USHL United States Hockey League

Rewind: Taking a Look Back at Saturday Night's Action in the USHL

Published on March 25, 2024 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


Omaha 5, Des Moines 4 shootout

Omaha jumped out to a 3-0 lead but had to fend off a Des Moines rally to eventually win a 5-4 decision in a shootout Saturday.

Noah Jones and Aleksi Kivioja scored goals in the opening stanza and after the first 20 minutes of play, the Lancers held a 2-0 lead. Cameron VanSickle scored the only goal in the second period as Omaha's lead grew to three goals.

Ben Kevan and Liam Watkins, the top two goal scorers on the Des Moines roster, both scored to pull the Bucs to within one, but a Will Elger tally at 11:10 put Omaha up by two once again. The Bucs tied it before the end of regulation when Andrew Clarke scored at 12:07 and Ilya Protas tallied at 14:29, forcing overtime.

After neither team was able to score in the five-minute overtime session, Kivioja was the only player to score during the shootout.

Omaha netminder Kam Hendrickson, who was making his USHL debut, stopped 28 of 32 shots during regulation and overtime and made three saves on three shots in the shootout to get the win.

Fargo 3, Youngstown 2

Fargo held a two-goal lead after the first period and held on the rest of the way in a 3-2 victory over Youngstown Saturday.

Zam Plante got the ball rolling for the Force, opening the scoring in the game at 2:05 of the first period. Ryan Botterill responded for the Phantoms five minutes later, but Jake Fisher and Lee Parks tallied before the end of the period and Fargo led 3-1 after the opening 20 minutes.

Defenseman Luke Osburn's seventh goal of the season, which came at 6:42 of the second, cut the deficit to one, but Youngstown could not close the gap as Fargo shut the door the rest of the way despite getting outshot 11-6 in the third period.

Hampton Slukynsky had 32 saves for the Force, while Aiden Wright finished with 27 saves for the Phantoms.

Sioux Falls 7, Lincoln 2

Including the game-winning goal, Zach Nehring scored three times to lead Sioux Falls to a 7-2 home win over Lincoln Saturday.

Nehring, a Western Michigan commit, opened the scoring in the game when he tallied right before the end of the first 20 minutes of play.

Kazimier Sobieski made it a 2-0 Sioux Falls lead at 0:57 of the second and Nehring's second goal of the game, which came two minutes later, gave the Stampede a three-goal cushion. Dashel Oliver cut into the lead when he scored at 4:47 with his 11th goal of the season, but Egor Barabanov's goal at 8:25 put the Stampede up 4-1. Keaton Peters, for Lincoln, and Jaksen Panzer, for Sioux Falls, both lit the lamp before the end of the period and after 40 minutes, it was Sioux Falls 5, Lincoln 2.

The Stampede secured the win in the third on goals from Nehring and John McNelis.

Christan Manz stopped 33 of 35 shots to get the decision in net for Sioux Falls.

Chicago 5, Cedar Rapids 0

A three-point night from Mick Thompson and the first career shutout from Quentin Sigurdson highlighted Chicago's 5-0 home win over Cedar Rapids Saturday.

Michael Hage, on assists from Thompson and Charlie Major, started things for Chicago at 4:14 of the first period.

Thompson then scored back-to-back goals midway through the second period as the Steel lead grew to 3-0. Michael Emerson made it a four-goal differential at 13:04 and Hudson Gorski increased the lead to 5-0 with less than two minutes left in the period to complete the scoring in the game.

The Steel, who have won four straight games and five of their last seven outings, received a 17-save effort from Sigurdson, who has now won his last three appearances.

Waterloo 4, Tri-City 1

Forward Gavyn Thoreson scored twice in Waterloo's 5-1 home victory over Tri-City Saturday.

The Black Hawks led 2-0 before the game was 10 minutes old on goals from Gavin Lindberg and John Mustard. Storm defenseman Shaun McEwen's goal at 11:15 pulled Tri-City within one, but Thoreson scored three minutes later to make it a 3-1 Waterloo advantage after 20 minutes of action.

After a scoreless middle frame, Thoreson closed out the scoring in the game with his 19th goal of the season coming on a five-on-three power play just after the start of the third period. Thoreson, a St. Cloud State commit, has scored goals in three straight games and has six goals in the last eight games.

Calvin Vachon turned aside 23 of 24 shots to get the win in net for the Black Hawks and now stands 20-9-0-0 on the season.

Muskegon 6, Sioux City 3

Matvei Gridin and Sacha Boisvert both scored twice and added an assist, while Joe Connor had a goal and two assists as Muskegon gained a 6-3 home win over Sioux City Saturday.

With the win, Muskegon has clinched a spot in the 2024 Clark Cup Playoffs.

Boisvert and Connor both connected for first-period goals and at the end of 20 minutes of play, the Lumberjacks had a 2-0 lead.

Gridin scored at 2:01 of the second as the lead grew to 3-0. Riley Bruek's first goal of the year made it a 3-1 game, but Gridin scored his second of the game two minutes later as Muskegon regained its three-goal advantage.

Brueck's second of the game came at 6:24 of the third and when Giacomo Martino tallied at 9:31, the Musketeers pulled within one. The Lumberjacks secured the win when Justin Solovey scored a power play marker at 11:42 and Boisvert tallied into an empty net at 18:36.

Shika Gadzhiev turned aside 30 of 33 shots to pick up the win for Muskegon.

Madison 5, USA Hockey NTDP U17s 1

Patriks Berzins stopped every shot but one and five different players scored goals as Madison skated to a 5-1 home win over the USA Hockey U17s Saturday.

Jack Brandt scored in the first period and Andrew Kuzma and Gavin Uhlenkamp had second-period goals as the Capitols built a 3-0 lead by the end of 40 minutes.

Madison Moe's first career USHL goal made it 4-0 when he scored at 6:21 of the third and when Brendan Lamb tallied at 8:20, Madison held a five-goal cushion. Jake Stuart converted on a nice feed from Jack Murtagh at 12:19 of the third to get the U17s on the board.

Berzins, who has won four of his last five appearances and upped his record on the season to 12-11-2-0 with the win, stopped 26 of 27 shots in the contest.

Dubuque 6, Green Bay 2

A three-point effort on two goals and an assist from Noah Powell keyed a 6-2 Dubuque home win over Green Bay.

Powell got the Fighting Saints offense rolling with his first-period goal coming just after the opening face-off.

Lucas St. Louis scored a power play marker at 13:39 of the second and after Libor Nemec tallied with the man advantage for Green Bay at 15:20, the score stood 2-1. Two more power play goals followed for the Fighting Saints with one by St. Louis at 17:31 and another from Powell at 18:36 and by the end of the second it was a 4-1 Dubuque lead.

Caelum Dick made it a 5-1 lead at 6:06 of the third and when Jake Sondreal converted on a breakaway shorthanded chance at 9:51, it was 6-1. Blake Bechen's power play marker at 10:13 closed out the scoring in the game.

Upcoming Games

Sunday

USA Hockey NTDP at Muskegon - 1:00 p.m. EST (suspended)

Dubuque at Chicago - 3:05 p.m. CST

Cedar Rapids at Green Bay - 3:05 p.m. CST

Tri-City at Waterloo - 3:05 p.m. CST

Des Moines at Omaha - 4:05 p.m. CST

Be sure to visit ushl.com for more information on the USHL.

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2024


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