USHL Players of the Week
February 27, 2017 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
The United States Hockey League announced the CCM Forward, Defenseman and Goaltender of the Week for Week 23 of the 2016-17 season. Sioux City Musketeers teammates Eeli Tolvanen and Matiss Kivlenieks were named Forward and Goaltender of the Week, respectively, and Waterloo Black Hawks defenseman Mikey Anderson was named Defenseman of the Week. Tolvanen and Anderson earned weekly honors for the second time this season while Kivlenieks was named Goaltender of the Week for the first time in his USHL career. Tolvanen had three goals on the weekend and now sports a four-game point streak, Anderson dished out four assists to help the Black Hawks extend their point streak to 15 games, and Kivlenieks stopped all 17 shots he faced in Friday's 2-0 win over Lincoln. CCM Hockey is the official equipment provider of the USHL.
Forward: Eeli Tolvanen - Sioux City Musketeers
2 GP: 3 goals, 0 assists, +3 rating
Tolvanen tallied the game-winning goal in Sioux City's 2-0 shutout of the Lincoln Stars on Friday night before scoring twice as the Musketeers knocked off the Tri-City Storm 5-1 on Saturday. The Boston College commit is now sporting a four-game point streak with seven points (6G, 1A) in that span and has 40 points (23G, 17A) in 39 games this season. A native of Vihti, Finland, Tolvanen is in his second season in the USHL and has tallied 78 points (40G, 38A) in 88 career games. He was ranked seventh among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings in January and played for Finland at the 2017 World Junior Championship. This is the second time Tolvanen has earned weekly honors, as he was named Forward of the Week on Oct. 3. Prior to his time in the USHL, Tolvanen played for the Espoo Blues program in Finland. He was signed to a tender contract by Sioux City prior to the 2015-16 season.
Defenseman: Mikey Anderson - Waterloo Black Hawks
2 GP: 0 goal, 4 assists, +2 rating
Anderson dished out a pair of assists both Friday and Saturday night, helping the Black Hawks extend their point streak to 15 games with wins over Bloomington and Omaha. The Roseville, MN native is now on a six-game point streak dating back to Feb. 11, with eight points (2G, 6A) in those six contests. On the season, he has 28 points (4G, 24A) in 42 games, good for fifth among all USHL defenseman in scoring. The University of Minnesota Duluth commit has been busy this season, as he has represented Team USA at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament and the World Junior A Challenge, where he helped Team USA to a gold medal. He was named to the USA Hockey/CCM All-American Prospects Game, the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, and was ranked 56th among North American Skaters on NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings. Anderson was signed to a tender contract by Waterloo prior to the 2015-16 season played for Hill-Murray School (USHS) before joining the Black Hawks. He previously earned USHL Defenseman of the Week honors on Oct. 10.
Goaltender: Matiss Kivlenieks - Sioux City Muskteers
1-0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV%
In his only start of the weekend, Kivlenieks stopped all 17 shots he faced to lead the Musketeers to a 2-0 shutout of the Lincoln Stars on Friday night. The Minnesota State University, Mankato commit has won his last seven starts between the pipes and has not lost back-to-back starts this year. Kivlenieks has been outstanding all season long for Sioux City, as he leads all USHL goaltenders with a 27-5-4-2 record, goals against average (1.80), save percentage (.937) and saves (1047), and is second in minutes played (2333). The Riga, Lative native previously played for the Coulee Region Chill (NAHL), Forest Lake Lakers (MNJHL) and HS Prizma/Pardaugava (Latvia). He was selected fifth overall by the Musketeers in the 2016 USHL Draft.
United States Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2017
- USHL Players of the Week - USHL
- Anderson Stars Among USHL Defenseman - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Socks for Sail Results - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Storm Lands G Feeney, Draft Pick from Bloomington for Halladay - Tri-City Storm
- Steel Acquire Ben Mirageas from Bloomington - Chicago Steel
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