United States Hockey League

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312-546-7300 phone; 312-546-7330 fax
Director of Communications: Brian Werger, werger@ushl.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2010

USHL UPDATE – WEEK ELEVEN

USHL Standings Scoring Leaders
Western Conference W-L-OTL Player Team GP G A PTS
Dubuque 15-4-2, 32 pts. Vinny Saponari DUB 21 8 22 30
Omaha 12-6-3, 27 pts. Ryan Misiak MUS 23 10 19 29
Sioux City 11-9-2, 24 pts. Blake Coleman IND 21 9 18 27
Fargo 10-10-4, 24 pts. Jayson Megna CR 21 13 12 25
Sioux Falls 11-8-1, 23 pts. Matt Berry MUS 23 12 13 25
Lincoln 11-9-1, 23 pts. John Gaudreau DUB 21 14 10 24
Tri-City 9-7-4, 22 pts. Shane Sooth DUB 21 6 16 22
Des Moines 9-7-2, 20 pts. Jimmy Mullin FGO 18 9 12 21
William Kessel GB 22 8 13 21
Eastern Conference W-L-OTL Ryan Dzingel LIN 17 7 13 20
Green Bay 16-4-2, 34 pts. Zemgus Girgensons DUB 19 11 8 19
Cedar Rapids 15-4-2, 32 pts. Tanner Kero FGO 24 8 11 19
Muskegon 10-8-5, 25 pts.
Indiana 10-9-2, 22 pts. Goaltending Leaders
Waterloo 9-7-3, 21 pts. Player Team W-L-OTL GA GAA SV SV%
Youngstown 9-12-1, 19 pts. Matt Morris DUB 10-1-1 17 1.44 300 .946
Team USA 8-15-2, 18 pts. Ryan Massa FGO 5-1-3 18 1.93 188 .913
Chicago 7-13-4, 18 pts. Brady Hjelle CR 14-2-1 34 1.97 440 .928
Ryan McKay GB 9-2-1 24 1.97 311 .928
John Keeney OMA 6-2-0 18 2.08 214 .922
Around the League

Ice Stay Hot...The Indiana Ice won three games in three days to extend their current League best winning streak
to six games. The team is getting plenty of looks at the net as they have out-shot the opposition in seven straight
games and rank second overall in the USHL averaging 32.19 shots per contest. Indiana has also been coming
out on top in close games. After starting the season 0-3-2 in one-goal games, they have won each of their last
three games decided by a single goal, including two during the weekend. After trailing 2-1 in the third period of
Friday’s game against Chicago, the Ice scored two goals late in the contest, including the game-winner by Adam
Erne with just over five minutes to play. Blake Coleman has been hot during the team’s winning streak as he
has 12 points (5g, 7a) during the last six games and scored a goal in each of the three weekend victories.
Forward Cody Bradley scored three goals combined in the two wins against Team USA on Saturday and
Sunday. Daniil Tarasov had a career best four points (2g, 2a), including the game-winning goal in the 7-6 win on
Sunday.

9 of 10 for Gamblers…A two-game weekend sweep put the Green Bay Gamblers alone on top of the Eastern
Conference standings and the club currently boasts the League’s best record overall (16-4-2). They have won
nine of their last 10 games. Both weekend victories came at home against the Youngstown Phantoms as the
Gamblers have now won eight straight on home ice and remain unbeaten in regulation (8-0-1) in Green Bay this
season. A big reason for success on home ice has been the penalty kill as the Gamblers turned away all four
opportunities by Youngstown this weekend and remained a perfect 27-of-27 on home ice penalty kills this season.
Forward Austin Czarnik scored the game-winning goal in each win over the weekend and has netted the winner
in each of the last three victories. William Kessel has six points (2g, 4a) over the last three games and Jean-
Paul LaFontaine has an assist in three straight games, ranking fifth overall in the USHL with 15 helpers this
season.

Close Calls…The Dubuque Fighting Saints have found a knack for winning the close ones as each game of their
current four-game win streak have been decided by a single goal. Seven of their last eight games have been
one-goal contests with the Saints winning each of the last six. Jordan DiGiando netted the game-winner in
Friday’s 2-1 victory against Tri-City while Shane Sooth tallied Saturday’s winner in the 2-1 decision over Lincoln.
Lancers on the Rise…A pair of weekend victories have helped the Omaha Lancers continue their climb up the
Western Conference standings as they sit in sole possession of second place. They have earned points in each
of their last five games (4-0-1). Goaltender John Keeney made 32 saves and stopped 5-of-6 attempts in the
shootout to earn the 2-1 victory over Sioux City on Friday. Johnathan Liau had the deciding shootout tally and is
2-of-2 in the shootout this season. Since returning from helping the U.S. win gold at the World Junior A
Challenge, forward Seth Ambroz has been on a tear scoring eight goals in 10 games during the stretch. Forward
Justin Crandall never settles for just one point as all 13 of his points (5g, 8a) this season have come by way of
multi-point games, including his two-point (1g, 1a) effort in Saturday’s 5-2 win over Muskegon.

Few Shots at Force…The Fargo Force have kept pace in the tight Western Conference standings as they have
earned points in seven of their last eight games (5-1-2). Opponents have had limited opportunities against the
team as the Force have given up 21-or-fewer shots on goal in four of the last six games. Fargo leads the USHL
by allowing just 23.50 shots per contest. They allowed just 37 shots on goal during a weekend split of games,
including holding Lincoln to just 16 shots in the 3-0 win on Friday. Goaltender Ryan Massa turned away all 16
shots for his first shutout of the season. Only once in nine starts this season has he allowed more than two goals
in a game and boasts a 1.93 goals-against-average to rank second among USHL goaltenders. Tanner Kero has
scored four goals over his last four games and equaled a League season high when he fired 11 shots on goal in
Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Tri-City.

Happy Homestand…The Tri-City Storm wrapped up their six-game homestand with a win on Saturday to finish
5-1-0 during that stretch. Despite being out-shot 44-21, they earned a 2-1 victory on the heels of goaltender
Scott Diebold making a USHL career best 43 saves. He stopped 22 shots in the second period alone, including
two penalty shots. Forward Brian Ward scored his first USHL goal which was the game-winner and Nick Lappin
tallied his first goal of the season for Tri-City.
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Notes…The 10 goal of the season by Matt Tabrum was the game-winner as Sioux Falls earned a 4-3 win over
Des Moines on Sunday and snapped a four-game winless skid (0-3-1)…Waterloo Black Hawks forward Aaron
Pearce has scored three goals over his last four games…Team USA forward Nicolas Kerdiles had a season
high four points (1g, 3a) in Sunday’s 7-6 loss to Indiana while defenseman Seth Jones dished out three
assists….Ryan Haggerty and Tyler Biggs each netted a pair of goals for Team USA in Saturday’s 8-1 victory
over Chicago...A shorthanded goal by Charlie Taft late in the third period on Friday tied the game which his
Muskegon Lumberjacks eventually won in the shootout, earning a 4-3 decision over Waterloo. It was the third
time this season that Taft has scored the tying goal to send a game to overtime…Chicago Steel defenseman Sam
Windle scored both goals for his club in a 3-2 loss to Indiana on Friday…After falling behind 2-0 on Friday to
Team USA, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders scored the next three goals, including the game-winner by Chris
Saracino, to earn the victory.

What They are Saying…

"We're coming on strong. Now we just have to keep going. Our defense is playing great and our forwards are
finding a way to get the puck in the net. We just have to keep it rolling.”
- Green Bay Gamblers goaltender Adam Wilcox to the Green Bay Press Gazette following Saturday’s
victory as the Gamblers have won nine of their last 10 games.

The Week Ahead

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Friday, December 17
Youngstown @ Dubuque
Waterloo @ Des Moines
Sioux City @ Lincoln
Omaha @ Cedar Rapids
Team USA @ Indiana
Tri-City @ Muskegon
Green Bay @ Chicago
Team USA @ Fargo
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Saturday, December 18 Sunday, December 19
Lincoln @ Omaha Sioux City @ Sioux Falls
Waterloo @ Cedar Rapids
Sioux Falls @ Fargo
Green Bay @ Indiana
Dubuque @ Des Moines
Youngstown @ Muskegon
Tri-City @ Chicago

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the USHL celebrates its ninth season as the nation's only Tier I junior hockey
league in 2010-11. With over 200 players this season already committed to NCAA Division I schools and 15 NHL
Entry Draft picks on League rosters, the USHL is the nation's foremost producer of junior hockey talent. For more
information, visit us on the web at www.USHL.com.

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