PAPILLION, NEBRASKA – As the USHL prepares for its down time near the Christmas season and readies itself for the second half push in the New Year. This week offered a spectacular Inter-Divisional play and some incredible play within the divisions. Omaha endured its first overtime loss of the season on Friday evening as they made the trek to Kearney to face inner-state rivals Tri-City. Lincoln ventured east to play Indiana and split with the Ice for their ninth win of the season. Sioux Falls hot streak came to a screeching halt as they traveled into Omaha for a slaughtering at the Civic Auditorium.
West Division Standings:
Omaha, 39 pts (19-4-1) Sioux Falls, 21 pts (13-4-5) Fargo, 28 pts (14-9-0) Tri-City, 25 pts (10-8-5) Sioux City, 21 pts (11-10-1) Des Moines, 21 pts (10-13-1) Lincoln, 19 pts (9-13-1)
Games of the week December 9, 2009
Sioux Falls 5, Fargo 0
Fargo, North Dakota – The Stampede made short work of Cody Campbell and the Fargo Force as they would score three times on six shots in less than nine minutes of the opening period. Matt Zarbo scored twice for Sioux Falls and Clay Witt stopped 34 shots for his seventh win of the season and his second shutout.
December 11, 2009
Green Bay 5, Fargo 2
Green Bay, Wisconsin – Ryan Furne recorded three points and Robert Francis, Ludwig Karlsson, and Lee Anders recorded two points apiece for the Gamblers as they skated to their 15th win this season. Steve Summerhays stopped 23 shots for his 11th win this season.
Tri-City 4, Omaha 3
Kearney, Nebraska – Steven Bolton made 29 saves for the Storm to defeat the red hot Lancers in the shoot out. Omaha’s Troy Power recorded an assist and a goal being the only player on the evening to record multiple points.
Sioux City 3, Chicago 2
Chicago, Illinois – The Steel’s Andrei Kuchin scored twice in the second period for Chicago to lead the Steel as they would fall to Sioux City. Ryan Rashid would score at 3:58 in the overtime period to lead the Musketeers to the victory.
Lincoln1, Indiana 0
Indianapolis, Indiana – Jon Puskar scored in the third period to give Lincoln a rare win as the Stars fought hard for a much needed win. Lincoln’s Matt Green stopped 26 shots for the shutout win. Not to be outdone, the Ice’ Casey DeSmith would stop 26 shots in the heart braking loss.
Sioux Falls 8, Cedar Rapids 2
Sioux Falls, South Dakota – In a game resembling the shootout at the O.K. Corral, Sioux Falls would use their 39 shots to their advantage defeating yet another opponent by a large margin. Matt Lindblad and Michael Voran would record three points each for the Stampeding Stampede.
Des Moines 6, Waterloo 5
Waterloo, Iowa – Zach Palmquist scored twice and added an assist in the losing effort. Ryan Walters would also three points scoring one goal and adding two assists for the Buccaneers as they would win for the tenth time this season.
December 12, 2009
Tri-City 5, Des Moines 3
Kearney, Nebraska – Jaden Schwartz had three assists and Tardy Maxwell would score twice for the Storm in the victory. Las Vegas native Steven Bolton would record 21 saves on 24 opportunities for his third victory.
Indiana 4, Lincoln 3
Indianapolis, Indiana – The Ice would use a 2-0 shootout win to defeat the Stars. John McCarron would assist twice and Jon Puskar would record two goals for the Lincoln Stars.
Sioux City 3, Green Bay 1
Green Bay, Wisconsin – The Musketeers Jeff Silengo would score two goals receiving assists from Ryan Rashid each time. Matt Skoff’s shutout bid would be interrupted at 15:36 by the Gamblers Matt Stewart who was assisted by Anders Lee.
Fargo 5, Chicago 3
Chicago, Illinois – The trigger happy Steel fired 40 shots on net to no avail in their losing effort as Ryan Massa would make 37 saves for his fourth win this season. Matt Condon, Corey Leivermann, and Chase Grant would record two points each for the Force.
Omaha 9, Sioux Falls 2
Omaha, Nebraska – The Sioux Falls Stampede towards first place carried them into Omaha Saturday evening to skate against the coasting Lancers. An opportunity presented itself for each team to prove who would be number one. While both teams would record 30 shots, Omaha would record six goals in the first period. Matt White and Ryan Daugherty would score twice and Mathieu Brisson, Nick Oddo, Danny Mattson, Camden Wojtala, Anthony Hamburg, and Tyler Lapic would each record multi point games. Jeff Teglia would make 28 saves for his 15th win of the season.
Upcoming Weeks Schedule:
December 15, 2009 Tri-City at Omaha
December 16, 2009 Des Moines at Fargo Waterloo at Sioux Falls December 18, 2009 Des Moines at Sioux City Sioux Falls at Fargo Green Bay at Lincoln Waterloo at Tri-City Omaha at Chicago
December 19, 2009 Fargo at Sioux City Waterloo at Des Moines Lincoln at Sioux Falls Green Bay at Tri-City Omaha at Chicago
USHL Weekly Honors (from the League) Offensive Player of the Week: Michael Voran, Sioux Falls Stampede Defensive Player of the Week: Mathieu Brisson, Omaha Lancers Goalie of the Week: Cab Morris, Indiana Ice and Matt Skoff, Sioux City Musketeers You may contact the author at: john.strathman@prohockeynews.com
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