The Green Bay Gamblers continue to search for answers after another winless weekend, falling twice to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and dropping to a league-worst 3-11 on the season.
After a strong campaign a year ago, Green Bay has struggled to find its rhythm this season, losing four straight games and managing just two goals across its latest two contests.
The Gamblers opened the weekend Friday night with a 4-1 loss at ImOn Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids.
Green Bay struck first when McKinney scored his third goal of the season at the 9:02 mark of the opening period, assisted by Gault and Pajor.
However, Cedar Rapids responded with two unanswered goals before the first intermission. Fox tied the game on the power play before Ernst gave the RoughRiders a 2-1 advantage with just 25 seconds remaining in the period.
Neither team scored in the second, and Green Bay remained within one goal until the final minutes of regulation.
Cedar Rapids added two empty-net goals in the final 1:02 to secure the 4-1 victory.
The Gamblers managed just 15 shots on goal, while goaltender Joey Slavick recorded 13 saves on 15 shots faced.
Saturday brought a similar result, with Green Bay falling 3-1 to complete the weekend sweep.
Cedar Rapids opened the scoring on a power-play goal from Scuderi midway through the first period, but the Gamblers responded when Pajor scored his fourth goal of the season at the 14:15 mark, assisted by Perreault and McKinney.
The teams remained tied until the final second of the second period, when Westerling scored with just one second remaining to give Cedar Rapids a 2-1 lead heading into the third.
Green Bay couldn't find the equalizer, and Scuderi added his second goal of the night with 2:04 remaining to seal the 3-1 victory.
Slavick finished with 24 saves as Cedar Rapids outshot Green Bay 27-23.
Special teams continued to be a challenge for the Gamblers, who went a combined 0-for-9 on the power play over the weekend. Cedar Rapids converted two of its 12 opportunities.
Green Bay has now dropped four consecutive games, including back-to-back weekend sweeps against Sioux Falls and Cedar Rapids.
The Gamblers sit at the bottom of the USHL standings with a 3-11 record, a difficult start for a team coming off a successful season a year ago.
With just three wins through 14 games, Green Bay will need to find more consistent offensive production and regain its rhythm as the season continues.
