Gamblers Weekly
Published on February 23, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Green Bay Gamblers News Release
Good to be the Gamblers In The Last 4 Years...
It is safe to say that the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League have been the most dominant Tier 1 team in a 4 year period in league history. More impressive is the fact that the team has gone through three coaches in that span.
The team has come a long way from 2008 when the team hit a low point in the Tier 1 era with only 13 wins. A season in which the team was outscored 224 to 130 and only accumulated 8 wins at the Resch Center.
The Change was evident in the summer of 2009 with the hiring of Jon Cooper. The Cooper era started with the largest turnaround in USHL history. With 39 regular season wins, the Gamblers captured their first Anderson Cup Championship (regular season championship) since 1997. Forward Mike Forney broke a USHL record scoring the fastest three goals in a come back win over Chicago. Forney scored all three goals in a 2:17 minute span.
In 2010 the Jon Cooper led Gamblers captured both the Anderson and Clark Cup Championships. The 45-10-5 mark for the Gamblers is the 2nd best record in the Tier 1 era (Omaha 46) and is only 3rd in USHL history to the Des Moines Buccaneers 1998-99 team (48 wins). Goaltender Steve Summerhays broke records in the USHL winning 20 games straight and currently holds the longest undefeated streak with a record of 25-0-2 in 2010. Forward Anders Lee equaled three playoff records tallying 4 goals and 2 assists in a win over the Indiana Ice at the Resch Center. The New York Islanders draft pick was on route to becoming the playoff MVP for the Gamblers.
The 2011 season welcomed a new era. Eric Rud took over after the departure of Jon Cooper to the American Hockey League. Rud led the team to 41 wins in his first season which completed a historic three year run for the Gamblers. The team fell short of unprecedented third Anderson Cup Championship by 4 points to the Rough Riders, and lost in the Clark Cup Finals to the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The Rud led Gamblers were the best team defensively in the Tier 1 era only allowing 2.18 goals against per game and complete a three year run in wins for the Gamblers that was unmatched by any team during that time frame.
Derek Lalonde was hired in August after Eric Rud left to coach at his Ala Mata Colorado College. Lalonde has not skipped a beat taking over a franchise with the most wins in the USHL in the last three years. With 33 wins and a month of the season left to play the Gamblers are poised to for the franchise's 3rd straight year of 40 wins or more, and are 13 wins away from securing another regular season championship. The Gamblers sit this season at a plus 83 goals differential. The next top three teams combined are plus 82. Currently the team leads the league in points, goals and assists, and is one point away from securing the first playoff spot this season.
Four years with three different coaches and yet the Gamblers are on pace to win the most regular season games in a 4 year span in the Tier 1 Era with two Anderson Cup Championships and one Clark Cup Championship. The Gamblers have won the most playoff games in the past 4 years (20), and could potential be the best team defensively in GAA in the past 4 years after this season. The Gamblers could also break the USHL record for road wins set by the 04-05 Cedar Rapids Rough Riders (24). Currently the Gamblers sit at 18 wins on the road with 9 to play.
Gamblers Sign Brendan Lemieux...
The Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) are pleased to announce that forward Brendan Lemieux has been signed as a tender by the team and will play for the Gamblers in the upcoming 2012-13 season.
Lemieux is the son of four-time Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe winner Claude Lemieux. Currently, Lemieux plays for the Toronto Red Wings AAA program and comes to the Gamblers highly touted as one of the top "Ë96 birthdates in North America. Lemieux will join top prospect and fellow North Dakota Recruit Nick Schmaltz as high profile player to play in Green Bay next season.
"We are very excited to sign Brendan as our first tender," said Head Coach and General Manager Derek Lalonde, "To have the caliber of players like Brendan and Nick to decide to play here in Green Bay is a credit to the Gamblers organization and the USHL as a league."
Both Lemieux and Schmaltz are scheduled to join North Dakota in the fall of 2014.
Weis Headed to Ohio State...
The Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) are pleased to announce that defenseman Matthew Weis has committed to the University of Ohio State of the newly formed Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes are coached by former Gamblers coach Mark Osiecki. Osiecki coached in Green Bay from 1997 to 2004 leading the franchise to a Clark Cup Championship in 2000.
Weis played the 2009-10 season with the Jersey Hitmen of the Empire Junior Hockey League. In 31 games, Weis tallied 17 goals 22 assists. The Madison, New Jersey native played 25 games for the Ice Rays this season scoring 4 goals and 14 assists. Since being traded to the Gamblers, Weis has tallied 4 goals and 6 assist with a plus 6 plus/minus rating in 17 games this season.
Weis becomes the 20th Gambler on the 2011-2012 squad to commit to a NCAA Division I institution. Others include forwards Grant Arnold (Denver), C.J. Eick (Michigan Tech), Kyle Novak (Western Michigan), Alex Broadhurst (Nebraska-Omaha) Nick Schmaltz (North Dakota), Nicholas Schilkey (Ohio State), Alex Kile (Michigan) Ville Jarvelainen (St Cloud St), Sam Herr (Notre Dame) Nolan LaPorte (Western Michigan), Sheldon Dries (Western Michigan) defenseman, Max Hartner (Air Force), Jordan Schmaltz (North Dakota), Dakota Mermis (Denver), Brandon Kirk (Dartmouth), Markus Lauridsen (St. Cloud St) Andy Welinski (Minnesota-Duluth) and goaltenders Mike Rotolo (St. Lawrence) and Ryan McKay (Miami of Ohio).
Saturday, February 25th in M&I Hat Night at the Resch...
Saturday February 25th is M&I Hat Night with the Gamblers as they take on Team USA at the Resch Center. The First 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a black Gamblers baseball cap at the door. For tickets and information call 920-405-1265 or visit gamblershockey.com.
Sunday, February 26th is School is Cool Day at the Resch Center...
The Green Bay Gamblers have teamed up with local schools in northeast Wisconsin for the team's annual School is Cool Day at the Resch Center as the Gamblers host the Muskegon Lumberjacks at 3:05pm. Ticket vouchers were sent to local area schools to be distributed to students with good attendance, good grades or to students who complete their reading programs. Tickets that are giving to the elgible students are good for a ticket for the game. The game is also a Festival Foods Family afternoon. Hotdogs and sodas are just a $1, and kids 14 and under get $5 off a seat in the $13 to $17 price range seating. For ticket information call 920-405-1265 or visit gamblershockey.com.
Gamblers To Raise Money for the American Heart Association...
The Green Bay Gamblers players, coaches and staff will be serving as waiters and bartenders on Tuesday, March 13th from 6:00 "" 9:00 PM at Grazies Italian Grill to raise money for the American Heart Association. The players will serve as the waiters and the coaches and staff will be the bartenders. All tips collected will be donated to the American Heart Association. Grazies Italian Grill is located at 2851 S. Oneida Street in Green Bay.
Bus Trip Headed to Cedar Rapids...
The next Gamblers Bus Trip is set for Saturday, March 17th to the Stable in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to see your Gamblers take on division rivals, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
Cost will be $70.00 for Adults and $35.00 for Children under 14. Price includes transportation on a Lamers coach, soda/water, and your game ticket. All ages are welcome!! Bus will leave Green Bay at 10:30 AM, stop for dinner at a Cedar Rapids area restaurant and return immediately after the game.
To reserve your spot, call Tom at 920-366-4375 or reply to this email.
Sign up deadline is Monday, March 12th.
Only Two More Coaches Shows Left This Season...
Fans catch the Red Line Report at Anduzzi's Sports Club. Shows to starts at 7:00 PM. Host Jason Habeck and head coach Derek Lalonde will be talking Gamblers hockey. A player representative of the Gamblers team will also be in attendance. Only two more live shows to end the season February 28th, 2012 and March 27th, 2012. Fans this is your chance to come down and ask the coach questions yourself. Anduzzi's Sports Club is located just a short distance from the Resch Center on Holmgren Way.
Stat Lines From Around the Dorms...
Cameron Burt scored in the second period on Friday night for RIT in a tie with Robert Morris.
Will Kessel scored on the powerplay for Western Michigan in a 3 to1 victory over Lake Superior.
Jean Paul LaFontaine scored for Minnesota State in a 4-2 loss to Minnesota Duluth on Friday night.
Keegan Flaherty scored for Minnesota Duluth in a 4-4 tie with Minnesota State on Saturday night.
Men of Steel...
The Chicago Steel had a productive weekend as the team earned three wins in a span of 48 hours. The stretch snapped their four-game losing streak. Over the three wins, the Steel allowed just five goals while scoring 14. Chicago turned away all eight power play opportunities and have successful killed off 15-of-16 over their past six games. Ali Thomas scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, in Friday's 4-2 win against Youngstown. He added another goal in Sunday's 5-2 win over Cedar Rapids, his fourth goal in four games. Canon Pieper scored a goal on Friday and then netted a shorthanded tally in Saturday's 5-1 win vs. Muskegon. His brother Bo Pieper also scored on Saturday and then recorded the game-winner on Sunday. Goaltender Mathias Dahlstrom recorded his 10th victory of the season on Saturday as he made 28 saves. Defenseman Bradley Shumway scored his first career USHL goal on Sunday for the Steel. Forward Phillip Marinaccio is riding a four-game point streak (1g, 5a) for Chicago.
Storm Watchers...
The Tri-City Storm were firing on the offensive side of the ice to pick up a pair of wins over the weekend. It pushed their winning streak to three games and gave them seven victories over their last nine contests. They scored four goals in the third period of Friday's 5-2 win vs. Sioux Falls. Brian Ward netted two goals in the game while Joshua Henke scored the game-winner. The Storm again had a four-goal period on Saturday on the way to scoring a season high in goals during the 8-3 win over Lincoln. It was the most goals they had scored in a game since March 25th, 2007 (8-4 win vs. Sioux Falls). Kenny Brooks recorded the 17th hat trick in team history during the win. Thomas Nykopp produced five points (2g, 3a) over the weekend.
Saints Go Marching...
The Dubuque Fighting Saints extended their win streak to three games with a pair of weekend victories. The defending Clark Cup champs have won five of their last six contests and currently sit in a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference. Max Gardiner scored two goals in Friday's 4-1 victory against Muskegon to give the Saints their 15th home win of the season which ties for the USHL lead. Goaltender Connor Girard made 25 saves to capture his second USHL win. Despite being out-shot 31-15 on Saturday, the Saints earned their 12th road win of the season with a 4-3 shootout victory against Waterloo. Defenseman Mike Matheson provided much of the offense as he scored two goals in regulation and converted the lone shootout tally, his first USHL career shootout attempt.
150 for Regg...
Des Moines Buccaneers head coach Regg Simon earned a milestone victory on Friday as he collected his 150th USHL coaching win during the Bucs 4-3 win over Indiana. The victory wasn't easy as the Bucs had two players in the penalty box during the final minute of regulation and withstood a rare 6-on-3 power play as Indiana pulled their goalie in favor of the extra attacker. All but 19 of Simon's USHL wins have come behind the Des Moines bench (he led the Tri-City Storm to a 19-15-2 record after taking over midseason in 2002-03). He is the 15th coach in USHL history to reach 150 wins and he is fourth in victories among active coaches, trailing P.K. O'Handley, Mark Carlson, and Kevin Hartzell who have all surpassed 400 wins. Simon's milestone win came one week after O'Handley collected his 450th USHL win.
Crowded House...
Attendance numbers continued to soar as more than 45,000 fans attended USHL games during "Hockey Weekend Across America". The Sioux Falls Stampede hosted 4,511 fans on Saturday, their highest attended game of the season and most fans in almost exactly one year when they equaled a record of 4,764 on 2/19/11. The Omaha Lancers had their fourth highest crowd of the season on Saturday as 4,617 fans attended their game. The Waterloo Black Hawks opened the doors to 3,500 fans on Saturday, the third time this season they have reached capacity of Young Arena. The Tri-City Storm had 3,265 fans at Saturday's game, their fourth highest single-game total of the season. A total of 3,412 fans were at the home game for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Saturday, the fifth highest crowd for the team this season. The Des Moines Buccaneers welcomed 3,268 on Sunday, the fifth time in their last eight home games they have surpassed 3,200 in attendance at the 3,400-seat Buccaneer Arena.
The Kid is Alright...
Omaha Lancers goaltender Thatcher Demko stopped all 22 shots he faced to record his first USHL shutout in Friday's 7-0 win against Cedar Rapids. Demko, who just turned 16 in December, is the youngest goaltender in the USHL Tier I era to post a shutout. Team USA goaltenders Jared Rutledge (4/1/11 vs. Youngstown) and Collin Olson (3/27/11 vs. Des Moines) also recorded shutouts as 16-year-olds last season, both accomplishing the feat just before celebrating their 17th birthdays in April. Demko has won three of this last four starts.
Hats Off...
A pair of hat tricks were put on the board during the weekend. Lincoln Stars forward Will Suter scored a goal in each period of Friday's 4-2 win against Sioux City. He had scored just three goals total in 41 previous USHL career games. Kirill Lebedev recorded a hat trick for the Indiana Ice in Saturday's 6-3 win vs.Omaha. It gave him five goals over his last four games and seven goals in just eight USHL games this season.
What a Difference a Year Makes...
Playing in his 42nd game of the season, J.T. Stenglein scored a pair of goals for the Youngstown Phantoms in the 5-4 win over Team USA on Sunday. It gave him a team-leading 22 goals for the season. In 42 games last season for the Phantoms, he scored one goal.
Notes...
Sioux Falls Stampede forward Austyn Young equaled his USHL career high with three points (2g, 1a) on Wednesday to help his team to a 5-2 win against Des Moines and snap a seven-game winless skid (0-5-2)...Playing last weekend for the first time in nearly six weeks due to injury, Kevin Irwin returned to the Des Moines Buccaneers lineup and helped them pick up a pair of wins, including scoring the game-winning goal in Sunday's 4-2 win over Waterloo...Luke Voltin scored his first goal as a member of the Des Moines Buccaneers, the game-winner in Friday's 4-3 victory against Indiana...Ryan Papa scored the game-winning goal for the Waterloo Black Hawks during a 4-1 victory over Fargo on Friday. He has netted the game-winner in each of the last three games for the team and has collected five game-winners this season...Max Edson scored his first USHL career shorthanded goal on Friday which was the ninth of the season for Waterloo, the most the team has scored in a season since 2003-04...The 150th USHL regular season game for Soren Jonzzon was a memorable one as he scored two goals, including the game-winner, for the Youngstown Phantoms in their 5-4 win over Team USA on Sunday...Mike Ambrosia had his point streak halted at 12 games when he was held scoreless on Sunday. The Youngstown Phantoms forward put up 20 points (3g, 17a) during the streak.
United States Hockey League Stories from February 23, 2012
- Fighting Saints to Host Second Chance Prom Saturday - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Highly Touted Bischoff to Join Lancers this Weekend - Omaha Lancers
- Phantoms Face Road Test this Weekend in Lincoln, Dubuque - Youngstown Phantoms
- United Way's Storm Jersey Auction on Saturday - Tri-City Storm
- Gamblers Weekly - Green Bay Gamblers
- Home and Home Series with Des Moines Highlights Weekend - Sioux City Musketeers
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.
