The Iowa Heartlanders hit the road Tuesday afternoon for their ECHL game Wednesday night at Kansas City. The ECHL and Professional Hockey Players’ Association officially ratified a new collective bargaining agreement
Saturday night saw the ECHL and Professional Hockey Players’ Association release a joint statement saying a potential new collective bargaining agreement has been agreed upon, with striking players expected to return to their teams to prepare for games before the new year.
ECHL hockey players went on strike Friday after attempts at negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement between the ECHL and Professional Hockey Players’ Association failed. The Iowa Heartlanders had their scheduled home game against Bloomington at Xtream Arena postponed, with weekend games Saturday and Sunday on the road against the Bison very much up in the air.
The Professional Hockey Players’ Association says hockey players in the ECHL will go on strike Friday unless a new collective bargaining agreement with the league is finalized. The sides have been negotiating since June, after the current CBA expired. The Iowa Heartlanders are a member of the ECHL and have a home game scheduled Friday night at Xtream Arena against Bloomington.
How many guys can tell you the stick curves used by other players? That’d be Keltie Jeri-Leon of the Iowa Heartlanders. The 25-year-old from British Columbia is a self-professed “hockey nerd.”
Elliot Desnoyers scored with a minute left in three-on-three overtime Wednesday as the Iowa Heartlanders beat Kansas City, 5-4, at Xtream Arena. It was just the third home win this season for the ECHL club and came on its annual Kids Day, with 2,300 tickets reserved for school children from the Corridor area.
Photos from field trip day at the Iowa Heartlanders vs. Kansas City Mavericks hockey game at Xtream Areana in Coralville, Iowa on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.
In this week’s edition, we crunched the numbers in games between Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams in the United States Hockey League. The East is dominating them.
The Professional Hockey Players’ Association released an open letter to fans last week that gave its side of ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations between it and the ECHL. The PHPA said it is seeking proper rest for its players, increased salaries and renumeration for corporate and jersey auctions.
The ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders had a tough three-in-three weekend road trip over the weekend. The club lost Friday night at Cincinnati but rebounded to win there Saturday and Sunday at Toledo, despite posting just nine shots on goal.
Here’s another edition of Corridor Cross Checks. Forward Jason Musa of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders is a point-per-game player thus far in his second season in the United States Hockey League.
Defenseman Nolan Orzeck began his professional hockey career in the 2022-23 season with the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders. After almost three years in Texas and Finland, the 24-year-old Calgary native is back in the Corridor.
Justin Graf of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders has had a fine start to his United States Hockey League acreer, picking up six goals and 11 points in his first 11 games. The promising forward wants to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Collin, a forward for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.
It was a three-in-three weekend for the Iowa Heartlanders this past weekend as the ECHL regular season began. And it was three one-goal games for the Heartlanders, who went 2-1. The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders split a pair of USHL games this past weekend.
Jaxon Nelson scored a pair of goals Sunday for the Iowa Heartlanders in their 5-4 loss at Xtream Arena to the Tulsa Oilers. A former captain for the University of Minnesota hockey team didn’t play a ton of minutes last season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, something that won’t be the case this season.
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