USHL weekly update

Congratulations to Cedar Rapids RoughRiders goaltender Matt Hemingway, who was named the United States Hockey League's goalie of the week after posting a 2-0 shutout last Friday at Chicago.

Here's the USHL's weekly update, provided by the league:

USHL Standings    USHL Scoring Leaders   USHL Goaltending Leaders

Around the League

Between the Pipes…Several goaltenders turned in some great performances during the week including three different netminders who recorded shutouts on Friday night.  Matt Hemingway of Cedar Rapids was making just his second career start in the USHL, but turned away all 30 shots from the Chicago Steel during a 2-0 victory.  Lino Chimienti of Sioux Falls remained unbeaten in four starts when he stopped 23 shots from Lincoln during the Stampede's 4-0 win.  Green Bay's Steve Summerhays faced just 11 shots, but registered his second shutout in as many starts during the 3-0 win over Sioux City.  On Saturday, Indiana goaltender Cab Morris stopped all 28 shots by Waterloo and improved his League-leading GAA to 1.23 and SV% to .952

Hats Off in Des Moines…The Des Moines Buccaneers won for the second consecutive Saturday when they defeated the Green Bay Gamblers 5-2.  Forward Yassin Cisse had a goal in each of the three periods for the Bucs to record the second hat trick of the season in the USHL.  Cisse has four goals through five games this season, surpassing his total from last year when he scored two goals in 31 games.  Defenseman Eric Knodel dished out two assists in the victory for his second straight multi-point game extended his point streak to three games.  Charles Williams earned his first victory in net for the Bucs stopping 25 shots.

Duel in the East…For the second straight week, the Chicago Steel and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders share the top spot in the East Division standings.  The clubs played a home-and-home series over the weekend which resulted in a split after the road team won both games.  While neither scored in Friday's matchup, Sahir Gill of the Steel and Bryce Aneloski of the RoughRiders each tallied two assists on Saturday to remain tied for the USHL scoring lead.

High Five…The Omaha Lancers have won five consecutive games which is the longest winning streak this season in the USHL.  Four of those victories have been on the road, including two close wins over Team USA during the weekend.  The Lancers won in dramatic fashion on Friday after trailing 3-1 heading into the third period.  Anthony Hamburg and Matt White scored goals in the third to tie the contest before it was ultimately decided in the shootout.  White and Seth Ambroz converted their attempts and goaltender Jeff Teglia turned away four of five attempts by Team USA to give Omaha their fifth straight victory.  Teglia has won four games during the winning streak posting a 1.71 GAA during that span.  White has scored 10 points (3g, 7a) over his past five games.

Road Trip…The Youngstown Phantoms were playing over 1,000 miles from home, but orchestrated a two-game sweep of the Fargo Force over the weekend.  Forward Brett Gensler had a pair of goals in each of the victories and now leads the team with seven this season, ranking second overall in the USHL.  After going scoreless through his first seven games, Tom Serratore registered three points (2g, 1a) including the game-winning goal in Saturday's 6-3 victory. 

Sweet Home Indiana…Seven different players recorded a goal in the 7-0 victory vs. Waterloo on Saturday as the Indiana Ice completed a weekend sweep and are now 7-1-1 in their last nine games against the Black Hawks, dating back to last season.  Sean Kuraly scored his first career USHL points in the win (1g, 1a) after making his debut with the Ice the previous night.  The Ice are 3-0-0 at home this season, the only USHL team with a perfect record on home ice.  Indiana has maintained their stellar penalty killing record with a League-leading 96.6% (28-of-29).

Happy Herd…After winning a pair of games over the weekend, the Sioux Falls Stampede are within two points of first place in the West Division.  The team is the second highest scoring in the League averaging 4.22 goals per contest while being the third best team in the USHL by allowing just 2.33 goals per game.  Sioux Falls has outscored the opposition 14-4 in the first period, the largest margin by any team in any period this season.  Forward Michael Voran is riding a five-game point streak (3g, 5a). 

Notes…Forward Bill Arnold of Team USA scored two goals and converted on his shootout attempt during Friday's 4-3 shootout loss to Omaha….Team USA has the League's top power play unit converting at a 24.4% rate.  11 of the 21 goals scored by the team this season have come on the man advantage…Tri-City Storm forward Jaden Schwartz has multiple points in three straight games while also riding a seven-game point streak, which equals the League high this season.  Defenseman Nate Jensen has a point in five straight (2g, 5a) for the Storm.

Alumni News…A pair of former USHL players earned weekly honors in the CCHA.  Mark Olver (Omaha Lancers, 2005-07) was named CCHA Offensive Player of the Week after scoring four points (3g, 1a) in two games for Northern Michigan University.  Olver has 10 points (4g, 6a) through the first six games this season which accounts for nearly 25% of the team's offense.  Eddie DelGrosso (Indiana Ice, 2004-06) was named CCHA Defensive Player of the Week after recording three points (1g, 2a) and a plus-three rating in a pair of games for the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  DelGrosso's goal was the game-winner in the 3-1 win over Bowling Green.  The lone goal for Bowling Green was scored by Jordan Samuels-Thomas (Waterloo Black Hawks, 2007-09) who also had a goal and the shootout winner the previous night….Louis Leblanc (Omaha Lancers, 2008-09) made his collegiate debut for Harvard on Friday and scored his first goal while also recording an assist.  In addition, last season's USHL Rookie of the Year won 11-of-14 faceoffs.

The Week Ahead

USHL Schedule

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