Tag Archives: Bowling Green

Work Hard Play Hard…

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It’s becoming clear the Force’s roster plans are getting murky.

The last week has seen the Force’s roster, which was set to return up to 16 players, undergo potential changes which could give the team a bit of a different and younger look for next season.

It appears the Force could lose up to five players from the 2011-12 team heading into next year.

Forward Pavel Zykov was drafted in the second round of the KHL Amateur Draft less than a week ago by Metallurg, the program which produced Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin. Zykov was also one of four Force players drafted in last week’s NAHL Draft.

Defenseman David Mead along with forwards Nick Stoskopf and Stanislav Dzakhov were also taken in the NAHL Draft.

The Force already lost forward Jonny Brodzinski (St. Cloud State) to college after he’d been teetering back and forth between school and staying another year with the team.

“We’re in a situation where we can only have four (1992-born) players on our roster for next season,” said Force director of player personnel Jesse Davis. “We have some guys who are on the fence for next year.”

Davis said its a situation which is up in the air right now and final plans will not be determined until later.

Whether or not those players will return becomes even more of a question considering none of them were at the Force’s tryout camp, which was held in the Minneapolis area over the weekend.

Davis said last week in a text message Zykov was back in Russia making it unlikely he would fly back for the team’s camp regardless.

As for Dzakhov, Mead and Stoskopf, not being at camp isn’t exactly damning. Last season, defenseman Brian Cooper (Nebraska-Omaha), was not at the team’s camp as he was back home in Alaska.

Twelve players expected to return for next season’s team were present at the camp.

The only notable absentee from Sunday’s all-star game was forward Nate Arentz, who was a senior this year at Fargo South which held its graduation ceremonies on Sunday.

If the departures were to occur, it means there are five potential openings the Force have and plenty of options to choose from.

Affiliates list forwards Brendan Harms (Bemidji State), Zach Doerring and Dominic Toninato (Minnesota-Duluth) are just a few of the forwards the team could rely upon to fill the gap next year. Davis also said following the USHL Draft, incoming forwards Matt Pohlkamp (Bowling Green) and Futures picks Mason Morelli and Michael Booth are expected to make the team next season.

That’s not including if the Force find favor in a forward who they didn’t draft similar to the way they did with Bryn Chyzyk (North Dakota), who came out of nowhere to become one of the team’s best players.

Defensively, the Force would return five defensemen and will already have Butrus Ghafari (Western Michigan) coming into the fold. Similar to their forwards, the Force have a number of options off the affiliates list such as Charlie Pelnik (North Dakota), Dante Suffredini or any one of the players they took in the Entry Draft.

Davis said he was pleased with how the camp went as they saw some promising performances from their Futures Draft players.

It also appeared to be a good camp for defenseman Taylor Richart, who spoke with Miami (Ohio), Davis said. Davis acknowledged the rumors of Richart accepting a scholarship with the school, but said that isn’t true.

Richart, who played at Blaine (MN-HS) with Brodzinski, only played one season with the Force after coming over from Aberdeen (NAHL). He put up 16 points for the Force and was one of two players to play in all 60 games during the regular season.

Miami recently lost NTDP defenseman Patrick Sieloff, who opted to play next season with the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League.

“He hasn’t accepted anything from them,” Davis said. “I think what it was, was people saw him talking with Miami in the lobby.”

Posse…

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Force director of player personnel Jesse Davis said yesterday the team had three priorities heading into the USHL Entry Draft and goaltending was the No. 1.

The team selected Fresno (NAHL) goaltender Tomas Sholl (Bowling Green) with its first pick in the second round. Davis said Sholl was the closest thing available to outgoing goaltender Zane Gothberg (North Dakota), who was named the USHL’s Co-Goaltender of the Year this week.

Davis said the team’s remaining priorities were getting more defensemen and adding toughness, which became important following the Force’s second-round elimination against the extremely physical Lincoln Stars.

Sixteen players are set to return to the Force next season which could put the team in position to contend next season. Here’s a look at the players the Force drafted and as Davis said, there are some who have a strong chance of making next year’s roster.
Tomas Sholl, goaltender (Bowling Green): We’ve seen him in the NAHL and he was a pretty skilled goaltender there. Our tryout camps are going to tell us a lot about our goaltending situation and all of our players. As far as goalies go, he can stop the puck and we have confidence in him. If we decide to go with him and he’s our guy, that’s what its going to be.

Matt Pohlkamp, forward (Bowling Green): He was a guy that we saw last year in the Elite League and in Minnesota high school hockey who we thought was pretty good. A kid that grew year after year as a hockey player and we just kept watching him closely. Came and skated with us at the end of the high school year. He’s committed to Bowling Green and we have a good relationship with those guys there. A little bit of what we are losing in Jonny Brodzinski (St. Cloud State), we are getting back in Matt Pohlkamp. He and Tomas were the two guys we wanted to get and we did.

Charles Hemstrom, defenseman: I have known Charlie for a ling tome. I coached him the past back in Detroit and when you start looking down the list of our needs for a hockey team for next year, Charlie has junior experience. He’s a hard-nosed defenseman and brings a lot of toughness with him and that was something we were lacking looking at roster for next season. I watched Charlie closely this year in the NAHL. Watched him in NAHL Tournament and we decided around that time we’d take him and we did. Big body, hard-nosed, hitter, likes to be a hitter. Defensively sound and not a power play guy but could because of his good shot. Just a solid, solid puck-moving defenseman.

Jared Dedenbach, forward: Jared is another Detroit kid I’ve known a long time and it’s fun seeing these kids when you’ve known them for so long. You’ve seen where they’ve come from and where they are at now. He played in Chicago for the Fury with Dave Gust two years ago. He has good size, skates real well, very very physical and guy we brought in for toughness. He has some good skill and shoots the puck really well. One of few guys who could step in from midget hockey to our league. That’s a big step coming from Triple A to our league. We feel Jared fits the role. Not asking him to come in and score 50 goals but we want him to score, finish checks and he should be tough to play against. We feel he can do that. I don’t know what his potential can be from here.

Teemu Kivihalme, defenseman: He’s a guy we’ve had our eyes on. We had them on him last year for the Futures Draft and kept him on our list. (Force assistant Byron Pool) loves him and was always talking about him this year. We decided that we wanted him to be part of our roster. I don’t think he is going to leave and make our team next year. We took him and when you take guys in the draft and three or four teams are mad at you, that’s when we know we made a good move. He’s still growing. He got a lot bigger this season and growing form a young boy into a man and now he’s just a puck mover. You don’t notice him because he does not make mistakes. By the time he is ready for us, he could have more to him. I can see him getting a Division I scholarship soon.

Mikey Eyssimont, forward : Another guy we were looking to fill on our affiliates list. We had open spot with tendering (defenseman Butrus Ghafari (Western Michigan)) and we had an open ’96 (birthyear) spot. He was on our list to draft and saw him two years ago for the first time and was a high-end skilled centerman and was injured for most of this season. As Futures Draft went by, we didn’t see anyone take him. I saw him this spring in a showcase tournament and was one the best players there. His skill translated from last year to this year and he got better and we knew at that point we needed to get him on our affiliate list.

Chase Priske, defenseman (Qunnipiac): He was another guy we had on our list for the Futures Draft. We cannot take everyone and we decided we could get him later and that’s what we did. We have a feeling that (Futures Draft picks) Mason Morelli and Michael Booth will make our club and there will be another open spot. We’ll move him over to the affiliates list. He’s from Florida originally and played at a new prep school program. He’s already committed to a school and it is time for him to grow and getting bigger and stronger.

Aaron Herdt, forward: Aaron is a local talent. He’s been out to skate with us on some practices and was a kid we wanted to keep our hands on. My feeling is his potential is just unknown. Has a really good skillset right now and we didn’t want to miss out on him and was excited just when we would call him and tell him to come to practice. We have a good relationship with Moorhead and felt we had to have him in our program.

On Herdt, a Moorhead native, possibly being the first Fargo-Moorhead kid to ever play for the Force: Yeah, that’s a big thing. I know we get criticized on why we don’t take more local kids and (critics) don’t understand what else is out there. He has the potential to make our hockey team one day. We’re excited to sit back and watch what he is going to do. There’s no real set idea on how good he can be. He’s a rink rat.  His grandpa (Moorhead Youth Arena manager Dennis Bushy) runs the rink over there and they gave him a key to the place.

Hudson Friesen, defenseman: That’s one John kind of threw in there. He coached against him. We had him on the board and leading up to the draft, when we started calling different college guys and different people, his name kept coming up form different guys. Guys with no vested interest other than they saw him play. First step is to get him to camp. He was excited when he called him.

Perry Holcombe, defenseman: Perry is another guy we’ve been on for a few years. He’scComing from a remote area (Georgia) where there is not a lot of hockey. That’s why he got out. He moved on to prep school and is just a guy that always made the national camps and had opporuntity to skate with us and practice and did pretty good. Sometimes kids come in a little bit nervous and he fit right in. He felt like was one of the guys when he was here. We were surprised he was still around at that point. When you look at needs we got a goalie and Pohlkamp and some guys we figured could get.

CJ Garcia, defenseman: CJ, I guess, the one player on the Don MIlls team I was looking at and as a result we also ended up drafting (Futures pick Sal Filice). As we moved on to this draft, he was still a guy we had interest in. They (Garcia and his family) are bartering back and forth between the NCAA and OHL route and that’s something a lot of Candaian kids do. CJ was drafted pretty high in that league. He was drafted by Barrie. We worked diligently talking with his adviser and figured we don’t have a 100 percent “No.” The way the USA Hockey and Hockey Canaida rules are, he could not come here next year and figured, let’s draft him and easiest way to convice him that we want him here is to draft him. He’s a high-end player whatever route he goes.

-Victor Bjorkung, defenseman (Maine): He’s a guy we really didn’t know about. Leading up to the draft we were making our phone calls to talk to people and his name came up. He’s a Maine commit and another player kind of similar to CJ with the different options. He has options in Europe to play pro hockey. He also wants a college education and got the scholarship to Maine and is on the fence on what to do. They are brought up one way over there and don’t know about the USHL. Its an education process and we want to show him that we like him. We want to get him over here and go from there. Unsure where he’s going to go and it is not a 100 percent “No” on coming over here. Now we’ve drafted him and kind of go from there. The later rounds is about getting flyer picks. You are sure they can play but not sure of the direction they are going. High-end skilled, power play type guy. Maine was excited we took him and they feel it would help bring him over here. He’s another guy who when we took him, a lot of teams said, “Whoa. That was a good one.”

Brett Boehm, forward (Minnesota-Duluth): We knew a litlte bit about him before he even committed form Duluth. It’s good to get a kid like this in our league. Not just to Fargo but for our league as a whole. That being kids deciding to go to the college route or going to play for soon-to-be former WCHA teams. They are going to play in our area in college so why don’t they play in our league and play for Fargo?

From The D…

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Today is something bigger.

Lincoln Stars goaltender Charles Williams (Ferris State) knew his day was coming. He didn’t know when it’d come. He just knew when it came, it’d be something big. Today is the day as Williams has the chance to eliminate the Fargo Force from the Western Conference semifinals at 7:35 p.m. at Scheels Arena.

“Honestly, I thought there are a lot more worse things in life than not playing hockey and not getting your opportunity,” Williams said. “Everyday I got the picture that there would be something bigger for me. I feel like you can never get down on yourself.”

To know Williams’ story is to know the Stars’ season, which has been in some regards the Western Conference equivalent of the Green Bay Gamblers. It’s a season which saw the Stars draft Kevin Roy (Brown) not knowing what they’d expect and getting a player who scored 104 points making it one of the greatest seasons in USHL history.

It has been a year where first-year players such as forward Luke Johnson and defenseman Paul LaDue (both North Dakota) have blended with veterans like Dax Lauwers, Dominik Shine (Bowling Green) and Brent Tate (Northern Michigan) to have a mix of flash, panache and ferocity.

But for a team with offensive starpower, a defense where it appears missing a tooth or having a beard is the first form of membership, this was a team where goaltending was an issue.

The Stars had Jackson Teichroeb, who at times, played the part of a No.1 goaltender but there were moments of inconsistency. Yet it was in one of Teichroeb’s consistent moments where Stars coach Chad Johnson noticed something about Williams.

“Even when he wasn’t playing, which was about 12 or so games, he still kept working hard,” Johnson said. “It was something we all noticed.”

Eventually Johnson made the decision to run with a two-goaltender system and it led to Williams, who is from Canton, Mich., a Detroit suburb, becoming the team’s No. 1 starter.

It has been a choice Johnson and the Stars did not regret in the regular season and have certainly not regretted this postseason. Williams went 20-4-3 with a 2.61 goals against average, four shutouts and a .907 save percentage in the regular season.

He finished in the Top 10 among league goaltenders in wins, GAA, shutouts and save percentage.

Coming into the playoffs, it might not have dawned on some Williams was a Top 10 goaltender in the USHL. But it appears now people are getting the message as Williams has so far handled one of the toughest challenges in the league in the Force and their goaltender Zane Gothberg (North Dakota), who many consider the best in the league.

Gothberg has played two more games than Williams this postseason because Lincoln received a first-round bye. But to look at the numbers, they’ve been right there with each other.

Williams is 2-1 with a 1.62 GAA and a .933 save percentage while Gothberg is 3-2 with a 1.57 GAA and a .943 save percentage.

“This whole series, he has been great for us,” LaDue said following the team’s Game 3 win over the Force on Wednesday. “The second half of the year, he has stood on his head for us and he’s won games for us. He’s saved us multiple times and it has been great to have him back there.”

Spend time with this team, whether it be 10 minutes following a game or a full hour during a Stars practice, and it’s apparent they like each other.

There is no false sense of security when it comes to players getting along with one another.

Williams is an example of that unity. His Game 3 victory was followed by hugs and high-fives from teammates. Even in his post-game interview teammates were tapping him on the shoulder.

Lincoln’s Thursday practice ended with a shooter-goalie challenge and the winner was treated by Johnson to whatever they wanted for dinner. Teichroeb and Williams, two guys who were competing for the same spot earlier in the year, won the challenge by stonewalling everyone in their paths.

Williams, after every save late in the competition, mocked the forwards and practically every Minnesota high school hockey player by taking his fingers and touching the ice before sweeping his palm through the air.

It made his teammates, even the ones he stopped, laugh and enjoy the moment. It made Teichroeb celebrate with him near the net as if they just won the Clark Cup. It also made both goaltenders some pretty happy customers at dinnertime.

What could make for a stronger celebration deserving of maybe two more free dinners would be if Williams backstopped the Stars against what will be a desperate Force team trying to extend their season.

Trying to close out a series on the road and doing it in one of the league’s more hostile environments would shoot the Stars into the Western Conference Finals, a meteoric rise considering the franchise suffered one of its worst-ever seasons two years ago.

“It’s impressive,” Williams said about what he and the Stars have accomplished to this point. “I give all the glory to God and I just go with what he gives me. He gives me strength and I smile with it. The guys work hard for me and I work hard for them.”

Pulling off a two-year turnaround like that would be big.

It would also be the moment Williams was waiting for.

And, at least for now, it appears it was all worth the wait.

Survival Of The Fittest…

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A lot has changed since the last time the Force were at home.

They went to Lincoln and split the series at 1 with the Western Conference’s regular season champions. Now the Force find themselves two wins away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the third time in four seasons.

With Game 3 starting at 7:05 p.m. tonight, here are some keys to look for:

ON OFFENSE:

STARS: Let’s forget about Kevin Roy (Brown), who led the league with 104 points this season and already has two in this series. Instead, focus on Stars captain Brent Tate (Bowling Green) who in essence is everything this series is about. Tate is a physical forward who doesn’t mind getting into it either with his mouth or his body. He likes playing mindgames and at the same time can put up points. He scored 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 45 games this season and had two assists last game. Think about Force forward Austin Farley (Minnesota-Duluth) and how he has a knack for putting up points and getting into a guy’s head. That’s what Tate can do and he’ll probably be doing it quite a bit over the next two games. Also, be wary of what he can do on the power play as he had 14 assists on the one-man advantage this year.

FORCE: Pick anyone between Bryn Chyzyk (North Dakota), Farley or Colton Hargrove (Western Michigan). It has been made extremely clear to all three, especially Hargrove, they need to pick things up in order for this team to go far. There are elements about playing Lincoln which suits aspects of all three players’ game. Chyzyk’s ability to transition defense into offense can come in handy against a team featuring one of the more potent lineups in the league. Farley, if he can also score, could do double damage drawing penalties against Lincoln which was the most penalized team in the league this season. Finally, Hargrove has the skill and the size to take anything Lincoln can give and vice-versa.

 

ON DEFENSE:

STARS: Through two games Stars’ captain Dax Lauwers has stayed out of the penalty box and he’ll need to do that tonight to increase his team’s chances of winning. Lauwers, who is 6-3 and 220 pounds, with his size alone can blanket the Force’s forwards which are considerably smaller. If Lauwers can blanket forwards, make life in the corners difficult and keep a clear crease for goaltender Charles Williams, it would certainly make life a lot easier for the Stars and more challenging for the Force.

FORCE: He isn’t talked about much but this is where a player like Willie Corrin (Minnesota-Duluth) could come in handy. Corrin has been one of this team’s better performers in the playoffs. He has a team-high plus-5 rating and has provided an offensive depth to a blueline which has put up nine points through four games. Corrin hasn’t registered a shot in this series but fired off six in two games against Sioux City. If Corrin can get points and continue his defense, it’ll go a long way.

 

ON GOALTENDING:

STARS: Williams might have come into this series with the most questions of any player and he’s easily silenced his critics. He’s been right there with Zane Gothberg (North Dakota) in terms of giving his team a chance and stopping shots. Guy took the Force to overtime in Game 1 and survived a one-goal game, a Stars win, in Game 2. It’s clear CW3 is ready for whatever challenge comes his way. How he’ll perform in Game 3 will really decide how this series will go. Eyes might focus on Roy and others, but this series will either be won or lost by Williams.

FORCE: To a degree, the same goes for Gothberg. The Force’s success does hinge on how well he performs. Gothberg has been the league’s best goaltender judging by statistics in the playoffs leading in virtually every category imaginable. What he needs to do is simple. If he can stop shots, and his defense can cut off angles, he’s extremely hard to beat. Having Gothberg gives the Force an edge over so many teams in the league. It’s just one question remains: Will the Force push the Stars to the edge come Friday or will it be the other way around?

Ever True To Brown…

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Shortly after the Lincoln Stars captured the Western Conference regular season title, we got a chance to sit down with forward Kevin Roy (Brown).

Roy scored 104 points the regular season making it one of the best individual seasons in the USHL’s history. We asked Roy about his historic season, why he takes a selfless approach towards his team and we asked if he was drafted by an NHL team, would he renege on going to college to play Major Juniors.

Roy and his teammates enter tonight’s Western Conference semifinals tied at 1 against the Fargo Force.

Here’s what Roy had to say about a variety of subjects last time he was in Fargo:

Q: What do you have to say about your regular season and everything you accomplished?

A: I don’t know. I don’t think I really realize it right now. I was just focused on the team and getting first place. Getting the best position for playoffs. I don’t really want to think about it and I want to focus on what’s to come with the playoffs. The playoffs is why you play for the whole year and we want to focus on the playoffs and do something great and special as a team.

 

Q: I get the feeling you really care about your team and your teammates.

A: I think our team is so close. We’re brothers and everyone did their part. We talk about (North Dakota commits) Luke (Johnson) or Paul (Ladue) or Ralfs Freiburgs (Bowling Green). Those guys we don’t really talk about are the ones that block shots, kill penalties and our captains, Dax (Lauwers) and Brent Tate (Bowling Green), are awesome. They’ve been putting the team together. I think the fact we care about each other and the result of our teammates is what makes us that much better and its why we all have success individually but also as a team.

 

Q: Why do you take a “team-first” approach considering what you’ve done individually has been impressive?

A: I’ve been raised that way I guess. Always think about team first and when I play I like to score goals and I want to be the one who scores an important goal. I like to do it not just for me but for the team. If I would have success as an individual, it wouldn’t be special. Some players have a great season but nothing to compete for. They tell themselves they have to get more points for a good season. The season of the Stars really matters. It would be selfish to talk about me first and not realize that without my teammates and coaches these opportunities I’ve had wouldn’t even exist.

 

Q: Finally, we are going to get you to talk about yourself (at this point Roy starts laughing). Let’s say you do get taken in this summer’s NHL Draft, would you continue with your college plans or would you go Major Junior if the club that drafted you suggested you go?

A: I think for everyone that has talked about (the NHL Draft) thinks about it. I don’t think there is any way I would go play Major Junior. I had the chance two years ago and over Christmas (he was being heavily recruited by The QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts over the Christmas Break) and I really wanted to do that, I’d have done it before. For me, the college route is better for me to get stronger and bigger instead of playing 72 games and always being on the road. If I want to develop like a pro and play like a pro, the college game is better for me. I have spent the last three or four years of my life with my brother (his brother, Derick, is a goaltender committed to Brown) to attend a college and I wouldn’t change it to go the Major Junior route.

Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites…

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With the second round of the USHL Playoffs comes another revival of a Fargo Force-Lincoln Stars playoff series.

Lincoln has enjoyed its success against Fargo this season going 5-3. But that’s the regular season. When it comes to the postseason the Force are actually undefeated in five playoff games against the Stars.

Will an old habit die hard or is it time for a change when it comes to the series? Let’s find out.

ON OFFENSE:

For the Force: The line which could really make the difference could be that of Bryn Chyzyk (North Dakota), Austin Farley (Minnesota-Duluth) and Colton Hargrove (Western Michigan). It was a line which led the team in points during the regular season but was somewhat non-existent to open the first round. That line had two points, which wasn’t a strong showing compared to the six points posted by The High School Musical and the three points by the defensive-minded Minnesota line. PLAYER TO WATCH: We’ll take Chyzyk because his ability to create and destroy on the defensive end could be quite important against one of the USHL’s most potent offenses.

For the Stars: We could go with Mr. You-Know-Who but for now let’s hold off. Lincoln’s strength has been the depth they’ve had at offense this season. The Stars have eight forwards with 20 or more points this season. Altogether the Stars have 10 players with 20 or more points. Offense hasn’t been an issue with this team at any point in the season given the depth they posses. PLAYER TO WATCH: Who else? Kevin Roy (Brown) has done damage against several teams in the league including the Force. He has scored 13 points in seven games this season against the Force. But something to keep in mind is the fact the Force have held Roy pointless on a couple of occasions.

 

ON DEFENSE:

For the Force: Maybe the following statement isn’t a surprise. But defense is where this series will be won or lost for either team. Fargo and Lincoln feature similar defenses in terms of personnel. They each have a do-everything-defenseman (Fargo has Brian Cooper (Nebraska-Omaha) while Lincoln has Paul LaDue (North Dakota). They each have that gritty defenseman willing to lay out a hit (Fargo has Justin Wade (Notre Dame) and Lincoln has 6-5, 220-pound freak of nature Mike McKee (Western Michigan) among other similarities. PLAYER TO WATCH: Dominic Racobaldo/Neal Goff. Racobaldo will be important because he has the style of game which should work well in this series. He is a tough, physical defenseman who tries to minimizes his time with the puck. Goff because he will be in that defensive/forward role which could be huge.

For the Stars: People outside of Lincoln may not realize how gifted of a defense this really is and can be in the postseason. They have all the pieces you could need to win games. Its just a matter of they’ll match up against a defense so similar. But this defense’s strongest trait could be what it does on the offensive end. Ladue and Ralfs Freiburgs  (Bowling Green) move the puck really well in that system and it could lead to Lincoln generating offense in its end. Though something to keep an eye on is penalty minutes. Lincoln led the league with 1,424 penalty minutes. Of the five Stars players with the most penalty minutes, three of them are defensemen. It could be a difference maker as Lincoln’s penalty kill ranked 11th in the regular season and the Force featured the fifth-best power play in the league. PLAYER TO WATCH: Brandon Carlson is certainly an interesting figure. He’s been on both sides of this rivalry and has been in enough playoff runs to know what it takes. Carlson will add a presence on the ice but his experience can help Lincoln away from the ice too.

 

GOALTENDING

For the Force: Zane Gothberg (North Dakota) has been a constant this entire season for the Force. From the rocky start of losing 13 of their first 15 to the nine-game winning streak and beyond, he’s been that constant. That shouldn’t change as Gothberg has looked strong as of late. Whatever challenges he faced against Sioux City, he handled with ease. Gothberg, the leading candidate for the USHL’s Goaltender of the Year, is 2-3 against Lincoln this season. How Gothberg performs will not only shape this season but it will shape how far the Force will go this postseason.

For the Stars: Charles Williams has been the latest to emerge as the No. 1 in what was a two-man system this year. CW3 took over for Jackson Teichroeb down the stretching silencing critics about Lincoln’s woes between the pipes. Williams has been steady in net winning 20 games this season and having a goals against average in the Top 5. He’ll face an offense which has firepower across its three lines but he faces a goalie in Gothberg who will provide a massive challenge. If Williams could get the best of Gothberg in a five-game series, there’s no telling what it will do for his confidence and the Stars’ confidence going forward.

A Little Deeper…

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Now that the playoffs are close, it officially closes the books on the USHL’s regular season.

It now means six teams have to use to the rest of spring and summer to think about what could have been. The rest of the league can still decide its fate but there’s no doubting there will be another four teams who will soon join the ranks of those not playing.

But here’s something we can all agree upon. This season showed us quite a bit and with that, here’s what we learned from each team this season.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

-Green Bay Gamblers: That if Derek Lalonde and that front office is really good at dominating the USHL on and off the ice, we’d sure hate to make them mad in a game of ‘Risk’ and/or ‘Battleship’.

-Indiana Ice: That Daniil Tarasov really DID score 88 points and it won’t be remembered because of what some guy in Lincoln did this year.

-Dubuque Fighting Saints: Two projected first-round picks in Zemgus Girgensons (Vermont) and Michael Matheson (Boston College) help. Talent and depth have certainly defined the defending Clark Cup Champs. So did winning the Cowbell Cup. That also helped.

-Youngstown Phantoms: They proved you can recruit to Youngstown and furthermore, you can win there. It also showed a continual theme. Returning experienced players gives you a chance at winning. Youngstown certainly has shown that to be true with how it has been good all long. And its also showed that this Austin Cangelosi (Boston College) might be something special.

-Cedar Rapids RoughRiders: That even without experience or even the best players for his system, Mark Carlson might have had one of his best seasons as a head coach.

-Team USA: They’ve shown this nation’s best hockey talent keeps improving.

-Chicago Steel: They will be next year’s Youngstown. They have a coach in place who wants to work and a ton of returning talent. Next year will be the year in Chicago.

-Muskegon Lumberjacks: Year 1 brought playoffs. Year 2 brought dread. What Year 3 will bring is anyone’s guess.

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

-Lincoln Stars: They’ve shown us that between Kevin Roy (Brown) and Ralf Freiburgs (Bowling Green), it might be a good idea for the USHL to open up that import rule to a few more players.

-Omaha Lancers: That if you make the right moves and draft smart, you can rebuild and reload in one season.

-Waterloo Black Hawks: We saw this on a message board, so there’s a chance it could be wrong. The post said Taylor Cammarata (Minnesota) was the first 16-year-old in league history to score 60 or more points in a season. If that’s true, what he does next year could be scary. If its not true, what he could do next year could be scary.

-Fargo Force: Losing 13 of your first 15 is no need for people to panic about a coach and blaming it on the fact he’s 64 years old. Its proof things really can turn around if given a chance. Oh and as for that coach he feels its, “letting people know Zane Gothberg (North Dakota) is the best goaltender in the USHL.”

-Sioux City Musketeers: You don’t need a superstar, first-round projected defenseman to go far. That you can parlay that into getting more pieces, fighting in a tough division and then coming out with equally or even maybe a better chance at going far in the playoffs.

-Tri-City Storm: That if its possible, clone Adam Wilcox (Minnesota) for next season and pair him with the incoming talent to make them the deadliest force imaginable.

-Des Moines Buccaneers: You can’t go home again as Regg Simon learned the hard way. Oh and toilets are the new pink slip.

-Sioux Falls Stampede: Remember what your team did to them this year. Because next year, it’s not happening. They’ll be more experienced and with Charlie Lindgren in net, it won’t be easy.

Tourniquet…

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If the Muskegon Lumberjacks have a plan to rebound from a poor first-half of the season and make the playoffs, it doesn’t involve coach Kevin Patrick.

He was fired by the team Friday morning following a meeting with team owner and CEO Josh Mervis.

The former Wisconsin assistant, in just his second year with the team, was let go after the Lumberjacks stumbled out the gate to a 9-14-2 record, the second worst in the Eastern Conference and the entire USHL.

“It was a difficult decision to make as Kevin helped build our organization when the Lumberjacks first became a part of the USHL,” Mervis said in a statement. “The team was not having the results we needed and it was time to move in a new direction.”

Patrick was replaced by former NHL tough man Jim McKenzie. McKenzie, 42, spent 13 season in the NHL playing 880 regular season games collecting more than 1,700 penalty minutes. He won the Stanley Cup in 2003 with the New Jersey Devils.

McKenzie will coach the team while Mervis will assume the franchise’s general manager responsibilities.

The Lumberjacks have also added former Michigan State head coach Ron Mason as a senior advisor to the team. Mason is the all-time winningest coach in college hockey having amassed 924 victories while coaching at Lake Superior State, Bowling Green and Michigan State where he coached for 23 seasons. He made 21 NCAA Tournament appearances with the Spartans and won a national title in 1986.

Rumors started circulating early Thursday morning about Patrick’s firing.

Patrick, 41, becomes the third USHL coach to be fired this season. Omaha became the first team to make a change behind the bench when it fired Bliss Littler. Since Littler was fired, the Lancers have propelled to the top of the Western Conference standings and have stayed there.

Tri-City followed suit not long after letting go of coach Drew Schoneck. The team replaced him with assistant Josh Hauge, who helped the Storm win four out of five after he was promoted.

Hauge has the Storm two points out of the last playoff spot despite being in the Western Conference cellar.

As for Patrick, this wasn’t the start many had expected for the Lumberjacks.

Muskegon, which made the playoffs in its first season as an expansion franchise, returned seven players from last season’s team and also had solid incoming talent which was headlined by second-year forward Matt DeBlouw (Michigan State), who was ranked as the No. 37 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting in its mid-term rankings.

Even with DeBlouw, who only has 10 points in 23 games this season, the Lumberjacks have struggled offensively this season. They’ve scored 66 goals this year, the second worst in the entire league. Only Sioux Falls (60 goals) has scored fewer times than Muskegon.

Muskegon’s leading scorer John Padulo only has 18 points this season making him the 44th leading scorer in the USHL.

A slumping offense, the fifth-worst defense combined with a league-high in penalty minutes has certainly put the Lumberjacks in a hard position when it comes to getting away from the bottom of the league in the hopes of landing a playoff spot.

They’ve only played 25 games in the league’s 60-game schedule and heading into the weekend, they were five points out of the last playoff spot currently held by USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.

Muskegon gets a chance to narrow that margin with four consecutive home games but three of those games all come against teams (Green Bay and two games against the NTDP) with records over .500.

Patrick, prior to taking over Muskegon, was an assistant at Wisconsin where he coached for five seasons. In his first year with the program, he was part of a national title winning team which won 30 games.

He was also an assistant at Bowling Green and Union College prior to his stint in Madison.

Patrick played college hockey at Notre Dame for four seasons where he was a defenseman. He captained the Irish for two seasons.

He spent one season in the minor leagues before breaking into coaching. His first job was at Deerfield Academy.

You Only Get What You Give…

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Even with its 16 teams spread across multiple states, the USHL is still a small enough league to where a player can haunt a former team.

And considering what happened the last time the Des Moines Buccaneers were in town, it could happen again to the Fargo Force tonight.

The Bucs’ last visit in town came Mar. 31 and they used two players with ties to the Force in a 3-2 win. One of them was goaltender Tyler Bruggeman, who made 40 saves and on the other end was forward Dajon Mingo, who is now at Bowling Green, who scored the game-winning goal with one second left.

Bruggeman spent some time with the Force in the franchise’s initial season whereas Mingo had a different route. Mingo was drafted by the Force and told them he wanted to stay in the North American Hockey League. Mingo said he didn’t like the way the Force responded to his decision and it was what made him decide to play in the USHL.

Most might not have noticed but the Buccaneers come to Fargo with a familiar face in former Force forward Garrett Allen (Denver) on the roster.

Allen has one point in four games having recently joined the team following what has been a trying year.

When the 19-year-old came into the league in the 2009-10 season, he had a 42-point regular season and shined in the Force’s playoff run 10 points in 14 games leading many to believe he could one of the league’s top players in the 2010-11 season.

Instead, Allen, was one of the league’s most traveled players. He only scored three points in 14 games and was traded to Chicago where he had nine points in 25 games in a bit of a resurgence season. He was named to the USHL All-Star Team yet suffered another setback by picking up a hamstring injury.

He spent his summer rehabbing and was in camp with the Dubuque Fighting Saints only to not have things pan out.

Allen now finds himself in Des Moines and back in the Western Conference where he goes up against his old team.

There’s nothing guaranteeing he could have a big night, but if he does, it’s just a matter of history repeating itself.

All For One…

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We’re around halfway done with touring the Western Conference and today’s entry will be centered around the Sioux City Musketeers.

The Musketeers had a pretty interesting season to say the least grabbing the final playoff spot down the stretch last season. A good bit of their late season run was fueled by defenseman Jordan Schmaltz, who could be a first-round pick in the upcoming draft.

Here’s a look at this year’s group:

Sioux City Musketeers (31-23-6; was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs)

Coach: Brett Larson

Who’s Gone: Caleb Herbert (Minnesota-Duluth), forward; Ryan Carpenter (Bowling Green), forward; Jake Suter (UMass-Lowell), defenseman; Alex Velischek (Providence), defenseman; Max McCormick (Ohio State), forward; Max Gaede (Minnesota State-Mankato), forward; Adam Krause (Minnesota-Duluth), forward; Matt Paape (Wisconsin), forward; Tommy Olczyk (Penn State), forward.

Who’s Back: Jordan Schmaltz (North Dakota), defenseman; Brad Robbins (Bemidji State), forward; Tim O’Brien (Dartmouth), forward; Brett Patterson (Dartmouth), forward; Matt Skoff (Ohio State), goaltender; Jake Hildebrand (Michigan State), goaltender; Sam Piazza (Boston College), defenseman; Jose Delgadillo, defenseman; Larry Smith Jr., defenseman; Maxim Gaudreault (New Hampshire), forward; Noah Nelson, forward.

Who’s New: Geoff Ferguson (played last season at Wenatchee/Aberdeen (NAHL)/committed to Dartmouth), defenseman; Kyle Criscuolo (played last season at Choate Rosemary Hall/committed to Harvard), forward; Cliff Watson (played last season at Appleton United/committed to Ohio State), defenseman; Jackson Leef (played last season at Texas (NAHL)), forward; Josh Erickson (played last season at Roseau (MN-HS)), forward; Kirill Vorobyev (played last season at CSKA Moscow Youth), defenseman.

What’s Going On: Sioux City was one of the seven teams this offseason looking for a new head coach and they hired Larson, who was an assistant at Minnesota-Duluth. His departure, oddly enough, is what led the Bulldogs to hire Fargo’s coach Jason Herter creating another opening.

Sioux City last season was a very tough, physical team that didn’t mind sticking up for one another. But they could also score goals too and they could score them at the right time. In a sense, they were a good representation of what the Western Conference in relation to how tough of a league it was last season.

This season’s big theme, yeah, shocker here, is going to be Schmaltz. The OHL tried prying him away this season but he decided to stay and is now one of the players being talked about in regards to being a first-round draft pick. Offensively, he’s the most gifted defenseman in the league and showed it last year scoring 44 points (13 goals, 41 assists) in 53 games making him the team’s third leading scorer. Expectations suggest that Schmaltz will have another big year and when looking at the roster, that could happen.

Robbins, the team’s fifth leading scorer, and O’Brien, the team’s seventh leading scorer, return from last season so there is some experienced, proven firepower up front. Then there are players like Gaudreault and Patterson who had solid seasons but will be asked to score and do more this season. In all, the Musketeers have 11 returning players with the breakdown being: 5 forwards, 4 defensemen and two goaltenders. That amount of returners places them at the high end when it comes to teams with returning talent.

As for what’s coming in, this should be a group that could complement what’s already there and make Sioux City strong for another year. Criscuolo is the incoming forward that jumps out based on what he’s previously accomplished. For starters, he tore it up at the Fall Classic scoring 5 points (4 goals, 1 assists) in four games. This really isn’t a surprise considering he’s been a consistently good scorer at every level he’s been at. He scored 186 points in 107 AYHL games while scoring 98 points in 48 high school games back in New Jersey, according to Elite Prospects.

Having Schmaltz is a plus. So is having a defenseman like Piazza, who with time will be able to show is offensive skills. But an incoming d-man to look at has to be Vorobyev. The Russian played in the famed CSKA Moscow program and he’s only 16 years old making him one of the youngest players in the league this season. Stats on Vorobyev were hard to find, but usually when a Russian makes their way to the USHL, most times they turn out to be pretty successful. So keep an eye out on Vorobyev to see what he does this season.

The Musketeers have a stud player that can win games, experience that’s gone through a grinding season before and incoming talent that should be able to adjust quickly. Sioux City appears as if it should have no problem getting a playoff spot this season and perhaps make a bit of a run in the postseason.

 

Thursday’s Preview: Sioux Falls Stampede