PAPILLION, NEBRASKA – The USHL’s West Division saw things tighten up in the standings as Omaha fell to Des Moines and Sioux Falls to Tri-City over the weekend. However, Fargo has continued to build momentum, carrying them ever closer to the top of the standings. The USHL released All-Star game rosters this week with two very impressive rosters. The West will feature a collection of great scoring forwards backed by a fine collection of defensemen whom take care of business on both sides of the ice. Meanwhile the East will feature a very balanced team the plays both ways as well as anyone. Both rosters will dress two great goalies apiece as they will challenge as well as they will be challenged. (The rosters are listed at the bottom of the page following the usual features of this week’s release. West Division Standings: Omaha 49pts 24-7-1 Fargo 45pts 22-9-1 Sioux Falls 37pts 15-7-7 Tri-City 34pts 14-11-6 Des Moines 29pts 12-17-1 Sioux City 28pts 13-14-2 Lincoln 21pts 9-18-3 Weekly Game Reviews: January 3, 2010 Fargo 6, Sioux Falls 5 Sioux Falls, South Dakota – The Force received multi-point nights from Eamonn McDermott, Garrett Allen, Nick Oliver, and Corey Leivermann to defeat the Stampede and move into second place in the West Division. Omaha 1, Cedar Rapids 0 Cedar Rapids, Iowa – The Lancers know how to win, regardless of their opponent. Ryan Daugherty may have scored the game winning goal in the second period, but John Keeney collected the shutout in the spot start for Omaha. The win gives Omaha a league best 47 points. January 5, 2010 Fargo 3, Sioux City 2 Fargo, North Dakota – Nate Schmidt scored the lone goal in the fifth frame of the shootout win for Fargo to send the Force into the win column. Blake Doerring and Nick Oliver scored a goal apiece in the second period for Fargo and Ryan Massa stopped 25 shots for his eighth win of the season. January 8, 2010 Indiana 3, Sioux City 2 Indianapolis, Indiana – Nick Dowd assisted twice to lead the Ice over the Musketeers. Indiana goalie Casey DeSmith stopped 23 of 25 shots in the winning effort for the East Division second place Ice. Des Moines 5, Chicago 3 Des Moines, Iowa – The Buccaneers are a team that is learning to play better with one another every game. While they still manage drop their fair share of games, they are winning with much more consistency as was evidenced against the Steel. Des Moines struggled early on in the season to put shots on net, yet they are much more proficient these days placing 33 shots on net in the winning effort. They limited the Steel to a mere 19 shots on goal. H.T. Lenz scored twice for the Buccaneers who now have 13 wins this season. Omaha 5, Lincoln 4 Lincoln, Nebraska – Despite the frigid sub-zero temperatures outside, the Ag Barn was blazing hot as the Lancers and Stars matched up to show everyone why rivalry games really are a lot of fun. Mathieu Brisson led the Lancers with two assists and Troy Power had a goal and an assist to lead the Lancers over the lowly Lincoln Stars. In total there were 72 shots on goal as Omaha peppered Jared Coreau for 37 shots while Lincoln placed 35 shots on Jeff Teglia. Fargo 4, Youngstown 2 Youngstown, Ohio – Colten St. Clair and Chase Grant recorded two points apiece to lead the Force over the Phantoms. Ryan Massa made 24 saves for his eight win this season. The Littleton, Colorado native is 8-1-0 in his first season in the USHL and carries a goals against average of 2.85. Tri-City 1, Cedar Rapids 0 Kearney, Nebraska – The Roughrider were relentless all evening, taking 34 shots on goal while only giving up 23 on their own net. Yet in the end it was the Storm that stood tall. Steven Bolton earned the shutout a mere two days after his 20th birthday to send the Tri-City Storm into the winner’s bracket. Nate Jensen scored the lone goal of the game near the end of the first period while on the power play. January 9, 2010 Indiana 7, Sioux City 2 Indianapolis, Indiana – The Indiana Ice rolled the Musketeers using several two point nights from Alex Wideman, Kevin Goumas, Brian Ferlin, Max Cook, and Shane Berschbach. Casey DeSmith stopped 17 shots for the win as the Ice skated to their 18th win this season. Des Moines 5, Omaha 4 Des Moines, Iowa – The Buccaneers sent Omaha to just their seventh loss this season behind Connor Brickley, H.T. Lenz, and Chris Stafne’s two point night. Eric Mihalik made 22 saves to earn his ninth win this season. The Avon Lake, Ohio native is now 9-9-1 on the season. Cedar Rapids 3, Lincoln 2 Lincoln, Nebraska – Troy Grosenick made 34 saves for the Roughriders as they cruised to their 16th win this season. The loss is the 18th this season for the Stars who have now lost nine of their last ten games. Fargo 3, Youngstown 2 Youngstown, Ohio – Ryan Massa made 22 saves and Matt Leitner recorded two points to lead the Force over the Phantoms. The win is the 22nd this season for Fargo who now trails Omaha by four points in the West Division. Tri-City 4, Sioux Falls 3 Sioux Falls, South Dakota – Jaden Schwartz led the Storm with two points while Jacob Johnstone countered with two points of his own to lead the Stampede. Ultimately it was Steven Bolton’s 23 saves that would lead Tri-City to their 14th win this season placing them three points shy of Sioux Falls for third place in the West Division. Upcoming Weeks Schedule: January 10, 2010 Omaha at Sioux Falls Cedar Rapids at Tri-City January 12, 2010 Sioux City at Lincoln January 14, 2010 Indiana at Des Moines January 15, 2010 Chicago at Sioux City Des Moines at Fargo Indiana at Lincoln Waterloo at Tri-City January 16, 2010 Indiana at Sioux City Des Moines at Fargo Lincoln at Omaha Sioux Falls at Tri-City USHL Weekly Honors (from the League) Offensive Player of the Week: Brock Montpetit, Waterloo Defensive Player of the Week: Dave Makowski, Green Bay Goalie of the Week: Steven Bolton, Tri-City 2010 All-Star Game Rosters: East Division Defenseman:Bryce Aneloski (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders), Mac Bennett (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders), Kevin Lind (Chicago Steel), David Makowski (Green Bay Gamblers), Nick Jensen (Green Bay Gamblers), Nick Mattson (Indiana Ice) Forwards: Jeff Costello (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders), Mark Anthoine (Chicago Steel), Andrei Kuchin (Chicago Steel), Ryan Furne (Green Bay Gamblers), Anders Lee (Green Bay Gamblers), Reed Seckel (Green Bay Gamblers), Shane Berschbach (Indiana Ice), Max Cook (Indiana Ice), Bryon Paulazzo (Indiana Ice), Tyler Barnes (Waterloo Black Hawks), Brock Montpetit (Waterloo Black Hawks), Nick Czinder (Youngstown Phantoms), Taylor Holstrom (Youngstown Phantoms) Goaltenders: Steve Summerhays (Green Bay Gamblers), Cab Morris (Indiana Ice) West Division Defenseman: Austin Coldwell (Des Moines Buccaneers), Eamonn McDermott (Fargo Force), Nate Schmidt (Fargo Force), Dennis Brown (Omaha Lancers), C.J. Ludwig (Omaha Lancers), Chad Ruhwedel (Sioux Falls Stampede) Forwards: Connor Brickley (Des Moines Buccaneers), T.J. Tynan (Des Moines Buccaneers), Nate Condon (Fargo Force), Matt Leitner (Fargo Force), David Gerths (Lincoln Stars), Seth Ambroz (Omaha Lancers), Erik Haula (Omaha Lancers), Matt White (Omaha Lancers), Stephan Vigier (Sioux City Musketeers), Matt Lindblad (Sioux Falls Stampede), Michael Voran (Sioux Falls Stampede), Radoslav Illo (Tri-City Storm), Jaden Schwartz (Tri-City Storm) Goaltenders: Jeff Teglia (Omaha Lancers), Clay Witt (Sioux Falls Stampede) You may contact the author at: john.strathman@prohockeynews.com
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