There was plenty of concern on their faces as the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders watched teammate Nick Master wheeled from the ice on a stretcher Saturday night.

But the Riders never lost their focus during the approximately 20-minute delay needed to tend to Master, who suffered a left leg injury late in the second period after getting dumped to the ice by Chicago’s Danny Fetzer.

Cedar Rapids scored on the power play awarded on Fetzer’s takedown of Master and added another goal just before the end of the period.

The second-period surge along a perfect period of penalty killing in the third resulted in a 4-1 victory before 2,962 fans at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

With their fifth win in the last six games, the Riders (18-13-1, 39 points) remained in third place in the Eastern Conference, behind Indiana (47 points) and Dubuque (39).

Cedar Rapids Coach Mark Carlson didn’t have an update on Master's condition following the game. The Rider winger had his left leg placed in a splint and he was taken to a local hospital.

“It’s all about mental toughness,” Carlson said of his team’s response after the delay. “It’s never good to see something like that, but we stayed focused.”

Cedar Rapids captain Nathan Widman said the players were thinking about Master, but was quick to add that those type of injuries are a part of playing hockey.

“When you see one of your teammates go down, that is always tough to watch,” Widman said. “But we know getting suited up every night that there is always a  risk of facing a serious injury like that. We wish (Nick) the best of luck, but we all know that it is just a part of hockey.”

Another part of hockey is momentum and Master's injury seemed to inspire the Riders.

The teams traded goals in the first period. Chicago (16-17-2, 34 points) scored first when Robby Jackson took advantage of a Rider turnover and snapped one past Danny Tirone at 3:49 of the period.

Judd Peterson evened the score at 9:51, putting one home off a scramble in front of the net.

Cedar Rapids got a break to take the lead. After killing off a Chicago penalty, the Riders found a streaking Alec Marsh coming out of the penalty box and he scored on the breakaway at 15:20.

Then came Master's injury and the delay. Just 13 seconds after the resumption of play, Brennan Sanford took a feed from behind the net to make it 3-1. The lead grew to 4-1 when Frederik Tiffels scored in the final minute of the period.

“There was a long lull there (after Master's injury) and it was important that we stayed focused and scored a couple goals,” Carlson said.

Widman said Carlson’s message was simple after the delay.

“He told us we still had 3 1/2 minutes left and close strong,” Widman said. “We came out there with a little juice and scored a couple.”

The third period saw the Riders kill off seven penalties, including two 5-on-3 situations. Goaltender Danny Tirone was brilliant, stopping 40 of 41 shots.

“You always have to have your goaltender being your best person on the PK,” Widman said. “Danny did that tonight and we were able to clear a lot of their shots away so they couldn’t get any rebounds. (The penalty kill) has been something that has been really good for us the last few games.”

Despite the Riders’ recent hot streak, Carlson says there is plenty of work ahead.

“I wouldn’t say we are any kind of a run at all,” he said. “We were able to win a hockey game here tonight and we were pleased with that, but there is more work to do and that starts (with practice) on Monday.”

Chicago          1   0   0   - 1
Cedar Rapids   1   3   0   - 4

FIRST PERIOD
Scoring
CHI - Jackson (Ernsting)  3:49.
CR - Peterson (Maloney, Poturalski)  9:51.

Penalties
Vanko, CHI (Tripping, Minor, 2 min) 6:31.
Kalinowski, CR (Interference, Minor, 2 min) 11:03.

SECOND PERIOD
Scoring
CR - Marsh (Poturalski)  15:20.
CR – Sanford (powerplay) (Poturalski, Peterson)  16:51.
CR - Tiffels (Provorov, Oglevie) 19:04.

Penalties
Maloney, CR (Slashing, Minor, 2 min) 1:37.
Maloney, CR (Roughing, Minor, 2 min) 13:13.
Tischke, CHI (Roughing, Minor, 2 min) 13:13.
Fetzer, CHI (Hooking, Minor, 2min) 16:37.

THIRD PERIOD
No Scoring

Penalties
Peterson, CR (Boarding, Minor, 2 min) 0:45.
Maloney, CR (Slashing, Minor, 2 min) 6:14.
Marsh, CR (Roughing, Minor, 2 min) 8:25.
Vanko, CHI (Roughing, Minor, 2 min) 8:25.
Kalinowski, CR (Hooking, Minor, 2 min) 9:46.
Maloney, CR (Too Many Men, Bench Minor, 2 min) 12:21.
Maloney, CR (Interference, Minor, 2 min) 14:24.
Sanford, CR (Tripping, Minor, 2 min) 15:21.
Oglevie, CR (Hooking, Minor, 2 min) 16:33.
LeBlanc, CHI (Interference, Minor,2 min) 17:28.
McGing, CHI (Delay of Game, Minor, 2 min) 18:13.
Ernsting, CHI(Delay of Game, Minor, 2 min) 18:13.
Sanford, CR (Delay of Game, Minor, 2 min) 18:13.
Kalinowski, CR (Delay of Game, Minor, 2 min) 18:13.

SHOTS ON GOAL
Chicago          16   13   12   -- 41
Cedar Rapids   14   17    7    -- 38