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USHL Update - Week Five

Published on November 1, 2011 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


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Six for Saints...The Dubuque Fighting Saints captured a pair of wins during the weekend to extend to their winning streak to six games. It is the longest win streak in the USHL this season and equals the Saints longest win streak from a season ago. The last five wins have come on the road. Captain Zemgus Girgensons scored three goals during the two wins and has goals in three straight contests. Three of his six goals this season have been game-winners, including his goal in the 4-1 win vs. Fargo on Saturday. Shane Walsh tallied the game-winner in Friday's 3-1 victory over Sioux City and added another goal on Saturday to extend his point streak to three games.

No Place Like Road...The Green Bay Gamblers headed west over the weekend and earned two victories to maintain a perfect road record (5-0-0), the only unbeaten USHL team away from home this season. Five of the next six games for the Gamblers are on the road. Green Bay was 3-of-8 on the power play over the two wins and has the second best road power play conversion (33.3%) in the USHL. Eight different Gamblers recorded a goal as they outscored the opposition 8-2 in the two weekend victories. Nolan LaPorte scored his team-leading sixth goal in Friday's 4-1 win vs. Fargo. Defenseman Andy Welinski scored his fifth goal of the season in Saturday's 4-1 victory against Sioux City. He leads all USHL defensemen in goals and is one shy of equaling his total of six from the entire 2010-11 season.

Phantoms Firsts...The Youngstown Phantoms have continued early season success as they are off to their best start (6-2-0) since joining the USHL for the 2009-10 season. They headed to the state of Nebraska for a pair of games during the weekend and the trip proved successful as they scored three power play goals in Friday's 5-1 win to earn their first-ever victory against Tri-City. Another first came on Saturday as the Phantoms earned a 5-2 victory to defeat Omaha for the first time in team history. Goaltender Sean Romeo was stellar between the pipes for Youngstown as he earned both victories making a combined 59 saves, including 42 in Friday's victory. It was his first two USHL wins.

Hat Collector...Chicago Steel forward Andrew Miller capped the fourth week of the season recording a hat trick. For an encore in his first game of Week Five, he equaled that feat by scoring three goals in the 6-4 victory over Team USA on Friday. All six of his goals were scored at even strength. The last USHL player to record hat tricks in consecutive games was Omaha Lancers forward Louis Leblanc who did so late in the 2008-09 season.

Isn't That Special...The Indiana Ice split a pair of weekend games at home, but their special team units continued to shine. Over the two contests with Waterloo, the Ice turned away all seven power play opportunities by their opponents and remain a perfect 13-for-13 on the penalty kill at home this season. One of their top penalty killers has been goaltender Jon Gillies who stopped all 30 shots he faced in Friday's 2-0 win to record his fourth career USHL shutout, tying a team record. The Ice also scored two power play goals over the weekend and lead the entire USHL with a 38.2% conversion rate on the man-advantage. Jacob Fallon tallied his League-leading fourth power play goal in Saturday's 4-3 win.

Double the Fun...Forward Dakota Klecha scored two goals in each of the two weekend victories for the Muskegon Lumberjacks. He has now recorded multi-goal games in three straight contests. All six of those goals during that span have come at even strength. He netted the first goal of the game and then started a three-goal second period for the Jacks in Saturday's 5-1 victory over Chicago. Klecha then scored two goals in the second period, including the game-winner, in the 4-2 win against Waterloo on Sunday.

Just in Time...The Waterloo Black Hawks defeated Indiana Ice 4-3 on Saturday thanks to some last second heroics. Forward Joe Rehkamp netted the game-winning goal with just five seconds remaining in the third period. It was his second goal of the game and the first time in 120 regular season games of his USHL career that he has netted the game-winner. The last second victory was also the first time in the past decade that the Black Hawks have scored a winning goal in the final minute of play.

Quick Stop at Home...After spending the previous two weekends on the road, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders got an opportunity to play in front of the home crowd on Friday and captured a 4-3 victory against Lincoln. Following up his CCM Offensive Player of the Week award, forward Gerald Mayhew collected three points (2g, 1a), including the game-winner with less than five minutes to play in the third period. Acquired in a trade earlier the week, defenseman Nathan Widman scored a goal in his debut with the team. The road stretch now continues for the RoughRiders as they play seven of their next eight games away from Cedar Rapids.

Notes...Forward Nick Lappin scored a goal in both weekend contests for the Tri-City Storm. He has scored five goals over his last three games and is tied for the USHL lead with eight total goals this season...Omaha Lancers goaltender Alex Lyon equaled a season high with 33 saves and stopped both attempts he faced in the shootout of Friday's 3-2 win over Sioux Falls...The Des Moines Buccaneers put an end to a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Tri-City on Saturday. Goaltender Christian Frey made 24 saves to earn his first USHL victory...The first goal of the season for Muskegon Lumberjacks defenseman Mark Yanis was the game-winner in Saturday's 5-1 victory against Chicago while goaltender Paul Berrafato made a season high 32 saves in the 4-2 win over Waterloo on Sunday. He has won his last three starts.

Alumni Update...Former USHL forward Ryan Thang made his NHL debut on Monday night after being called up by the Nashville Predators. He took the ice for his first NHL game in his hometown as the Predators visited the Chicago Blackhawks. Thang spent two seasons in the USHL (2004-06), first playing with the Sioux Falls Stampede before rounding out his USHL career with 30 points (15g, 15a) in 25 games for the Omaha Lancers. He was selected by Nashville in the third round (81st overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and is the fifth USHL alumnus to make his NHL debut this season.

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United States Hockey League Stories from November 1, 2011


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