RoughRiders beat Indiana in Game 2, 5-3

CEDAR RAPIDS - Getting out of the first period alive was like playing with house money. The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders made sure they took that cash home.

The Riders scored five unanswered goals between the end of the first period and beginning of the third and held on for a 5-3 win over Indiana in Game 2 of this first-round USHL playoff series.

Cedar Rapids goes for a sweep tonight as the best-of-5 series shifts to Indianapolis.

“We're just taking it a period at a time,” said RoughRiders winger Derek DeBlois.

DeBlois and David Boehm had two goals apiece and Cason Hohmann one for Cedar Rapids. Boehm's were of a very timely manner, with his hustle play in the final two minutes of the first period resulting in a goal that tied things at 1-1 and gave his very outplayed team a huge lift.

Indiana had all the jump in the first period, getting a strong forecheck going that continually hemmed the Riders in their own zone. Goaltender Troy Grosenick held the fort, continuing his strong play from Game 1, until Alex Wideman scored on a rebound at the 13:17 mark for the Ice's first goal of the series.

But Boehm skated hard after a fluttering puck that crept toward Cab Morris, whacking away at it in his pads until it finally went into the net.

“They were outplaying us. We knew that,” said Boehm. “Troy was backstopping us pretty well. We got our composure in the locker room and went over some things, and we got it done in the second.”

“Yeah, we were fortunate to have a 1-1 tie,” DeBlois said.

It was a completely different Riders club in the second. Boehm scored just 1:39 in to put Cedar Rapids up, 2-1, then DeBlois added a goal at 3:15 and Hohmann a power-play goal at 10:08.

And the Riders had two breakaway attempts that Morris stymied. Cedar Rapids was outshot in the first period, 16-5, and outshot Indiana in the second by the very same margin.

“Hey, we're just a bunch of youngsters on this team, going through our first playoff experience,” said Riders Coach Mark Carlson. “I'm real proud of the guys. They battled and played, I thought, an excellent 45 minutes of hockey and found a way to win the game.”

DeBlois scored again 27 seconds into the third for a 5-1 Cedar Rapids lead. Three consecutive Boehm penalties, two of the questionable variety, led to back-to-back power-play goals for Indiana midway through the third that made it a game.

But the RoughRiders persevered. Grosenick made 31 saves for the victory in net.

“He did what real good playoff goalies do,” Carlson said. “He made the saves to keep his club in there. Then the guys go out and score. That's teamwork.”