USHL Weekly
Published on March 3, 2008 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jack Connolly
Sioux Falls
Connolly had six points last week and is now the league s top scorer. He had a goal (the game-winner) and an assist in a 7-3 win over Sioux City. After going scoreless in a 2-1 loss to Indiana, he had a goal and three assists in a 6-2 win over Tri-City.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Eric Springer
Sioux Falls
Springer had a three-point week, helping the Herd jump into a threeway tie for second place in the West. He had a goal and an assist in a 7-3 win over Sioux City, then added another assist in a 6-2 win over Tri-City. He had 8 SOG and was +6.
Stauber s Goalcrease GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Matt DiGirolamo
Waterloo
Waterloo had four games last week and DiGirolamo played all four, going 3-1-0. He had 22 saves in a 2-1 win over Chicago, 16 in a 3-2 shootout win over Cedar Rapids, 18 in a 4-3 loss to Ohio and 28 in a 2-1 win over Green Bay. He had a 1.98 GAA.
USHL I NSI DER
8 0 0 Club: Saturday s loss to Indiana was the 800th game coached by Sioux City s Dave Siciliano in his USHL career. He s the second coach in league history to reach the 800-game mark, joining Bob Ferguson, who holds the record with 873 games coached.
Water loo s Weis Guy: Paul Weisgarber scored in the last minute of the second and third periods, twice tying the game and forcing overtime, helping Waterloo to a 3-2 shootout win over Cedar Rapids on Friday.
Playoffs? Playoffs!: Indiana became the second USHL team to clinch a post-season berth, by way of Saturday s 5-1 win over Sioux City.
Next Coaching Milestone: Sioux Falls bench boss Kevin Hartzell is next up on the USHL coaching milestone watch, as he is three wins away from 300 in his USHL coaching career.
No History This Time: Omaha s bid to become the team with the longest unbeaten streak in USHL history came to an end with their 3-1 regulation loss to Tri-City on Saturday. It was their first regulation loss since January 5, a streak of 18 games. The league record is 20 games, held by the Rochester Mustangs over parts of two seasons in 1986. The league record for longest unbeaten streak in one season is 19 by the 1998-99 Des Moines Buccaneers.
The Bryce I s Right : Bryce Aneloski scored both goals for Cedar Rapids in their 3-2 shootout loss to Waterloo on Friday.
Huddy s Heat in Up: After enduring a stretch of eight games without a point, Tri-City s Alex Hudson is in the midst of a five-game scoring streak.
Off To A Quick Star t : Des Moines interim head coach Todd Knott didn t waste time in picking up his first USHL win, getting the job done in his first outing, 4-3 over Chicago on Friday.
Welcome To The Club: Nick Dineen joined the Century Club when he assisted on Joe Knoepke s goal in the second period of Sunday s 6-2 win over Tri-City. The assist was Dineen s 100th career regular season point in three seasons with Sioux Falls.
PRO ALUMNI NEWS
After being called up for the second time this season, Alex Goligoski (Sioux Falls) has points, both assists, in back-to-back games. His first NHL point came on a goal by Ryan Malone (Omaha) in Pittsburgh s 5-4 loss to Ottawa on Saturday.
Kar l Goehr ing (Fargo-Moorhead) was named one of the AHL s Three Stars of the Night on Sunday after making 38 saves in Syracuse s 4-2 win over Hamilton.
Kyle Okposo (Des Moines) was listed in a recent issue of The Hockey News as an AHL player that can soon expect the call to the NHL. He s the third USHL alum to be so listed by THN this season, the others being Teddy Purcell (Cedar Rapids) and Goligoski.
Brandon Bochenski (Lincoln) was on the move at the NHL trade deadline, being shipped from Anaheim to Nashville, his fifth NHL team and third this season.
Joe Motzko (Omaha) also changed organizations at the deadline, going from Washington s AHL affiliate to Atlanta s, the Chicago Wolves.
Thomas Vanek (Sioux Falls) was named one of the NHL s Three Stars of the Month for February, scoring 13-7-20 for the month, third best in the NHL. He had points in 11 of 15 games and goals in nine of 15 games in February.
Joe Pavelski (Waterloo) and Sam Gagner (Sioux City) are tied for second in the NHL in shootout goals with five apiece.
COLLEGE ALUMNI NEWS
Chr ist ian Hanson (Tri-City) was featured in a segment of Sunday s SportsCenter on ESPN, tracing his career in the USHL and at Notre Dame as well as his relationship with his father, Dave, who was one of the three Hanson brothers in the 1977 cult film Slapshot.
Cory Quirk (Waterloo) scored twice and had an assist in a 5-1 upset win for Massachusetts over Boston University on Saturday.
Chr is VandeVelde (Lincoln) scored the game-winning goal in overtime as North Dakota beat Minnesota-Duluth 2-1 on Sunday, completing the weekend sweep of the Bulldogs.
Peter Mannino (Tri-City) made 21 saves in Denver s 1-0 win over Michigan Tech on Friday, the 14th shutout of his college career, and establishing a new mark for shutouts at Denver.
Just in Lew andow ski (Chicago) scored a pair of goals in helping Ferris State upset CCHA champion Michigan 4-3 in overtime on Saturday.
Dan Dr ies (Ohio) scored his tenth goal of the season, and the gamewinner, as Hockey East champion New Hampshire beat Merrimack 2-1 on Friday.
Joe Fallon (Cedar Rapids) made 23 saves in Vermont s 2-0 win over Maine on Friday, his 19th career shutout.
Just in Abdelkader (Cedar Rapids) scored his first career hat trick and had an assist in Michigan State s 6-3 win over Bowling Green on Friday. He had another assist on Saturday to be named CCHA Player of the Week. Andy Miele (Chicago) had two goals and two assists (including a game-winning goal) in a pair of Miami wins over Ohio State, earning him CCHA Rookie of the Week honors.
United States Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2008
- Connolly, Springer Named USHL Players of the Week - Sioux Falls Stampede
- USHL Weekly - USHL
- RoughRiders weekly - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
- Surging Stampede Prepare For Weekend Battle At Indiana - Sioux Falls Stampede
- First-Place Ice Home For Two This Weekend - Indiana Ice
- Worn Down But Not Out - Waterloo Black Hawks
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