RoughRiders hop on Team USA early in 8-1 romp

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Maybe it was the spiffy uniforms, with the new logo and black numbers and letters on the back instead of green. Maybe it was getting out of town for practice this week, traveling to Coral Ridge Mall on Wednesday because the Cedar Rapids Titans had possession of their arena.

Maybe the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders were just tired of not playing well. They were out and out great Friday night, scoring twice in the first 1:19 and pounding USA Hockey's Under-17 team, 8-1, before 3,225 fans at The Stable.

"We've been struggling a little bit finding wins," said Riders winger Austin Ortega. "This game definitely brings us back up."

Now if they can only back it up Saturday night with another strong performance against Chicago. The Riders (18-18-8, 44 points) have been consistently inconsistent much of this USHL season and were absolutely punchless during a four-game losing streak low-lighted by three straight losses last weekend.

But Ryan McGrath scored at the 55-second mark Friday night, with Ortega adding a second quick goal just 24 seconds later. Landon Smith and Dennis Kravchenko added goals late in the period to help Cedar Rapids build a 4-1 lead.

"I really thought we had a lot of jump in the first period, and that helped us," said Smith, who recorded a three-point, plus-four night. "That kind of carried us through the game there. We played at pretty much the same tempo the rest of the way."

"We all just really brought our 'A' game tonight," said Ortega, who added another goal early in the third period. "We were hitting, were all over the puck. That really led us to our win."

Goalie Jake Hildebrand was pulled after allowing two goals on two shots last weekend at Omaha but was strong in a 33-save performance in his first game since. Forward Dylan Gareau returned from the injured list and scored a goal in his first game mid-January.

Chris Dienes and Andrew Oglevie also had goals for the RoughRiders. Every player in the lineup finished with a plus rating, sans defenseman Blake Butzow, who was even.

"I thought last Saturday and Sunday, we did lots of good things," Riders Coach Mark Carlson said. "I think we're continuing to get better. It was nice to get Dylan back in the lineup tonight. Hopefully we can build on some things."

Here's a link to the game boxscore:

http://ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=1660401