Weekly Notes: Last Push for Home-Ice Advantage

General | 4/9/2025 8:24:09 AM

Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the Lincoln Stars have clinched the Anderson Cup and all eyes shift to the Eastern Conference where the top four teams are seperated by two points in a battle for home-ice advantage in the Clark Cup Playoffs.

In the News What to Watch For
  • Lincoln clinched its fourth Anderson Cup in team history and first since 2003 with a 4-3 overtime win at Madison last Saturday night. The Stars will celebrate the regular season championship with a brief on-ice ceremony after their game against the Tri-City Storm on Friday, April 11. Read more.
  • With two games left in the regular season, Youngstown, Madison, Dubuque and Muskegon are within two points at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The top two teams in each conference at the end of the regular season earn a bye for the first round of the Clark Cup Playoffs, which start Monday, April 14. More on the playoff structure.
  • Youngstown and Madison have earned points from eight of their last 10 games with seven regulation wins each. View the daily report.
  • Waterloo Black Hawks General Manager Bryn Chyzyk was named GM and assistant coach at the University of North Dakota. Chyzyk was the 2023 USHL GM of the Year, helping guide the Black Hawks to four straight playoff appearances with head coach Matt Smaby. Read more.
  • Thirty-five USHL alumni have signed their NHL entry-level deals since the conclusion of their NCAA seasons. See the list.
  • Seventy-nine USHL alumni are on rosters for the Frozen Four in St. Louis. Nine players participating have won a Clark Cup, including Brandon Svoboda who was a two-time winner with the Youngstown Phantoms (2023) and Fargo Force (2024). Read more.
  • Northeastern commit Giacomo Martino (Sioux City Musketeers) leads the league with 72 points in 60 games on 31 goals and 41 assists. Ohio State commit Landen Gunderson (Sioux City Musketeers) and Boston Bruins prospect and North Dakota commit Will Zellers (Green Bay Gamblers) are tied for second in USHL scoring with 71 points each.  Zellers leads the USHL with 44 goals and 1.42 point-per-game ratio. He is on a nine-game point streak with seven goals and six assists in the stretch. View the daily report.
  • North Dakota commit Ashton Schultz (Chicago Steel) is on a seven-game point streak with one goal and eight assists. He is ranked 59th on NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term ranking of North American skaters.
  • Since rejoining the Storm after his season with Shakopee High School, North Dakota commit Cooper Simpson has points in six of seven games. He is ranked 67th on NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term ranking of North American skaters.
  • St. Cloud State commit Yan Shostak (Lincoln Stars) leads USHL goalies with a 2.41 goals against average. Lindenwood commit Liam Beerman (Dubuque Fighting Saints) paces league netminders with a .914 save percentage, though Beerman has played 21 fewer games than Shostak who ranks second at .911. Michigan State commit and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Melvin Strahl leads the league with 31 wins. Strahl, along with Lindenwood commit AJ Reyelts (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders), are tied for the league lead 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.
  • Lincoln, Madison and Green Bay have the league’s best power plays, converting on roughly 28% of their chances. Sioux City, Sioux Falls and Madison have the league’s best penalty kills, hovering above 82%.
  • Cedar Rapids RoughRiders head coach Mark Carlson has 775 career regular-season USHL wins. The RoughRiders have two games remaining. Carlson has coached more regular-season games than any coach in USHL history, surpassing O’Handley’s mark earlier this season. P.K. O’Handley holds the USHL record for most regular season wins with 778.
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.