USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints

Fighting Saints News and Notes

Published on December 6, 2011 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release


DUBUQUE, Iowa - A pair of weekend meetings with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders has given the Fighting Saints plenty to feel good about as they approach the midway-point of the season. After the team got off to a 2-0 lead in the first period on Friday in Cedar Rapids, the RoughRiders managed to tie the game with markers in the first and third frames. After a scoreless overtime, Shane Sooth was the shootout hero for Dubuque once again, scoring a goal that gave the Fighting Saints two points on the evening.

The next night was a milestone for the organization on and off the ice. Collin LeMay earned a 3-0 shutout win for the team - a feat made all the more special because it was his first USHL start. The Fighting Saints put together a full sixty minutes of their brand of hockey, and avoided overtime against the RoughRiders for just the fourth time in ten meetings between the two teams over the course of the last two seasons.

Off the ice, the Fighting Saints packed in 3,320 fans into the seats - a season high, and the third-highest Dubuque hockey crowd of all-time. This included a group of 730 Boy Scouts, their families, and friends - a record-setting group for the team.

The Fighting Saints will hit the road this weekend, playing twice in Indianapolis against the Indiana Ice. The Ice are in fourth place in the USHL's Eastern Conference, sitting five points behind the Fighting Saints, who are in second place. The Ice have struggled on home ice this season, compiling a 5-5-1 record to go along with a 6-2-1 mark on the road. They have dropped two in a row to fall to 4-5-1 over the span of their last ten games.

First Time's the Charm

LeMay's shutout made him the first Fighting Saints netminder to complete a shutout for the team this season. Matt Morris and Gabe Antoni combined to shutout the Muskegon Lumberjacks on October 22 - the game in which Morris went down with an ankle injury. LeMay said that "all the nerves were gone in Des Moines," referring to his USHL debut - a third period of action against the Buccaneers in which he held Des Moines off the scoreboard with the Fighting Saints trailing 4-0. Combining the two games, LeMay has started his USHL career with eighty minutes of shutout hockey.

From Dubuque to the World

Former Fighting Saints forward, USHL Rookie of the Year, and Current Boston College stand-out John Gaudreau has been added to the preliminary roster for the 2012 U.S. Junior National Team, meaning that he will compete to be added to the final roster for the 2012 World Junior Championships from December 26 to January 5 in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta. Gaudreau, a Calgary Flames fourth-round draft pick, has scored 13 points in 16 games with the Eagles.

"I'm really happy for John, because (being named to the preliminary roster) is not a fluke," said Fighting Saints Head Coach Jim Montgomery. "His skill and will allowed him to have success in Dubuque last year, and he's having an incredibly impactful freshman season in Boston. You don't often find players who are that creative, and I think it is really smart by the management of USA Hockey, led by Dean Blais, to include him on their roster."

He won't be the only Fighting Saint at the Championships. Current Dubuque Captain Zemgus Girgensons helped lead the team of his native Latvia to a first place finish in the second tier of the World Junior Championships in Belarus last winter, ensuring that Latvia will have a spot in Alberta in 2011-12.

Injury Roundup

The Fighting Saints suffered an injury setback on Saturday night when Forward Max Gardiner blocked a shot with his foot in the second period. Though he finished the game, he has a fracture in the foot that is expected to sideline him for three to five weeks. The injury comes at an especially inopportune time for Gardiner, who had scored a goal on both Friday and Saturday nights. Montgomery believes that Gardiner should have added to that total in the third period of Saturday's game, but the goal was disallowed. The referee determined that Gardiner had kicked the puck across the goal line.

Matt Morris continues to work his way back onto the ice. He skated with the team on Tuesday, and the team will evaluate his progress throughout the week. He is doubtful to make a return to the Fighting Saints lineup this weekend, but a return to game action the following weekend is a strong possibility. If Morris were to sit out the next four games, however, he would benefit from an additional week of rest around Christmas and be ready to come back after the holiday break.

Defenseman Kyle McKenzie continues to progress with his lower body injury, though he is still regarded as "day-to-day". He could make his return to the Fighting Saints lineup this weekend, after missing only two games of action.

Around the USHL

The Green Bay Gamblers remain on top of the USHL, with a 17-3-1 record. This mark includes a 12-1-0 road record, a five-game winning streak, and a 9-0-1 record over the team's last ten games. The Fighting Saints are 14-5-1, in second place, six points behind the Gamblers. Dubuque is 1-2-0 head-to-head against Green Bay this season.

Kevin Roy of the Lincoln Stars remains in the lead for point-scoring, with thirty through twenty games. Shane Sooth and Zemgus Girgensons are tied for the Fighting Saints lead in scoring with twenty points apiece.

Check out the Dubuque Fighting Saints Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2011


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.

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