2021-22 USHL Players of the Week – Week 1

Chicago, IL – The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced Wednesday its Players of the Week for Week 1 of the 2021-22 season. All three players put on career performances in their return for the 2021-22 season.

Irey, now in his third season with the Musketeers, had a career night in Sioux City’s second Fall Classic matchup, registering four points (2-2-4) in a 5-2 win over the Muskegon Lumberjacks. The four-point night was a trio of career-bests for Irey, a Bemidji State University commit, as it marked his first multi-goal USHL game, first game with more than two points and fourth multi-assist game. Irey has now appeared in 102 career USHL games with 39 points (18-21-39). In the win, Irey opened the scoring just three minutes into the matchup and added an assist midway through the opening frame, giving the Musketeers a 2-0 lead. Irey made it a three- and four-point night when he added another helper in the opening 90 seconds of the third period before striking for a powerplay goal less than five minutes later.

After appearing in eight games last season with the Tri-CIty Storm, Elias made his presence felt in his Omaha Lancers debut, assisting on a trio of goals in a 4-1 win over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. One day later, the Maple Grove, Minnesota native registered another assist, bringing his season and career total to four assists. Elias has a knack for the helper having recorded 29 assists in 23 games while playing for Maple Grove High (Minnesota High School) last season.

Williams registered a 15-save shutout in his first appearance of the season as the Waterloo Black Hawks bested the Youngstown Phantoms 2-0. The shutout for Williams is the first of his USHL career. Williams is now in his third USHL season and second with Waterloo and holds a career 16-16-4-0 record in 47 appearances. The St. Louis, Mis. native is the cousin of NHL veteran Ben Bishop, who is now in his 13th NHL season.