USHL Week 7 preview - Dubuque at Chicago, Tri-City at Sioux City stand out as marquee matchups

 

• Can the West Division get any tighter? Sure, the number of games aren’t the same, but listen to these standings. Lincoln has 15 points. Tri-City and Sioux City have 14. Waterloo has 13. Des Moines has 11. Omaha has 10. Sioux Falls and Fargo have 8. The worst winning percentage is .444, which belongs to Sioux Falls and Fargo (nothing that winning percentage counts OTL/SOL as a tie…which they basically are…but that’s a whole other column).
• Compared to that, the East doesn’t seem so close…yet it is. Right now, it’s a bit divided. At the top, three teams with a .731 or better winning percentage, one team in the middle at .556, and four below .500. In terms of points, Chicago leads Madison by two points - 19 to 17 - for the overall league lead, but Madison has two games in hand. Dubuque is their tails at 16, and has played one less game even than Madison. The Fighting Saints have no regulation losses, yet have only won 6 of their 10 games this year. Can we please go to a three point for a win system - like the NCHC, the CCHA, and every European league or IIHF event - so this all makes sense?
• It’s a bit quieter weekend, with six games Friday and seven Saturday. Just about everything is some kind of showdown these days, but the one that stands out is Dubuque at Chicago, Saturday night in the Fox Valley. Not only is it Top Gun night as the Steel salute one of the greatest movies ever made, but this is a battle between two East Division heavyweights.
• The other showdown also comes Saturday night, as Tri-City visits Sioux City. Two weeks ago, the Musketeers gave the Storm their first loss of the season, now Tri-City comes calling for the second time at the Tyson Events Center. The first matchup was one of the games of the year so far in the USHL, so this is one you want to catch if you can. 
• Friday night, a couple of games are intriguing. Sioux Falls sits at 4-5-0-0, but has won 3 in a row. They visit Lincoln, who lead the division with a 7-3-1-0 record (albeit with more games played than the two teams one point behind), and most impressive, have done it with only four of the first 11 games at the Ice Box. It’s a traditional Lincoln schedule - road heavy early, when Husker football and volleyball tends to dominate the local sports scene. But they’re idle Saturday night, so if they want to stay in the top three, a win Friday is advisable. 
• The other game that’s intriguing - in fact, they play both nights - is Omaha at Fargo. The Lancers swept a pair at home in Ralston Arena recently, which did a shakeup on the back half of the standings. Another Lancer sweep, and they’re right there with the leaders. A Fargo sweep, and everything gets congested. There may be a bit of bad blood as well, as the last game in Omaha ended with some pleasantries being exchanged.
• League attendance is improving as more numbers get reported. Lincoln is now officially averaging 1,717 fans - instead of 0 - and are in third place officially, attendance-wise. Sioux Falls has averaged 5,711 over three home games, while Fargo has averaged 2,669 over six home games. Muskegon and Dubuque still are yet to report, so the league average of 1,143 is certainly incorrect. In addition, a USHL typo reported on game in Sioux City has having 2 in attendance….which I’m pretty sure is wrong, since I’ve talked to at least five people who were at that game!
• Cameron Whitehead of Lincoln continues to have the highest save percentage in the league at an amazing .947 after 6 games. The Stars are 4-0-1 when is he is the goalie of record. Meanwhile,  Trii-City’s Arsenii Sergeev has the best goals against at 1.40 in five games, posting a 4-1-0 record.
• Jackson Blake of Chicago leads with 18 points (6-12–18) in 13 games, but for the first time in a while, the next two spots belong to different teams. Stephen Halliday of Dubuque has 14 points, tied with Sioux City’s Charlie Schoen (it’s pronounced SHANE, not like the actor), Chicago’s Adam Fantilli, Des Moines’ Scout Truman, and Dubuque’s Ryan Beck. 
• Overall, Madison leads with 4.64 goals per game, while Omaha comes in last at 2.20 goals per game. Tri-City leads with 1,78 goals against per game, but the same Omaha team comes in second defensively at 2.7 goals against. The end result - Omaha plays low scoring games. 
• Home teams are 47-26-5-3, while road teams are 34-33-9-5. How can they both be over .500? Again, a three point system would solve this…..
• If you’re looking for some old time hockey, check out the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders. They lead the league with 29.22 penalty minutes per game, exactly 8 more per game than second place Sioux Falls. The Rough Riders also lead with 7 major penalties (nobody else has more than 4), 13 10-minute misconducts (nobody else has more than 7), but like every team in the league, are credited with 0 game misconducts - which seems like an error. The league’s lone match penalty went to Fargo. Lincoln continues to lead with minor penalties at 67, while Omaha and Madison are tied for second at 56. 
• Blake Dangos of Madison is a +15 plus-minus, while no other player in the league is higher than +10. 
• Enjoy the games this weekend!