USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints

Montes Doubles Up, Geisel Shines as Saints Top Riders

February 12, 2022 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release


DUBUQUE, Iowa - Make it five in a row. The Dubuque Fighting Saints have earned 13 of the last 14 standings points. William Hallén's game-winning goal halfway through the third period gave Dubuque the spark it needed to top the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders 3-1 on Saturday night at the Mystique Community Ice Center.

Hallén deflected a shot from the point by Samuel Sjölund and tipped the puck past Cedar Rapids goaltender Bruno Bruveris for his fifth goal of the season. Shawn O'Donnell added the additional helper.

While man power advantage changed multiple times in the final five minutes of regulation, the Fighting Saints made due with a late man advantage. Hallén threaded the needle to Max Montes, who whirled a backhander to the blocker side and gave the Saints a 3-1 lead late in the third. It was the Wisconsinite's second goal of the night.

Paxton Geisel rose to the occasion with 25 saves on the evening for his fourth consecutive win. He has stopped 95 of the last 99 shots fired his way (.959 sv%) over his last four starts. His best work came on two occasions- a toe stop on a breakaway opportunity as Conor Lovett jumped out of the penalty box and deked backhand, and on a bang-bang opportunity on an early power play in the second period.

Geisel's 15 wins rank third-most in the USHL behind Madison's Simon Latkoczy (17) and Tri-City's Arsenii Sergeev (23).

Montes started the scoring for the Fighting Saints in the first period. Dubuque's second power play lit the lamp on a tic-tac-toe setup. Ryan Beck's cross seam pass found Stephen Halliday, who one-touched the puck back door to Montes for his first of the night. Halliday's assist was the 144th point of his Dubuque Fighting Saints career, which tied him with Shane Sooth in the organization's Tier I scoring history. It was also the 100th assist of his Saints career.

Montes finishes the weekend with three goals in two games.

Cedar Rapids tied the game in the second period on a power play of their own. Adam Flammang's bid from the slot ricocheted off of Geisel's pad and right to Lovett, who pounced on the rebound and stashed it in. The tie lasted 25 minutes until Hallén's goal broke it.

In a battle of special teams, it was Dubuque's 2-for-7 performance that topped Cedar Rapids' 1-for-7 efficiency on the man advantage.

As a result of the win, the Fighting Saints lead the Dupaco Cowbell Cup standings with 8 points, and they climb to within a point of the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Dubuque is back in action Thursday night at home against the Madison Capitols at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available at DubuqueFightingSaints.com.

Check out the Dubuque Fighting Saints Statistics



United States Hockey League Stories from February 12, 2022


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