What I’m looking for in the USHL tonight and this weekend:
- The game of the night Friday will be Tri-City (5-0-0-0) at Sioux City (4-2-0-0). Right now, these two teams seem poised to meet at some point down the road, and while Tri-City owns the stronger record, Sioux City has been impressive. Tri-City’s goals against of 18-6 over five games means the Storm just set up a brick wall - and they aren’t bad at putting the puck in the net either.
- On the other hand, the Musketeers are a deceptive fourth place in a tight West Division, but wins over Tri-City and Des Moines could put them in first place by the end of Saturday’s play. Sioux City has shown grit with strong third periods, and have an energetic, feisty, fun to watch team. This is the matchup I’ve been waiting for - it should be good!
- The questions in Lincoln are a bit different. After a rough season last year, the Stars are 4-2-0-1, sitting in third in the West Division - albeit with more games games played than anyone else in the division - except this weekend’s opponents, Waterloo (3-3-0-0). For the second straight weekend, Lincoln plays back to back games on the road against the same opponent. Last weekend in Fargo, after winning 4-2 Friday, they lost 5-4 Saturday in a game that was not as close as it sounds most of the way.
- The turning point last weekend in Fargo seemed to come in the third period, when Fargo mixed things up in a number of scrums, most of which Lincoln wanted nothing to do with. In at least one case, the Stars failed to defend a teammate who was up against 3 Fargo players in a scrum. The questions in Lincoln aren’t the talent - a simple look at where the players have committed to for college shows the talent is there - but rather, the physicality and cohesiveness. There have been a few who have quietly expressed concern this team is not physical enough to contend for the division or win in the playoffs, and the Stars can answer those questions with a good weekend in the Cedar Valley.
- Somewhat quietly, Des Moines has also posted a perfect 5-0-0-0 record. This weekend, they face 3-0-2-1 Dubuque on the road and then travel to Sioux City Saturday. Dubuque has been an interesting team - they have some one-sided wins, but three losses in extra time means they’ve struggled in close games. Either way, this is one of the tougher tests so far for Des Moines, if they remain unbeaten after these two games, there is no doubting they are for real.
- A three-way race between Chicago, Madison, and Dubuque is shaping up in the East. Chicago (6-0-2-0) travels to Green Bay (3-3-0-0) before returning home against Dubuque Saturday, so it will be tough test for the defending champions. Meanwhile, Madison sits at 5-1-1-0 and will play a pair of games at 1-3-1-1 Muskegon. It’s a chance for the Lumberjacks to get back in the race, but also a chance for Madison to cement themselves as a legitimate contender in the East.
- Of note, 7 goalies in the USHL have a goals against under 2.00, and all have played more than one game. Cameron Whitehead of Lincoln leads with a minuscule 0.86 goals against over three games. He also leads all goalies with a .971 save percentage, one of four goalies with a save percentage over .950.
- Three of the top four scorers come from - you guessed it - Chicago. They’ve played the most games in the league at 8, but Jackson Blake has an impressive 15 points, while Adam Fantilli his second with 13 and Sam Lipkin tied for third with 11.
- The highest scoring team is Des Moines at a 1980s-like 5.6 goals per game, while the stingiest team is Tri-City is 1.20 goals against per game. The two unbeaten squads are clearly getting it done in different ways.
- Still wondering if Madison is for real? They are second in goals per game at 4.71 and second in goals against per game at 2.29. They also lead the league with an average of 37.71 shots per game.
- Enjoy the games everyone
No comments:
Post a Comment