Men's Ice Hockey | 10/15/2026 3:07:42 PM
The Waterloo Black Hawks’ six-game point streak, the Fargo Force’s four-game winning streak and the Tri-City Storm’s high-scoring offense are among the storylines heading into USHL action Oct. 15–18.
Waterloo has posted a 5-0-1-0 record during its point streak and has not lost in regulation since its first game of the season on Sept. 17. Fargo enters the weekend with four consecutive wins.
Waterloo and Des Moines Meet Again
The Des Moines Buccaneers are 5-2-0-1 after opening the season with five straight wins. They have gone 3-0-0-1 on the road, with their first road defeat coming in an 11-round shootout against Lincoln last weekend.
Waterloo went 5-3-0-0 against Des Moines last season. The teams are scheduled to meet eight times again this year.
The Buccaneers recently acquired defenseman Max Dessner in a trade with Chicago.
Tri-City Sets the Scoring Pace
Tri-City is averaging five goals per game through eight games, outpacing the next closest team by more than a goal per game.
Three Storm players rank among the League’s top 10 scorers. Jackson Smith has three goals and nine assists for 12 points, while Aleksandr Sokolov has eight goals and two assists for 10 points. Dylan Krayer also has 10 points on three goals and seven assists.
The Storm will play three games in three days, hosting Omaha on Friday, Oct. 16, traveling to Omaha on Saturday, Oct. 17, and returning to Kearney to face Sioux City on Sunday, Oct. 18.
Tri-City went 5-2-1-0 against Omaha last season. The teams will meet 10 times this season. Sioux City’s Max Anderson enters the weekend with a goal in four straight games.
Cedar Rapids Hosts Sioux Falls for Strike Out Cancer Weekend
Cedar Rapids will wear baseball-inspired specialty jerseys during its Strike Out Cancer weekend for two games against Sioux Falls. The series is the only scheduled meeting between the teams this season.
Stampede goaltender and Edmonton Oilers prospect Ryan Cameron will face his former team.
The RoughRiders have three players among the League’s top 10 scorers. Henry Lechner leads the USHL with 14 points on eight goals and six assists. Nathan Chorlton has three goals and 10 assists for 13 points, while Carter Ernst has two goals and eight assists for 10 points.
Lechner and Sokolov share the League lead with eight goals each.
Sioux Falls has killed all 27 penalties it has faced. Cedar Rapids follows at 96.6 percent on the penalty kill, with Des Moines at 92.3 percent. Waterloo is converting at 42.9 percent on the power play, going 9-for-21 in six games.
Youngstown and Muskegon Open Season Series
Youngstown and Muskegon will meet for the first time this season in a home-and-home series. Muskegon went 6-2-0-1 against the Phantoms last season.
Muskegon rookie Zaac Charbonneau has six goals and four assists for 10 points, placing him among the League’s top 10 scorers.
Des Moines’ Joey Argentina, with six goals and six assists for 12 points, and Riley Zupfer, with three goals and eight assists for 11 points, round out the top 10.
Rookie Goaltenders Among League Leaders
Des Moines rookie Jon Kavcic leads the USHL with a 1.49 goals-against average and .949 save percentage. Chicago rookie Alex Wang has the second-lowest goals-against average at 1.71.
Sioux Falls rookie Ilya Nikitins ranks third in save percentage at .938 through two games, behind Fargo’s Sam Hrenak.
Hrenak, a Winnipeg Jets prospect, leads the League in wins with a 5-2-0-0 record and two shutouts. He has three shutouts in 16 career USHL games.
Around the League
Madison will play its first home game of the season Saturday, Oct. 17, against Chicago.
Waterloo (2-0-1-0) and Chicago (3-0-1-0) have yet to lose in regulation at home. Cedar Rapids (4-0-0-0), Waterloo (3-0-0-0) and Sioux City (2-0-0-0) are unbeaten on the road, while Des Moines has earned points in all four road games.
Dubuque will play three games in three days, facing the NTDP U18 team Friday and Saturday before meeting the U17 team Sunday. Top 2028 NHL Draft prospect Joey Cullen is still looking for his first USHL goal with the U17 team.
Fargo’s AJ Francisco and Sioux Falls’ Anthony Bongo lead USHL defensemen in scoring with two goals and six assists for eight points each.
Recent college commitments include Cedar Rapids’ Joseph Skidmore to Dartmouth, Muskegon’s Louis Jonerheim to Omaha and the NTDP’s Sam Lee to Boston College.
Sunday’s Tri-City–Sioux City game will be available to watch for free through FloHockey’s Live to Social coverage on Flo’s channels, including YouTube.
About the USHL
The United States Hockey League (USHL) and its 16 teams are committed to being the world's leading junior hockey league. This season, 45% of NCAA Division I men's hockey players and 25% of NHL players have USHL experience. The USHL has developed more than 315 direct NHL Draft picks since 2020, and nine of the last 10 Hobey Baker Award winners, including Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel).
Elevated through the recently announced Declaration of Excellence with the NHL and USA Hockey, the league's player-first approach, including a 2:1 practice-to-game ratio and a schedule with 90% 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 Jack Hughes (NTDP), Jeremy Swayman (Sioux Falls Stampede), and Johnny Gaudreau (Dubuque Fighting Saints).