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USHL Update - Week 26

Published on March 30, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


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Back-to-Back for Gamblers...The Green Bay Gamblers clinched their second straight Anderson Cup title as regular season champions after earning a 4-3 shootout victory over Fargo on Saturday. It is the fourth Anderson Cup in team history and second time they have won it in back-to-back seasons (1995-97). The last USHL team to win the regular season crown in consecutive seasons was the Lincoln Stars (1999-2001). Green Bay has already won a team record 43 games, which is the most in the USHL since the Omaha Lancers won 43 during the Anderson Cup title in 2007-08. The Gamblers also earn the first overall seed and home-ice advantage throughout the 2010 Clark Cup Playoffs.

Two Teams, One Spot...There is one more playoff spot up for grabs in the West Division. With two regular season games remaining for both teams, the Tri-City Storm hold a one-point lead over the Sioux City Musketeers for the fourth spot in the West Division standings and the final spot in the USHL playoffs. Both the Storm and the Musketeers play their final two games on home ice. Should they each finish their 60-game schedule with an identical amount of points in the standings, the Musketeers hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series (3-1-1) over the Storm.

Playoffs for Black Hawks...The Waterloo Black Hawks secured the last available playoff spot in the East Division after a pair of weekend victories. It is the fourth consecutive season the team has qualified for the postseason and fourth straight season they have won 30-or-more games. Goaltender Willie Yanakeff posted back-to-back shutouts stopping all 56 shots he faced in wins over Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. He is the third goaltender in the USHL this season to record shutouts in consecutive games. Tyler Barnes had two multi-goal games during the week and is now second in the USHL with 34 goals. Forward Soren Jonzzon recorded a career high three points (1g, 2a) and a plus-three rating in the 4-0 win on Saturday.

Lancers Reach 40...After two weekend victories, the Omaha Lancers have reached the 40-win mark for the second time in the past three seasons and the sixth time in team history. They are unbeaten in regulation over their last 14 games (11-0-3). Forward Greg Wolfe has scored a goal in each game during the current four-game win streak for the Lancers and has collected seven points (4g, 3a) and a plus-seven rating in his last five contests. Defenseman Mathieu Brisson netted the game-winner in the 3-2 win over Tri-City on Friday. Goaltender John Keeney made 19 saves to earn the victory on Friday. He has posted a 5-0-0 record with a 1.57 GAA over his last five starts. Dakota Eveland has eight points (3g, 5a) and a plus-six rating during his current five-game point streak.

Herd Surpass 30...The Sioux Falls Stampede earned five of six points in the standings during the week surpassing the 30-win mark for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Forward Michael Voran scored the game-winning goal in Friday's 5-1 win over Indiana. He has 13 points (3g, 10a) during a nine-game point streak in which he has dished out an assist in each contest. Matt Farris tallied a goal in all three games during the week, including the game-winner in the 5-3 win vs. Waterloo on Wednesday. Goaltender Lino Chimienti made 33 saves in Wednesday's victory. Matt Zarbo added a goal in his third straight game on Friday making him the fourth Sioux Falls player to reach 20 goals this season.

All Done at Home...The Fargo Force wrapped the home portion of their regular season schedule by earning three of a possible four points against the Anderson Cup champion Green Bay and finished with a 19-7-4 record on home ice. Defenseman Nate Schmidt recorded his second straight multi-point game (1g, 1a) in Friday's 3-1 win. It was also his second straight game scoring the game-winning goal. Garrett Allen has scored a goal in three straight and netted five in his last six games. Matt Leitner tallied three points (2g, 1a) on Saturday and has collected 10 points (4g, 6a) over his last five games. Goaltender Ryan Massa made 40 saves in the 4-3 shootout loss to Green Bay on Saturday. It was the second time in his past three starts he has made 40-or-more saves.

Close Ones...The Sioux City Musketeers have played in 10 straight games decided by one goal and have a 6-1-3 record during that span to pull within one point of fourth place in the West Division. Three of the games have been decided in the shootout and one in overtime. Saturday's 2-1 loss to Omaha was their first regulation loss during that stretch. Prior to that game, forward Stephan Vigier had scored a goal in three straight.

Notes...Tri-City Storm forward Jaden Schwartz scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the 4-3 win over Lincoln on Saturday ending a span of four games without a point for the USHL's leading scorer. Prior to that stretch, he had been held without a point in consecutive games only once this season...Chicago Steel forward Brendan Woods has scored three goals over his last four games, including the game-winner in Wednesday's 4-1 win over Indiana...Cedar Rapids RoughRiders goaltender Troy Grosenick posted his third shutout of the season stopping 27 shots in the 3-0 win vs. Lincoln on Friday while Zach Lehrke scored two goals to reach 25 on the season...H.T. Lenz scored two goals in the 4-3 win over Chicago on Saturday making him the third Des Moines Buccaneers player to surpass the 20-goal mark this season...Indiana Ice forward Nic Dowd scored in overtime of Saturday's 4-3 victory against Sioux Falls which was his fourth game-winner of the season and helped the Ice snap a six-game winless skid (0-5-1)...Forward Travis Boyd has scored three goals in his past four games for Team USA.

Alumni News...College Hockey News, a leading source of news and information on college hockey, released their All-Rookie Team of all NCAA Division I first-year players and five of the six players named are USHL alumni; goaltender Joe Howe (Waterloo Black Hawks) of Colorado College, defenseman Matt Donovan (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) of Denver University, and forwards Stephane Da Costa (Sioux City Musketeers) of Merrimack College, Danny Kristo (Omaha Lancers) of the University of North Dakota, and Andy Taranto (Fargo Force) of the University of Alaska Fairbanks...Two former USHL players made their NHL debuts over the weekend. Tim Stapleton, who played two seasons for the Green Bay Gamblers (2000-02), played for the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday. The following evening, former Lincoln Stars forward Trevor Frischmon (1999-2002) debuted with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 30, 2010


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