USHL week 8 preview - Chicago, Dubuque meet in clash of East titans

• The game of the night Friday should be the rematch between defending champion Chicago (10-2-3-0) and upstart Dubuque (7-1-2-2). These teams produced a wild third period last Saturday in Geneva, with the Steel coming out with a 4-3 win. The regulation loss was the first of the season for the Fighting Saints. This time, the scene shifts to Dubuque, where the Saints are 3-0-0-1 this season. That’s right - despite their record, Dubuque has played just four of their first 12 games at home. 
• Looking at the schedule a couple of weeks ago, it looked like the home-and-home with Lincoln (8-3-1-0) and a Des Moines (6-4-1-0) would be the games of the weekend. But while the Stars have won three in a row, things aren’t as good in the Iowa capital, where they’ve posted a 1-4-1-0 record after a 5-0 start. It would be a good time for Des Moines to turn things around, as they have fallen to sixth in the tight Western Conference.
• Meanwhile, it’s really starting to appear the Lincoln Stars are for real, and legitimate contenders. The local media in Lincoln might not have noticed in between news of Scott Frost and the Husker football team’s ability to invent heartbreaking ways to lose football games, but the Stars are 4-1-0-0 at the Ice Box and 4-2-1-0 on the road. They sit just one point behind first place Tri-City (albeit with one more game played), and a good showing this weekend could put them in the driver’s seat in the West.
• The series that quietly got interesting is a pair of games between Waterloo and Tri-City. Waterloo (7-5-0-1) has moved up to fourth in the West - their 13 games are the most in the division, however - while the first-place Storm have a 9-2-0-0 record. 
• Fargo tries to turn around their slow start (3-5-2-1) when the seventh place Force visit fourth place Sioux City for a pair this weekend. The Muskies are in a mini-slump of their own, not having picked up a win in four games - but they have picked up an overtime or shootout point in three of those games. Modern hockey math - does that mean they’ve lost 4 in a row, or are basically playing .500 hockey the last two weekends? Either way, one of these teams should break out this weekend.
• If you’re a fan of old time hockey, you might want to check out Cedar Rapids. Putting the rough in Rough Riders, they lead the league with 28.73 penalty minutes per game, 8 majors,, and 15 10-minute misconducts. The only category they don’t lead in is minor penalties, where they have 63 compared to 66 for Omaha (who has played one more game). And it’s not just the Riders taking the penalties - the 271 opponent penalty minutes also leads the league. In other words, a lot of the PIM are coming as coincidentals, either in scrums, scraps, or otherwise. As far as record, they’re a respectable 5-6-0-0, considering they sat out last season after their arena was nearly destroyed by a derecho. 
• USHL attendance is sneaking up, and a lot of it is simply the numbers getting entered and updated. The league average is 1,312, and the only team that hasn’t reported yet is Dubuque. Sioux Falls leads the way with an impressive 6,347 total, while Fargo is next at 2,662. Cedar Rapids is third at 1,762, despite the presence of an expansion ECHL team 25 miles from their arena.
• It was national signing day earlier this week in terms of college commitments, so a lot of those college announcements are now official. Congratulations to all the players who have signed! The USHL is second to none in producing college hockey players, and with more schools adding Division I hockey, the opportunities keep getting greater. And it’s great to see so many one-time USHL names leading the way in the NCAA this season, as usual. 
• Some interesting stats: Arsenii Sergeev of Tri-City has a 1.14 goal against and a .954 save percentage in 7 starts. Somehow, the Storm lost one of those games - but a 6-1-0-0 record is very impressive! Sergeev now challenges the old-time shootout board in front of the net where you need to put the puck from center ice through an opening slightly larger than the puck for the best save percentage in league history.
• The best power play belongs to Dubuque at 29.3 percent, while the best penalty killing squad is Omaha at 91.5 percent. On the other extreme, Sioux Falls is just 7.8 percent with the man advantage, while Muskegon is just 65.5 percent killing penalties. 
• Madison (9-2-1-0) continues to dominate, even if few have noticed. They are first in goals for per game at 4.5 and second in goals against per game at 2.67. They also lead in shots per game at 36.42, more than 3 shots per game more than second place Muskegon. The Capitols are fifth in shots against at 28.08. They’re a perfect 5-0-0-0 when leading after two, but still 2-2-0-0 when trailing after two periods (2-0-1-0 when tied after two frames). 
• Enjoy the games, and remember - it looks and feels like winter in much of USHL country, so leave a little extra time for travel!