USHL Weekly
Published on March 2, 2009 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
The USHL at 30 Years
Green Bay's first foray into the USHL as a junior league was with the Bob- cats, a carry-over from the league's pro days. They lasted in the all-ju- nior edition for just two seasons, but what a pair of years they were. After finishing .500 in 1979-80, the next year the Bobcats won the North Division title, going 29-19-0. The team was paced by a set of brothers from International Falls, Minn. - Bill and Bob Mason.
Bill Mason put up 85 points, including 52 assists, in 47 games. His brother Bob, went 29-18-0 in goal, playing far and away the most min- utes in the league. Both went on to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
After college, Bill would become a respected high school and college hockey referee. Bob would go on to play for the 1984 US Olympic Team, and played parts of eight years in the NHL with Washington, Vancouver, Chicago and Quebec. He currently serves as the goalie coach of the Min- nesota Wild.
USHL INSIDER
A Tip Of The Hat: Mike Cichy scored three times in the first period as Indiana beat Waterloo 6-3 on Friday. The next night, Omaha's Louis Leblanc had a first period hat trick in the Lancers' 6-1 win over Sioux Falls.
Black Hawks Blistered By The Bay: Nine players had multi-point games as the Gamblers scored a team season-high 11 goals in Satur- day's 11-0 dismantling of Waterloo. C.J. Lee and David Makowski led the way with four points each.
Steel, Stampede, See Streaks Snapped: Fargo scored twice in the first period, beating Sioux Falls 2-1 on Friday, ending their winning streak at six games. On Saturday, Chicago fell to Lincoln 5-2, snapping their winning streak at eight games.
Storm Warning: Tri-City won a pair of games last weekend, 6-2 over Omaha on Friday and 6-4 over Des Moines on Saturday, marking just the second time this season they have won back-to-back games. The Storm have won three of their last four games.
Andy's Awesome: Andy Taranto scored a shorthanded goal in the third period of the Force's 4-1 win over Sioux City on Saturday. Taranto has now scored goals in four straight games, the longest current goal scoring streak in the league. He has five goals in those four games.
Shooting Gallery: Waterloo had 24 shots on goal in the first period of their 5-1 win over Des Moines on Thursday, a league-high for shots in the first period of a game this season.
Dynamite DeCenzo: Anthony DeCenzo, the top scorer for Tri-City, had a goal and three assists in the Storm's win over Omaha on Friday. The next night he added another goal and assist for a six-point week. De- Cenzo now has 14 goals and 37 points in 47 games.
Finding Flanagan?: Since taking home MVP honors in the 2009 USHL Prospects/All-Star Game, Kyle Flanagan has just two goals and five points in ten games. Flanagan scored a goal in Saturday's 2-1 win over Indiana, snapping a four-game goal drought.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Indiana drew 11,120 fans to their annual "Pack the House Night" on Saturday. In their five "Pack the House" nights since joining the USHL in 2004-05, the Ice has drawn a total of 67,041 fans to Conseco Fieldhouse.
PRO ALUMNI NEWS
Tim Stapleton (Green Bay) made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and scored the winning goal in the shootout as the Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders 5-4. On Saturday he scored his first regulation NHL goal in Toronto's 4-3 overtime win over Ottawa. He was tied for 14th in AHL scoring at the time of his recall.
Nate Guenin (Green Bay) was called up for the third straight season by the Philadelphia Flyers. He made his season-debut against New Jersey on Sunday, playing 13 minutes and 25 seconds.
Paul Stastny (Omaha) returned to the Colorado Avalanche lineup on Tues- day after missing 26 games with a broken forearm. He has one assist in three games since his return.
Yan Stastny (Omaha) was sent down by the St. Louis Blues to their AHL affiliate in Peoria on February 12, but the stay was a short one, as he was recalled on February 23.
Thomas Vanek (Sioux Falls), still out of the Buffalo Sabres lineup with a broken jaw, has five hat tricks in his career, four of which are natural hat tricks. That ties a league record set by Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Sena- tors, set in the early 1920's.
Jason Blake (Waterloo) had an assist in Toronto's 4-3 win over Ottawa on Saturday, giving him 50 points on the season. It's the fourth straight 50- point campaign for Blake.
Teddy Purcell (Cedar Rapids) was called up again by the Los Angeles Kings and picked up an assist in the Kings' 4-2 loss to Chicago on Sunday. Purcell has a goal and seven assists in 21 games this season.
COLLEGE ALUMNI NEWS
Bryce Christianson (Lincoln) made 31 saves as Alaska-Anchorage shut out cross-state rival Alaska-Fairbanks 1-0 in overtime on Friday. The next night, he made 15 saves in a 3-0 blanking of Fairbanks, picking up the first two shutouts of his collegiate career.
Garrett Roe (Indiana) is the top overall scorer in the WCHA and is tied for fourth in the national scoring race with 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists). He is nine points behind the national leader.
Zane Kalemba (Tri-City) leads the nation in goals against average (1.61) and save percentage (.938). He is the goaltender of record in all 20 of Princeton's wins this season.
Brock Bradford (Omaha) scored a pair of goals, his 21st and 22nd of the season, in Boston College's 4-3 overtime win over Providence on Saturday. Bradford is seven goals off the national goal scoring lead.
Brian Foster (Des Moines) picked up shutout number three on the season, and number five of his career, making 26 saves in New Hampshire's 1-0 win over Merrimack on Saturday.
Erik Condra (Lincoln) scored his 11th goal of the season 1:48 into the game on Friday, which turned out to be the game-winner as Notre Dame beat Michigan State 5-0. Condra would add his 12th of the year later in Notre Dame's four-goal first period.
Chad Rau (Des Moines) had two goals, including the game-tying marker at 7:59 of the third, and an assist in Colorado College's 4-4 tie with North Dakota on Saturday. He scored again in their rematch on Sunday.
United States Hockey League Stories from March 2, 2009
- Storm Forward Named Player of the Week - Tri-City Storm
- USHL Weekly - USHL
- Stampede Host Tri-City Wednesday Night - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Ice Visits Cornhusker State This Weekend - Indiana Ice
- USHL Names Players of the Week - USHL
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