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USHL Update - Week Seven

Published on November 5, 2013 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


AROUND THE LEAGUE

Make it Eight ...Three victories during the week have extended the winning streak for the Sioux City Musketeers to eight games, the longest streak in the USHL this season. While the team has done plenty of scoring during the streak (37 goals), they have also been tremendous defensively. The Musketeers allowed a total of four goals in their three wins last week and currently rank second in the USHL allowing 1.92 goals per game for the season. Trevor Olson scored a goal in all three games and now has five goals during his four-game streak. Brandon Hawkins scored the game-winner in Friday's 3-2 victory against the Omaha Lances, and then added a goal in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Tri-City Storm. He is now tied for fourth in the USHL with nine goals this season. Kyle Hayton was in net for all three victories, posting a 1.33 GAA and .952 SV%. He made 30 saves on Saturday to collect the 20th victory of his USHL career and extend his win streak to six games.

Northern Exposure ...The Chicago Steel headed north for the weekend and earned a two-game sweep of the Fargo Force. It extended their win streak to three games and improved their all-time record at Fargo to 4-1-1. Goaltender Chris Nell made a season high 40 saves to earn his first USHL shutout in the 3-0 win for the Steel on Friday. He then made another 30 saves in Saturday's 5-2 win to collect the 10th victory of his career with the Steel. John Schilling scored just 58 seconds into Friday's contest, his first USHL goal, and then added a second tally in the third period. Three different Steel players scored their first goal in the League on Saturday - Brian LeBlanc, Zach LaValle, Robbie Payne. The goal by LeBlanc proved to be the game-winner.

Road Riders ...The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders went to the Eastern Time zone for a pair of weekend wins. Dylan Steman netted the winner in overtime of Friday's 3-2 victory against the Indiana Ice before Andrew Poturalski tallied the deciding goal in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Poturalski had scored his 20th USHL career goal on Friday and is riding a nine-game point streak along with teammate Jason Kalinowski who recorded an assist in each game to extend his point streak to nine. He is currently tied for fourth in the League with 17 points (7g, 10a). Goaltender Danny Tirone was in net for both victories, making a combined 67 saves to improve his season record to 4-0-0. The RoughRiders are now 5-0-1 on the road this season, the only USHL team to have yet to lose in regulation away from home.

Reaching New Highs ...Team USA's Under-18 squad remained unbeaten in regulation during USHL play (6-0-1) as they collected a huge 7-1 win against Sioux Falls on Wednesday. It was also the 10th total win for Team USA in USHL play (U17 & U18), which is tied for the League lead. Ryan Hitchcock dished out four assists to equal a USHL season high. It was the fourth multi-point game of the season for Hitchcock who leads Team USA with 11 assists. Defenseman Brandon Fortunato finished the night with a plus-five rating to also equal League season high. He leads Team USA with a plus-14 rating which currently ranks fourth overall in the USHL. Goaltender Edwin Minney made 27 saves to improve his record to 4-0-1 with a stellar 1.58 GAA in USHL play.

Streaking in the Bay ...A pair of wins on the weekend for the Green Bay Gamblers extended their home winning streak to five games. They have yet to lose in regulation on home ice this season, posting a 5-0-1 record. During the win streak, the Gamblers have outscored the opposition 18-7 at the Resch Center in Green Bay. They have also successfully killed off 23 opponent power plays during the stretch and lead the USHL with an overall 96.4% penalty kill on home ice. Kevin Irwin scored three of the team's six goals over the two victories against the Des Moines Buccaneers. He netted his 50th USHL career tally, the game-winner, in Friday's 3-0 win and has scored four goals over his last three games. 16-year-old Brent Gates, Jr. scored a goal in both victories.

Eight is Enough ...Muskegon Lumberjacks forward Matt Iacopelli netted a goal in Friday's 5-4 overtime loss to Dubuque. It was his eighth consecutive game scoring a goal, which is the longest streak in the USHL since the 2009-10 season when both Matt White (Omaha Lancers) and Anders Lee (Green Bay Gamblers) each put together eight-game goal streaks. Iacopelli had his streak come to an end on Saturday when the Jacks fell to Cedar Rapids 3-2.

Home Security ...It took some late game heroics, but the Dubuque Fighting Saints kept their unbeaten record intact on home ice (6-0-0). Trailing 4-3 to the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Friday, the Saints pulled their goaltender in favor of the extra attacker. Amidst a scramble in front of the net, Dylan Gambrell buried the puck to tie the game with just 39 seconds remaining in the third period. A little more than a minute into overtime, defenseman Keegan Ford ripped home the game-winner for the Saints, his first goal of the year. The team holds a 58-9-7 record at the Mystique Community Ice Center in Dubuque since the beginning of the 2011-12 season.

Putting a Stop to That ...The Tri-City Storm earned two home victories during the week, snapping a five-game winless skid on home ice (0-3-2) and an overall six-game winless stretch (0-5-1). Joel L'Esperance scored a pair of goals in Wednesday's 4-2 victory over the Waterloo Black Hawks while newcomer Christian Horn netted his first USHL goal, the game-winner. Goaltender Jacob Johansson had a 34-save performance on Wednesday and then stopped all 33 shots he faced during Friday's 3-0 win against Lincoln, his second shutout of the season. Tory Dello scored his first USHL on Friday, an empty netter to seal the victory.

Traveling Herd ...The Sioux Falls Stampede have spent a large chunk of the season thus far on the road, but it hasn't affected them in the win column. They won two of three games on their road trip to play Eastern Conference foes and currently lead the USHL with eight road wins. Since the beginning of last season, the Herd are 29-11-3 away from Sioux Falls. After falling to Team USA on Wednesday, they picked up a two-game sweep over the Youngstown Phantoms, outscoring them 9-2 over the two contests. Tony Calderone scored two goals, including the game-winner, in Friday's 6-1 victory. His second tally was the 35th of his USHL career. Griffen Molino dished out three assists in the contest and then scored his first USHL goal, the game-winner, in Saturday's 3-1 victory. Conner Valesano recorded four points during the weekend, including a three-point night (1g, 2a) on Friday.

Staying in the Lead ...After having their home winning streak stopped at five games on Friday, the Omaha Lancers rebounded for a home victory on Saturday with a 4-1 win against the rival Lincoln Stars to remain on top of the Western Conference standings. It was the 10th win of the season for the Lancers, tying for the League lead. Tyler Vesel scored three of the six goals for the Lancers during the weekend and leads the USHL with 12 goals. Jake Randolph extended his point streak to seven games during the weekend, including a two-point night on Friday (1g, 1a), his eighth multi-point effort this season. He currently leads the USHL in scoring with 26 points, including a League best 20 assists.

Just in Time ...Defenseman Jake Cass picked an opportune time to score his first USHL career goal. With the Indiana Ice trailing 2-1 on Friday and their goaltender pulled in favor of the extra attacker, Cass ripped a shot that found the back of the net with just 16 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the contest and force overtime. It was the 33rd career game with the Ice for the 17-year-old. Indiana would eventually fall in overtime to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, but earned a point in the standings.

Noteworthy ...Forward Mikey Eyssimont and defenseman Christopher Buchanan each scored their first USHL goal for the Fargo Force in Saturday's 5-2 loss to Chicago...Lincoln Stars forward Dominic Sacco scored his first goal of the season in Saturday's 4-1 loss. The goal came against his former team, the Omaha Lancers...Matt Mendelson has scored four goals over his last four games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks, including a pair in Friday's loss to Dubuque...Two of the last three goals for Jake Horton have been the game-winner for the Waterloo Black Hawks, including his shorthanded tally in Saturday's 4-2 victory against rival Dubuque to make it four straight wins at home for the Hawks...Eric Robinson and Nate Sucese scored just 1:16 apart for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in Saturday's loss to Waterloo. It was the first USHL goal for both players.

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United States Hockey League Stories from November 5, 2013


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