Men's Ice Hockey | 4/4/2025 9:45:19 PM

The USHL's second-to-last weekend of the regular season puts the spotlight on teams in Nebraska with the Lincoln Stars winning their fourth Anderson Cup in team history and first since the 2002-03 season and the Omaha Lancers hosting Matthew Gaudreau Night in advanace of the inagural bestwoment of The Gaudreau Award next weekend. 

Friday, April 4

• YNG 6, WAT 0 // The Phantoms blanked the Black Hawks behind a 26-save effort from netminder Melvin Strahl. Peter Cisar scored his first three goals as a Phantom. (Box Score)
• MUS 3, NTDP U18's 2 (OT) // After Michael Berchild tied it up late in the third, Luka Radivojevic won it for the Lumberjacks in the overtime frame. (Box Score)
• DM 3, CR 2 // The Bucs topped the RoughRiders thanks to a strong goaltending performance by Max Weilandt. Even with the loss, Cedar Rapids clinched the final playoff spot with the loss by NTDP. (Box Score)
• FGO 6, TC 2 // Matt Lahey scored twice in this one as the Force topped the Storm.  (Box Score)
• GB 4, SF 2 // Gavin Moffatt made 38 saves and four different Gamblers found the back of the net in a 4-2 win over the Stampede. (Box Score)
• LIN 3, MAD 1 // Lincoln recovered from an early 1-0 deficit to beat Madison in a pivotal game in the Anderson Cup race. Two goals early in the 2nd proved to be the difference. (Box Score)
• SC 4, DBQ 2 // Landon Nycz broke a 2-2 tie midway through the third as Sioux City went on to beat Dubuque 4-2. (Box Score)

Saturday, April 5

• LIN 4, MAD 3 (OT) // A back-and-forth game resulted in the Lincoln Stars clinching the Anderson Cup for the first time since 2004. The game-winner in overtime was scored by Dashel Oliver for his second of the night. (Box Score)
• YNG 5, CHI 3 // The Steel traveled to Youngstown to take on the Phantoms but fell short two goals. Kazimier Sobieski, Conner de Haro, Matti Butkovskiy, Michael Mesic, Ryan Rucinski were the five goal scorers for Youngstown. (Box Score)
• NTDP 18s 5, WAT 1 // No goals were scored in the first period. Sammy Nelson and Landon Hafele started it off for Team USA. Brock Schultz scored Waterloo’s only goal of the night at 2:36 in the third. (Box Score)
• FGO 6, TC 3 // It was a big night for Minnesota High School hockey alumni as Brooks Cullen and Mason West both scored their first USHL goals and Elias Zimmerman had 2 goals and 1 assist for the Force. Artemi Nizameyev tied it 3-3 in the second, but Tri-City couldn’t come out with the lead. (Box Score)
• SF 9, GB 2 // The Stampede came fired up for night two against the Gamblers. Reid Varkonyi had 3 goals and 1 assist, Ethan Wyttenbach had 2 goals and 1 assist and Waylon Esche made 26 saves. (Box Score)
• DBQ 5, OMA 1 // Omaha hosted the Fighting Saints on their Matthew Gaudreau Night. Omaha native, Mario Fate got his first goal in the league. Gavin Cornforth and Heikki Ruohonen both had one goal and one assist for Dubuque. (Box Score)
• SC 2, CR 1 // One goal was scored in each period with Gavin Garry at 11:34 in the first, Guerin Slezak at 12:24 in the second, and Nikita Klepov at 15:21 in the third. Musketeers' goaltender Bjorn Bronas had 35 saves for the night. (Box Score)

Sunday, April 4

• WAT 4, MUS 3 // There were many goal contributors for both teams. Ivan Ryabkin had two goals for the Lumberjacks. Kaeden Hawkins had the game winner and Brock Shultz had 1 goal, but his second of the weekend for the Black Hawks. (Box Score)
• CHI 4, YNG 3 // The Phantoms fell to the Steel 4-3 in a shootout. Noah LaPoint had his first goal in the USHL for Chicago, and Tobias Ohman had 1 goal along with the final shootout goal to make Chicago victorious. (Box Score)
• TC 5, SC 2 // Tied game going into the third period until the Storm took off with goals from Shaun McEwen, Cooper Simpson, and Attila Lippai. Giacomo Martino and Nicholas Sykora were the two goal scorers from Sioux City. (Box Score)
• CR 4, OMA 2  // A good battle between the RoughRiders and the Lancers resulting in a 4-2 win for Cedar Rapids. Mason Minor and Hudson Kowalchuk both had their first USHL goals. Amine Hajibi had 2 goals and Grant Young had two assists for the RoughRiders. Second Omaha goal was scored by Caden Lee. (Box Score)

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.