Riders lose in shootout, hit the long road

CEDAR RAPIDS - There are unfair schedules, then there's what the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders face this weekend.

The Riders rallied for a pair of late goals but lost in a shootout to Indiana, 3-2, before 3,486 fans Friday night at the Ice Arena. A tough loss but a good standings point to get.

Everyone quickly showered postgame, packed their gear and hit the bus for a late-night trip to Chicago, where they were to hole up in a hotel room for a few hours before reboarding their bus and driving to Youngstown, Ohio, for a 6:05 game Saturday night against the Phantoms.

Let's repeat that. Home game Friday night, an interrupted 10-hour drive to Ohio to play 20 hours later.

“It's a great challenge,” said Riders center Nick Saracino, who scored a goal and set up the Anders Schultz's game-tying goal with 2:49 left. “No excuses. Just go out and work hard and get two points.”

But how realistic is it for a hockey club to get two points in the above extreme-travel scenario? Word is RoughRiders' brass protested to the USHL when they first saw the schedule, but the league didn't change it.

“It is a grind, but that's what this league is all about,” said Riders defenseman Mike Holland. “Nothing you can do, that's the way it's scheduled. So head out there and play our game.”

It was telling that RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson didn't want to touch the subject with a 10-foot pole. To make matters worse, Cedar Rapids will return home after Saturday's game, with an expected arrival time of roughly 8 a.m. Sunday, then try and prepare for games Wednesday and Thursday at Dubuque and Waterloo, respectively.

“I would say you can feel free to write as much as you want on that one,” a coy Carlson said. “We're going to get on the bus and get after it. But it'd certainly be an interesting topic to write about.”

The Riders are besieged by injuries, with seven guys unable to play or playing at less than full health. Make that eight, considering winger Davey Middleton, acquired this week from Tri-City, broke his hand after playing less than one period.

Canadian forward Dylan Gareau is expected to be in the lineup Saturday after being acquired from the New Jersey Hitmen of the lower-level Eastern Junior Hockey League. Goalie Matt McNeely played very well Friday night but suffered the loss when Daniil Tarasov and Cody Gylling scored in the best-of-three shootout.

"We battled tonight and tied the game, and that's our approach every single night," Carlson said. "Nothing is easy, and anybody can make excuses. People with character and heart and desire pick themselves up and rally and find a way to get it done."

Here is a link to the game boxscore:

http://ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=1660329&refresh=1

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