Wednesday begins a six-game stretch over the next 12 days for Dubuque.
The Dubuque Fighting Saints play host to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at ImOn Arena in the only game on the USHL schedule Wednesday night.
The game begins a busy stretch for the Saints (27-11-0-1, 55 points), who will play three games in back-to-back weeks and six over the next 12 days.
Wednesday’s meeting with Cedar Rapids (17-19-1-2, 37 points) also begins a stretch of Cowbell Cup games, with five of the next six matchups counting toward the Cup. Dubuque leads the Cowbell Cup by six points over second place Waterloo, with nine games remaining in Cowbell Cup play.
The contest with Cedar Rapids also marks the fourth in a five-game homestand for the Saints, the club’s longest of the season.
In their last game, Dubuque had its five-game home win streak snapped in convincing fashion with a 6-1 loss to the Lincoln Stars Saturday. The Saints were never in the contest, allowing Lincoln to score three goals within the first 4:55 of play. Dubuque did manage a split of the weekend, maintaining first place in the Eastern Conference.
The last previous loss on home ice for the Saints, ironically, came against the RoughRiders on Dec. 27, 2024.
Dubuque has done well coming off a loss, going 9-2-0-0 following a defeat. They have not suffered a loss in back-to-back games since Nov. 8 and 9.
The Saints and RoughRiders will be seeing a lot of each other, as they will meet three times over the next six games. After that, they won’t meet again until the final USHL regular-season game.
In their last outing on Saturday, the Riders came away with a 4-2 home victory over the Fargo Force, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Home cooking hasn’t been kind to Cedar Rapids of late; the club has won just three of its last nine contests on home ice.
The RoughRiders will be making their second trip to ImOn Arena this season. The club’s offensive production is the lowest in the USHL, netting just 2.74 goals per game.
Also on Wednesday, the Saints and RoughRiders completed a trade. Defenseman James Mackey went to Dubuque along with a 2025 Phase I sixth-round pick and a conditional pick. Dubuque sent a Phase II fourth-round pick, a Phase II ninth-round pick and a conditional draft pick to the Riders.
In a separate move, the Saints traded forward Ritter Coombs to the Sioux Falls Stampede for a Phase II third-round pick and a conditional pick.
Puck drop for Wednesday’s game is set for 7:05 Pm CT.