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USHL Weekly

January 19, 2004 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


Leading - Life at the top can be hard - just ask Tri- City. Injuries and the grind of being No. 1 have struck, but the team has held its grip on first place thanks to gritty efforts and key goals like the one Bill Thomas scored in overtime to beat Green Bay on Saturday.

The win opened what the Storm hopes will be a solid six-game homestand.

Struggle - Danville is winless in six games (0-5-1).

Musky Power - Sioux City's Matt Hartman registered his first junior hockey hat trick in the Musketeers' 5-3 win over the Wings yesterday. Hartman has now notched a blistering 17 points over the course of an eightgame points streak.

Hawks Rule - Waterloo drew a Young Arenarecord crowd on Saturday night: 3,552. The Black Hawks' power play is also drawing - goals - with a league-leading efficiency rate of 21.7.

Eagle Eyes - St. Louis leads the USHL in short-handed goals for with eight. Shoot - Chicago is 14-3-0 when outshooting its rival. Streaking - Sioux Falls' top scorer, Jim McKenzie, is in the midst of a three-game goal-scoring streak.

Power Players - River City's Mike Howe and Danville Alex Foster are tied atop the leaderboard with 10 power-play goals. Howe leads the league in shots with 146.

USHL Quotable with...

River City head coach Mike Hastings on his team taking too many penalties (as told to Steve Sigafoose, Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil):

"We need to show more discipline. The penalties are killing us. It is an issue we will address."

LPH/USHL Offensive Player of the Week:

Matthew Ford -- SIOUX FALLS STAMPEDE

Ford (Westhills, Calif.) earned Offensive Player of the Week honors with one of the most prolific surges in recent league history. He registered 11 points on the week (6G, 5A) which included back-toback hat tricks and a game-winning goal against River City. Honorable mention goes to Sean Garrity (Green Bay), Mick Lawrence (River City), and Domenic Maiani (Sioux City).

LPH/USHL Defensive Player of the Week:

Brett Motherwell -- RIVER CITY LANCERS

Motherwell (St. Charles, Ill.) earned Defensive Player of the Week honors with a solid effort at both ends of the ice for the Lancers. In three games last week, Motherwell notched two goals, three assists, a gamewinning goal and posted a plus-minus rating of plus-5. Honorable mention goes to Shane Connelly (Chicago), Phillippe Lamoureux (Lincoln) and Jeff Lantz (Sioux City).

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 19, 2004

Ottawa forward and AHL All-Star Josh Langfeld (Lincoln) notched his first NHL goal last week against Martin Brodeur... Defenseman Andy Roach (Waterloo), who skated with the Black Hawks in 1991-92 and 1992-93, was named to the German Elite League's All-Star Team last week. Roach now plays for Mannheim of the DEL... It seems that Tampa Bay goaltender John Grahame (Sioux City) has assumed the Lightning's starting job. He is currently second in the NHL with a 1.16 goals-against average... University of North Dakota forward Brandon Bochenski (Lincoln) leads the nation in goals-per-game average with a .95 mark. His 20 total goals also lead the nation... North Dakota goaltender Jordan Parise (Waterloo) leads the nation with a .909 winning percentage... University of New Hampshire goaltender Mike Ayers (Dubuque) was named Hockey East Player of the Week today after posting back-to-back shutouts against ranked opponents Dartmouth (30 saves) and Brown (23 saves)... Providence's Bobby Goepfert (Cedar Rapids) posted a career-high 47 saves in a 3-3 tie vs. Northeastern Saturday... Bemidji State goaltender Layne Sedevie (Sioux Falls; Topeka) was named CHA's Defensive Player of the Week last Monday after helping the Beavers take over first place with a win over Niagara... Michigan Tech sophomore Brandon Schwartz (Sioux City) notched the first two-goal game of his college career against North Dakota on Friday... Minnesota's Thomas Vanek (Sioux Falls) posted four goals and three assists in two games against Minnesota State over the weekend... Minnesota goaltender Kellen Briggs (Sioux Falls) set a Golden Gophers rookie record for shutouts in a season in Friday's 6-0 Minnesota win.

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2004


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