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USHL Notes: March 28, 2023

March 28, 2023 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


Players of the Week: A league-high six points on a goal and five assists boosted Daimon Gardner (Tri-City/USHL Forward of the Week) and his Tri-City Storm teammates to three wins last week. Gardner, who hails from Eagle Lake, Ont., had a +3 rating and six shots on goal with one of his assists coming on a game-winning goal. A product of the Warroad (Minn.) High School program and a 2022 NHL draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks (4th round, #112), Gardner upped his season totals to 10-27--37 in 36 games on the season with his performance last week. He's a Clarkson University commit.

Shaun McEwen (Tri-City/USHL Defenseman of the Week) registered three points on a goal and two assists with a +3 rating and seven shots on goal in helping lead Tri-City to three wins over league-leading Fargo last week. The UMass commit had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over the Force last Sunday and has 2-4--6 with a +8 rating in 23 games on the year.

Including a 35-save shutout in a 4-0 road win at Waterloo, Michael Hrabal (Omaha/USHL Goaltender of the Week) went 1-0-0 with a 0.75 goals against average and a 0.977 save percentage in two appearances last week. The Praha, Cze., native stands 8-12-0 on the season with a 3.00 goals against average and .904 save percentage.

2023 Clark Cup Playoff Format & Dates Announced: The USHL has announced the format and dates for the 2022-23 USHL Clark Cup Playoffs. This season's playoffs (featuring the top six teams from each of the Eastern and Western Conferences) is slated to begin April 24. Conference semifinals (best of three series) run April 28 - April 30, conference finals (best of five series) are May 5-11 and the Clark Cup Final (best of five series) takes place May 13-23. The USHL Clark Cup format announcement is available HERE.

Rhino Vision: One of the hottest scorers in the USHL, Dubuque forward Ryan St. Louis has tallied 8-9--17 in his last 11 games played. The Burlington, Vt., native, who tallied four times in a 6-1 home win over the NTDP last Saturday, stands tied for fifth in the USHL in scoring with 25-35--60 in 49 games played. In 99 career USHL games (he played with the NTDP 2019-21), he's registered 39-47--86.

Top Cat: Trevor Connelly (Tri-City) is in the midst of a league season-best 14-game point-scoring streak that dates back to Feb. 10. Connelly, who emanates from Tustin, Calif., has racked up 24 points on 10 goals and 14 assists during his streak and for the season, the Tustin, Calif., native owns 16-23--39 in 48 games.

Ryan Leonard (NTDP) heads into the week riding 11-game point-scoring streak during which he's posted 17 points.

Crease Fire: For the season, Lincoln netminders Cameron Whitehead and Lucas Massie have combined for a 31-18-3 record with a 2.88 goals against average and .901 save percentage. During the month of March the tandem have played a huge role in the Stars' push down the stretch. Whitehead, a two-team USHL Goaltender of the Week over the course of the season, stands 3-1-0 for March with a 2.71 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. Massie stands 3-0-0 for March with a 1.33 GAA and a .935 sv%.

Tip Top: League-leading Fargo enters the week looking to rebound after dropping its last four games. The Force, who own a 36-12-2-4 mark for 78 points, have gone 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 contests. Waterloo (34-18-1-0) ranks second in the Western Conference with 69 points. Lincoln (31-18-3-1) owns a 5-0-0-1 mark in its last six games and is third in the conference, while Tri-City (29-17-3-3) has gone 8-1-1-0 in its last 10 games to rank fourth

Chicago (34-16-3-1) remains atop the Eastern Conference with 72 points, but Youngstown (33-16-4-1) is on the Steel's heels with 70 points and the NTDP (32-17-1-2) stands third with 67 points.

USHL NHL Alumni Spotlight: Former Cedar Rapids forward Justin Abdelkader played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings from 2007-2020 during which he tallied 106-146--252 in 739 games played. Abdelkader, who tallied 27-25--52 in 60 games with the RoughRiders in 2004-05, played three years at Michigan State after his one season in the USHL. The Muskegon, Mich., native currently is in his second season playing in the Swiss professional league and after suiting up with HC Lugano last year, is playing with EV Zug this season.


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United States Hockey League Stories from March 28, 2023


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