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January 5, 2004 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


Gold Rush - Team USA claimed its first-ever gold medal at the World Junior Championship today with a 4-3 victory over Canada.

Three former USHL award winners wore their country's colors plus gold on Monday afternoon: Matt Carle (2003 Defenseman of the Year - River City), Danny Richmond (2002 Rookie of the Year - Chicago) and Dominic Vicari (2003 Goaltender of the Year - River City).

Party On - Waterloo has surged to a four-game winning streak behind the scoring push of Tim Madsen and Garrett Regan.

‘O' from ‘D' - Sioux City's Michael Hodgson is the USHL's top-scoring d-man with 25 points in 28 games.

Tough Lancer - River City's Jeff Lerg leads all USHL goaltenders in winning percentage. He has won nine of his eleven games with only one loss.

Streaking - Lincoln's Matt Weir is riding the wave of a league-best 12-game points streak. He has 16 points over the span.

Also Streaking - Sioux City's Blair Yaworski, a Calgary native who has committed to Yale, is currently in the midst of a four-game goalscoring streak.

Stampede - Sioux Falls' win over Lincoln on Saturday marked the first back-toback victories by the Stampede this season.

LPH/USHL Offensive Player of the Week:

Jim McKenzie -- SIOUX FALLS STAMPEDE

McKenzie (Woodbury, Minn.) earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after a stellar six-point week. McKenzie notched three goals, one of which was a gamewinner. He also scored short-handed and posted a weekly plus-minus rating of plus-2. Honorable mention goes to Blair Yaworski (Sioux City), Rob Ricci (Cedar Rapids), Bill Thomas (Tri-City) and Tim Madsen (Waterloo).

LPH/USHL Defensive Player of the Week:

Jeff Lerg -- RIVER CITY LANCERS

Lerg (Livonia, Mich.), the USHL's leading goaltender, earned Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting a pair of dominating wins that included his second shutout. In all, Lerg turned aside 57 of 59 shots faced and posted a .966 saves percentage. Honorable mention goes to Mitch Ganzak (Green Bay), J.P. Testwuide (Waterloo), Eric Aarnio (Tri-City) and Aaron Walski (Lincoln).

Let's Play Hockey will present all USHL Players of the Week with a trophy and will announce the Let's Play Hockey / USHL Player of the Year at the conclusion of the season. For subscriptions to Let's Play Hockey, call (612) 729-0023.

USHL Alumni Report

January 5, 2004

Texas' John Snowden (Lincoln) was named to the ECHL all-star roster last week... Former USHL all-star linesman Craig Kneale (2001) and former USHL official Brian Thul have been named to work the 2004 ECHL All-Star Game. Both officials made their debut this season in the AHL, along with former USHL referee Chris Ciamaga and current USHL officials Bryan Pancich and Aaron Mills. The USHL has placed over 40 officials in the ECHL in the past ten seasons and nine in the AHL in just five seasons... Ferris State forward Eric Vesely (Topeka) earned CCHA Rookie of the Week honors today after notching his first college goal and adding two assists on Friday as the Bulldogs extended their unbeaten streak to eight games with a 7-5 win... Boston University's Mark Mullen (Des Moines) registered a pair of goals in a 5-5 tie against Minnesota on Friday... New Hampshire goaltender Mike Ayers (Dubuque) is Hockey East's Three Stars leader... University of Denver goaltender Adam Berkhoel (Twin Cities) posted his NCAA-leading fourth shutout of the season on Friday. His 43 career victories are ninth-best at Denver... Denver's Jon Foster (Dubuque) scored his WCHA-leading seventh power-play goal on Friday... Minnesota-Duluth's Luke Stauffacher (Green Bay) registered five goals and two assists against Bowling Green over the weekend... North Dakota's Brandon Bochenski (Lincoln) notched five points in two games against St. Cloud State over the weekend... Minnesota State freshman David Backes (Lincoln) is in the midst of a seven-game points streak (5G, 4A). His 17 points are second best among all Maverick scorers... Ross Carlson (Waterloo) notched three points in his first two games as a Wisconsin Badger over the weekend.

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 5, 2004


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