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 United States Hockey League

USHL Update - Week 24

March 10, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


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AROUND THE LEAGUE

Phantoms Dozen...The Youngstown Phantoms earned a two-game weekend sweep over the Sioux Falls Stampede to extend their team record winning streak to 12 games. They have accumulated 67 points in the standings, moving them within one point of first place in the Eastern Conference (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) and within two points of the top record in the USHL (Sioux City Musketeers). They have scored five-or-more goals in seven games during the streak, including five of the last six contests. Youngstown leads the League by averaging 3.90 goals per game. Maxim Letunov dished out three assists in Friday's 7-3 win before netting a goal, which was his 100th USHL career point, in Saturday's 6-2 win. He is riding a 10-game point streak (8g, 8a). Josh Melnick found the scoresheet in each contest, extending his point and assist streak to 10 games (4g, 16a). Kiefer Sherwood totaled four points (2g, 2a) over the two weekend wins, giving him 11 points (5g, 6a) over the last six games, while Kyle Connor had a seven-point weekend (3g, 4a) to take over the USHL scoring lead.

New Steel...With the USHL trade deadline earlier in the week, several players found themselves wearing new uniforms during the weekend and quickly made big impacts for their new clubs, including a trio for the Chicago Steel. Trevor Gorsuch made 21 saves in his first start with the Steel on Friday, a 2-1 overtime win against Omaha, and then made a USHL career high 41 saves in Sunday's 2-1 victory against Dubuque. In just his second game with the Steel, J.D. Dudek scored the game-winning goal in Saturday's 4-3 victory against his former team (Dubuque). Defenseman Carson Vance, who had seven total assists in 44 previous USHL games before coming to the Steel, dished out four assists over the three-game weekend.

Triple Play...The Under-18 squad for Team USA won three games in four days during the week, outscoring their opponents 19-6 in the process. They have won nine of their last 10 games in the USHL, dating back to January 10th. Brendan Warren equaled a season high with three points (2g, 1a), including the game-winning goal, in Thursday's 7-2 victory against Omaha. Matthew Tkachuk (1g, 2a) and Jack Roslovic (1g, 2a), each had three-point nights in Friday's 4-2 win over Waterloo. Troy Terry netted two goals and 15 different skaters had at least one point in Sunday's 8-2 win against Sioux Falls. Auston Matthews scored a goal in all three games, extending his point streak to seven games (7g, 9a). He has produced 35 points (15g, 20a) in just 18 USHL contests this season.

Quick Goals...Team USA forward Christian Fischer wasted little time in getting his team on the scoreboard on Thursday. He intercepted a pass shortly after the opening faceoff and then skated in to score a goal just six seconds into the game. It was the fastest goal scored from the beginning of a game in USHL history, breaking the old the mark of seven seconds which was shared by Dakota Klecha of the Muskegon Lumberjacks (3/17/2012) and Dan Dwyer of the Sioux City Musketeers (11/21/1992). Fischer recorded three points (1g, 2a) in Thursday's 7-2 win against the Omaha Lancers and now has 22 points (10g, 12a) in 19 USHL games this season. In addition to Fischer's quick goal to start the game, Team USA netted three goals in a span of 35 seconds during the third period on Thursday. Auston Matthews scored at 16:22, Brendan Warren at 16:39, and then Colin White at 16:57. The three goals in 35 seconds were just five seconds shy of the USHL record for fastest three goals set by the Thunder Bay Flyers against Dubuque on October 29th, 1988.

Force Fast Start...Forward Denis Smirnov of the Fargo Force also got the offense going early in the game on Thursday as he netted a goal just 30 seconds after the opening faceoff against the Tri-City Storm. He wasn't done there as he tallied his second goal of the night just 2:07 later to make it 2-0 for the Force. They would eventually earn a 4-3 victory. It was the third multi-game of the season for Smirnov and helped the Force snap a four-game winless skid (0-3-1).

Inaugural Season Showdown...The Bloomington Thunder and Madison Capitols split a weekend series, concluding the four-game season series between the expansion clubs. Five different skaters netted a goal for the Thunder in Saturday's 5-3 win, including the game-winner by Ryan Galt, which was the 35th goal of his USHL career. Madison would get revenge on Sunday as goaltender Darren Smith stopped all 30 shots he faced in the 3-0 victory to post his second shutout of the season. Bloomington won the season series (3-1-0) against their fellow USHL expansion club. Bloomington (51) and Madison (50) are separated by just one point in the Eastern Conference standings. They are the first two USHL expansion teams since the 2010-11 season when the Dubuque Fighting Saints and Muskegon Lumberjacks entered the League. Dubuque won three of four matchups against Muskegon that year.

Staying On Top...The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders picked up a pair of home victories during the weekend to remain on top of the Eastern Conference standings. It also gave them a League-leading 34 victories this season. They allowed just one goal over the two weekend victories after they had been just 1-5-0 in six previous home contests. Playing his 200th USHL career game, Andrew Oglevie had the lone tally in the shootout of Friday's 2-1 shootout win against Madison, helping the Riders improve to 5-0 in the extra session this season. Casey Jerry then recorded a USHL career high three points (1g, 2a), including the game-winning goal, in Saturday's 5-0 win over Green Bay. Ben Blacker made 24 saves to record his second shutout and 20th victory of the season.

The Goal Standard...Sioux City Musketeers forward Robert Carpenter scored less than two minutes into overtime to give his team a 3-2 victory against Muskegon on Friday. He followed up with another goal in Saturday's 4-3 loss to Muskegon. The 18-year-old has tallied 10 goals over his last 11 games and is now tied for the USHL lead with 29 goals this season. He is tied with Chris Wilkie who netted a goal in both weekend contests for the Tri-City Storm, including the game-winner in Friday's 3-2 victory over Fargo. Wilkie has netted seven goals over his last 11 games.

Buc Shot...Des Moines Buccaneers forward Ryan Dmowski scored two goals in a span of 1:27 during Friday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Lincoln Stars. It was the first multi-goal game of his USHL career. He followed up with another goal in Saturday's 5-1 win over Lincoln. It gave him six goals during his current five-game goal streak, tying for the longest goal streak in the USHL this season. The 17-year-old has tallied 12 goals over his last 21 games for the Bucs. It is the longest goal streak by a Bucs player since Willem Nong-Lambert scored seven goals over a six-game streak in 2012-13.

Nifty Fifty...Muskegon Lumberjacks forward Griffen Molino dished out three assists in Saturday's 4-3 win against the Sioux City Musketeers, helping the team snap a four-game winless skid on the road (0-3-1). His three assists helped him become the 10th USHL player this season to reach the 50-point mark (12g, 38a) and just the fourth player in Lumberjacks history to score 50 points in a season, joining Matheson Iacopelli (63 in 2013-14), Ryan Misiak (58 in 2010-11), and Matt Berry (51 in 2010-11).

It's Tricky...After scoring a goal on Friday, Waterloo Black Hawks forward Nick Swaney had a breakout game on Saturday with four points (3g, 1a) in the 5-1 victory against Team USA's Under-17 squad. He netted his second and third goal in a span of 1:32 of game action in the third period to complete his first USHL hat trick. The 17-year-old joined the Black Hawks recently after finishing his season at Lakeville South High School in Minnesota where he netted 25 goals in 25 games.

Milestone Moments...It was a milestone weekend for several members of the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Dylan Gambrell scored in regulation during Friday's 3-2 shootout win against Green Bay. It was his 100th USHL career point. Brett Boeing netted a shorthanded goal for Dubuque on Saturday, his 25th goal of the season and 35th of his career in the USHL. He then played his 100th regular season game for the Saints on Sunday. Seamus Malone had the lone tally for the Saints in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Chicago. It was the 45th goal of his USHL career and came one day after playing his 150th regular season game in the League.

Noteworthy...Forward Zach Jordan recorded his first multi-goal game when he tallied two, including the game-winner, for the Des Moines Buccaneers in Saturday's 5-1 victory against Lincoln...Playing his 125th USHL game, Patrick Grasso also recorded his first multi-goal game for the Des Moines Buccaneers with two on Saturday...Goaltender Cam Hackett made 39 saves for the Lincoln Stars and then stopped both attempts he faced in the shootout of Friday's 4-3 win against Des Moines. It was the 11th time this season he has faced at least 40 shots in a game...Collin Olson made 44 saves for the Sioux City Musketeers in Friday's 3-2 overtime victory against Muskegon. It was the 55th win of his USHL career...Matej Paulovic scored two goals, including his fourth game-winner of the year, to lead the Muskegon Lumberjacks to a 4-3 victory against Sioux City on Saturday. It snapped Muskegon's four-game road winless skid (0-3-1) and extended his point streak to six games (3g, 5a)...Defenseman Phil Bealieu dished out a USHL career high three assists for the Waterloo Black Hawks in Saturday's 5-1 win vs. Team USA...Tyler Sheehy dished out three assists over two games for the Youngstown Phantoms after being acquired earlier in the week. He is now five points shy of 100 for his USHL career.





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