RoughRiders' playoff road is all about the road

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders know their official playoff itinerary now. Considering the way this season has gone, you didn't really expect it to be easy, did you?

It's definitely not. After they complete the regular season with a home game Friday night against Muskegon and a game Saturday night at Waterloo, the Riders will board their bus and head to Youngstown, Ohio - an 11-hour trip.

They begin a best-of-three USHL playoff series Monday night against the Youngstown Phantoms, with Games 2 and 3, if needed, Tuesday and Wednesday. If they survive, they'll stay on the road with a trip to Green Bay likely.

That's another 11-hour ride. A best-of-five series would have its first two games in Wisconsin.

Then, and only then, would the RoughRiders finally get to go home and host a postseason game.

“That's the way it was set up by the league,” RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson said. “For us, we don't really spend much time thinking about it.”

“It's going to be a battle,” said Riders goaltender Jake Hildebrand. “But I feel like we've battled through a lot this season. I think we're really ready for this. Coach has been preparing us for all this in practice, so I think we'll be ready for the challenge.”

They've been presented with challenges all season. It's been a non-stop parade of injuries.

They have only 17 healthy skaters available the rest of the way, including 11 forwards. Two weeks ago, they lost defenseman Greg Amlong and forward Andrew Oglievie in back-to-back games with broken collarbones.

But they refuse to use that as an excuse. They feel like they are playing their best hockey of the season, winners of three in a row.

“I think this group has really come together,” Carlson said. “It sounds cliche, but I do think that they've become real close. They enjoy being together on a daily basis, at the rink and away from the rink. They play for each other. They've come a long, long ways. I think they're excited about getting started.”

Hildebrand agrees. Half the battle in the playoffs is wanting to win instead of wanting the season to end.

Considering the travel they will have to deal with, they will really have to want to win.

“I can tell we do,” Hildebrand said. “All the vets have been through this before. They know what's going on. All the rookies really seem like they want to win. We're really coming together as a team. This is probably the closest team I've ever been on.”