Here we go — Puck drops on 2016-17 regular seasons — Tier I

If you are like this writer, the relief of finally reaching the end of a hockey season, sometime in mid to late June turns to sadness and desperation to get on with it again soon after.

Of course for junior and college teams the season is a somewhat distant memory by the time pro teams pack it in and while the NHL Draft and Free Agent bonanza helps at least keep hockey in the headlines, it also immediately (for this guy anyway), starts amping up the excitement of how these additions will perform in the uniform of your favorite team.

The wait is over as this weekend coming (Sept. 9-11) will see several leagues kicking off the new campaign. At least a few leagues, including at least one in the Midwest get an early start with real two-pointers over the Labor Day weekend.

Here is a league by league look at how things are going right now.

This will be quickly followed by a preview for the coming weekend as well.

Tier I Junior.

USHL 

Generally, the United States Hockey League is the first to put teams together but the last to kick off the regular season. However, teams are into the pre-season with a couple of Showcase type events that will see both divisions well represented.

Before that though, let’s take a quick look back at the annual Ivan Hlinka U-18 tournament that took place in Czech Republic/Slovakia where the USHL was once again well represented. Of the 22 players on the roster of Team USA, 15 will suit up in the USHL this fall, including members of the USA U-18 Development Team.

After warming up for the event with an 8-1 exhibition game win against Slovakia, the Americans topped its four-team pool with three wins in 72 hours, against Finland (4-3 in overtime), Switzerland (4-3) and the host Czech Republic (4-2).

That advanced the Americans to the tournament semi-final where it took an overtime goal by Michael Pastujov, still 11-days shy of his 17th birthday, sank the winner with 4:42 to play in overtime to lift his crew to a 4-3 win over Russia and a berth in the championship game. Pastujov will play for the U-18 National Development Team this season before moving on to play at University of Michigan next fall.

The host Czech Republic team spoiled a perfect week for the Americans, scoring the lone goal of the final period to break a 3-3 draw and keep the hardware in home nation of Hlinka, a former professional and International great.

The Americans opened up leads twice in the second period only to have the Czechs respond both times.

Offensively, the USA team was led by Sasha Chmelevski, a 17-year-old native of Northville, MI who put up five goals and five assists. Chmelevski will play in the Ontario Hockey League this season for the Ottawa 67’s. Pastujov finished with three goals and six assists and Ryan Poehling, a 17-year-old native of Lakeville, MN will be attending St. Cloud State University this fall.

Goaltenders included Keith Petruzzelli, 17 who will suit up for the Muskegon Lumberjacks this season having already committed to attend Quinnipiac University next year and Cayden Primeau, also 17 and a member of the 2016-17 Lincoln Stars on his way to Northeastern University the following season.

The USHL will highlight its teams at a pair of Showcase style events, the first starting today (Sept. 8) at Ralston Arena in Omaha, NE including all eight teams in the USHL West Division along with Team USA and Red Bull Salzberg, from Austria. The event will continue through Saturday (Sept. 10)

The following week (Sept. 15-17), the East Division teams, along with Red Bull and Team USA again, will take the USHL out of the Midwest for a Showcase event in Pittsburgh.

A few USHL team have already tested the frozen waters of the exhibition season. Included in the results are a couple of games for the Chicago Steel, who earned a 3-2 margin on home ice against the visiting Bloomington Thunder on Sept. 4 and fell by a single goal at Mystique Ice Arena in Dubuque 4-3 three nights later.

In Chicago, Wyatt Aamodt, 18, from Hermantown, MN; Walker Duehr, 18, from Sioux Falls, SD and Reggie Lutz, 19, from Elk River, MN scored the Steel goals with Matt Gosiewski, 18 and Ben Mirageas, 17 responding for Bloomington.

In Dubuque it was Dallas Gerads, 20, from Blaine, MN scoring a pair for the host Fighting Saints while Zach Solow, 17 and Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup, 17 both adding a goal and assist. David Brumm, 18, from Maple Grove, MN picked up two assists.

Baker Shore, 17 collected a goal and assist for the Steel with other goals added by Mitch Lewandowski, 18, from Orion, MI and Matt Kiersted, 18 from Elk River, MN.

One other early game, played on Tuesday night (Sept. 6) saw the visiting Cedar Rapids Roughriders grabbing a 2-1 win against the host Waterloo Blackhawks

Matt Gosiewski and Samuel Sternschein scored for the Roughriders while Garrett Klee counted the lone goal for the home side. All three goal scorers are 18-years-old.

Listed below is a rundown of pre-season games scheduled for Thursday through Sunday in the USHL.

Schedule for Sept. 8 

(Showcase West games in italic — all times CST)

Des Moines Buccaneers vs. Lincoln Stars — 2 p.m.

Sioux City Musketeers vs. Waterloo BlackHawks — 4 p.m.

Fargo Force vs. Sioux Falls Stampeders  — 6 p.m.

Dubuque Fighting Saints at Madison Capitols 6 p.m.

Tri-City Storm vs. Omaha Lancers — 8 p.m.

Schedule for Sept. 9 

(Showcase West games in italic — all times CST)

Waterloo BlackHawks vs. Des Moines Buccaneers — 10 a.m.

Fargo Force vs. Red Bull Salzberg — 1 p.m.

Tri-City Storm vs. Team USA — 4 p.m.

Muskegon Lumberjacks at Team USA — 7 p.m.

Bloomington Thunder at Green Bay Gamblers — 7 p.m.

Dubuque Fighting Saints at Cedar Rapids Roughriders — 7:05 p.m.

Lincoln Stars vs. Omaha Lancers — 7:15 p.m.

Sioux Falls Stampede vs. Sioux City Musketeers 8 p.m.

Schedule for Sept. 10 

(Showcase West games in italic — all times CST)

Des Moines Buccaneers vs. Red Bull Salzberg — 10 a.m.

Fargo Force vs. Sioux City Musketeers — 1 p.m.

Bloomington at Madison — 2 p.m.

Team USA vs. Omaha Lancers — 4 p.m.

Chicago Steel at Green Gay Gamblers — 5 p.m.

Cedar Rapids Roughriders at Dubuque Fighting Saints 7 p.m.

Team USA at Muskegon Lumberjacks — 7:15 p.m.

Sioux Falls Stampede vs. Lincoln Stars — 7:15 p.m.

Waterloo BlackHawks vs. Tri-City Storm — 8 p.m.

Schedule for Sept. 11

Green Bay Gamblers at Madison Capitols 2 p.m.

OHL

The Flint Firebirds and Saginaw Spirit and the rest of the Ontario Hockey League teams are also locked into pre-season matches with the regular season schedule set to kick in on Sept. 21.

The Firebirds kicked off exhibition play with a home and away set against the Windsor Spitfires, taking the opener 4-1 on Sept. 2 before surrendering a 6-1 decision in Windsor two nights later.

In the first game at the Flint Iceland Arena, it was the Spitfires on the board first as Cole Carter, 18 notched a middle period marker that helped the visitors carry a 1-0 cushion into the final 20 minutes.

The host squad responded with four different type goals from four different shooters beginning with an even strength marker from Nicholas Caamano, 18, a Dallas Stars draft pick to tie the contest.

Alex DiCarlo, 19, scored the game winner on a Firebirds’ powerplay and Jack Phibbs, 17 added some insurance with a shorthanded tally before Luke Kirwan, 18 wrapped it up with an empty netter.

In Windsor the Spits avenged the earlier defeat with a 6-1 win on home ice led by Jeremiah Addison, 19 who fired two goals and assisted on another. Logan Brown, 18, from Chesterfield, MO had a goal and three assists with Luke Boka, 17, from Plymouth, MI, 17, also counting three assists. Cole Purboo, 17 collected a goal and assist with other goals added by Mikhail Sergachev, 18 and Tyler Angle, 16.

Kirwin counted the lone goal for the Firebirds.

The Spirit began pre-season play on Sept. 3 at the Dow Event Center with an 8-3 loss against the visiting Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Sept. 3 and travelled to the Soo the following night for a much closer, but ultimately also unsuccessful 6-4 loss.

In the first game, Jack Kopacka, 18, from Metamora, MI scored a pair to lead the Greyhounds and Tim Gettinger, 18, from North Olmstead, OH added a goal and two assists. Boris Katchouck, 18 and Bobby MacIntyre, 20, both picked up a goal and assist with other goals coming from Alex Gritz, 16, Otto Makinen, 18 and Bryce Yetman, 19.

Kris Bennett, 20; Mitchell Stephens, 19 and Matthew Kreis, 19 scored for the Spirit.

The Spirit turned in a better effort score-wise the following night but a goal by Gettinger with just under five to go lifted the Hounds into a 5-4 lead and Kopacka added an empty netter to clinch it in the final minute. Blake Speers, 19 chipped in with two goals and others came from Liam Hawel, 17 and Barrett Hayton, 16.

Stephens picked up a goal and two assists for the Spirit while Tye Felhaber, 18 and Hayden Hodgson, 20, both notched a goal and assist. Kreis notched the other Spirit goal.

The two Michigan teams will go head-to-head this weekend with the Spirit paying a visit to the Flint Iceland Arena Friday (Sept. 9) for a 7 p.m. faceoff with a return match back at Dow Event Center the following night at 7 p.m.

That will wrap up the pre-season for both teams.

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