USHL weekly
Published on January 5, 2009 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
The USHL at 30 Years
The USHL saw an end of an era in 1999-00, when the Twin Cities Vulcans were sold and it was agreed that they would move to Kearney, Neb. and become the Tri-City Storm. But the Vulcans had one more magic trick to perform before leaving Minnesota.
The Vulcans finished fifth in the West Division, which was good for the number six seed in the playoffs. After sweeping Sioux Falls in three games in round one and knocking Lincoln out in five games in round two, the Vulcans lost the Clark Cup finals to Green Bay in five games. Because the Gamblers were hosting the Gold Cup, the Vulcans were given a bid into the national tournament, where they would knock off the Gamblers in the title game, the final game in Vulcans' history.
It was the second Gold Cup for the Vulcans, the first coming in the 1990-91 season.
USHL INSIDER
Big Night At The Gate: New Year's Eve is almost always a big night at the gate for USHL teams, and December 31, 2008 was no exception. A total of 24,124 fans attended USHL games on New Year's Eve, an average of 4,021 per game. The league-high came in the Des Moines vs. Indiana game, which was played before 5,888 at Pepsi Coliseum.
Frankly Speaking: Fargo defenseman Chris Franks scored twice, includ- ing the game-winner, and added an assist in Fargo's 8-1 win over Tri-City on New Year's Eve.
Four Score: Lincoln's Ryan Kretzer became the second USHL player to score four goals in a game, when he turned the trick in the Stars' 6-2 win over Indiana on Saturday. Previously, Des Moines' Josh Balch scored four times against Waterloo on October 24.
P.K. Who?: While Waterloo Head Coach P.K. O'Handley was with Team USA at the World Junior Championships, the Black Hawks went 3-1-0 and scored 29 goals in the four games.
It Only Took One: Brady Horn, a newcomer to the Sioux Falls Stampede roster, picked up his first USHL point, an assist, in his first USHL game on Saturday night.
Bruijsten Buries 'Em: After scoring just four goals in his first 21 games, Sioux City's Mitch Bruijsten almost equalled the total after the break. Bruijsten scored a goal in all three Sioux City games, and added a couple of assists for a five-point week.
Windy City Rally: Chicago trailed Fargo 3-1 entering the third period on Saturday night, but got goals from Alex Carpenter, Andrew Miller, John Moore and Dean Chelios in the final frame to rally for a 5-3 win .
Speaking Of Rallies: Indiana rallied in a big way for the win on New Year's Eve. The Ice trailed Des Moines 5-1 early in the third period, but reeled off five goals in a span of 6:39 to come away with a 6-5 win. Inci- dentally, the Ice weren't even close to the USHL record for fastest five goals. The record is held by the 1988-89 Thunder Bay Flyers, who scored five in 1:52 against Dubuque on October 29, 1988.
PRO ALUMNI NEWS
Max Pacioretty (Sioux City) got called up by the Montreal Canadiens, making his NHL debut Friday night against New Jersey. He scored the lone goal in a 4-1 loss.
Chris Butler (Sioux City) picked up his first career NHL point, an assist, in his NHL debut on December 19.
Brian Lee (Lincoln) scored his first NHL goal, the game-winning goal in Ot- tawa's 3-2 win over Edmonton on December 30.
Tim Kennedy (Sioux City) was called up by the Buffalo Sabres and made his NHL debut on December 27 against the New Yorks Islanders, playing 11:04 in the game.
Trevor Smith (Omaha) was called up by the New York Islanders and has appeared in three games.
Erik Cole (Des Moines) has been on a hot streak lately for the Edmonton Oilers, having picked up four goals and seven points in his last seven games.
Sean Collins (Sioux City) was recalled for the second time this season by the Washington Capitals and scored his first NHL goal against Tampa Bay on New Year's Day, a 7-4 Washington win.
Yan Stastny (Omaha) has established career highs this season in games played (32), goals (2) and points (5) with the St. Louis Blues.
Scott Clemmensen (Des Moines) has carried the mail in goal for New Jer- sey of late, going 15-6-1 with a 2.21 goals against average.
COLLEGE ALUMNI NEWS
Patrick White (Tri-City) scored the game-winning goal in overtime as Min- nesota defeated Northeastern 3-2 in the championship game of the Dodge Holiday Classic in Minneapolis.
Mark Olver (Omaha) was named CCHA Player of the Week after scoring two goals and two assists in Northern Michigan's weekend sweep of Wis- consin, including two goals and an assist in Friday's 3-2 win.
Shane Sims (Des Moines) was named CCHA Defensive Player of the Week after record- ing three assists, going +3 and blocking three shots in Ohio State's wins over Army and Clarkson. He assisted on the game-winner in each game.
John Kemp (Indiana) was named CCHA Rookie of the Week after picking up six assists in three games last week. Kemp tied a UNO record with four helpers in an 8-3 win over Yale.
Rob Madore (Chicago) made 29 saves in Vermont's 3-0 shutout of St. Lawrence in the championship game of the Catamount Cup, a tournament Vermont hosts. It was Madore's first college shutout.
Ryan Cramer (Waterloo) scored his first college goal, but Bemidji State lost 4-3 to North Dakota on Friday. Matt Dalton (Des Moines) made 36 saves in the game for the Beavers.
Channing Boe (Green Bay) scored his first college goal, which gave Min- nesota State-Mankato the lead for good, in 4-3 win over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday.
Greg Collins (Cedar Rapids) scored a pair of goals in the third period, in- cluding the game-tying goal, in New Hampshire's 5-4 win over Maine on Sunday.
United States Hockey League Stories from January 5, 2009
- USHL weekly - USHL
- Makowski Commits To Denver - Green Bay Gamblers
- USHL Players of the Week - USHL
- Omaha Makes First Pepsi Coliseum Visit Saturday Night - Indiana Ice
- Stampede host Sioux City Wednesday Night - Sioux Falls Stampede
- USHL Names Players of the Week - USHL
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