DES MOINES - Despite both teams entering the holiday break headed in different directions, a 13-day layoff was just what Cedar Rapids needed to rebound from a string of six losses in seven games as it pulled out a 5-4 road victory over Des Moines Friday night in a USHL game at Buccaneer Arena.

RoughRider forward Judd Peterson's right-handed wrist shot beat Buccaneer goalie Billy Christopoulos for the decisive goal with 2:46 left to play and Cedar Rapids improved to 14-9-1 this season. Peterson took a pass from new acquisition Mitch Maloney, skated into the zone and got off the shot despite being upended by a Des Moines defender.

"I got a great pass from Maloney," said Peterson. "I was coming down and was going to put on the jets, but saw their defense coming to pinch me off. I put on the brakes, so I could get a forehand shot off. I was getting tripped as I was shooting, so I threw it at the net.

"It was such a relief to pull this one out. We were up all game and they tied it up," he said. "We weren't able to close them out and had been falling through in some games before the break, not getting the points that we need. This is a tough place to play, but we battled back and found a way to win."

Both sides entered the holiday break on opposite paths, with Cedar Rapids dealing with its share of problems and Des Moines with a five-game point streak that was its longest in 22 months. The slide resulted in a flurry of moves by Cedar Rapids head coach and general manager Mark Carlson over the break.

Both newcomers that suited up for the RoughRiders Friday made an immediate impact for Carlson. Maloney assisted on the game-winning goal and Brennan Sanford scored a second-period goal that put Cedar Rapids on top 3-2. Third addition Logan Von Ruden did not dress for the game.

"I thought Mitch and Brennan were real good for us and that's what we thought they'd bring for us," said Carlson. "We need them to be consistent as we need the team to be consistent going through the rest of the season.

"I give all our guys credit. This is a very difficult building to win in and probably one of the toughest ones to win in. Their fans are real educated in here, get behind their team and the place gets loud and jacked up. I compliment our guys for showing the toughness to win the hockey game."

The Roughriders took advantage of six power-play opportunities to put three goals on the board. Dylan McLaughlin, Mark Auk and Sanford chipped in with goals on special teams.

The power play also helped get Cedar Rapids out of trouble after a flurry of Des Moines shots resulted in a pair of third-period goals. The RoughRiders used a tripping penalty on Steven Duda - his second infraction of the period - with 7:03 remaining to stem the tide and give themselves a chance to win.

"I compliment our power play guys tonight," Carlson said. "I thought it was good. Even the ones we didn't score on, I thought we got real good momentum and had the puck down in their end a lot."

For a team scuffling heading into the break, Cedar Rapids seized early momentum and turned the tables on a Des Moines squad which had scored first in its past six games.

After a two-minute boarding penalty on Des Moines' Jarkko Parikka just 2:37 into the first period, the RoughRiders took advantage to score the lone goal of the first period. Charlie Curti fired a left wrist shot past Christopoulos from five feet away. Jason Kalinowski and Nick Master assisted on the goal, which gave Cedar Rapids the lead at the 15:49 mark.

Power-play goal withstanding, it took Cedar Rapids a while to muster much after Curti's goal. It turned out to be the only shot-on-goal in the opening 11:56 of play, as the RoughRiders were out-shot by their opponent 11-7 through the first 20 minutes.

Des Moines got on the board with a pair of early second-period goals to take a 2-1 lead, but Cedar Rapids responded with two of its own from McLaughlin and Kalinowski in a span of 3:25 late in the stanza.

Stationed directly in front of Christopoulos, McLaughlin fired a loose puck past the Des Moines goaltender to even the score at 2-2 with less than five minutes left in the second. The RoughRiders took back the lead minutes later when Kalinowski re-directed a blue-line shot from Clark Kuster at the 1:34 mark.

Cedar Rapids added what looked to be an insurance goal early in the third period when Auk fired a left wrist shot past Christopoulos for a 4-2 lead. McLaughlin earned the assist with a cross-ice pass from the right crease to the wide-open Auk.

The Buccaneers rallied with a pair of goals in a 3:15 span midway through the third period to tie the score at 4-4. Forward Brendan Shane notched his first goal of the season, rebounding a blue-line shot from Ryan Galt and beating Danny Tirone with a wrist shot. Marcel Godbout followed with his second goal of the contest, a deflected shot that slipped past Tirone's reach.

McLaughlin and Auk each had one goal and two assists for Cedar Rapids.

"My line clicked together and overall it was a good team game," McLaughlin said. "It was good to get the win. We struggled at the end of the first of the season, but we know what we could do. This is a good start to the second half of the season."

Cedar Rapids returns home to face Waterloo Saturday night at 7:05 in The Stable.

RoughRiders     1  2  2 - 5
Des Moines       0  2  2 - 4

CR - Charlie Curti (power play) (Nick Master, Jason Kalinowski)
DM - Marcel Godbout (power play) (Steven Duda)
DM - Tanner Karty (unassisted)
CR - Dylan McLaughlin (Mark Auk, Jason Kalinowski)
CR - Brennan Sanford (power play) (Clark Kuster, Dylan Mclaughlin)
CR - Mark Auk (power play) (Dylan McLaughlin, Clark Kuster)
DM - Brendan Shane (Jarkko Parikka)
DM - Marcel Godbout (Danny Elser, Josh Couturier)
CR - Judd Peterson (Mitch Maloney, Mark Auk)