There might be a lump of coal on Christmas morning for the RoughRiders following Saturday's 5-1 loss to Indiana at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

The loss was the sixth in the last seven games for Cedar Rapids (13-9-1). That includes the fourth loss in the last five games at home in The Stable.

"We've just got to play smarter," RoughRider Coach Mark Carlson said. "We're playing hard, we've got to play smarter. Bottom line."

The RoughRiders will all scatter and head home for the holidays, then return on Dec. 26. They play at Des Moines (10-12-2) on Dec. 27 and at home against Waterloo (18-5-1) on Dec. 28.

"We've got to come back focused after break," forward Andrew Poturalski said. "It'll be good for everyone to step away from the game for a bit. Come back and look at it as a fresh start for the second half of the season."

It's been rough sledding for Cedar Rapids since Thanksgiving. The RoughRiders have gone 1-6, picking up just two points.

Dubuque (33 points) and Team USA (33) lead the USHL Eastern Conference going into the holiday break, followed by Indiana (32) and Green Bay (29). Cedar Rapids is in fifth with 27 points.

The teams Cedar Rapids lost to this weekend - Indiana and Chicago - have been the hottest teams since Thanksgiving. Each has picked up 11 points over that span.

Indiana (14-5-4) didn't take too long to assert itself on Saturday. Aidan Muir got a 1-on-1 chance with RoughRider goalie Chris Birdsall, faked low and wristed in a top shelf shot with 6:44 left in the first period.

The Ice went up 2-0 when Dwyer Tschantz hit one in from the glove side off a pass from Denis Smirnov.

Cedar Rapids got a little momentum back with a goal midway through the second period. Ivan Provorov scored in the final seconds of a power play to make it 2-1.

But the Ice scored a mere 10 seconds later. Birdsall was setting the puck behind the net and was slow to get back in position when Scott Conway hit one in.

Momentum left before Cedar Rapids even had a chance to enjoy it in front of the 1,960 fans Saturday at The Stable.

"There were some costly mental errors," Carlson said. "Some communication things. Being in the right spots."

Adding to the frustration for the RoughRiders was failing to convert on seven other power plays. Cedar Rapids outshot, Indiana 27 to 19, but had little to show for it.

"It's tough when they come down and get one, when we've been having all the chances and can't get one," Poturalski said. "It's tough that way."

"We just couldn't score," Provorov said. "That's our problem right now."

Indiana got a long-distance goal by Jason Salvaggio midway through the third period, then added a fifth goal in the final two minutes by Conway on a two-man advantage power play.

It marked the sixth time this season Cedar Rapids has given up five goals or more. The RoughRiders are 0-6 in those games.

"I think we outplayed them at times," Poturalski said. "We just couldn't seem to find the back of the net. We couldn't get one to get us jump-started.

"We had a lot of chances. A lot of power plays. We couldn't capitalize them."

Indiana goalie Jason Pawloski had 26 saves.

Cedar Rapids scored just one goal in each loss this weekend.

"We play hard, then for two shifts, we're not in it, and the other team scores goals," Provorov said. "That's hard for us."

"It's just a lot of mental things," Poturalski said.

The RoughRiders are just 23 games into a 60-game season. There's time to regain playoff form.

"I've got to keep working with the guys, and focus on the positive and keep getting better," Carlson said. "We'll get back to work on the 26th."

"I think (the break) is going to help us a lot," Provorov said.

Indiana            1 2 2 - 5
Cedar Rapids    0 1 0 - 1

Period 1
Ind - Aidan Muir (Austin Kosack) 13:16.

Period 2
Ind - Dwyer Tschantz (Scott Conway) 2:50.
CR - Ivan Provorov (pp) (Dylan Steman) 12:53.
Ind - Scott Conway (Dwyer Tschantz, Denis Smirnov) 13:03.

Period 3
Ind - Jason Salvaggio (Tyler Andrew) 7:03.
Ind - Scott Conway (pp) (Dwyer Tschantz, Bradley Johnson) 18:29.