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United States Hockey League

USHL Update - Week Ten

December 2, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


AROUND THE LEAGUE

On the Road Again, and Again ...The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders won both of their road contests during the week to improve their road record to 11-0-0 this season. That equals the best road winning streak in USHL history to start a season, matching the mark set by the Rochester Mustangs at the beginning of the 1986-87 season. Cedar Rapids earned a 4-3 shootout win against the Lincoln Stars on Wednesday and then matched the USHL record with a 4-1 victory against the Waterloo Black Hawks on Thanksgiving night. Cedar Rapids has outscored their opponents 48-22 on the road this season and has earned those 11 victories against eight different USHL teams.

Bringing the Thunder ...The Bloomington Thunder won all three of their games during the holiday week, the longest winning streak of the season for the expansion club. All three games were on home ice, giving them points in five straight home contests (4-0-1). The Thunder have grown accustomed to close games as all three were one-goal games, and five of their last six have been decided by a single goal. Bloomington was efficient on the power play, scoring on 6-of-13 opportunities on the man-advantage. They defeated the Chicago Steel 4-3 on Wednesday and then earned a 3-2 win on Saturday to take a 3-1-0 lead in the season series with their Illinois rivals. Shane Bednard and Van Barr each scored a goal in both matchups against the Steel while goaltender David Jacobson was in net for both victories and made a combined 51 saves. Bloomington also earned a 3-2 win against Team USA on Friday when Max Gottlieb and Jack Jenkins netted goals just 20 seconds apart in the second period to overcome a 2-1 deficit.

Triple Bucs ...The Des Moines Buccaneers ended their four-game winless streak (0-3-1) in a big way by winning all three of their games during the holiday week. Their victories came against three different Western Conference foes, and two wins were on home ice, improving their record to 7-1-2 at Buccaneer Arena this season. The first USHL goal for Tyler Drevitch proved to be the game-winner in Wednesday's 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Storm. Tanner Karty scored his 40th USHL career goal on Saturday, and then less than two minutes later he netted the game-winner to lead the Bucs to a 3-2 victory against the Lincoln Stars. Goaltender Ryland Rashovitz made a combined 63 saves to earn both victories and improve his season record to 6-1-2. Des Moines native Patrick Grasso helped the Bucs push their game against the Omaha Lancers on Sunday to overtime when he scored with less than minute remaining in regulation. Mark Petaccio, who already scored two goals during the week, and Georgy Gorodetsky then completed the three-win week when they both converted in the shootout and Ryan Ruck stopped all three Omaha attempts. The victory gave Des Moines a 4-1-0 series lead against Omaha this season.

Hats Off ...Chicago Steel forward Mason Bergh recorded the first hat trick of his USHL career when he tallied all three goals for his team in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Bloomington Thunder. He scored his first two goals of the night in a span of just 1:25 in the opening period. The hat trick gave him 11 goals through 19 games this season, equaling his goal total in 58 games with the Steel last season. The product of Eden Prairie High School (MN) and Colorado College commit leads the USHL in scoring with 30 points (11g, 19a).

Quick Strikes ...It was a record-setting night on Saturday for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. They led 3-2 late in the contest when the Waterloo Black Hawks pulled their goaltender in favor of the extra attacker. Tyler Gernhofer scored for the RoughRiders with only 27 seconds remaining in regulation. Waterloo kept their goaltender pulled, and after the ensuing faceoff, Andrew Gaus buried another empty netter for Cedar Rapids. The two goals were scored just four seconds apart, breaking the record for the fastest two goals by a USHL team, which had stood for over 25 years. The previous record of five seconds was accomplished twice by the Thunder Bay Flyers (11/28/87 and 2/4/1989).

Gamblers Double Down ...The Green Bay Gamblers won a pair of games during the weekend against the Sioux Falls Stampede, the first time the Gamblers have won consecutive games this season. They scored three goals in the third period of Friday's 5-2 victory, including the game-winner by defenseman Mark Yanis. Green Bay then scored a goal in each period of Saturday's 3-2 win, wrapping up a stretch of eight road games over their last nine contests. Christopher Brown scored a goal in both games, extending his goal streak to three games and his point streak to five games (3g, 5a). Kevin Reich was in net for both wins and made a combined 52 saves.

Take Your Pick ...The Saturday matchup between the Green Bay Gamblers and Sioux Falls Stampede featured a trio of 2014 NHL Draft picks, and all three of the players scored a goal in the contest. Christopher Brown (Buffalo Sabres, 6th round) scored on the power play in the first period for Green Bay, Dakota Joshua (Toronto Maple Leafs, 5th round) scored shorthanded in the second period for Sioux Falls, and Joe Wegwerth (Florida Panthers, 4th round) netted the game-winner at even strength in the third period for Green Bay.

Big Ten ...The Omaha Lancers earned their first home victory on Wednesday and did so in emphatic fashion with a 10-4 win over the Waterloo Black Hawks. It was the most goals scored in a game by a USHL team this season and established a Tier 1 era (2002-present) record for the Lancers for most goals in a game. Omaha netted six goals in the first period, including three in a span of 44 seconds. Anthony Angello, a 2014 NHL Draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, scored two of the goals in the first period while Nick Rivera also tallied two goals in the game, giving him three goals in a span of two games. Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson recorded the first hat trick of the season for the Lancers, and defenseman Jimmy Schuldt finished with a game high plus-five rating, tying for the highest plus/minus in a game by USHL player this season.

Roadrunners ...The Muskegon Lumberjacks won both of their road contests during the week, improving to 5-1-1 over their last seven games away from home. They are second in the USHL with seven total wins on the road this season. Goaltender Eric Schierhorn made 36 saves in Wednesday's 2-1 win against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. It was the fifth straight win for the goaltender, a span in which he has posted a 1.72 GAA, .963 SV%, and has made at least 32 saves in all five contests. Schierhorn also out-dueled Dubuque goaltender Jacob Nehama who suffered his first loss of the season. Defenseman Christian Wolanin scored two goals in a span of 1:42 in the second period on Saturday, and then he converted in the shootout to help the Lumberjacks win 3-2 over the Youngstown Phantoms. It was his second shootout tally in three attempts this season.

Short Stuff ...Sioux Falls Stampede forward Logan O'Connor scored shorthanded in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Green Bay Gamblers. Four of his six goals this season have been scored on the penalty kill, leading all USHL players in shorthanded goals. It already equals USHL Tier 1 era (2002-present) record for shorthanded goals in one season by a player in a Stampede uniform, tying Dan Sexton (2006-07) and Jacob Micflikier (2002-03).

Eight is Enough ...The Youngstown Phantoms cruised to an 8-0 victory against the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Friday, the third time over their last four road games that they have scored six-or-more goals. Youngstown was 4-of-7 on the power play, the second time this season they have scored four power play goals in one game. They lead the USHL with 26 total goals on the man-advantage this season. Maxim Letunov, a 2014 NHL Draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, netted two of the power play goals in Friday's win. Kyle Connor equaled a season high with a four-point night (1g, 3a) while Ryan Lomberg scored a goal to give him seven tallies over his last five games. Chris Birdsall stopped all 30 shots in net for his first USHL career shutout.

Power Players ...Tri-City Storm forward Garrett Gamez netted a power play goal in both games during the week for his team. He has scored on the man-advantage in three straight games, moving into a tie for fourth in the USHL with five power play goals this season. Teammate Chris Wilkie also scored on the power play on Saturday, the 35th goal of his USHL career. It was his sixth power play tally of the season, tying him for the second-most in the League.

Noteworthy ...Goaltender Cam Gornet stopped all 20 shots he faced on Thanksgiving to lead the Sioux City Musketeers to a 3-0 win over Lincoln. It was his first USHL shutout and gave the Musketeers their League-leading 10th win at home this season...Jiri Fronk scored a goal in all three wins for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders during the week, giving him six goals over his current five-game goal streak. He leads the USHL with 17 goals this season...Hugh McGing scored the game-winning goal in consecutive victories for Cedar Rapids against Waterloo during the week. He has tallied three goals over his last five games...Shane Gersich netted two goals for the Omaha Lancers in Sunday's shootout loss, the fourth time during his six-game point streak (5g, 6a) that he has produced multi-point efforts...Defenseman Sasha Larocque netted the game-winner just 12 seconds into overtime for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in Friday's 6-5 victory against Madison. It gave him a three-point night (1g, 2a) and led Dubuque to their sixth win in their last seven road games...Zach Yon scored the game-winner and Mathias Israelsson made 36 saves to lead the Fargo Force to a 3-1 win against the Sioux City Musketeers on Saturday. Fargo became the only team in the USHL to beat Sioux City twice this season, a team that had been averaging five goals per game over their last seven outings coming into Saturday's meeting with the Force...Michael Gillespie netted two goals for the Lincoln Stars in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss to Cedar Rapids. It was his second multi-goal game of the year and put him into a tied for third among USHL players with 11 goals this season...The first USHL goal for Chad Pietroniro was the game-winner for the Madison Capitols in the 4-3 victory over Green Bay on Wednesday. It was the fourth straight win for Madison over their Wisconsin rivals...One day after celebrating his 19th birthday, Jarod Zirbel scored his first USHL goal for Madison in Friday's overtime loss to Dubuque...Haralds Egle scored for Madison on Friday, giving him five goals over his last six games and extending his point streak to seven games (5g, 3a)...Joey Anderson scored a pair of goals for Team USA, including the game-winner, in Saturday's 4-2 victory against Dubuque. It was his second multi-goal effort in a span of three USHL contests...Defenseman Brandon Montour, a 2014 NHL Draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks scored twice on the power play for the Waterloo Black Hawks in Wednesday's loss to Omaha. The second goal was the 20th of his USHL career, 11 of which have been on the power play.

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