Series preview: Chicago Steel vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

Center Ice Forums JUNIOR Chicago Steel Series preview: Chicago Steel vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

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  • #12776
    Ray Napientek
    Keymaster

    EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (best-of-five) GAME 1 – CEDAR RAPIDS AT CHICAGO          Saturday, April 20, at 7:05 p.m. GAME 2 – CEDAR RAPIDS AT CHICA
    [To continue reading full article, click here: Series preview: Chicago Steel vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders]

    #12777
    Mister Ricochet
    Participant

    Alright, Ray!   Nice work, sir………..

    A  Jrs roster turns over every yr for the most part but there are two USHL franchises that have an identity beyond the players and Cedar Rapids is one of them.  Coach Mark Carlson has been their only coach in their 19 yr history, is only one of two coaches to have 600 USHL wins (PK O’Handley of Waterloo the other) and is part owner of the club.  Simply said he is an institution.

    When a long time fan of the league plays Cedar Rapids they are playing Mark Carlson.  This guy used to ice the fastest team in the league, had a top offense yr in and yr and was always at the top of his conference as his 600 wins will attest but things have changed.  His club has missed the playoffs for 3 straight yrs and he now ices a more stout and less high octane group. ………. Not smart enough to know but wonder if the league has caught up to Carlson as it has improved to be a top jr league on earth but Carlson didn’t get dumb all of a sudden.   His group will be prepared, coached up and it’s just a matter of executing.

    His group will stand the Steel up, get in their faces and make em earn ice and will be backstopped by Blake Pietila who backed up Isiah Seville for the USA in the Ivan Hlinka tournament.

    Yes the Steel are 3-1-1 vs CR this yr but 3 of those were one goal games and 2 went to OT.   So this looks to be a really tight series that has the look of going 5 games.

    As you point out Ray the Steel score and the Riders stop teams from scoring.  Playing the Steel it seems you need to score 4 to win as they average around there and give up about that amount, which brings me to the #1 key to the series, Steel goaltending.

    Adam Robbins is their undisputed #1 for better or worse the kid will play.  Only 7 goalies have had more games.    Of all USHL goalies who had at least 1,200+ minutes in the 17 team league Robbins ranks TWENTY FOURTH in save percentage humming along at an .874 clip!!

    His last 3 games he has sported a save percentage of .733, .762 and .783 (at least he’s improving)!!!   Don’t have to be a hockey genius to know unless your group scores 6-7-8 goals you ain’t gonna win with goaltending like that and you ain’t gonna do that vs a Carlson group with any regularity if at all.

    Now Moore is more or less mandated to start Robbins.   My question is if the kid is digging pucks out of his net will he go to #2 Herbst.   So to me it all starts with Robbins and if he stinks will coach make the change and if he does will it be too late.  To me coach has to walk a fine line, a line that may cost this fantastic roster and offense the series.

    Now #2 Herbst doesn’t have a much better save percentage than Robbins but it is this fan’s opinion he takes the difficult starts to shelter Robbins.   He gets the starts vs top teams like his last 2 games vs 1 seed in the East Muskegon and 2 seed in the West Waterloo and 5 games vs Team USA.   His last 2 games were against Waterloo and Muskegon, he got the wins and put up .973 and .955 save percentage allowing 1 goal in each game.

    So to my eye it all starts in the Steel net and how coach navigates that.   Not much room for error as these two clubs were only separated by 1 point in the regular season.

     

     

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