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USHL Update - Week 22

Published on February 25, 2015 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


AROUND THE LEAGUE

Phantoms Make it Eight ...Three victories over four days helped the Youngstown Phantoms extend their winning streak to eight games, the longest such streak in team history. They have outscored the opposition 33-15 during the streak and are now second in the USHL with 15 total road victories. All three wins last week came on the road, also extending their record road win streak to eight games. Chris Birdsall stopped all 27 shots he faced in Thursday's 1-0 victory against Bloomington to post his second shutout of the season. Youngstown netted all five of their goals in the third period of Saturday's 5-1 win over Green Bay, including a pair by Matt Alvaro, and then got their eighth straight victory by equaling a season high with eight goals in Sunday's 8-5 win over Green Bay. Taylor Best scored two goals, including the game-winner, while Ryan Lomberg netted his USHL-leading sixth shorthanded goal. Maxim Letunov scored on Sunday, giving him six goals over his last six games, and Josh Melnick had a three-assist effort, giving him 11 total assists over his six-game streak. Kyle Connor has points in each of the team's eight straight wins (6g, 7a).

No Place Like Home ...The Tri-City Storm earned a 3-1 victory on Saturday against the Lincoln Stars to extend their home win streak to eight games. That equals a Storm record first established during the 2003-04 season. They have outscored their opponents 36-15 during the home win streak and are now tied for second overall in the USHL with 16 total home wins. Defenseman Vince Pedrie scored the game-winner for Tri-City on Saturday, his first goal since being acquired by the team earlier this month and 10th total goal this season. Alec Dillon, a 2014 NHL Draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings, earned his 18th victory of the season on Saturday. It is the most wins by a goaltender in a Storm uniform since Carsen Chubak won 21 games in 2009-10. Dillon leads the USHL with a 2.14 GAA.

The Best of 2015 ...The Sioux City Musketeers won two of three games during the weekend, improving their record to 9-1-1 over their last 11 contests. Sioux City has posted a 14-3-1 record since the calendar flipped to 2015, the best record in the USHL over that time. Sam Kurker netted the game-winner in Saturday's 4-1 victory over Cedar Rapids before adding his 20th goal of the season in Sunday's 4-3 win against Tri-City. Cam Gornet made 22 saves to earn the win on Saturday, his first game since January 31st. Robert Carpenter scored the game-winner in Sunday's 4-3 victory against Tri-City, giving him five goals over his last six games. Sunday's victory was the 30th of the season for the Musketeers, and their League-leading 18th on home ice.

High Five for Herd ...The Sioux Falls Stampede allowed just one goal over two weekend games, helping them to extend their win streak to five games. That ties their longest win streak of the season. During the streak, they have outscored their opponents 17-7 and successfully killed off 20-of-21 opponent power plays. The Stampede currently rank third in USHL penalty killing (85.6%). Stefanos Lekkas stopped all 27 shots he faced in Friday's 5-0 win against Fargo, his second shutout of the season. Kieffer Bellows netted his 25th goal of the season in the contest. Art Brey made 15 saves in Saturday's 2-1 victory against Team USA, picking up the 45th win of his USHL career. Parker Tuomie has scored four of his 10 goals this season during the team's five-game win streak, including a pair of game-winners.

Rockin' in Ralston ...The Omaha Lancers won a pair of contests during the weekend to extend their home win streak to five games. All five of those wins have been played in front of standing room only crowds at the 3,500-seat Ralston Arena. Shane Gersich had five points (1g, 4a) over the two games, including three assists in Friday's 7-1 victory over Team USA. Defenseman Matt Joyaux dished out two assists in each game and has five total assists over his last three contests. Anthony Angello netted the game-winner in Saturday's 5-1 victory against Fargo, the 15th goal of his USHL career.

Road Riding ...The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders won both on their contests on the road during the week to push their road win total to a League best 17. It already surpasses their road win total of last season (16) and is the most road victories by Riders since they won 17 in 2010-11. Adam Gaudette tied the game on Friday with just 1:11 remaining in regulation as the Riders pulled their goaltender in favor of the extra attacker. They would go on to earn the 4-3 victory after Hugh McGing converted in the seventh round of the shootout. Ryan Larkin stopped all 29 shots he faced on Sunday in the 1-0 victory against Dubuque. It was his third shutout of the season, tying for the USHL lead. Jiri Fronk scored the lone goal of the game, his 26th of the season which ties for second-most in the League.

Winner, Winner ...Dubuque Fighting Saints forward Mitchell Smith netted the game-winner in Friday's 3-1 victory against Muskegon and then scored in overtime of Saturday's 4-3 win over Des Moines. It gave him three goals in a span of four games and moved him into a tie for fifth in the USHL with five total game-winning goals this season.

Hats for Cap ...After scoring seven goals over his previous 43 USHL games, Charlie Gerard netted three for the Madison Capitols in Sunday's 5-2 win against the Chicago Steel. All three goals came at even strength, and it was the first hat trick by a Capitols player during their inaugural season. It also extended his point streak to five games (3g, 5a).

Lot of Points for "˜Loo ...It was a two-win weekend for the Waterloo Black Hawks as they have now earned points in seven straight contests (5-0-2) and in 11 of their last 12 games (9-1-2). After trailing 2-0 on Friday, they scored the next six goals on the way to a 6-2 victory against Sioux City. Brock Boeser scored his USHL-leading 27th goal while Tom Novak and Hayden Shaw both dished out three assists. 16-year-old defenseman Sam Rossini netted his first USHL career goal in the contest. Henrik Rommel also scored a goal, and then he added a shorthanded tally in Saturday's 4-2 win against Bloomington to give him five goals over his last five games and to give him at least one point in 15 of his last 16 games (9g, 11a). Tyson McLellan, who celebrated his 19th birthday last week, added a goal in both weekend victories.

Super Saver ...Waterloo Black Hawks goaltender Cale Morris was in net for both games during the weekend and stopped a combined 84 shots, including a USHL career high 48-save effort on Friday. His 36 saves on Saturday earned him the 30th victory of his USHL career. He has made over 30 saves in each of his last five games. Morris has posted a 9-1-2 record with a 1.49 GAA and .950 SV% since being acquired by Waterloo.

Back in Action ...Team USA's Under-18 squad played their first USHL games in over a month and earned a two-game weekend sweep over Madison. Jeremy Bracco recorded five points (3g, 2a) over the weekend and has now scored six goals during his five-game goal streak in the USHL. Auston Matthews had a four-point game (2g, 2a) in Friday's 9-2 victory, his eighth multi-point effort in 13 USHL games this season. Matthew Tkachuk tallied three goals in Saturday's 6-2 victory for his first USHL career hat trick. 16-year-old defenseman Chad Krys dished out four assists and posted a plus-six rating over the two wins.

Stingy at Home ...Despite the 1-0 loss for the Dubuque Fighting Saints to Cedar Rapids on Sunday, it was their fifth consecutive home game allowing just one goal. They have outscored their opponents 20-5 over those games and lead the USHL with a +36 goal differential on home ice this season.

Four for Steel ...The Chicago Steel began the weekend with victories on Friday and Saturday to extend their winning streak to a season high four games. Defenseman Zach Osburn totaled three points (1g, 2a) over the two wins, including a shorthanded tally in Friday's 3-2 win over Green Bay, and he has produced five points (2g, 3a) and plus-seven rating during the four-game win streak. Robby Jackson netted the game-winner on Friday, his second game-winner during the streak. Jake Bresser scored his first USHL goal on Saturday while Fredrik Olofsson tallied a pair of goals, including the game-winner, in the 5-3 victory against Muskegon. Lassi Yrjola was in net for both victories and made a season high 44 saves on Saturday. He also started in Sunday's loss to Madison, making it 13 consecutive starts for the Steel.

Not Fine With Overtime ...Going past regulation has not been friendly to the Des Moines Buccaneers. They dropped a 4-3 shootout decision on Friday to Cedar Rapids before suffering a 4-3 overtime loss to Dubuque on Saturday. The Bucs have won just one of their 12 games this season that have gone past regulation - 0-5 in overtime, 1-6 in shootouts. Kyle Patava, who grew up near Des Moines in Norwalk, Iowa, netted his first USHL goal on Friday, scoring it four days before his 19th birthday. Playing in just his second with the Bucs after being acquired earlier in the week, Joe Lappin scored a goal on Saturday. Corey Schueneman recorded two points (1g, 1a) on Saturday and leads all USHL defensemen with 36 points (12g, 24a) this season. Tanner Karty is riding a four-game point streak (3g, 2a) for the Bucs.

Noteworthy ...Forward Chris Dodero tied the game with just 11 seconds remaining in regulation and Biagio Lerario converted in the fourth round of the shootout on Friday to give the Lincoln Stars a 3-2 win against the Tri-City Storm and snap a five-game losing streak for the Stars...Darren Smith made 49 saves for the Madison Capitols in Sunday's 5-2 victory against Chicago. It was the seventh time this season he has made 40-or-more saves...Adam Johnson netted his 40th USHL career goal for the Sioux City Musketeers in Friday's 6-2 loss to Waterloo and then scored again in Saturday's 4-1 win over Cedar Rapids, which was his 26th goal of the season...Seamus Malone scored two goals for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in Saturday's win against Des Moines, his third multi-goal effort over his last six games...Four days after celebrating his 19th birthday, Joey Marooney had a USHL career high three-point game (2g, 1a) for the Green Bay Gamblers on Sunday. He has six points (3g, 3a) over eight games since being acquired by the team...Marc Michaelis netted two goals for Green Bay on Sunday and now has three goals over his last four games...Playing his 100th USHL game, Matheson Iacopelli scored a goal for the Muskegon Lumberjacks in Saturday's loss to Chicago. It was the 58th goal of his USHL career.

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 25, 2015


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