Welcome back, Charlie. Good to see you again, Andrew. You too, Mitch.

The RoughRiders missed you.

Charlie Curti, Andrew Oglevie and Mitch Reinke returned to the lineup Saturday night and helped the RoughRiders snap a three-game losing streak with a solid 6-2 victory over Chicago before 2,984 fans at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Curti, Oglevie and Reinke helped the U.S. win the gold medal at the World Junior A Tournament in Saskatchewan this month and the RoughRiders compiled a 2-3 record while they were gone. The RoughRiders were not at full strength Saturday with two key players still missing, but everyone will be back soon and the club is hopeful of starting another long winning streak.

"It's been a challenging stretch for our guys, having multiple guys out of the lineup for six games in a row," said Coach Mark Carlson. "Six games is a lot. It's a ton. And I'm proud of the way they battled and found a way to win a hockey game tonight against a good Chicago team."

Adam Gaudette also helped the U.S. win the gold medal with a victory over Denmark in overtime in the championship game, but now that Gaudette is back from Canada he's serving a two-game suspension for fighting in a USHL game Dec. 6 against Bloomington. Erik Foley also did not play Saturday while serving a one-game suspension for a fight against Madison Dec. 19.

Carlson is looking forward to getting Gaudette and Foley back in the lineup, and he was delighted to have Curti, Oglevie and Reinke in uniform for the first time in several weeks Saturday.

"It was good to have them back," he said. "Our guys did a real nice job when they were gone, but it was good to get them back. It will be nice to have everybody available at some point again. That was a gutsy win."

Curti gave the RoughRiders a 1-0 lead with a blast early in the second period from just inside the blue line with an assist from Dylan McLaughlin.

"It felt great," said Curti. "Get the team going. Obviously the boys responded and we popped in a couple more. Great first game back from the break for all of us. I thought the guys looked sharp."

Curti enjoyed the all-star tournament in Canada.

"It was a great experience," he said. "It was a great honor to represent the country, and obviously getting the win was a huge plus. It was something I'll remember forever."

Bryce Hatten gave the RoughRiders a 2-1 lead in the second period, then Oglevie celebrated his return to the lineup with a goal in the third stanza for a 3-1 advantage.

"Personally I was pretty rusty," Oglevie remarked after the game. "The guys played pretty good. We have a lot of things to work on and what-not, but it was good to get a win, starting the second half (of the season) after Christmas. Get things rolling again in Ridertown."

Oglevie played in the international tournament for the second straight year and enjoyed the experience.

"It was a lot of fun, being with players from around the league," he said, "combining to make a team and trying to win a gold medal. It was a good experience and I was happy to have some other guys from this team with me."

Ross Colton gave Cedar Rapids a 4-1 lead. Chicago pulled within 4-2, but McLaughlin scored an empty-net goal for the RoughRiders late in the game and Cal Burke added another goal to finish the victory.

Ryan Larkin made 39 saves in goal for the RoughRiders, including several blasts from 15 feet that he snapped out of the air with his quick reflexes. "He had a sharp night tonight," said Carlson.

Cedar Rapids raised its record to 21-6-0 for 42 points, good for a four-point lead after Muskegon for first place in the Eastern Conference. Chicago fell to 11-12-2 for 24 points.

The RoughRiders play at Green Bay this Wednesday on New Year's Eve and will visit Dubuque next Friday. The RoughRiders host Bloomington next Saturday night.

Chicago        0  1  1 - 2
RoughRiders  0  2  4 - 6

RR - Charlie Curti (Dylan McLaughlin)
CHI - John Ernsting (unassisted)
RR - Bryce Hatten (Andrew Gaus, Joey Marooney)
RR - Andrew Oglevie (Jiri Fronk)
RR - Ross Colton (power play) (Andrew Oglevie)
CHI - Ryan Blankemeier (power play) (Brendon Kearney)
RR - Dylan McLaughlin (empty net) (Cal Burke)
RR - Cal Burke (Ross Colton)