Riders look to clinch against sudden rival Dubuque

CEDAR RAPIDS - They don't really need anything else to get themselves psyched for tonight's game.

A victory would be enough for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders to win the United States Hockey League's Eastern Conference and Anderson Cup. So would simply sending the game to overtime.

That those achievements and ensuing celebration would come in front of and at the expense of the Dubuque Fighting Saints would just be a nice little slice of karma, as far as the RoughRiders are concerned.

They'd already have everything wrapped had they not blown a 3-0 third-period lead last Saturday night in an OT loss at Dubuque. Then there were some critical postgame comments about them from Dubuque head coach Jim Montgomery in the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald.

Montgomery credited Dubuque's Brooks Bertsch for changing the game when he went after Ryan McGrath of the RoughRiders in the second period. Bertsch was given a five-minute penalty for fighting and game ejection for instigating, while McGrath (who never dropped his gloves) was handed just two minutes for roughing.

“Brooks changed the game with his emotion,” Montgomery told the Telegraph-Herald. “Everybody knows Cedar Rapids has a few players who like to dive. It's not part of the game, and it's not right. The hockey gods rewarded us tonight.

“Brooks Bertsch refused to let something happen that's a disgrace to the game. I feel bad for the refs who have to deal with it all the time with Cedar Rapids.”

McGrath is a self-professed yapper and agitator and has been known to try and draw a penalty by embellishing contact with an opposing player. He was given a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for diving in a win Wednesday night against Youngstown.

But there didn't appear to be any of that Saturday night, which made Bertsch's decision to engage McGrath curious. Then to have Montgomery, who yelled at McGrath from the Dubuque bench during a game in Cedar Rapids earlier this season, call him and the RoughRiders out publicly was even more curious.

“He can say what he wants,” said RoughRiders defenseman Nolan Zajac. “But in the end, it's all about the final results.”

There was no comment from McGrath about the flap. To no surprise, RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson didn't want to talk about it, either.

“I have zero comment,” he said.

RoughRiders defenseman Andy Simpson and forward Michael Parks disagreed with Montgomery's comments when shown them after practice Tuesday.

“As a team, I don't see us diving all the time,” Simpson said. “I didn't see during that game anything like that. He has a right to his own opinion, I guess. Jumping a guy during a play, I don't think that's a part of hockey (either). That's just my opinion, though. I was out there on the ice with McGrath, lined up right next to him. The guy just wanted to go with him. I don't know. I don't think that was right.”

Whatever side you're on, Cedar Rapids-Dubuque apparently has become quite a rivalry. That's a good thing.