Cedar Rapids, IA – The Dubuque Fighting Saints (24-9-2-0, 50 pts) visit the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (18-10-2-4, 42 pts) on Sunday for an afternoon matchup.
Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup:
1. Barron Books
Forward Michael Barron scored a goal and added an assist in Saturday's 4-1 win in Des Moines. The pair of points brought his career total to 122, tying Connor Kurth for fourth all-time in Dubuque history.
Barron has 48 goals and 74 assists over 164 career games and will tie Max Burkholder for eight all-time in games played on Sunday. Barron has a career-high 11-game point streak entering Sunday, scoring seven goals and 22 points over the last 11 games.
2. Saints Starts
Dubuque opened the scoring on Saturday for the 12th-straight contest, scoring a power-play goal in the first period in Des Moines. Teddy Merrill's 21st goal of the season, his 10th on the power play, put the Saints ahead.
The Saints have won nine of the last 12 while scoring first and have points in 10 of those contests. Merrill's power-play tally marked the 11th-straight game for Dubuque's power play.
3. Good Goaltending
Vojtech Hambálek made 28 saves on Saturday, earning his 17th win of the season. The Czechia native has won four-straight games and seven of his last eight starts.
Dubuque's goaltender is 2-1 against Cedar Rapids this season, but was pulled after three goals in the first period in Dubuque's only visit to Cedar Rapids on Nov. 7.
4. Lock Links
Gavin Lock scored his 14th goal of the season on Saturday night, rushing up ice and snapping a goal from the left wing. Lock has goals in three of the last four games for Dubuque.
The Western Michigan commit also has goals in five of his last eight games, obliterating his total from his rookie year. The forward is taking advantage of a larger role in his second season, scoring 14 in 29 games after scoring twice in 27 last season.
5. Rider Rush
The RoughRiders wrap up a three-game weekend on Sunday after splitting the first two this weekend. On Friday in Chicago, the Riders nearly erased a three-goal deficit in a 3-2 loss to the Steel.
The RoughRiders returned home to take on Waterloo in Cowbell-Cup action on Saturday, taking a 2-1 win on a game-winner by Sullivan Miller with 1:50 left in regulation.
Sunday's matchup begins at 4:05 p.m. CST at the ImOn Ice in Cedar Rapids. The game can be found on Eagle 102.3 and FloHockey.
