RoughRiders' Saracino feels lucky to be alive after auto accident

CEDAR RAPIDS - In the grand scheme of things, Nick Saracino is alive. He's not playing hockey in that big rink in the sky.

That's not meant to make light of the automobile accident the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders' center was involved in two weeks ago. It was a bad one that could have been worse.

Saracino was parked at a stoplight near Westdale Mall when he was rear-ended by another car that police estimated was going 40 miles per hour. He hit his head on something - presumably the dashboard - and lost consciousness.

“My car is completely totaled,” Saracino said. “I don't remember at all what my head hit. I woke up, and I kind of had a black eye. Don't know how it happened.

“I thought I was fine at first. I went and got something to eat later, and I kept telling myself ‘I'm fine, I'm fine.' Then I finally (realized) that we had a game the next day, so I should probably get checked out. My housing dad took me to the hospital, I did the test and they told me I had a concussion.”

The RoughRiders' leading scorer and top plus-minus player, Saracino has no timetable for a return. Head injuries are a tricky thing. He tried some light running Tuesday at practice but aborted that. He hopes to play again this season.

“I should be able to, I hope. I've got to stay positive. Can't get frustrated. See how it goes,” he said. “Concussions are just so weird, so difficult to predict. This is my first one, so I don't know what to expect. I feel like I'm improving every day... It's just a process, and you've got to take it one day at a time. Hopefully, I'll be back soon.”

His accident is the capper for a team that has had an obscene amount of injuries this season. Three forwards remain out of commission: Saracino, Tanner Pond (broken wrist) and Dylan Gareau (knee surgery).

But they're all alive, and in Saracino's case that's a blessing.

“Yep, I'm actually really lucky,” he said. “My seat belt ripped off me when I got hit. It saved me. When I finally woke up, the seat belt just flew off me. Thank God I had that thing on, or else I would have gone through the windshield.”

Riders' ramblings

---- Cedar Rapids was not active at the USHL trading deadline Monday. Actually, most teams in the league weren't active with only one deal deadline day. Des Moines and Tri-City dealt goaltenders to each other: Phoenix Copley to Des Moines and Christian Frey to Tri-City.

“I like our guys,” said RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson, pointing out that the return of Saracino, Pond and Gareau will be like acquiring three players.

---- Riders defenseman Preston Hodge served a one-game suspension last Saturday, and forward Jack Rowe is serving a two-game suspension for a postgame fracas at the end of last weekend's game at Muskegon. Ten players were given game misconducts, nine for fighting with less than five minutes left in a game.