October 13, 2009
Tyler Pistone's overtime goal completed a two-win weekend for the Tri-City Storm and Matt Lindblad's three-point night helped Sioux Falls stay at the top of the West Division standings. (USHL Images)
Around the League
Storm Win a Pair…The Tri-City Storm collected their first two wins of the season by defeating the Indiana Ice on consecutive nights. Five different skaters tallied a goal in the 5-1 victory on Friday night while Carsen Chubak made 28 saves to earn his first USHL victory. The following evening, the Storm won a thrilling 4-3 overtime game when Tyler Pistone scored midway through the five-minute extra period. Maxwell Tardy, Radoslav Illo, and Kenny Brooks each had two goals over the weekend for Tri-City.
Unbeaten Riders…The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders have an unblemished record after posting two wins during the second weekend of the USHL regular season. All three victories have come on the road as they have climbed into a tie for first place in the East Division. Defenseman Bryce Aneloski and forward Derek Deblois both scored their first goal of the season in Friday's 3-1 victory vs. Sioux City. Jeff Costello continued his hot scoring pace with his second three-point night (2g, 1a) of the season, including the game-winning goal, in Saturday's 4-1 win vs. rival Waterloo.
Phantoms Take Two…Youngstown got their first taste of victory in the USHL with a 5-4 win over Des Moines on Saturday. Phantoms forward Jefferson Dahl fired a game high nine shots and scored two goals in the second period, including the shorthanded game-winner. Defenseman Andrej Sustr along with forwards Nick Czinder and Taylor Holstrom each collected two assists in the victory. Goaltender Matthew Mahalak, the first overall selection in the 2009 USHL Futures Draft, earned the win in net. On Sunday, the Phantoms scored three goals in the third period to hand the Chicago Steel their first loss of the season. Holstrom's three-point game (1g, 2a) led the way for Youngstown.
Two for Gamblers…After dropping their home opener in the first week of the season, the Green Bay Gamblers hit the road and rebounded with two wins over Team USA. David Makowski continued his torrid scoring pace as he collected three points (1g, 2a) in Friday's 5-1 victory. Forward Anders Lee scored his first goal of the season, a shorthanded tally that proved to be the game-winner. On Saturday, Lee again notched the game-winner while goaltender Ryan McKay stopped all 23 shots during his first career USHL start to earn the 5-0 shutout victory. Green Bay forward Reed Seckel led all scoring with three points (2g, 1a) on Saturday.
2-0 for Lancers… For the second consecutive Saturday, Jeff Teglia made 25 saves as the Omaha Lancers won 3-1 vs. Lincoln at the Omaha Civic Auditorium to push their record to 2-0-0. Troy Power scored two goals in the first period as Nick Oddo and Anthony Hamburg recorded assists on both. The Lancers will play their next three games on home ice.
Balance for Steel…Prior to dropping their first game of the season, the Chicago Steel jumped out to a 3-0-0 record, the best start to the regular season in team history. Much of the early success can be attributed to plenty of scoring as the Steel lead the USHL with 24 goals. Contributions have come from the entire lineup as 13 of the 20 skaters who have played this season have at least one goal.
Leaders of the West…Two more wins for the Sioux Falls Stampede have kept them on top of the West Division standings. Matt Lindblad led the club with three points (1g, 2a) in Friday's 4-3 win vs. Fargo. The first six goals of the game were scored on the power play until Matt Zarbo scored at even strength in the third period to cap the win for the Stampede. Sam Coatta scored two goals in the first period to lead Sioux Falls to a 3-1 win vs. Sioux City on Saturday while Dominic Zombo added two assists to give him five on the season.
Notes…Lincoln Stars forward Andrew Ammon scored the first and last goal of the game in the 3-2 win vs. Des Moines on Friday, his first tallies of the season…Team USA goaltender Matt McNeely made a League season high 50 saves in Saturday's loss to Green Bay…Des Moines forward T.J. Tynan has at least one point in all four games this season and has scored a goal in each of the last three games…Indiana Ice forward Antti Roppo registered his second two-goal game of the season on Saturday. The Finland native is tied for the League lead with four goals this season and his five-point start to the season (4g, 1a) is the second best over three games in team history for an Ice player (Garrett Roe, 4g, 2a in 2006-07)…Of the 13 USHL games played this week, the home team won just five times.
Alumni News…Former Omaha Lancers forward Ryan Malone (1998-99) recorded a hat trick on Saturday to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to their first win of the season, a 5-2 victory vs. Carolina. Malone leads the Lightning with five goals this season…Thomas Vanek scored the game-winner with a slap shot on the power play during the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 win vs. the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday. It was the first win of the season for Buffalo and the first goal of the year for the former Sioux Falls Stampede forward….A trio of former USHL on-ice officials worked the home opener for the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday as they claimed a 4-3 shootout win vs. the Colorado Avalanche. Referees Ian Walsh and Chris Rooney along with linesman Bryan Pancich worked the thrilling game that ended in a nine-round shootout.
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