Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
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The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team playing in the East Division of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Before moving to Cedar Rapids in 1999, the team was based in Mason City, where they were known as the North Iowa Huskies. The RoughRiders' new name was chosen in a contest, where a local teacher at Roosevelt Middle School in Cedar Rapids submitted Roughriders, as it was the school's mascot.
The RoughRiders' home ice is the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena. The team has been to postseason play the last six years in a row.
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[edit] 2004-2005
The 2004-05 season was an important one in the team's history. The Roughriders finished first in the East Division with a record of 42 wins, 13 losses, and 5 overtime losses, for 89 points in the standings. They tied the West Division champions Omaha Lancers for the regular season overall title, the Anderson Cup.
After three-game sweeps against the Indiana Ice and Chicago Steel, the Roughriders suffered their first playoff loss against the Sioux City Musketeers, 2-1, on May 1st. After splitting games in Sioux City, the Roughriders finally defeated Sioux City at home on May 9th, 4-1, to win their first USHL championship, the Clark Cup, and therefore, their first Tier 1 national championship in American junior hockey. Goaltender Alex Stalock took most valuable player honors for the series.
In postseason awards, Roughriders coach Mark Carlson was named Coach of the Year, and two Roughriders were named to the All-USHL second team.
[edit] 2005-2006
As of the end of the regular season, the Roughriders have won the Eastern Division on goal differential against the Des Moines Buccaneers, while both compiled 33 wins, 21 losses, and 6 overtime losses. Also, the Roughriders clinched the Corridor Cup against the archrival Waterloo Black Hawks.
The Roughriders survived a close division semifinal against the Indiana Ice, defeating them 3 games to 2, before bowing to eventual Clark Cup champion Des Moines in a three-game sweep.
Roughriders player Chad Costello finished on top of the league scoring race with 76 points, and teammate Ted Purcell finished on top of the assists list with 52.
[edit] 2006-2007
After starting the season fluctuating with the fortunes of new starting goaltender Pat McGann, the Riders finally traded him off to Chicago, especially after a very bad play in which he skated to the bench with the puck creeping into the goal to seal another early loss. As McGann caused his new team no small amount of grief, fortunes improved for the Roughriders from there, and by late season, the Riders were in the middle of another Anderson Cup race with Omaha. Kent Patterson took over as the next great goalie for Cedar Rapids and has led the team to 37 wins, 18 losses, and 5 overtime decisions for 79 points and a heartbreaking division and Anderson Cup loss to Waterloo to end the season.
In the first round, they comprehensively destroyed the Junior Blue Jackets in a four-game sweep by scores of 8-0, 1-0, 5-1 and 5-2. But the thirteen day break between series cost the Riders as they lost both their round-robin games and were knocked out of the USHL playoffs, the last loss being to, of all teams, Waterloo.
[edit] 2007-2008
The 2007-2008 edition of the Roughriders finished in third place in the East Division with a 33-22-5 record. The Roughriders were lead in net with Brady Hjelle. The Roughriders were swept out of the play-offs in the first round by the Waterloo Black Hawks.
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