The Iowa Heartlanders played four ECHL games in five days last week, in three different cities. But they beat Kalamazoo and Wheeling and lost to Fort Wayne in a shootout, picking up five of a possible eight standings points. Meanwhile, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders lost twice in their annual Thanksgiving home and home against Waterloo, one in overtime.
Former NHL player Adam Johnson died in late October when his throat was accidentally slashed by the skate of an opposing player in a professional hockey game in England. Since that tragedy, whether players of all ages should wear protective neck guards has become a hot topic.
Here is a look at the two hockey clubs representing the Corridor. The Iowa Heartlanders are on a winning roll, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders lost twice last week and have had their top goal scorer leave.
The Iowa Heartlanders were the last team to win an ECHL game this season, but they’ve won four in a row after toppling Utah, 3-2, Wednesday morning at Xtream Arena. The play of goaltender Peyton Jones has been integral in this run.
Shortstop Noah Miller of the Cedar Rapids Kernels was named Tuesday a recipient of a Rawlings Gold Glove for the minor leagues as the best defensive player at his position at any level of the minors.
Defenseman Joel Kjellberg of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders played all last season with the club but didn’t have a goal. He already has six of them in 16 games this season.
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders had one of those rough three-games-in-as-many-days weekends, all in three different cities. But they won twice and lost in a shootout, picking up five of six possible standings points.
Winger Pavel Novak was promoted last week to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. He returned to the ice after a season away two weeks ago with the Iowa Heartlanders, scoring a pair of goals in two games, his first after recovering from treatment for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Defenseman Ryan Philbrick was a 12th-round pick of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in last year’s United States Hockey Leaue Phase I Draft. He didn’t make the team, but the Riders liked him so much they drafted him again this past spring in the seventh round.
In the first edition of Corridor Cross Checks for the 2023-24 season, we look back at the first two games of the ECHL season for the Iowa Heartlanders and the first nine games of the USHL season for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
Longtime professional coach Barry Smith helped run practice earlier this week for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, a guest of Riders Coach/General Manager Mark Carlson. Smith has seven Stanley Cup championships to his credit, has coached in Russia and Sweden. But the 72-year-old’s goal today is making younger players and coaches better.
The Iowa Heartlanders begin their 2023-24 ECHL season with home games Thursday and Friday nights against the Rapid City Rush at Xtream Arena. The third-year club has struggled on and off the ice its first two years but feels confident about making strides both ways this season.
See photos as the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders hosted the Green Bay Gamblers in USHL hockey Saturday night at ImOn Ice Arena.
© 2025 The Gazette | All Rights Reserved.
Daily Newsletters