead High School to its first state championship. Now he’s in town for the rest of this season and all of next as a member of the Cedar Rapids RoughRIders.
The Iowa Heartlanders have eight games remaining in the ECHL regular season, including seven at home. The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders have seven games left in the USHL regular season. Both clubs look are looking good for qualifying for the playoffs in their respective leagues.
The Iowa Heartlanders are in second place in the ECHL’s Central Division and looking very, very good for getting into the league’s playoffs. This has been the most successful season for the five-year club on the ice, without a doubt. How is has fared in one-goal games is the big reason for that.
Mark Carlson, the only coach the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders have had, broke the United States Hockey League record for most regular-season games coached when his team beat Waterloo, 3-0, Saturday night. Carlson is nine away from tying the league record for most USHL regular-season victories.
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders head coach/general manager Mark Carlson will tie and break the United States Hockey League record for most regular-season games coached this weekend. Carlson will tie the record Friday night at home against Dubuque and break it Saturday night at ImOn Ice Arena. He’ll be honored pregame Saturday night.
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders acquired forward Noel Ohgren in a trade from the USHL’s Fargo Force earlier this season, and the 18-year-old from Sweden has paid big dividends for the club. Ohgren’s brother, Liam, is with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Their father, Andreas, is a personal trainer who has worked with many NHL players from Sweden over the years.
The Iowa Heartlanders are conducting a Women In Sports Night for their ECHL game Saturday night at Xtream Arena against Kalamazoo. Part of the promotion is a Hockey 101 Class pregame and appearances by players Mellissa Channell-Watkins and Sophie Jacques of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
The parent Minnesota Twins announced Tuesday that Brian Meyer will be the manager of the 2025 Cedar Rapids Kernels. Meyer has been manager at low-Class A Fort Myers, getting into professional baseball after a long stint as a college coach.
Guerin Slezak is only 18 years old but is the captain of this Cedar Rapids RoughRiders hockey team. In his second season in the United States Hockey League, he is the quintessential defensive defenseman.
Rookie William Rousseau of the Iowa Heartlanders has been one of the ECHL’s top goaltenders, someone whom the NHL’s Minnesota Wild think highly enough of to have him recently sign a two-way American Hockey League contract with the Iowa Wild for the remainder and a one-way deal next season in order to keep him in their system. Rousseau’s grandfather, Bobby, played 940 NHL games and won four Stanley Cups ... as a forward.
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