Men's Ice Hockey | 10/3/2024 8:51:38 AM

Three USHL teams will host home openers this weekend with 12 games on the slate between Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5.
 
TOP STORYLINES

• The USHL sends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Chad Demers, former player and coach of the Fargo Force
• The Des Moines Buccaneers will play their first game of the season at the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex in West Des Moines, Iowa – their home for the 2024-25 season. The Bucs will faceoff against the Waterloo Black Hawks on Friday, Oct. 4 in for their only game of the weekend
• The Muskegon Lumberjacks will return to Chicago after falling 3-2 in a shootout at the Fox Valley Ice Arena last weekend
• The Tri-City Storm, Green Bay Gamblers and Sioux Falls Stampede will host their home openers this weekend 

DRAFT ELIGIBLES

• Among 2025 NHL Draft eligible rookies, Adam Benák (Youngstown Phantoms) leads the way with four points on one goal and three assists while Ryker Lee (Madison Capitols) and William Tomko (Chicago Steel) each have three points
• 2026 NHL Draft eligible rookies Tynan Lawrence (Muskegon Lumberjacks), Adam Valentini (Chicago Steel) and Torkel Jennersjö (Dubuque Fighting Saints) each have three points

TOP TEAMS

• Through the first two weeks of the regular season, the Sioux City Musketeers, Lincoln Stars and Chicago Steel pace the league with six points each. The Musketeers have played one fewer game than the Stars or Steel with a perfect 3-0-0-0
• Lincoln is averaging 5.00 goals per game (1^st in the USHL) and 2.50 goals against (5^th in USHL)
• Sioux City is averaging 4.33 goals per game (3^rd in USHL) and 1.67 goals against (2^nd in USHL). The Musketeers have limited their opponents to only 19.00 shots per game, the fewest in the league 

LEADING SCORERS

• Jack Pechar (Lincoln Stars) has started the season on a four-game point streak with two goals and three assists
• Tate Pritchard (Sioux City Musketeers) is the only player with a goal in every game this season
• Sam Laurila (Fargo Force) in on an assist streak with six helpers in Fargo’s last three games
• Among goalies who have played more than one game this season, Calvin Vachon (Waterloo Black Hawks) leads the way with a 1.50 GAA, making 55 saves on 58 shots
• Jack Parsons (Chicago Steel) has the highest save percentage among goalies with more than one game played with a .954, stopping 83 of 87 shots
• Dylan Compton (Waterloo Black Hawks), Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev (Muskegon Lumberjacks) and Daniel Shlaine (Lincoln Stars) were named USHL Players of the Week for games played on Sept. 27-28. Press release

SPECIAL TEAMS

• The Lincoln Stars (35.7%), Sioux City Musketeers (33.3%) and Waterloo Black Hawks (30%) lead the USHL in power play efficacy
• The Muskegon Lumberjacks (94.1%), Sioux City Musketeers (92.3%), Dubuque Fighting Saints (91.7%) and Fargo Force (91.7%) are tops in the league on the penalty kill

NHL PICKS

• There are 25 NHL picks on USHL rosters with 11 of 16 USHL teams claiming at least one selection. Six teams in the league have multiple NHL draft picks rostered, including the Dubuque Fighting Saints (5), Green Bay Gamblers (4), Sioux Falls Stampede (4), Muskegon Lumberjacks (3), Lincoln Stars (2) and Youngstown Phantoms (2)
• 15 different NHL teams have a USHL pick in the league this season

AROUND THE LEAGUE        

• As part of Military Appreciation Night, the Green Bay Gamblers will host a meat raffle with proceeds going toward a local chapter of disabled veterans.
• The Chicago Steel will host Pucks & Pups on Saturday, Oct. 5 with fans allowed to bring their dog to the game and partake in some dog-themed features including “musical sit” and “pup cup battle.” Learn more
• The Fargo Force and anonymous donors raised more than $66K through “Rally 4 Demmy,” a fundraiser to support former player and coach Chad “Denny” Demers in his battle with brain cancer. Learn more

PATH TO PRO

• With ten first-round selections and 49 total picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, the USHL has developed the most draft choices of any junior hockey league since 2012
• The USHL has produced more selections than the OHL, WHL and QMJHL for eight straight years
• The USHL's ten first-round selections in 2024 tied a league record previously set in 2016. It marked the 16th consecutive year the USHL has had multiple first-round picks and extended the run to 20 years with at least one selection
• Selected first overall by the San Jose Sharks, Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel) joined four other first overall picks with USHL lineage: Owen Power (Chicago Steel/Buffalo Sabres/2021) Jack Hughes (NTDP/New Jersey Devils/2019), Auston Matthews (NTDP/Toronto Maple Leafs/2016) and Rick DiPietro ( NTDP/New York Islanders/2000)
• More than 315 players with USHL ties participated in NHL development camps during the offseason. Every NHL team that hosted a camp had at least four USHL-produced players. The Detroit Red Wings rostered a league-leading 21 players with USHL ties
• Multiple players who played last season in the USHL signed NHL entry-level contracts, including: Matvei Gridin (Muskegon Lumberjacks/Calgary Flames), Ilya Protas (Des Moines Buccaneers/Washington Capitals), Julian Lutz (Green Bay Gamblers/Utah Hockey Club) and Juraj Pekarcik (Dubuque Fighting Saints/St. Louis Blues)

USHL TO THE NCAA

• 825 USHL alumni were on NCAA Division I rosters to start the 2024-25 season. Learn more
• More than 360 players in the USHL are committed to play NCAA Division I college hockey, accounting for 80% of all players in the league
• The conferences with the most committed players include:
  • Hockey East: 85+
  • NCHC: 85+
  • Big Ten: 75+
• The teams with the most committed players include Michigan, Harvard, UMass, Michigan State and Miami
• 270+ USHL alumni played in the NHL during the 2023-24 season and 12 USHL were named NCAA First-Team All-Americans.
• Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel) won the Hobey Baker Award, Greg Brown (Dubuque Fighting Saints) won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year and Kyle McClellan (Omaha Lancers) won the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA Goalie of the Year

DUPACO COWBELL CUP

• Bragging rights are up for grabs again as the Dupaco Cowbell Cup between the Dubuque Fighting Saints, Des Moines Buccaneers, Cedar Rapids Roughriders and Waterloo Black Hawks returns for its 14^th season.
• Each head-to-head game between the four teams will count toward the USHL standings and the Cowbell Cup standings. The Cowbell Cup will be awarded to the team with the most Cowbell Cup points at the end of the regular season. For all Cowbell Cup games, teams will earn two points for each win and one point for each overtime or shootout loss.
• Dubuque has won the last five Cowbell Cups and leads with eight total titles. 

ANNIVERSARY SEASONS

• 40^th Anniversary Season: Madison Capitols*
• 30^th Anniversary Season: Green Bay Gamblers 
• 25^th Anniversary Season: Chicago Steel, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Tri-City Storm
• 15^th Anniversary Season: Dubuque Fighting Saints

*Madison left the USHL in 1995 before rejoining in 2014.

USHL & USA HOCKEY

• Fargo Force minority owner Matt Cullen was among a group of inductees to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Cullen is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion and one of two U.S.-born players to have played in more than 1,500 NHL games. He joins Brianna Decker, Kevin Stevens, Major Frederic McLaughlin and the 2022 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team in the class of 2024.
• The inaugural Canadian Hockey League (CHL)/USA Prospects Challenge will take place this November. The two-game series will feature first-year draft-eligible players for the 2025 2025 NHL Draft from the CHL (Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League, Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League) and USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. The host of the CHL/USA Prospects Challenge will rotate between the CHL’s three league markets each year. This is the first of a three-year agreement between the CHL and USA Hockey. 

For up-to-date stats and streaks, review the USHL Daily Report.

The USHL sends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau and former owner of the Tri-City Storm, Kirk Brooks.