USHL Update - Week Nine

November 28, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release

AROUND THE LEAGUE

High Five ...The Tri-City Storm remain one of the hottest teams in the USHL as they are riding a five-game win streak, the longest for the team since winning five straight from February 5-19th, 2010. They have found their scoring touch during the streak as they have tallied 18 goals compared to just five total goals in their previous three games, all losses. Trevor Moore has scored five goals during the winning streak which included both goals in the 2-1 win over Sioux City on Wednesday. His second tally was the game-winner and he is now second in the League with four game-winners this season. Playing his first game of the season, Jared Linnell scored a pair of third-period goals, including the game-winner, to lead the Storm to a 3-2 win against Omaha on Friday. Defenseman John Hrabovsky dished out three assists in Saturday's 5-1 win over Des Moines while goaltender Christian Frey made 32 saves to notch his first win of the season.

A Little Extra ...The Omaha Lancers have played plenty of extra hockey lately as four of their last five contests have been decided in the shootout. Omaha has been on the winning side in all four of those contests. Kyle Osterberg converted in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout win against Lincoln and now leads the USHL with three shootout tallies this season. Drew Melanson tallied the shootout winner on Wednesday, making him a perfect 2-for-2 this year in the extra session. Tyler Moy converted the only shootout goal in Saturday's 5-4 victory over Sioux City, his second tally in five attempts this season. Goaltenders Alex Lyon (3-of-4) and Cole Bruns (3-of-3) combined to stop 6-of-7 shootout attempts against the Lancers during the holiday week.

Home Cooking ...The Dubuque Fighting Saints have not made it easy on visitors this season as they earned two more wins during the week to remain unbeaten at the Mystique Ice Center (9-0-0). They have outscored the opposition 38-16 in Dubuque this season. Mike Szmatula has scored 10 of his League-leading 16 goals on home ice this season, including two in the 7-3 win over Lincoln on Saturday. Goaltender Arthur Brey was in net for both games, making a combined 34 saves and improving his overall record to a perfect 12-0-0. Dylan Gambrell contributed to all three goals (2g, 1a) in Wednesday's 3-2 victory over Muskegon. Five of the next six games for the Saints are on home ice.

Close Calls ...The Fargo Force has played four consecutive games that have gone past regulation time. After dropping the first three of those contests, they earned a 3-2 victory on Saturday when Dave Gust scored just 27 seconds into overtime. Fargo has been in seven straight one-goal games and 14 of their 19 contests this year have been decided by a single goal.

Goal Outburst ...A pair of USHL teams had huge third periods during the week to earn victories. Trailing 3-1 to Indiana on Wednesday, the Youngstown Phantoms scored four goals in a span of 7:26 to claim a 5-3 win. Tied at 3-3 with Lincoln on Saturday, the Dubuque Fighting Saints scored four straight goals over 10:26 of game action to close out a 7-3 win. Four different skaters tallied goals for each team in their respective wins.

Finding Balance ...The Waterloo Black Hawks are the highest scoring team in the USHL and are having no problem scoring whether it is at home or on the road. Of their 86 goals, half have come on the road, including 12 combined in their two road games last week. Nine of their 16 goals during the three-game holiday came from the line of Taylor Cammarata, Justin Kloos, and Zach Stepan who rank first, third, and fourth in League scoring.

The Natural ...Indiana Ice forward Brian Morgan provided the offense for his team on Wednesday as he scored three unanswered goals to record the "natural" hat trick in the 5-3 loss to Youngstown. He netted the goals over 11:29 of game action, scoring one unassisted, one at even strength, and another on the power play.

Repeat Trick ...Des Moines Buccaneers forward Joseph Gambardella scored three goals, including the winner, in Friday's 7-3 victory against Indiana. He scored the goals three different ways - power play, even strength, and empty net. It was his second hat trick in a span of seven days (four games).

One Upping ...Muskegon Lumberjacks goaltender Kevin Lindskoug stopped every shot he faced in the 1-0 overtime win against Green Bay on Saturday. It was his second shutout over his last four starts and he now leads all USHL netminders with three shutouts this season. Lindskoug has increased his save amount in each shutout by one, stopping 27 in his first, 28 in his second, and 29 during his third.

Playing Nice ...The door to penalty box stayed closed during Friday's matchup between the Omaha Lancers and Tri-City Storm as the game was played penalty free. The Lancers are currently tied for the USHL lead with 112 minor penalties this season, but stayed out of the box that evening. Coming into the game, they had successfully killed off the last 16 shorthanded situations but the Storm did not give them another opportunity, continuing their disciplined play as they average the least amount penalty minutes per game (12.40) in the League.

Notes ...Chicago Steel forward Alex Roos netted two goals in Friday's 4-2 win over Lincoln, giving him 21 goals in 42 USHL career games...Clay Anderson has dished out an assist in four straight games for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and is currently third among USHL defensemen with 11 total assists this season...Defenseman Gustav Olofsson picked a good time to score his first USHL goal when he netted the game-winner for the Green Bay Gamblers in Friday's 5-2 victory over Muskegon. Goaltender Michael Rotolo made 22 saves in the game to collect his 20th USHL career victory...The Sioux City Musketeers have converted on the power play in three straight games, including two power play goals in Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to Omaha. The Musketeers are currently fifth in the USHL in power play percentage (19.2%)...Zeb Knutson scored just 55 seconds into Saturday's contest for the Sioux Falls Stampede. It extended his home goal-scoring streak to three games and he has tallied a goal in six of his last seven games on home ice...Forward C.J. Franklin scored in overtime for the Sioux Falls Stampede on Wednesday, his second game-winner is a span of three games...15-year-old Kyle Connor has scored four goals over his last four games, including a pair of goals for the Youngstown Phantoms in the 6-0 win over Team USA on Friday.

USHL Transactions:

11/27/12 - Chris Buchanan, Fargo - activated from injured reserve

11/27/12 - Sam Wolfe, Cedar Rapids - traded to Bismarck (NAHL)

11/27/12 - Michael Downing, Dubuque - suspended three (3) games (Rule 610b - elbowing)

11/27/12 - Alex Iafallo, Fargo - suspended one (1) game (Rule 610b - elbowing)

11/27/12 - Mike McKee, Lincoln - suspension TBD (Rule 617c - head contact)

11/27/12 - Jackson Teichroeb, Lincoln - suspension TBD (Rule 617c - head contact)

11/26/12 - Jake Bischoff, Omaha - activated from injured reserve

11/25/12 - Zach Saar, Des Moines - suspended three (3) games (Rule 617b - head contact)

11/25/12 - Matt Krug, Indiana - suspended one (1) game (Rule 606a - charging)

11/23/12 - Tony Kujava, Green Bay - added to roster

11/22/12 - Gavin Nieto, Sioux City - added to roster

11/22/12 - Eetu Karvinen, Sioux City - acquired in trade from Cedar Rapids

11/22/12 - J.T. Stenglein, Sioux City - acquired in trade from Youngstown

11/22/12 - Cam Brown, Youngstown - acquired in trade from Sioux City

11/22/12 - Michael Kapla, Sioux City - placed on injured reserve (retroactive to 11/3/12)

11/22/12 - Kyle Hayton, Sioux City - placed on injured reserve (retroactive to 11/3/12)

11/22/12 - Jared Linnell, Tri-City - activated from injured reserve

11/21/12 - Phillip Marinaccio, Cedar Rapids - acquired in trade from Chicago

11/21/12 - Landon Smith, Chicago - acquired in trade from Cedar Rapids

11/21/12 - Seth Blair, Green Bay - traded to Minot (NAHL)

11/21/12 - Bryan Basilico, Green Bay - acquired in trade from Des Moines

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