Cedar Rapids forward Cal Burke had a real good feeling when he saw Adam Gaudette pass him the puck in front of the Bloomington goal in overtime Saturday night.

This baby is over!

"There was no way I wasn't scoring that goal," Burke said happily in the noisy RoughRiders locker room after the game. "I really wanted that win."

Burke took a perfect pass from Gaudette and scored with 3 minutes, 14 seconds elapsed in overtime to give Cedar Rapids a 4-3 victory over the Bloomington Thunder before 2,633 fans at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

"Just an absolute beautiful pass," said Burke. "He thread the needle. It doesn't get much better than that."

The RoughRiders rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to get a much-needed victory. Cedar Rapids had lost five of its previous six games and its lead in the Eastern Conference of the USHL was dwindling, but they found a way to get it done.

The RoughRiders reached the midway point of the 60-game regular season with a 22-8 record for 44 points.

Gaudette got the puck from Mitch Reinke Burke to his left with the clubs battling in overtime.

"I saw him going hard to the net," said Gaudette. "I knew he'd be there for the pass.

"I skated up wide and I saw him driving into the middle, like we practiced all week. I threw it to him and he put it home. I just ran over and jumped in his arms."

Burke steered the puck perfectly into the net. Bloomington goalie Logan Halladay never had a chance.

The RoughRiders hit a minor tailspin the last few weeks with five losses, but there was a reason for that. Four players missed five games while playing in an all-star series in Canada, and when that ended two of the Riders had to serve suspensions for fighting.

Cedar Rapids was nearly at full strength Saturday night, but captain Clark Kuster will be sidelined for several months with a separated shoulder. Kuster was hurt in a game on New Year's Eve.

There are still 30 games left in the regular season, but the RoughRiders wanted to turn their fortunes around Saturday night.

"Absolutely," said Burke. "It was the first game we had with a full lineup again. Everyone wanted it real bad. We have to keep that mind-set for every game."

Andrew Oglevie tied the game for Cedar Rapids, 3-3, with 13:15 left in the third period on slick passes from Erik Foley and Reinke. It remained tied for the rest of the period, setting up the five-minute overtime with both clubs skating 4-on-4 instead of 5-on-5 to create more space and more opportunities for somebody to score.

"We kept battling," said RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson. "The third period was our best period.

"We have a long, long way to go," he cautioned. "And I think a lot of people don't understand that. We played OK tonight. That's about the extent of it.

The RoughRiders would finish the regular season with an impressive 44-16 record if they go 22-8 again in the second half, but they don't want to think in those terms. "To be honest," said Burke, "I think we can do better."

The RoughRiders will host Team USA next Friday and Saturday.

Casey Jerry and Foley pulled Cedar Rapids into a 2-2 tie Saturday after Bloomington grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the first period.

Bloomington    2  1  0  0 - 3
RoughRiders    2  0  1  1 - 4

BL - Logan Lambdin (Jalen Smerek)
BL - Vince Pedrie (Tarek Baker, Shane Bednard)
CR - Casey Jerry (Bryce Hatten)
CR - Erik Foley (Andrew Oglevie, Jiri Fronk)
BL - Jack Jenkins (unassisted)
CR - Andrew Oglevie (Erik Foley, Mitch Reinke)
CR - Cal Burke (Adam Gaudette, Mitch Reinke)