May 22, 2013
79
Games Today




Gamblers Weekly

January 5, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL) Green Bay Gamblers

Four Gamblers Selected to the Top Prospects Game...

The United States Hockey League today announced the 40 players selected to compete in the 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game presented by CCM which is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at the L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon, Michigan. Selected from the Green Bay Gamblers were forwards Alex Kile and Nicholas Schilkey and defensemen Dakota Mermis and Jordan Schmaltz.

Schmaltz came to the Gamblers via a November trade with the Sioux City Musketeers. The Verona, Wisconsin native is ranked the 8th best North American prospect for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by NHL Central Scouting. As a rookie last season, Schmaltz led all USHL defensemen in scoring (44 points). For his efforts Schmaltz was named First Team All-USHL, as well as to the USHL All Rookie team. On the international level, Schmaltz won gold medals at the 2010 World Junior "A" Challenge as a member of United States Junior Select Team and at the World Challenge U-17 Tournament. Schmaltz was also named to the 2011 U.S. Junior Select Team. Schmaltz is committed to the University of North Dakota (WCHA). This season Schmaltz is rank second in scoring for all defensemen in the USHL with 8 goals and 8 assists, including scoring his first shorthanded goal in his USHL career in a 10-1 victory over the Chicago Steel.

Mermis was selected in the first round by the Gamblers at the 2011 USHL Entry Draft. Mermis laced up the skates last season for the United States Under-17 team inAnn Arbor, Michigan. In 36 USHL games for the red, white and blue, Mermis registered four goals and four assists. Mermis cracked the Lincoln Stars line-up at just 15 years of age during the 2009-10 season. Mermis is the second player in his family to play in the USHL. His brother Jarrod played three seasons, splitting time between the Sioux City Musketeers and Lincoln Stars. Both brothers captured national championships for their respective teams in 2007 on the same day 300 miles apart "" Jarrod with Jr. Blues to their fourth national championship, and Dakota wit the Affton Americans. Dakota will join his brother at the University of Denver at the completion of his USHL career. This season, Mermis has scored 4 goals and 8 assists.

Schilkey came to the Gamblers fresh off representing the United States this past summer in Europe at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Schilkey also saw action at the international level in 2010 at the Five Nations Tournament in Hutwill, Switzerland. At the Five Nations, Schilkey tallied four goals against Germany to clinch the gold medal for the red, white and blue. Back in the states, Schilkey played a key role in leading his Honeybaked Midget Major team to the 2011 Michigan Amateur Hockey Association State Championship. With Honeybaked, the Ohio State recruit tallied a team high 20 goals and 29 assist in 39 games. With the Gamblers this season, Schilkey has scored 7 goals and 9 assists with a plus 10 plus/minus rating.

Kile came to the Gamblers via the Honeybaked Midget Major program. Kile along with Gamblers teammate Nicholas Schilkey led Honeybaked to the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association State Championship. With Honeybaked, Kile compiled a statistical line of 21 goals and 28 assists in 40 games. Kile has played in 28 games this season for the Gamblers tallying 6 goals and 7 assists. Kile is committed to the University of Michigan.

The game, which is the first of its kind for the USHL, will showcase many of the top USHL players eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. A total of 30 players selected are in their first year of eligibility for the NHL Entry Draft. Seven of the players are draft-eligible for the second time this year. In addition, the USHL will showcase three players who are eligible to be drafted by NHL teams in 2013.

Team News...

Mid-Season MVP...

Nolan LaPorte has stepped up as a veteran in the first 27 games for the Gamblers. LaPorte has scored a point in all but five games this season and at one point scored at least 1 point in 13 straight games. The Mokena Illinois native also leads the league in powerplay goals (9) and ranks 4th in the USHL with 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists).

Leading From the Blueline...

Green Bay Gamblers Markus Lauridsen, Andy Welinski, and Jordan Schmaltz lead the USHL in scoring for defensemen. Lauridsen leads the league with 18 points (4 goals and 14 assists). Both Welinsk and Schmaltz have 16 points. Schmaltz leads the league with 4 powerplay goals, scoring his last in a 10-1 victory over the Chicago Steel on New Year's Eve night. Schmaltz also added a shorthanded goal in the contest versus the Chicago Steel. The shorthanded goal marked the first for Schmaltz in his USHL career. On the flip side, Lauridsen (+21) and Welinski (+19) lead the league in plus/minus rating.

Fan's Choice Player of the Year Race...

Kyle Novak is in the lead for the 2012 Big Brothers/Big Sisters Fan's Choice Player of the Year. At each of the 30 home games, fan's have the opportunity to place money in their favorite player's box at the Big Brothers Big Sisters table. The player who collects the most money, is bestowed the honor of the Fan's Choice Player of the Year award. In 12 home games this season so far, #932.30 has been raised for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northeast Wisconsin. Listed below are the top three players this season...

#1 Kyle Novak $421.36

#2 Nolan LaPorte $88.95

#3 Nicholas Schilkey $63.08

Gamblers Raise Funds for Bay Beach...

The Green Bay Gamblers are proud to announce that the team's "Bat Gate" promotion on New Year's Eve night raised $1,000.00 for the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. The funds will be used for rehabilitation and education. The team wore special "Bat Jerseys" during the franchise's traditional New Year's Eve game versus the Chicago Steel. Fans could bid on the jerseys during a silent auction that took place during the game and also purchase rubber bats for $2.00 with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. The "Bat Gate" promotion came about as a result of the Gamblers organization responding to an incident in which a bat flew onto the ice during a game on December 15th, 2009.

Jordan Schmaltz Named CCM Defensive Player of The Week...

Today the USHL announced defenseman Jordan Schmaltz has been named CCM Defensive Player of the Week. Schmaltz tallied four points (2g, 2a) as the Gamblers won two of three games to close out the calendar year. The defenseman helped limit Dubuque to just 18 shots on goal in Green Bay's 3-2 win on Wednesday. He dished out one assist in Friday's 6-2 loss to Cedar Rapids. Schmaltz then equaled a USHL career high with three points in Saturday's 10-1 win over Chicago. He scored a power play goal and then later scored his first USHL career shorthanded goal. The 18-year-old native of Verona, Wisconsin leads all League defenseman with eight goals and is tied for second with 16 points (8g, 8a) in 24 games this season.

Dikushin Wins Gold in U17 World Challenge...

Grigory Dikushin won the gold medal with Russia as they defeated the United States 7-4 in the gold medal game of the World Under-17 Challenge in Windsor, Canada. Dikushin scored in three out of four games for Russia in the tournament. The Moscow, Russia native scored the game winning goal against the United States the first time the two teams met December 30th, and was pivotal in an overtime win over Ontario scoring both the tying goal and game winning goal in the victory. Dikushin also scored in Russia's only loss versus Pacific. In 17 games with the Gamblers this season, Dikushin has tallied 3 goals and 5 assists with a plus 9 plus/minus rating.

2011-2012 Green Bay Gambler College Signee's...

Dash for Cash Sign-Up This Friday...

The Green Bay Gamblers and North Shore Bank will team up Friday, January 13th versus the Chicago Steel for the North Shore Bank "Dash for Cash" promotion. The money raised will benefit the Autism Society of Wisconsin.

Eight lucky adults (18 years of age and older) will be pre-selected to "Dash for Cash" prior to the January 6th game versus the Tri City Storm. The sign-up table will be located in the Resch Center lobby.

On January 13th the eight contestants will have the opportunity to jump into a pile of money at center ice, and have 20 seconds to stuff their pockets full of dollar bills. The money collected by the eight contestants will be matched by North Shore Bank and donated to the Autism Society of Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization committed to providing awareness and support for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Wisconsin.

Along with their commitment for raising funds for the Autism Society of Wisconsin, North Shore Bank is also the presenting sponsor of the annual Caps for Cancer Toss. Now in its 7th year the Caps for Cancer toss has collected over 17,000 hats. The hats are donated to Heavenly Hats, which is a non-profit group that donates headwear to cancer patients.

USHL Report...

USHL Fans Ring in the New Year in Style...

Fans took advantage of their last chance to see USHL games before the calendar flipped to 2012. On New Year's Eve, more than 27,000 fans turned out to see the seven games on the schedule, including four teams that hosted their largest crowd of the season. The Green Bay Gamblers welcomed 6,277 fans to their convincing 10-1 victory against Chicago on Saturday, while the Sioux Falls Stampede hosted a season high 3,562 during the 3-1 win over Des Moines. In Sioux City, a total of 4,009 fans watched as Musketeers goaltender Matt Skoff recorded his 10th USHL career shutout in the 5-0 win over Lincoln. The Waterloo Black Hawks had a capacity standing-room-only crowd of 3,500 to see their 5-3 victory against rival Cedar Rapids. It wasn't the usual digs for the Indiana Ice on Saturday, but the team still hosted their second largest crowd of the season as 5,360 fans saw their 3-0 win over Youngstown in downtown Indianapolis at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the NBA's Indiana Pacers.

2011 on Ice...

The Indiana Ice closed out the calendar as one of the hottest teams in the USHL. They won all three games during the week and are unbeaten in regulation over their last eight contests (6-0-2). Indiana outscored the opposition 30-15 over that span and has scored at least one power play goal in the last eight games as they lead the USHL with a 30.1% conversion rate with the man advantage. Goaltender Jon Gillies has been in net for each of the last eight games, including stopping all 26 shots in the 3-0 win vs. Youngstown on Saturday to record his fifth USHL career shutout, setting a new Indiana Ice record. Defenseman Ryan Obuchowski is riding a five-game assist streak and is second among USHL blueliners in scoring with 16 points (3g, 13a). Daniil Tarasov scored two goals in Friday's 5-2 win against Youngstown which was his 12th USHL career multi-goal game.

End of Road Woes...

The Fargo Force hit the road last weekend with just three road wins on the season and hadn't earned a victory as the visitor since November 4th, but that all changed with back-to-back wins. On Friday, the Force scored four goals in the second period alone on the way to a 5-2 victory against Chicago. Bryn Chyzyk scored his sixth goal in a span of six games and Colton Hargrove had a three-point night (1g, 2a), including the game-winning goal. Austin Farley had a three-assist night for the third time in a span of four games. He followed up with a goal in regulation and the deciding shootout tally in the 3-2 shootout victory over Dubuque on Saturday. Zane Gothberg was in net for both wins posting a 1.92 GAA and .925 SV%, plus stopped all three attempts in the shootout of Saturday's 3-2 win.

Feels Like the First Time...

A pair of players had memorable debuts in the USHL during the week. Justin Bailey scored a goal just 10:25 into his first USHL game with the Indiana Ice on Friday. The 16-year-old was the club's first pick (11th overall) in the 2011 USHL Futures Draft. On Wednesday, Zach Diamantoni made his USHL debut for the Dubuque Fighting Saints and scored a goal on his first shot in the League. He also was a selection in the 2011 USHL Futures Draft (6th round, 78th overall).

Hat Trick Trifecta...

There were a hat trick of hat tricks in the USHL during the week, including two in the same game. Jared Hanson of the Lincoln Stars and Gasper Kopitar of the Des Moines Buccaneers traded hat tricks in their contest on Friday, a wild game that the Stars won 7-6 in the shootout after giving up a 6-1 lead. Hanson, who notched his second three-goal game of the season, also had the deciding shootout tally. The following night, Nick Saracino scored all three goals for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in their 5-3 loss toWaterloo. His first USHL career hat trick had goals scored in three different ways "" power play, extra attacker, and even strength.

Ten to End "˜11...

The Green Bay Gamblers equaled a USHL season high in scoring during their 10-1 win vs. Chicago on Saturday. Four of their goals came on the power play as they currently hold the League's second best power play unit at 24.8%. Eight different skaters recorded multi-point games, including Matthew Weis who had a four-point night (2g, 2a), his first points in the USHL. Nolan LaPorte and Jordan Schmaltz both scored two goals in the contest.

On the Plus Side...

During the Lincoln Stars 7-6 shootout win vs. Des Moines on Friday, forward Luke Johnson and Jared Hanson both finished with a plus-five rating which equaled a USHL game high for a player this season. The duo is currently tied for seventh overall in the League with a plus-13 rating. Teammate Matt Friese posted a plus-four rating to go along with his three points (1g, 2a) for the Stars.

The Defense Never Rests...

It was a big defensive effort for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in their 4-0 win vs. Sioux Falls on Friday. Goaltender Matt Morris stopped all 30 shots he faced to record his first shutout of the season and fifth of his USHL career. He currently leads USHL goaltenders with a 1.85 GAA. Morris received plenty of help in front as the Saints defensemen not only shutdown Sioux Falls, but combined for six points in the contest. Mike Matheson dished out three assists while Matthew Caito collected two points (1g, 1a). Jake Downing also tallied his first goal of the season.

Notes...

After being held without a goal in his first 11 games of the season, Sioux City Musketeers forward Tim O'Brien scored three goals over two games, including a pair in Saturday's 5-0 win vs. Tri-City...Sioux Falls Stampede goaltender Stephon Williams recorded his first shutout of the season when he turned away all 18 shots he faced in the 2-0 victory over Chicago on Wednesday...Tri-City Storm forward Nick Lappin scored two goals, including the game-winner with just 24 seconds remaining in the third period, during Friday's 4-3 win against Sioux City. It was his fifth multi-goal game of the season...The Waterloo Black Hawks won their final two games of 2011 which also closed out a four-game stretch vs. teams from the state of Iowa. The Hawks went 3-1-0 during that four-game swing against in-state rivals and are 6-3-0 this season against teams based in Iowa.

• Discuss this story on the United States Hockey League message board...
• Digg this story
• Add to Del.icio.us


United States Hockey League Stories from January 5, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.