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USHL Weekly

Published on December 8, 2008 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


The USHL at 30 Years

The Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks moved to Chicago and became the Steel in 2000. For the most part, the team hovered around the .500 mark, until 2003-04. Under the direction of rookie Head Coach Wil Nichol, the Steel won their first-ever East Division title, besting Cedar Rapids by one point.

The feat was remarkable considering the Steel didn't have a scorer or a goaltender ranked among the league leaders. Danny Charleston led the team in scoring and Curt Hammer award winner Topher Scott also provided clutch goals. Shane Connolly and Adam D'Alba split the goaltending duties and Nichol claimed league coach of the year honors.

The division title didn't bring post-season success, however, as the Steel fell to eventual Clark Cup champion Waterloo in a tight, five-game, first-round series.

USHL INSIDER

Helping The Cause: USHL Photographer Robert Meyer has reduced the prices for purchasing league photos at www.ushlimages.com during the holiday season. In addition, all monies collected through the site from now through the end of December will be donated to the American Heart Association in memory of Indiana Ice President Michael Schupay. Blog Re-launched: Speaking of photos, Meyer's popular photo blog, Best Seat in the House, is back and better than ever. You can view the blog at blog.ushlimages.com.

Back On The Bench: Former Thunder Bay and Sioux City Head Coach Dave Siciliano's retirement didn't last long. Siciliano has been named the interim head coach of the Thunder Bay Kings, a AAA midget team in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Offensive Juggernaut: Cedar Rapids has found the offense of late. They scored nine goals in back-to-back wins over Des Moines and Omaha and have scored 24 goals in their last three games. Triple Double: Lincoln's Ryan Kretzer has scored a goal and an assist in each of his last three games.

Extra Sessions: On Saturday, Waterloo's Craig Smith scored 21 seconds into overtime in a 4-3 win over Omaha. On Sunday, Fargo's Chris Franks scored with 13 seconds to go in overtime as the Force downed Sioux City 3-2.

Mr. Consistent: Andrew Miller has been the most consistent scorer in the USHL this year. Miller has at least one point in 18 of the Steel's 21 games this season and leads the league in scoring with 36 points in 21 games.

Snapped: Matt White scored twice and Josh Balch had a pair of assists as Des Moines beat Fargo 4-2 on Thursday, snapping the Buccaneers' eight-game skid.

Easy For Eddy: Sioux Falls' David Eddy had five points in an 8-6 win over Sioux City. Eddy has ten points in his last six games.

PRO ALUMNI NEWS

Sean Collins (Sioux City) was called up by the Washington Capitals and made his NHL debut Saturday against Toronto, playing 13:42 in the Capitals' 2-1 win.

Nathan Gerbe (Omaha) was recalled by the Buffalo Sabres and played his first NHL game against Tampa Bay on Saturday. Gerbe had four shots on goal in 15:09 of ice time in the Sabres' 4-3 win.

David Moss (Cedar Rapids) has scored eight goals in 27 games for the Calgary Flames this season. A year ago, he scored just four goals in 41 games.

Tim Conboy (Topeka) was recalled by the Carolina Hurricanes and has one assist in two games. Conboy played 19 games at defense and forward for the Hurricanes a year ago.

Patrick Sharp (Thunder Bay) had a career year for the Chicago Blackhawks last season, leading the team with 36 goals. Sharp is proving that was no fluke, as he has 16 goals in 25 games this year, putting him on a pace to score 52 goals for the year.

Mark Eaton (Waterloo) scored his first goal of the season in Pittsburgh's 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. It was Eaton's first goal in 90 games. His last goal came during the 2005-06 season when he was a member of the Nashville Predators.

Martin Hanzal (Omaha) doubled his season goal output and picked up his first career hat trick, scoring three times in Phoenix's 6-3 win over Toronto on Thursday.

COLLEGE ALUMNI NEWS

Jordan Pearce (Lincoln) was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week after he went 2-0-0 and stopped 55 of 56 shots as Notre Dame swept Ferris State.

Chris Wideman (Cedar Rapids) was named CCHA Defensive Player of the Week after notching four assists in Miami's weekend sweep of Western Michigan. Wideman had an assist on the game-winner in Saturday's 4-2 win, then set up three more goals in Sunday's 7-3 victory. USHL alumni swept the weekly awards in Hockey East. Louis Liotti (Sioux City) scored twice, including the overtime winner, in Northeastern's 3-2 win over Maine on Friday to be named Player of the Week.

Chris Connolly (Omaha) was named Rookie of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal on a penalty shot and adding an assist in Boston University's 3-1 win over Boston College on Saturday night.

Brian Foster (Des Moines) was named Goaltender of the Week after making 48 saves in a pair of wins, including 29 saves in a 2-0 shutout of UMass-Lowell on Friday.

Patrick Cullen (Indiana) was named ECAC Rookie of the Week after scoring twice in RPI's 7-3 loss at Yale on Friday. The next night, he scored two more goals in a 7-2 win over Brown. A pair of former RoughRiders did battle on Friday night in Colorado Springs.

Alex Stalock made 28 saves and Richard Bachman made 32 stops as Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth played to a 1-1 tie.

Travis Turnbull (Sioux City) netted a hat trick in Michigan's 5-3 win over Michigan State on Saturday. Turnbull also had an assist the night before for the four-point weekend in the Wolverines' sweep.

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United States Hockey League Stories from December 8, 2008


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