General | 2/10/2025 3:51:47 PM

In the News

• Carlson to Break USHL Record
• Five Impressive USHL Stats
• Zelenov Helping Shilov Adjust to Language, Lifestyle
• Improved Defensive Play Fuels Waterloo's Dylan Compton
• Consistency is Key for Madison's Ryker Lee
• NTDP Finishes 3^rd at U-18 Five Nations
• Steel Hosts “Eras Night” for Swifties

What to Watch For

• Lincoln leads the league with a 30-11-1-0 record. The Stars are on an 11-game winning streak. This winning streak is now the second-longest in team history behind a 16-game streak Mar. 1-Apr. 5, 2002. Lincoln and Sioux Falls will play a home-and-home series this weekend. The Stampede, second in the Western Conference, is on a three-game winning streak and headed into a stretch of three games in three days which will conclude at home vs. Fargo on Sunday.
• The Eastern Conference-leading Fighting Saints are 2-2-0-0 in February with losses to Lincoln and Madison this month. Muskegon swept Tri-City last weekend to hold a spot behind the Fighting Saints in the standings. The Lumberjacks will play a single game this week with a matchup vs. the NTDP U17s on Saturday.
• Six teams will play three games in three days this week: Madison, Cedar Rapids, Sioux Falls, Fargo, Des Moines and Dubuque.
• Ohio State commit Landen Gunderson (Sioux City Musketeers) leads the league with 53 points on 20 goals and 33 assists. He has five goals and four assists in his last four games.  
• Colorado Avalanche prospect and North Dakota commit Will Zellers (Green Bay Gamblers) leads the USHL with 29 goals scored. He has the highest points-per-game average (1.59) of any player with 20 or more games played in the league this season.
• St. Cloud State commit Yan Shostak (Lincoln Stars) leads USHL goalies with 2.34 goals against average. Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev (Muskegon Lumberjacks) paces netminders with a .917 save percentage. Shostak and Gadzhiev are the only goalies with three shutouts this season.  
• Notre Dame commit Dashel Oliver (Lincoln Stars) and Denver commit Reid Varkonyi (Sioux Falls Stampede) are on 11-game point streaks. Oliver has nine goals, 12 assists and a +19 rating during the stretch. Oliver and John Stout (Madison Capitols) lead the USHL with a +28 rating.
• Russian newcomer Ivan Ryabkin (Muskegon Lumberjacks) has five goals and five assists in his last six games.
• Listed in order, Ethan Wyttenbach (Sioux Falls Stampede), Ryker Lee (Madison Capitols), Adam Benák (Youngstown Phantoms) and Tynan Lawrence (Muskegon Lumberjacks) are the only rookie scorers with 35 or more points.
• Lincoln and Green Bay (32%) have the league’s best power play units. Fargo (85%) and Sioux Falls (84%) have the top-ranked penalty kills.
• Cedar Rapids' head coach Mark Carlson is set to tie and break P.K. O’Handley’s record for most USHL regular-season games coached this weekend. Carlson has coached 1,475 regular season games. The record is held by O'Handley at 1,476. Carlson is set to tie the record for all-time games coached on Friday, Feb. 14 vs. Dubuque and break the record on Saturday, Feb. 15 vs. Waterloo, O'Handley's former team. Carlson has 767 career regular-season USHL wins. The record for all-time USHL regular season wins is held by O’Handley at 778. The RoughRiders have 21 games remaining.
• The Chicago Steel will wear five different jerseys in one game when they host the Youngstown Phantoms for "Chicago Steel: The (Next) Eras Night" on Saturday, Feb. 8. The unique sweaters, featuring Taylor-Swift and Steel-inspired messaging, will be auctioned online from Feb 13-20, with proceeds benefiting the Geneva Academic Foundation (GAF). Last season's auction produced bids of more than $14,000 combined, marking the highest Steel auction total since moving to Fox Valley Ice Arena in 2015.

About the USHL
The United States Hockey League and its 16 member clubs are committed to being the leading 16–20-year-old junior hockey league in the world. More than half of Division I men’s hockey roster spots are held by USHL alumni and more than 195 alumni were listed on NHL rosters at the start of the 2024-25 season.

The league's player-first approach, including a 2:1 practice-to- game ratio and a schedule with 92% of games played on weekends, provides its players with the optimal environment for athletic and personal growth, creating pathways for the next generation of stars like Kyle Connor (Youngstown Phantoms), Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel), Cole Caufield (NTDP), Adam Fantilli (Chicago Steel) and Jeremy Swayman (Sioux Falls Stampede). More.