RoughRiders look to get healthy on the ice, in the standings

CEDAR RAPIDS - Ryan McGrath walked into the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders locker room late Tuesday afternoon with a doctor's note and a smile.

“Just been cleared,” McGrath said.

That the second-year winger can begin playing again is great news for a hockey team that hasn't had much so far this United States Hockey League season. The Riders begin second-half play Wednesday night at home against Youngstown and Friday night at home against Green Bay in need of some positivity - and victories.

Cedar Rapids closed the pre-holiday portion of its schedule with two wins in its last 14 games. A 9-9-7 record and fifth-place spot in the Eastern Conference at this point of the season is unheard of under head coach Mark Carlson.

Primarily blame an extreme rash of injuries that began in the preseason and hasn't stopped. Five players didn't practice again Tuesday: McGrath, forwards Tanner Pond, Dylan Gareau and Anders Schultz, and defenseman Michael Holland.

Pond is out an extended period of time with a broken wrist, the third player on this team to suffer that injury. McGrath and defenseman Chris Dienes were the other unfortunates. Schultz is representing Denmark at the World Junior Championships.

“I've never seen anything like this before, but you've got to find a way to get things done, you know?” Carlson said. “It's not only been the long term, we've placed three players on the 45-day (Injured Reserve List), but it's been the two and three and four-week type (injury) stuff. But you need to find a way. There are no excuses in this game.”

The forward position has been particularly affected by the injury bug, which explains why the RoughRiders have had difficulties scoring. They have 70 goals in 25 games, but consider 10 came in one game early in the season against Sioux City.

Take that game out, and the Riders are averaging 2.4 goals. That's not nearly enough.

“We need to play more as a team,” said center Nick Saracino, who leads his club with 20 points in 25 games. “We need a good (work) ethic every game. We've got to work hard, not take the battles personally. We want to start catching teams in the standings, so this is a big weekend for us.”

On another positive note, Cedar Rapids has played the fewest home games in the USHL, so the second-half schedule should be a boon. There seems to be enough talent around to make a second-half push.

Now if it can only get healthy and stay healthy.

“We've had a lot of injuries, a tough travel schedule,” Saracino said. “But we don't make excuses. We still try and win games with whatever we've got, whoever we've got. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are.”

“The whole team concept,” Carlson said, when asked what in particular needs improvement. “That's understanding that on any given night, we need everybody. That everybody is as important as the other guy. Nobody is more important than somebody else ... In this league, nobody cares what you do as an individual. No one. What people care about is ‘Do you win?'”