Riders shoot and shooting works

CEDAR RAPIDS -- It's not cool to dangle the puck. OK, it looks cool, but the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are told it's cooler to shoot.

They took that mentality into the third period of Friday night's game against the Sioux Falls Stampede and it worked.

Left winger Ryan McGrath took a breakout pass from defenseman Tommy Fallen, bolted by a Sioux Falls defender and threw a wrist shot between goalie Stephon Williams' legs for a 4-3 lead just 31 seconds into the third period.

The Riders (32-10-5) made it stand, winning 5-3 at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena in a matchup two 60-plus point teams in the United States Hockey League.

"It's not cool to do a bunch of fancy things with puck, but it is cool to shoot it," McGrath said. "We took that into the third period. We wanted to get pucks on the net."

McGrath's game-winner was textbook "shoot" mentality. Williams stopped the Riders all night on better chances than the low wrist shot that McGrath unleashed from the boards.

"Ryan's playing well," Riders coach Mark Carlson said. "We want him to shoot the puck more and he made that work for himself in the third period." 

A wild first period settled in the second, when Cedar Rapids held Sioux Falls to just two shots on goal, taking a 25-13 lead in shots. Sioux Falls (28-16-6) finished with 18 shots, getting off just seven after the first period.

"We had a couple chances to block shots in the first period and didn't," Carlson said. "We contested more after that."

The Riders' first line dominated.

McGrath finished with a goal (his 10th) and two assists. Right wing Michael Parks scored two first-period goals. Center Cason Hohmann had a goal and assist.

"We've got some good chemistry going," McGrath said. "We talk a lot out there and that showed up tonight." 

The Riders jumped on the board just 36 seconds off the puck drop.

Parks took a feed from McGrath and beat a couple Sioux Falls defenders to his right and through the slot. He drew Williams left and fired a wrister into the open net on the right. It was Park's 20th goal this season.

The momentum from the quick goal didn't last long.

Sioux Falls tied it with 14:48 left in the first period when right winger Ryan Jacobson set up in front of Riders goalie Brady Hjelle and tipped in defenseman Clark Cristifoli's slap shot from the point for his 19th goal this season.

Just 38 seconds later, Sioux Falls got a goal out of left winger Dominic Zombo's breakaway. Zombo fought off Hohmann and got the puck to Hjelle. Right winger Sam Coatta jammed in the rebound for a 2-1 lead with 14:10 left in the first. It was Coatta's 13th goal.

But the first period was only getting started.

On the penalty kill, Hohmann broke free and got pinned on the boards in Sioux Falls' end. He saw Parks breaking to the goalmouth and passed him open, leading him to a breakaway that Parks tipped between Williams' legs for a short-handed goal and a 2-2 tie with 10:20 left in the period.

"That was a pretty play," McGrath said.

The tie lasted less than six minutes.

All five Riders collapsed on a Sioux Falls breakaway, leaving defenseman Jordan Oesterle with an open slap shot from the blueline that he banked off traffic and into the net for a 3-2 lead with 4:46 left.

The lead lasted 34 seconds.

McGrath whiffed on an open shot deep in the Stampede's slot, but the puck trickled to Hohmann, who swept in his 19th goal and tied it 3-3 with 4:12 left in the first.

After McGrath gave Cedar Rapids the lead in the first minute of the third, center Jayson Megna scored his team-high 27th goal of the season, a quick wrister from the far wing, for a 5-3 lead with 9:45 left.

Three Stars

1. CR Ryan McGrath -- First-line winger had two assists and the game-winning goal, a quick wrist shot from the far wing just 31 seconds into the third period.

2. CR Michael Parks -- First-line right winger scored two goals in the first period and now has 21 this season.

3. CR Cason Hohmann -- First-line center picked up a goal and an assist, a beautiful set up to Parks for a shorthanded goal in the first period.