RoughRiders win fifth straight, 5-3, over Sioux Falls

By Mike Condon, Correspondent

CEDAR RAPIDS -- They started fast and finished with a flourish.

And the end result was the fifth straight victory for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

Cedar Rapids scored a pair of goals in the game's first six minutes and two more in the final four to down Sioux Falls, 5-3, Friday night in an United States League game at the Cedar Rapids Arena.

Sioux Falls, the last place team in the Western Division battled back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits to tie the game at 3-3 early in the third period on a power play goal from Kyle Rankin.

Cedar Rapids then turned up the pressure on Sioux Falls goalie Charlie Lindgren in the final 10 minutes. The pressure forced the Stampede into not one, but two penalties within 17 seconds of each other giving the Riders a two-man advantage.

"We executed very well on the 5-on-3," said Cedar Rapids Coach Mark Carlson. "That was fantastic. This was a real good win for us."

The Riders wasted little time re-taking the lead as John Gilmour banged home the game-winner with 3:35 remaining. Ryan McGrath added an empty netter with 1:07 left to seal the verdict for Cedar Rapids (22-18-8, 52 points).

Cedar Rapids also welcomed back a pair of players from the injured list. Nick Saracino (concussion) and Tanner Pond (broken wrist) have been missing from the mix for quite awhile. Carlson said he was pleased with what he saw in their first game back.

"I thought they were both real good," Carlson said "(Saracino) was good, Pond was good. It's nice to have 12 forwards to work with. If guys aren't putting the team first we have other guys who can step in there."

The Riders jumped out quickly as David Middleton and Austin Ortega scored in the first period. After Sioux Falls scored early in the second period, Dylan Gareau scored on a tip in to put the Riders up 3-1.

Carlson wasn't surprised Sioux Falls (14-28-5, 33 points) rallied.

"They're a hard-working club," he said.

With his team now on a five-game win streak, Carlson isn't getting overly excited with Omaha coming to the ice arena Saturday night.

"Well it is things as usual for us," he said. "It is a day-by-day deal for us. So we have to live in the present and look forward to tomorrow now.

"They guys are playing really well and really improving," Carlson added, "but we don't get too carried away one way of the other."