RoughRiders end losing streak with 3-2 win over Waterloo (w/video)

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's been eight years since the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders have lost six games in a row. That wasn't going to happen again Saturday night.

The Riders got goals from Riley Bourbonnais and Mike Holland less than a minute apart in the second period and beat the Waterloo Black Hawks, 3-2, before 3,624 fans at The Stable.

A nasty little five-game losing streak is history, thanks to a solid all-around performance and a little bit of good luck. Taylor Cammarata's one-timer from inside the faceoff circle in the dying seconds for Waterloo pinged off the goal post.

No tying goal, no six-game losing. Considering the extreme travel the Riders have endured in November and the more extreme rash of injuries, they had some good fortune coming to them.

By the way, three of the five 'Ls' came in either a shootout or overtime, so it's not as if this club has been playing that poorly.

“I thought we did a good job five-on-five tonight,” said RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson. “We're still learning to work, still learning what it takes to win. There's an awful lot of good players on this team. We've got a long way to go, but this was a real good step for us tonight. And, in my opinion, wraps up a real difficult four-week stretch for us. We've gone from Fargo to Youngstown and everywhere in between. I was proud of the way the guys competed tonight.”

Joe Rehkamp put Waterloo (10-6-1, 21 points) on top with a first-period power-play goal, but Bourbonnais tied it for Cedar Rapids (8-4-5, 21 points) by pouncing on a rebound for a power-play goal at 6:07 of the second.

Defenseman Holland scored his first USHL goal 52 seconds later, skating off the bench and into the play, receiving a pass from Anders Schultz at the top of the circles and beating Waterloo goalie Eamon McAdam through the pads. Holland had played 56 games in Cedar Rapids and Chicago the past two seasons without denting the back of the net.

Nick Saracino scored on the power play 1:12 into the third for a 3-1 Riders edge. Tony Camaranesi's man-advantage goal with 3:12 left made it a game down the stretch, but Riders goalie Jake Hildebrand was up to the test late.

Eddie Wittchow actually took a bad interference penalty with 1:48 left, which prevented Waterloo from pulling McAdam for a six-on-five advantage. The Black Hawks still got too good of a look from Cammarata five-on-five.

“I just think in the second period, we got skating,” Carlson said. “We weren't doing that in the first period.”

This marked the sixth game in a row the RoughRiders allowed the first goal in a game, though the coach said that didn't bother him. Cedar Rapids outshot Waterloo by a 39-28 margin.

“Zero concern,” Carlson said. “These guys keep fighting, they keep battling. We don't get concerned with those kinds of stats.”

The RoughRiders host Dubuque on Friday night.

Here's a link to the game boxscore and video of folks throwing Teddy Bears onto the ice after Bourbonnais' goal, as part of a Teddy Bear Toss promotion to benefit Toys For Tots:

http://ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=1660416&refresh=1