RoughRiders seek to turn around all those closes losses

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's been a long time since the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders have struggled like this. A long time.

First of all, that's a direct credit to head coach/general manager Mark Carlson for putting a consistent winner on the ice here. Second of all, these struggles might not be quite as bad as they look on the surface.

The Riders go into their weekend home-and-home set with the Green Bay Gamblers (the USHL's top team) losers of eight of nine games. You have to go back to the 2002-2003 season to find a similar stretch.

“They're battling,” Carlson said. “Hey, this is a tough league. Every night is tough. The guys are trying, and we've been in some real tough hockey games. We just want to make sure we keep working hard, keep improving.”

Carlson knew this was an inexperienced club going in, but he didn't plan on all the injuries the RoughRiders have incurred. It began preseason with well-considered rookie forward Jack Rowe and has gotten worse.

Defenseman Chris Dienes and forwards Ryan McGrath, Davey Middleton, Thomas Forgione and Jared Linnell have missed the last month-plus with a variety of ouchies. There are only 11 available forwards right now, with Carlson dressing seven defensemen in recent games because of that.

“It's not easy, but there are positives to it,” he said. “Guys get double shifted, it's a good opportunity for a lot of guys. I don't think that would have anything to do with any of our results.”

Those results have included four losses during this stretch in either shootout or overtime and another that was one goal in regulation. Despite the youth and lack of health, the RoughRiders have been right there.

They just haven't quite been good enough.

“Every game is close, it's not a blowout,” said defenseman Greg Amlong. “It's not like we're getting killed or anything. We're not scoring enough, obviously. Three goals in three games (last weekend), that's unacceptable. We've got to score more to win games. We've got to keep the puck out of our own net, too.”

Take a 10-goal performance in the third game of the season out of the equation, and the RoughRiders are averaging 2.5 goals. As Amlong said, that's not good enough.

On the positive side is that second-year center Nick Saracino has developed into a top-notch overall player, and free-agent find Gerald Mayhew has 10 goals in 19 games. The goaltending duo of Jake Hildebrand and Matt McNeely has begun to solidify.

And Cedar Rapids still is 8-6-6, its 22 points good placing it in fifth place in the Eastern Conference but just seven points out of second. As guys start to get healthy, you would think the win-loss record and team point total would, too.

“I just think guys have got to raise their level,” Carlson said. “They've got to step up and get the job done. Make that play, whether it's to score a goal or to prevent a goal. Then there's your difference.”

“We've been in every game, and that's what hurts the most sometimes,” said captain Stu Wilson. “Sometimes I think it's just the way bounces go. But sometimes a more proactive approach is to look at yourself and say ‘What did we do wrong? What do we need to do better?' I think that's what this week of practice has been about for us. It's a huge week to try and respond and maybe get one of those games the other way, where we come out on top by a goal. We've got to find a way to get it done.”

The Riders conclude the pre-Christmas portion of their season with three games next weekend in Ann Arbor, Mich., against Team USA.

Here is a link to up-to-date team statistics:

http://ushl-cedar.stats.pointstreak.com/teamplayerstats.html?teamid=3131&seasonid=7561

ON TAP: The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders host the Green Bay Gamblers Friday at The Stable, with an approximate 7:15 opening faceoff.

SCOUTING REPORT: Cedar Rapids (8-6-6, 22 points) lost all three games last weekend and has dropped eight of nine overall. The Riders are in fifth place in they USHL's Eastern Conference, though seven points out of second. Green Bay comes in with a league-best point total of 35, on a 17-3-1 record. The Gamblers are 12-1 on the road. The teams play again Saturday night in Wisconsin.

PROMOTIONS: Santa Claus will make an appearance at the rink Friday night. Fans can get $2 off their ticket with a canned food donation, which will benefit a local food reservoir. There also are micro-brew beer specials.

TICKETS: $10 to $20 at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena box office (261-4625) or online at www.ridertownusa.com.

ON THE AIR: KMJM-AM (1360) or at the team website.