Dubuque, IA – The Dubuque Fighting Saints (27-14-2-0, 56 pts) visit the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (20-14-2-5, 47 pts) on Saturday night.
Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup:
1. Bounced Back
The Fighting Saints rebounded after a loss on Thursday night against Madison to beat Cedar Rapids on Friday at home. Friday's win was the second shutout of the season for the Fighting Saints, both by Vojtech Hambálek.
On Friday, Dubuque allowed just 19 shots in the victory, while scoring four times on 19 shots of its own.
2. Clutch Conversion
Gavin Lock scored the first of two goals in Friday's win late in the second period, recording his seventh game-winning goal of the season. Lock is tied for the league lead in that category.
The second-year Fighting Saint scored a second goal for Dubuque early in the third, logging his 18th goal of the season overall.
3. Dubuque Detail
Kris Richards scored an empty-netter on Friday for the Saints while on the penalty kill, counting for the team's league-leading eighth shorthanded goal of the season.
Dubuque's penalty kill stopped all three chances it faced in Friday's shutout win. Overall, the Saints have allowed just one power-play goal in the last five games.
4. Saints Sauce
Teddy Merrill assisted on both of Lock's goals on Friday, climbing within one point of Michael Barron for the team lead.
Merrill leads the team with 23 goals and now has 21 assists to total 44 points on the season. Merrill joined Lock on a new-look line on Friday, playing alongside Barron on the top line.
5. Rider Wrinkles
The RoughRiders had won two-straight against Dubuque entering the weekend, but the Fighting Saints made their limited opportunities count in the 4-0 win.
The Riders entered the weekend fourth in the USHL with just under 26 shots allowed per game. Despite holding the Saints to 19 shots on Friday, the RoughRiders could not stop Dubuque's league-leading offense in the final 25 minutes of the game.
Saturday's game begins at 7:05 p.m. CST at ImOn Ice in Cedar Rapids. The game is also available on Eagle 102.3 and FloHockey.
