USHL hosts Showcase events

All of the Junior Hockey Leagues are underway now in the Midwest.

This is the start of a quick series of posts on how Midwest teams have fared so far.

Tier I – USHL Pre-Season

The Resch Center in Green Bay hosted the nine East Division teams and Sioux City was the host for the eight West Division teams for their respective Fall Classic events that took place a week before the regular season kicked off.

The East tournament ran from Sept. 15-17 with scouts traveling to Sioux City in time for the West Division event Sept. 19-20.

There were also some other pre-season matches dating backto Sept. 5.

Here is a rundown on how things went in the USHL Pre-Season.

 

Sept. 5

Cedar Rapids 4         Lincoln 1

The Roughriders did all of its damage in the first period, Alec Marsh and Eric Foley leading the way with a goal and assist apiece with other goals from Andrew Gaus and Brendan Harris.

The Stars gained some consolation snapping the shutout bid of Ben Blacker just 2:39 from the end of the game, Miguel Fiddler pulling the trigger.

Blacker eneded up with 21 saves on 22 shots while Cam Hackett stopped 30 of 34 in the Stars’ goal.

 

Team USA 5                  Muskegon 1

The US National Development team opened the pre-season at Muskegon, notching a trio of unanswered third period goals to turn a narrow 2-1 lead into a more comfortable winning margin.

Brendan Warren led the way with two goals while Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and assist. Luke Kunin and Jack Roslovic had the other Team USA goals and Luke Opilka collected the win in goal with 23 saves on 24 shots.

For the Fury, Matt Iacopelli had the lone goal with Eric Schierhorn (17/19) and Michael Latorella (10/13) sharing the work in goal.

Waterloo 2          Dubuque 3 (ot)

A unique end to this one as J.D. Dudek was awarded a penalty shot in the  overtime period and made no mistake, burying to lift the host Dubuque Fighting Saints to a win against the visiting Waterloo Black Hawks.

Seamus Malone and Nate Sucese had the other Saints goals and Kevin Reich picked up the win in goal, stopping 34 of 36.

Courtnall Lawton and Nicholas Carbone collected the goals for the Black Hawks and Tyson McLellan picked up an assist on both goals. Krystofer Carlson (19/20) and Ryland Pashovitz (21/23) split the work in goal for the the Hawks.

Sept. 6

Lincoln 1          Team USA 4

Team USA made it two wins in 24 hours with a 4-1 over the Lincoln Stars at Ann Arbor.

Jeremy Bracco had two of the goals for Team USA and Michael Floodstrand collected three assists, Steven Ruggiero setting up a pair. Other goals came from Luke Kunin and Colin White. Michael Lackey handled 24 of 25 to collect the win in goal.

Dominick Sacco notched the game’s first goal 5:24 into the contest for the Stars but it didn’t hold up. Hunter Shepard (31/34) and Peyton Jones (20/21) both took a turn in goal for the Stars.

Muskegon 4 Cedar Rapids 3

Jiri Fronk of the host Cedar Rapids Roughriders scored twice, drawing his team even at 1-1 early in the second period then getting them to within one with what turned out to be the lone goal of the third period. But, it wasn’t enough to pull the Riders back and the Fury pulled out a 4-3 win.

Tom Marchin scored two for the winners and David Keefer collected two assists. Matt Iacopelli and Dante Palecco had the other goals and Ryker Killins was denied on a penalty shot in the second period.

Eric  Schierhorn collected the win in goal handling 20 of 23 Roughrider shots.

Andrew Oglevie had the other Roughrider goal and Cal Burke had a couple of assists, Danny Tirone stopping 22 of 26 in goal.

Dubuque 4 Waterloo 2

Rem PItlick had the lone first period goal for the Waterloo Black Hawks but Dubuque scored four of the final five to wrap up a second win against over the Hawks in 24 hours.

J.D. Dudek, Ryan Chiasson, Brett Boeing and Jakob Romo eached scored for the Fighting Saints and Willie Knierem set up a pair.

Goaltending was shared by Jacob Nehana (10/11) and Benjamin Johansson (21/22).

Max Coatta had the other Black Hawks goal with the tandem of Kristofer Carlson (17/19) and Hayden Lavigne (14/15) each taking a a turn in goal.

Sept. 7

Lincoln 2     Muskegon 4

The Stars and Fury were even heading to the third but the Fury grabbed a lead just past the halfway mark on a goal by Robbie DeMontis and the game was finally secured when David Keefer sank the clincher into an empty goal with four ticks on the clock.

Keefer also picked up an assist with the earlier goals both coming from Cooper Marody. David Trinkberger had two assists and Michael Latorella collected the win with 25 saves on 27 shots.

Jared Bethune and Patrick Polino scored for the Stars with goaltending chores shared by Hunter Shepard (13/15) and Peyton Jones (13/14).

Sept. 9

Sioux Falls 3    Omaha 2 (ot)

Dakota Joshua picked up a goal and assist, the goal coming 3:03 into the overtime period to lift the Sioux Falls Stampede to a win over the Omaha Lancers.

Joey Marooney and Bryan Sienerth had the other Stampede goals and Arthury Brey stopped 17 of 19 to collect the win in goal.

Steven Spinner had both Onaha tallies while Hayden Hawkey stopped 29 of 32 in goal for the Lancers.

Sept. 11

Dubuque 2     Cedar Rapids 1

The Fighting Saints picked up a third straight pre-season win while the Roughriders fell to 1-2 with a narrow defeat.

Jakob Romo scored one goal and picked up an assist on the other, scored by Zack Zulkanycz as well. Gavin Nieto stopped all eight shots he faced in goal for the Saints through his half of the game and Kevin Reich handled the other half, beaten just once on 11 shots.

Brennan Sanford had the lone Roughrider goal, from Carlos Fornaris and Danny Tirone stopped 29 of 31 in goal.

Sept. 12

Green Bay 3       Waterloo 2

The Gamblers carried a 3-0 shutout into the final period at Waterloo, but suddenly found themselves holding off the host BlackHawks after Niko Hildebrand’s goal had them within a goal 49 seconds from the final buzzer.

Jared Rutledge got his team to the finish line beaten just twice on 30 shots between the pipes for the Gamblers.

Brian Bowen had assists on all three Green Bay goals, scored by Luc Lalor; Jake Kauppila and Nic Pem.

Max Coatta had the other Black Hawks’ goal and Hayden Shaw had assists on both Waterloo tallies. Ryland Pashovitz handled 30 of 33 in goal for the Hawks.

Muskegon 1      Team USA 0 

Muskegon avenged its 5-1 loss to Team USA a week earlier thanks to shutout goaltending from Michael Latorella who handed all 26 shots he faced.

Jack Rowe notched the game’s only goal, from Bo Hanson halfway through the third period, the only shot to elude Team USA goaltender Joseph Woll on 33 tries.

Tri-City 3             Lincoln 4

After a five-goal first period, the goaltenders took over in this one.  The Tri-City Storm opened up a 3-2 lead and that stood up until Blake Christensen notched his second of the night with just 64 players left in the game. Lincoln had an extra attacker on the ice and the goaltender on the bench at the time.

Ludvig Hoff completed the rally with is overtime winner ending the game at the 2:16 mark. Ryan Jones had the other Stars goal with goaltending chores split by Peyton Jones (18/18) and Cam Hackett (13/16).

Aleksi Ainala collected a goal and assist for the Storm with other goals from Chase Berger and Mark Petaccio.

Blake Weyrick went the distance in goal, stopping 33 of 37 for the Storm.

Bloomington 3     Chicago  2

One of the league’s two newest entires, the Bloomington Thunder got its pre-season off to a winning start at Chicago.

Both teams scored in the first with the visitors grabbing a 3-1 lead in the second and the Steel pulled one back with a little over six minutes to play, but were denied the tying marker.

Alec Mehr, Tarek Baker and Van Barr had the Thunder scores with the goaltending work split between David Jacobson (16/17) and Logan Halladay (17/18).

For the Steel, Tanny Laczynski scored one and had a helper on the other, by Jake Bresser.

Ryan Wischow went the distance in goal, stopping 24 of 27.

Cedar Rapids 1 Dubuque 2

The Fighting Saints stayed unbeaten with a fourth pre-season win but it took an unassisted game winner from Shane Kavanaugh 3:38 into the overtime period to give the hosts its only lead of the night.

Jacob Benson had the other Saints’ goal, tying the score at 1-1 one minute into the third period and the goaltending chores were handled by Benjamin Johansson (12/12) and Jacob Nehama (11/12).

Erik Foley sank the lone Roughrider goal in the first period from Georgy Gorodetsky ad Derek Daschke.

Ben Blacker handled the worek in goal for the Roughies, stopping 38 of 40.

Sept. 13

Bloomington 5 Muskegon 0

With goaltenders Logan Halladay (26/26) and David Jacobson (9/9) unbeatable between the pipes, the Thunder needed just one more, but scored plenty in this one.

Joshua Shellman paced the offense with two goal and Blake Cober collected a pair of assists with other goals for Patrick Curry, Matt Mendelson and Ethan Spaxman.

Erick Schierhorn was likely the busiest player for the Fury, peppered with 40 shots and stopping 35 of them.

Sioux Falls 1      Fargo 3

The Force made its pre-season debut with the win, getting goals from Andrew Zerban, Zach Yon and Mike Eyssimont while Alec Derks (4/4) and Robbie Beydoun (21/22) handled the work in goal.

All of the scoring took place in the first two periods.

For the Stampede, Tyler Nanne notched the lone goal, in the second period from Kieffer Bellows and Dillon Eichstadt. Stefanos Lekkas went the distance in goal and was kept busy, handling 37 of 40 Fargo shots.

Lincoln 3      Tri-City 4 

Chris Wilkie’s opened and closed the scoring in this one, getting the the Storm in front 7:19 into the contest and later lifting his team in front for the final time with 7:11 to play.

Tri-City never trailed in the game and took a one-goal lead, four times, the Stars managing to come back and knot the score on the first three.

Joel Herbert added a goal and assist for the winners and the other goal came from Jake Wahlin while Blake Weyrick handled 27 of 30 shots to pick up the win in goal.

For the Stars, Michael Gillespe scored once and assisted on another with other goals from Miguel Fidler and Patrick Polino. Peyton Jones stopped 39 of the 43 shots he faced in goal for the Stars.

Sept. 14

Tri City 3 Omaha 1

The Storm notched three goals again in the Sunday game at Omaha and this time the total was good enough for a win.

All three Storm goals came in the first period. Connor Valesano and Chase Hatcher both collected a goal and assist and the other goal came from Matt Freytag.

Alec Dillion was beaten just once on 35 shots, that coming early in the final period as Jacob Forsbacka-Karlsson found the mark for the Lancers. Kris Oldham handled the work in goal for the home team stopping 25 of 28.

Sept. 15 

USHL Fall Classic – East 

Madison 3  Chicago 0

The East Division half of the Fall Classic opened in Green Bay with the expansion Madison Capitols earning a shutout against the Steel.

Caps scored once in each period led by Freddy Gerard’s goal and assist. Other goals came from Guillaume LeClerc and Sam McCormick while Darren Smith stopped all of the 39 shots he faced to pick up the shutout in goal.

For the Steel, Jon Lethemon handled 33 of 36 shots in goal.

Bloomington 2 Dubuque 4 

Like the Capitols, the Bloomington Thunder headed into its first pre-season and fell to the Fighting Saints 4-2.

Teams were even after a period at 1-1, the Saints carrying a 3-2 edge into the third then getting an unassisted powerplay goal from William Lageson just before the halfway mark of the final period to clinch the victory.

Other Saints goals came from  Mitchell Smith, Zack Zulkanycz and Seamus Malone and Kevin Reich picked up the win in goal with 16 saves on 18 shots.

Tyler Gernhofer scored one and had an assist on the other, scored by Van Barr for the Thunder while David Jabobson stopped 27 of 31 shots, in goal.

Cedar Rapids 5 Green Bay 1

The host team had a rough opener as the Roughriders scored two unanswered first period goals and added two more in the second before the Gamblers hit the board.

Jiri Fronk led the Roughriders with three goals with others from Georgy Gorodetsky and Alex Jasiek. Ben Blacker handled all but one of the 29 shots he faced in goal to clinch the win.

Ryan Siroky collected the loan Gamblers goal, Jason Pawlosky handling 27 of 32 shots in goal.

 

Sept. 16

USHL Fall Classic – East 

Bloomington 3 Chicago 4

Both teams scored once in each of the first two periods but the Steel found themselves trailing 3-2 early in the third when Tyler Sifferlen took matters into his own hands.

After tying the game at the 8:06 mark, Sifferlen buried the game winner just 41 seconds later. John Schilling and Michael Booth notched the other Steel markers while Cale Morris stopped 28 of 31 shots he faced to pick up the win in goal.

The Thunder had a goal and assist from Patrick Curry and other goals came from Jalen Smereck and Jack Jenkins. Logan Halladay stopped 30 of 34 shots in goal for the Thunder.

Dubuque 3 Youngstown 4 (SO)

Teams were even after each period including a scoreless first 20 minutes, 2-2 after the second and one more apiece down the stretch.

Kiefter Sherwood’s tally in the sixth round lifted the Phantoms to the win by a 3-2 edge in the shootout and he also had a goal in the game.

Kyle Connor had a goal and assist in the game and added another in the second round of the shootout. Ryan Lomberg had the other regulation goal and Maxim Letunov buried one in the shootout as well.

Colin De Augustine picked up the win in goal handling 32 of 35 during regulation, then four of six, including the final three he faced in the shootout.

Seamus Malone had two assists in the game for the Saints with Dylan Gambrell, Gordie Green and Mason Anderson each adding a regulation goal. Shootout goals came from J.D. Dudek and Brett Boeing and Benjamin Johansson stopped 17 of 20 in goal for the Saints.

Team USA 10 Cedar Rapids 5

Team USA scored five times in the opening period never looked back in this one.

Matthew Tkachuk and Brendan Warren both contributed two goals and a helper while Jeremy Bracco and Auston Matthews both collected a goal and two assists. Colin White had a two goal game while Joseph Masonius and Christian Fischer both added a goal and assist. Jordan Greenway and Charles McAvoy had two set ups apiece in the game and Michael Lackey picked up the win in goal stopping 25 of 30.

Roughrider goals came from Derek Daschke, Jiri Fronk, Hugh McGing, Erik Foley and Zach Court.

Waterloo 4 Green Bay 3

Jared Rutledge handled 38 of 41 shots he faced and Mitch Snyder connected for the lone third period goal to force the shootout but it was not meant to be for the host Gamblers in this one.

At the opposite end, Hayden Lavigne stopped 17 of 20 in goal, then handled both of the shots he faced in the shootout while Brock Boeser and John Wiitala added shootout markers to their earlier regulation goals.

Hayden Shaw had the other goal for the Blackhawks with other Gambler goals scored by Luke Bafia and Brent Gates Jr.

Non Tournament

Sioux City 4 Lincoln 5

Blake Christensen through the final punch in this back and forth battle and it was the knockout shot for the Stars.

The back and forth game saw Lincoln jump into a 2-0 first period lead only to have the Musketeers respond with two unanswered middle period markers.

Christensen put his team in front early in the third, but two goals in the middle part of the period had the Musketeers in front for the first time.

James LaDouce tied it for the Stars with 3:58 to go with his second of the night and Chistensen added his second with 2:17 remaining. Quin Foreman had the other goal for Lincoln while Cam Hackett (40:00 16/18) and Peton Jones (20:00 11/13 shared the work in goal.

Adam Johnson led the Musketeers with two goals and a helper, other goals coming from Sam Kurker and Joel Janatuinen. Cam Gornet stopped 36 of 41 in goal.

Sept. 17

USHL Fall Classic – East

 Team USA 6 Youngstown 3

For a second straight game, Team USA doubled its opponent, this time charging back from a 1-0 first period deficit with four unanswered in the second, then both teams adding two in the final session.

Colin White led Team USA with a goal and two assists and Jeremy Bracco added three assists. Matthew Tkachuk scored twice with Casey Fitzgerald adding a goal and assist and other goals from Brendan Warren and Tage Thompson. Luke Opilka stopped 20 of 23 to pick up the win in goal.

Taylor Best was in on all three Phantom tallies, scoring one and assisting on the others, scored by Josh Melnick and Chase Pearson. Chris Birdsall stopped 29 of 34 and saw the other goal scored while he was on the bench at game’s end.

Waterloo 4 Madson 5

The Blackhawks broke a 3-3 deadlock with a goal from Tyson McLellan in the opening minute of the final period but Chong Hyun Lee tied it for the expansion Capitols just past the five minute mark and that set the stage for Michael Merulla’s game winner two seconds shy of the 13 minute mark.

Will Johnson had two of the other Capitols goals and Freddy Gerard picked up a couple of assists, the other goal going to Haralds Egle. Darren Smith (33:30 32/35) and Garrett Metcalfe (26:30 13/14) split the work in goal for Madison.

Along with McLellan’s goal, the Blackhawks got others from George Mika, Lawrence Jungwirth and Tyler Sheehy while Carlson Kristofer handled the work in goal.

Sept. 19

USHL Fall Classic – West

 Fargo 2 Muskegon 3 

The Lumberjacks earned the narrow edge in its Fall Classic opener led by Cooper Marody who scored once and assisted on another. Jack Rowe also set up a pair and other goals came from Daniel Willett and Tom Marchin. Eric Schierhorn picked up the win in goal stopping 18 of 20 shots faced.

Shane McMahan and Denis Smirnov notched the Force goals and Mathias Israelsson handled 26 of 29 between the pipes.

Des Moines 2 Tri-City 7

The Storm had the game all but settled entering the third with two unanswered markers in both the first and second periods, then outscored the Bucs 3-2 in the final stanza as well.

Garrett Gamez collected the hat trick for the winners and also set up three others while Bobby Nardella and Nick Master both added a goal and assist. Jake Wahlin had two helpers with other goals from Joel Herbert and Mark Petaccio. Blake Weyrick stopped 28 of 30 in goal for the Storm.

The Buccaneers goals came from Corey Schueneman and Brendan Shane.

Sioux Falls 3 Lincoln 4

August Von Ungern-Sternberg’s second goal of the game was also the only goal of of the third period and stood up as the game winner for the Stars with other goals coming from Chris Klack and Max Humitz. Cam Hackett picked up the win in goal stopping 23 of 26.

Tyler Nanne had a goal and assist to lead the Stampede with other goals for Joey Marooney and Will Graber. Stefanos Lekkas handled the work in goal, stopping 22 of 26.

Omaha 1 Sioux City 2 

A shorthanded goal by Robert Carpenter just 69 seconds short of the third period buzzer completed a third period rally for the Musketeers. Carpenter also picked up an assist on the earlier goal, scored by Ryan Walker in the first minute of the third period and Joel Janatuinen had assists on both Musketeer goals. Collin Olson stopped 24 of 25 in goal for Sioux City.

The Lancers lone goal came from Niklas Folin in the first period and Hayden Hawkey stopped 32 of 34 shots he faced in goal for Omaha.

Non Tournament 

Waterloo 6 Cedar Rapids 3 

Alex Jasiek’s goal early in the third period pulled the Roughriders even at 3-3 early in the third period but the Blackhawks, who opened the game with two unanswered in the first period, added three more in the final 14 minutes to put this one away.

Brock Boeser notched two goals and an assist for the Blackhawks with other goals from Tom Novak, Lawrence Jungwirth, Rem Pitlickand Brandon Montour. Ryland Pashovitz stopped 27 of 30 to pick up the win in goal.

Along with Jasiek, Cedar Rapids gots goals from Andrew Gaus and Adam Gaudette with Ben Blacker and Ryan Larkin sharing the workload in goal.

 

Sept. 20

USHL Fall Classic – West

Fargo 1 Tri-City 3

After a scoreless opening frame the Storm struck for an unanswered pair in the middle period. Brody Stevens goal with just under six to go for the Force shattered the shutout bid of Alec Dillion (23/24) and put his team right back into the contest.

Jake Wahlin finally put it away for the Force with an empty netter 18 seconds from the final buzzer. Other Storm goals came from Bobby Nardella and Mark Petaccio. Rebbie Beydoun (27:17 12/13) and Mathias Israelsson (31:40 18/19) both took a turn in the crease for the Force.

Lincoln 2 Muskegon 7

The Lumberjacks stormed out of the gate with three unanswered first period tallies and added two more before the Stars finally hit the board in the second and carried a 6-1 lead into the final session that saw both teams adding one more.

Jack Rowe and David Keefer both scored twice for the Lumberjacks, Rowe adding an assist. Cooper Marody had a goal and two assists, Steve Merl a goal and assist and Griffen Molino set up a pair. Matheson Iacopelli had the other Lumberjacks goal and Michael Latorella collected the win stopping 34 of 36 shots in goal.

Michael Gillespie scored one and assisted on the other, by Dominick Sacco for the Stars and Peyton Jones was kept busy in goal.

Des Moines 7 Omaha 9

Defense was but an afterthought in this 16-goal bonanza as the Lancers blew the doors off of a 2-2 draw after the first period with a 5-2 edge in the second. A pair of early third period goals had the Bucs closing in, but the Lancers scored the next two to put this one away.

Shane Gersich led the Lancers with a hat trick and two assists while Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson picked up four assists. Louie Rowe collected a goal and two assists and Brian Williams scored a pair. Brendan Smith, Nick Rivera ad Hank Crone collected the other goals, Smith also adding an assist.

For the Buccaneers, Ryan Dmowski scored once and set up two others and Tanner Karty scored a pair. Nikita Pavlychev and Tyler Drevitch both notched a goal and assist with other goals scored by Marcel Godbout and Troy Conzo.

Sioux Falls 4 Sioux City 2

Stampede goaltender Arthur Brey stopped 36 of 38 allowing his team to outscore the Musketeers 2-1 in both the first and and second period,  then battle through a scoreless third for the win.

Logan O’Connor had a goal and two assists in the win while Tyler Nanne chipped in a goal and a helper and Dakota Joshua set up two. Other goals came from Lukas Butcha and Will Graber.

Robert Carpenter and Sam Kurker responded with the Sioux City tallies and Cam Gornet stopped 18 of 22 in goal.

Non Tournament 

Dubuque 6 Green Bay 2 

The Fighting Saints carried a 2-0 lead out of the first and the margin was the same heading to the third at 3-1. Ryan Smith’s goal 59 seconds into the final period, but the Saints scored two in the next six minutes and put the game away with another just under five minutes from the end.

Jacob Benson scored a pair for the Saints with Gordie Green and Brett Boeing both adding a goal and assist. Dylan Gambrell collected two assists and other goals came from Mitchell Smith and Willie Knierim. Jacob Nehama secured the win, stopping 13 of 15 in goal for the Saints.

Luc Lalor scored the other goal and also assisted on Smith’s while Jason Pawloski was kept busy with 40 shots against in the Gamblers goal.

Chicago 3 Madison 2 

The Steel carried a 2-1 lead into both the second and third period. Will Johnson tied it for the Caps in the sixth minute of the final period but Robby Jackson added a goal to his earlier assist with the game winner about four minutes later.

John Schilling had two assists in the win with other Steel goals from Mason Bergh and Fredrik Olofsson. Alec Vanko had the other Capitols marker.

John Lethemon and Ryan Wischow each took a turn in goal for the Steel with Darren Smith between the pipes for the Capitols.

Cedar Rapids 2 Waterloo 6

A five goal uprising in the middle period turned a close 1-0 contest into a 6-1 cushion for the Blackhawks. The Roughriders got one back in the third but it wasn’t close to enough to put a dent in the Waterloo lead.

Brock Boeser and Brandon Montour led the Blackhawks with a goal and two assists apiece. Lawrence Jungwirth and Tyler Sheehy both added a goal and assist and the other goals came from Niko Hildenbrand and Nicholas Carbone. Hayden Lavigne picked up the win in goal stopping 21 of 23.

Andrew Gaus and Ross Colton had the Roughriders goals while Ben Blacker (40:00 27/33) and Ryan Larkin (20:00 12/12) each took a turn in goal for the Roughriders.