General | 3/17/2025 4:00:00 PM

In the News

• USHL Playoff Picture
• Lee, Vig, Peck Named Players of the Week
• Stampede Hosts Hockey Talks Night
• Buccaneers Impact Needy Families at Local Food Pantry
• What Artem Levshunov Means to the Blackhawks
• Jane Gaudreau Pens Note Ahead of Matthew Gaudreau Tribute April 5

What to Watch For

• Lincoln is on a four-game winning streak. With a combination of variables, Sunday is the soonest the Stars could clinch a share of the Anderson Cup, awarded to the team with the most points in the regular season. It would mark the fourth time the Stars have won the Anderson Cup first since the 2002-03 season.
• Last week, Waterloo, Madison, Muskegon and Youngstown punched their tickets to the postseason. The Capitols, Lumberjacks and Phantoms are within one point of each other in the race for second in the conference standings, which would assure a first-round bye in the Clark Cup playoffs.
• Dubuque has earned points in each of its last eight games, posting a 6-0-1-1 record. The Eastern Conference-leading Fighting Saints will play three games in three days vs. playoff teams this weekend with two games vs. Madison and one against Waterloo. View the daily report.
• Sioux City enters the week needing just two points to clinch a playoff spot. The Musketeers will play in Fargo on Saturday.
• Fargo has a magic number of five to clinch a spot in the postseason. The Force will play three games over the next seven days with a Tuesday clash at Lincoln, followed by a home game vs. Sioux City and a Sunday matinee at Sioux Falls. See clinching scenarios.
• Ohio State commit Landen Gunderson (Sioux City Musketeers) leads the league with 65 points on 25 goals and 40 assists. Boston Bruins prospect and North Dakota commit Will Zellers (Green Bay Gamblers) leads the USHL with 39 goals, points per game (1.42) and ranks second in points (61) – closing the gap between himself and Gunderson despite having played 11 fewer games.
• Wisconsin commit Bruno Idzan (Lincoln Stars) ranks second in the USHL in points per game (1.39). Idzan has a point in 20 of his 28 games since joining the Stars in mid-December. The Croatian forward has not gone more than two games without a point.
• Minnesota State commit Caden Lee (Omaha Lancers) is on a four-game goal-scoring streak with five goals since March 11.
• Michigan commit Cole McKinney (NTDP U18s) has 14 points on seven goals and seven assists in his last nine games.
• Maine commit Lukas Peterson (Green Bay Gamblers) leads USHL defensemen in points with 41 points on seven goals and 34 assists. Vermont commit Caeden Herrington (Lincoln Stars) leads league defensemen with 14 goals.
• St. Cloud State commit Yan Shostak (Lincoln Stars) and UConn commit Kam Hendrickson (Waterloo Black Hawks) lead USHL goalies with 2.41 goals against average. Lindenwood commit Liam Beerman (Dubuque Fighting Saints) paces netminders with a .915 save percentage. Michigan State commit and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Melvin Strahl leads the league with 28 wins. Lindenwood commit AJ Reyelts (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) is the only goalie with four shutouts this season.  
• Listed in order, Michigan State commit Ryker Lee (Madison Capitols), Adam Benák (Youngstown Phantoms) and Boston University commit Tynan Lawrence (Muskegon Lumberjacks) lead rookie scorers.
• Green Bay, Madison and Lincoln have the league’s best power plays, converting on roughly 30% of their chances. Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Madison and Waterloo have the league’s best penalty kills, hovering around 83%.
• Cedar Rapids RoughRiders head coach Mark Carlson has 772 career regular-season USHL wins. P.K. O’Handley holds the USHL record for most regular-season wins with 778. The RoughRiders have 9 games remaining. Carlson has coached more regular-season games than any coach in USHL history, surpassing O’Handley’s mark earlier this season.

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.