USHL 2020-2021 Thread

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From the USHL Playoff Hub ...

CONFERENCE FINAL MATCHUPS

EASTERN CONFERENCE
1) Chicago Steel vs. 2) Muskegon Lumberjacks

WESTERN CONFERENCE
3) Sioux City Musketeers vs. 4) Fargo Force

Format
- Best-of-Three Series
- Higher seed hosts two games

Schedule
1) Chicago Steel vs. 2) Muskegon Lumberjacks
Game 1: Muskegon at Chicago (May 7, 7:05 p.m. CT)
Game 2: Chicago at Muskegon (May 8, 7:10 p.m. ET)
Game 3: Muskegon at Chicago (May 10, 7:05 p.m. CT) *

3) Sioux City Musketeers vs. 4) Fargo Force
Game 1: Fargo at Sioux City (May 7, 7:05 p.m. CT)
Game 2: Sioux City at Fargo (May 8, 6:05 p.m. CT)
Game 3: Fargo at Sioux City (May 10, 6:05 p.m. CT) *

* if necessary​

 

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From the USHL (where else?), Clark Cup Eastern & Western Finals matchup info ...
Friday Feature: 2021 Clark Cup Playoffs Primer – Conference Finals


Both best-of-3 Conference Finals series start tonight at 7:05 pm Central. HockeyTV will carry all the action(s).

 

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In Friday night action, one blowout & one nail-biter ...

Playoff Recap: Conference Semifinals Game 1
05/07/2021, 11:15pm CDT
By USHL

Chicago and Fargo Each Take 1-0 Lead in Best-of-Three Series

Fargo 6 - 1 Sioux City

Sioux City Recap: Musketeers Drop WCF Opener
Fargo Recap: Hat Trick From Braccini in Dominant 6-1 Force W

The Fargo Force scored early and often on the road in Game One of the Western Conference Final. Force forward Jake Braccini found the back of the net for his first goal of the night. The University of Minnesota commit wound up finishing off a hat trick with a pair of goals in the second period, the second Clark Cup Playoff hat trick in Fargo franchise history after Chase Grant potted a trio of goals on April 21, 2010 in a 4-3 win over the Omaha Lancers. Braccini was named the First Star of the game, followed by teammates Aaron Huglen (1-1-2) and Jack Peart (0-2-2). Fargo netminder Brennan Boynton earned the win by turning aside all 13 shots he faced in the first 24 minutes of the game before Andrew Miller took over and stopped 18 of the 19 Musketeers shots he faced in the final 36 minutes. Sioux City defenseman Ethan Edwards scored the lone goal for the Musketeers.


Muskegon 2 - 3 Chicago (OT)

Muskegon Recap: Lumberjacks Fall in Overtime to Chicago in Game 1
Chicago Recap: Clark Cup Playoffs Postgame Central Game 1 vs. MUS - May 7, 2021

While Muskegon jumped out to a pair of leads, the Steel were able to answer back both times before finding the overtime winner. Lumberjacks Alternate Captain Cameron Berg opened the scoring late in the first period for his third goal of the postseason. Late in the second period, Chicago forward Josh Doan and Muskegon forward Bradley Marek traded goals 2:33 apart in the final five minutes of the middle frame. Steel forward Adam Fantilli potted his second of the postseason eight minutes into the third period to send the game to an eventual overtime frame. At the 7:09 mark, Chicago forward Mackie Samoskevich found a wide open Matt Coronato in the crease who lifted his fourth goal of the postseason over Jan Skorpik for the overtime winner. Coronato (1-0-1) and Samoskevich (0-2-2) finished as the First and Third Stars while Steel netminder Simon Latkoczy (29 saves) was named Second Star of the game.

 

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Conference Finals series continue tonight, both shifting cities ...

• In the West, Game 2: Sioux City at Fargo (6:05 p.m. CT)
• In the East, also Game 2: Chicago at Muskegon (7:10 p.m. ET)

Staggered starts would have made it easier to follow both games.

 

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Sioux City @ Fargo Game #2 under way. Each team playing without four of their players due to suspensions from an incident in the 2nd period of Game #1.

ETA: Penalties from Friday night's Game Center record account for some of the suspension actions. The Sioux City Journal also posted a couple of "action shots" in their photo gallery coverage of the game.

 

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Chicago scored in minute #3 in Muskegon for a 1-0 lead in East Game #2.

 

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End of one period in Fargo, 0-0. The Force killed off an early minor penalty against Golden Gophers commit forward Tristan Broz. Shots in that period were 17-15 in favor of the home team, but each side had quite a few quality chances. Sioux City is playing with just 5 D-men tonight, so look for fatigue to start affecting their play as this game moves on.

 

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End of the first in Muskegon, 1-1. The opening goal was scored by Steel forward Adam Fantilli @ 2:37, then Lumberjacks forward Danil Gushchin tied it up 18:08. What happened in between ... I can't tell you much, because the HockeyTV feed went Tango Uniform.

 

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Chicago & Muskegon were sandbagging in the first period, maybe waiting for HockeyTV to come back on-line. End of 2 periods, Lumberjacks 4 - Steel 4. Both teams cranked up the offense, keeping the official scorer very busy. CHI goals scored by Michigan State commit forward Eric Middendorf & a pair by Harvard commit forward Matt Coronato; Jacks goals to UNO commits forward Cameron Berg & D-man Jacob Guevin. Guevin's goal was on the man advantage, with each team awarded 2 power plays so far in the game.

 

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And out in North Dakota, it's a 1-0 game in favor of Fargo at the end of 2. Force forward Tristan Broz made amends for his 1st period penalty by giving his team the lead. Each team has been in the box twice through 2 periods with no odd-man scoring.

 

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Chicago Steel returning to the USHL Finals (their third appearance in the last 5 full seasons), with a 5-4 victory over the Muskegon Lumberjacks to win their Eastern Semifinals series 2 games to zero. CHI forward Adam Fantilli book-ends his night with the GWG. The Jacks pulled goaltender Jan Skorpik with exactly 2 minutes left but could not score with the extra man. The Steel will take on the winner in the West for the Clark Cup.

 

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And out West, Final Score = Fargo Force 3 - Sioux City Musketeers 0. Force forward & UMass-Lowell commit Matthew Crassa scored early in the 3rd to stretch their lead to 2 goals. SC pulled goaltender Akira Schmid with just under 3 minutes left in an attempt to come back, but the out-manned Force preserved the series-winning shutout for Fargo goalie & Minn State commit Andrew Miller added an empty net insurance tally by Bear Hughes @ 2 seconds left. So the Western Conference's #4 seed Fargo will face #1 seed Chicago from the Eastern Conference next weekend for the Clark Cup Finals, game dates & times TBA.

 

[Roadhog]

Sioux City @ Fargo Game #2 under way. Each team playing without four of their players due to suspensions from an incident in the 2nd period of Game #1.

ETA: Penalties from Friday night's Game Center record account for some of the suspension actions. The Sioux City Journal also posted a couple of "action shots" in their photo gallery coverage of the game.

 

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From: The United States Hockey League > News

Chicago Steel and Fargo Force to Meet in Clark Cup Final
05/08/2021, 8:45pm CDT
By USHL

Each Team Searching for Second Clark Cup

After winning the Eastern and Western Conference Championships, respectively, the Chicago Steel and Fargo Force are set to square off in the Clark Cup Final. Chicago, who swept the Muskegon Lumberjacks, and Fargo, who swept the Sioux City Musketeers, have never met in the Clark Cup Final. It’s the third Final appearance in five seasons for the Steel and the fifth total Final appearance for the Force.

Fargo and Chicago won their lone Clark Cup Finals in back-to-back seasons as the Steel beat the Sioux City Musketeers 3-2 in 2017 followed by the Force beating the Youngstown Phantoms 3-1 in 2018. Chicago also appeared in the last Clark Cup Final in 2019 and Fargo has appeared in three other Clark Cup Finals in 2013, 2010 and 2009. The Steel are 3-3-2-0 all-time in the Clark Cup Final while the Force have a 6-7-3-0 record.

The Conference Champions have the top seven scorers in the 2021 Clark Cup Playoffs, combined, including Matt Coronato (Chicago, 6-3-9), Tristan Broz (Fargo, 3-6-9), Mackie Samoskevich (Chicago, 1-7-8), Cody Monds (Fargo, 3-3-6), Ryan Ufko (Chicago, 1-5-6), Aaron Huglen (Fargo, 2-4-6), and Jack Peart (Fargo, 1-4-5).

The Clark Cup Final will feature six NHL Draft picks including Force players Aaron Huglen
(Buffalo Sabres, 2019, Round 4, #102 overall), Bear Hughes (Washington Capitals, 2020, Round 5, #148 overall) and Austin Wong (Winnipeg Jets, 2018, Round 7, #215 overall) as well as Ian Moore (Anaheim Ducks, 2020, Round 3, #67 overall), Joe Miller (Toronto Maple Leafs, 2020, Round 6, #180 overall) and Sean Farrell (Montreal Canadiens, 2020, Round 4, #129 overall) for the Steel.

The Clark Cup Final schedule is as follows:

Game 1: Fargo Force @ Chicago Steel – Friday, May 14 (7:05 p.m. CT at Fox Valley Ice Arena)
Game 2: Fargo Force @ Chicago Steel – Saturday, May 15 (7:05 p.m. CT at Fox Valley Ice Arena)
Game 3: Chicago Steel @ Fargo Force – Friday, May 21 (7:05 p.m. CT at Scheels Arena)
Game 4: Chicago Steel @ Fargo Force – Saturday, May 22 (6:05 p.m. CT at Scheels Arena) *
Game 5: Fargo Force @ Chicago Steel – Tuesday, May 25 (7:05 p.m. CT at Fox Valley Ice Arena) *

* if necessary


Visit the Clark Cup Playoff Hub at USHL.com for more information on the Playoffs. Please also visit the Chicago Steel and Fargo Force websites for more information about each team.

 

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A look ahead @ the Clark Cup Finals, from a Chicago Steel perspective ...

... This will be the first time Chicago and Fargo have met in the Clark Cup Playoffs. The series is a matchup of two of the last three Clark Cup Champions (Fargo – 2018, Chicago – 2017). Chicago and Fargo did not meet in the 2020-2021 regular season.

The Force finished fourth in the Western Conference in the 2020-2021 regular season, posting a 30-21-3-0 (63 pts.) record. Forward Tristan Broz, a ‘B’-ranked skater according to NHL Central Scouting, paced Fargo with 51 points (19G, 32A) in 54 games played, the second-highest scorer in the Western Conference.

Force netminder Brennan Boynton finished third among USHL goaltenders with a 2.43 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 46 games during the regular season. The University of Minnesota commit tied for a league-best with three shutouts in the 2020-2021 campaign.

Steel forward Matt Coronato has tallied six goals in four to claim the top spot among all USHL skaters in the Clark Cup Playoffs. His nine points (6G, 3A) share first with Broz (3G, 6A) among playoff performers.
Chicago netminder Simon Latkoczy has posted a 1.94 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage, the second-best marks among goaltenders through the postseason. ...

 

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And the Force feature ...

Clark Cup Final Preview
By Force Staff, 05/13/21, 12:00PM CDT

... The #4 seeded Fargo Force have cemented themselves as the “comeback kids” during their 2021 playoff run. Coming back in round one against Tri-City and upsetting the #1 seed 2-1 to advance to the Western Conference Finals. After their huge win against the Storm the Force played lights out hockey against Sioux City in the conference finals dominating the Musketeers in a 6-1 win and a 3-0 shutout to claim the title of Western Conference Champions.

The #1 seeded Chicago Steel faces off against the Dubuque Fighting Saints in round one with a commanding 6-1 win in the first game followed by a 5-4 win in night two. Then they faced the Muskegon Jacks in the Eastern Conference Finals where they came from behind in night one to win 3-2 in OT and secured another comeback win in night two claiming the conference championship title and going 4-0 in their first two rounds of playoffs. ...

Chicago and Fargo currently make up 9/10 of the top scorers in the USHL throughout playoffs, with Fargo at 5/10 and Chicago at 4/10. Topping the leaderboard is Tristan Broz and Matt Coronato, two of the most dangerous forwards in the league. Both lead their teams with 9 points apiece, Broz with three goals and six assists and Coronato with six goals and three assists. Broz has been a key component for Fargo’s offence throughout the season and has been an impactful player throughout the playoffs as well. He’s currently on a 5-game point streak, putting up a point or more in every playoff game so far. Coronato lead his team and the league in goals during the regular season as well putting up a whopping 48 goals in 51 games.

The three, four, and five spots on the point leaderboard are claimed by Mackie Samoskevich, Cody Monds and Aaron Huglen. Chicago forward Samoskevich leads his team in playoff assists with seven and tacked on a goal as well for a total of 8pts in the playoffs so far. Aaron Huglen and Cody Monds have six points apiece. Monds with three goals and three assists even after sitting out a game due to a league suspension. Huglen has put up two goals, four assists and has made some huge plays for Fargo during this playoff run. The following spots at the top of the leaderboard are claimed by Ryan Ufko (1G-5A-6P), Jake Braccini (3G-2A-5P), Jack Peart (1G-4A-5P) and Adam Fantilli (4G-0A-4P).

Fargo goaltender Andrew Miller currently tops the leaderboard for goalies in the playoffs with a .63GAA and a .981SV%. He had two outstanding nights in the net against Sioux City allowing just one goal on 19 shots last Friday and putting up a wall against the Musketeers on Saturday with a 34 save shut out win. Miller is followed on the goalie leaderboard by Chicago’s netminder Simon Latkoczy who’s put up a 1.94GAA and a .932SV%, some of his best stats for the Steel all season. Latkoczy only appeared in 16 regular season games for Chicago where he recorded a 2.89GAA and a .898SV%.

Fargo’s main goaltender during the regular season was Brennan Boynton. Boynton played in 46 games for the Force posting a .243GAA a .901SV% and earned USHL goaltender of the week four times during the regular season. In three and a half playoff game Boynton put up a 2.63GAA and .916SV%, but will be out due to a suspension dealt last Friday against Sioux City.

The Force and the Steel have a combined total of 5 NHL draft picks in their lineups. Fargo with Bear Hughes (Washington Capitals) Aaron Huglen (Buffalo Sabres) and Austin Wong (Winnipeg Jets) and Chicago with Sean Farrell (Montreal Canadiens) and Joe Miller (Toronto Maple Leafs).

The Steel led the league in scoring during the regular season with an average of 4.91 goals per game, but the Force ranked second in goals against allowing an average of just 2.74 points against them. Fargo ended their regular season with a record of 30-21-3-0 and Chicago concluded theirs with a 38-11-3-2 record.

Regular season scoring leaders for the Force include Tristan Broz (19G-32A-51P), Jeremy Davidson (13G-26A-39P), and Aaron Huglen (15G-20A-35P). Leading scorers for Chicago include Sean Farrell (29G-72A-101P), Matt Coronato (48G-37A-85P) and Josh Doan (31A-39-70P). ...

 

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End of one period in Game #1 in the Fox Valley, Fargo 2 - Chicago 0. Force goals by Kyle Smolen & Jack Peart. The Steel picked it up offensively in the last two minutes, and came as close to scoring as a left post clanger behind Fargo goalie Andrew Miller. Fargo leads in SOGs 10-9.

 

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End of 2, still 2-0 Fargo. Fargo now leads in SOGs 18-14. Steel has not managed to pick up its game like they usually do when they fall behind early. They've got another 20 minutes to change that tonight in front of the home crowd.

 

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Game #1 of the 2021 Clark Cup Finals in the books, Final Score = Fargo Force 3 - Chicago Steel 0. Shutout for Andrew Miller, stopping all 20 Steel shots. Aaron Huglen notched the 3rd Fargo goal.

Game #2 on Saturday night @ 7:05 Central, again in Geneva. Chicago needs to regroup, Fargo needs to do what they did tonight.

 

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Clark Cup Final Postgame Central - Game 1 vs. Fargo Force

By Chicago Steel, 05/14/21, 11:00PM CDT

GENEVA, ILLINOIS — The Chicago Steel were held without a goal for the first time since April 6, 2018 as the Fargo Force took a 3-0 victory in Game 1 of the best-of-five Clark Cup Final at Fox Valley Ice Arena on Friday night.

Force netminder Andrew Miller posted his second consecutive shutout in the postseason, a 20-save performance, as Kyle Smolen, Jack Peart and Aaron Huglen tallied goals for Fargo.

Despite 23 saves from Chicago netminder Simon Latkoczy, the Steel were held off the scoreboard as the loss snapped a 12-game Steel win streak dating back to the regular season. ...

Read more at: Clark Cup Final Postgame Central - Game 1 vs. Fargo Force

 

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One minute into Game #2, Adam Fantilli uses a wicked wrister to put the Steel up 1-0 early.

 

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End of one period in Geneva, Steel 2 - Force 1. Fargo tied it on a goal by Austin Wong. Second goal for Chicago by Adam Robbins gave them the lead again. Chicago shorthanded 3 times; Fargo twice. SOGs are even 11-11.

 

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Clark Cup Finals Game #2 in the books, the Steel turn this thing around. Final Score = Chicago Steel 4 - Fargo Force 1. Two ENGs for Chicago in the closing two minutes with Fargo on a 6-on-4 advantage; goals to two of the Steel leaders, Matt Coronato & Erik Middendorf. This best-of-5 series is tied 1-1 , and moves on to Fargo for Games #3 & #4 next Friday & Saturday.

 

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Those who maintain an active social media presence get all the publicity ...

Clark Cup Final Postgame Central - Game 2 vs. Fargo Force

By Chicago Steel, 05/15/21, 11:15PM CDT

GENEVA, ILLINOIS — In front of an electric home crowd, the Chicago Steel topped the Fargo Force 4-1 in Game 2 of the best-of-five Clark Cup Final on Saturday night at Fox Valley Ice Arena, pulling the series to a 1-1 deadlock.

The Steel never trailed as Adam Fantilli and Adam Robbins scored in the first period before Matt Coronato and Erik Middendorf both registered empty-net goals.

Chicago goaltender Simon Latkoczy stopped 29 shots from the Force, keeping Fargo off the scoreboard for the final 51 minutes of play. ...

Read more at: Clark Cup Final Postgame Central - Game 2 vs. Fargo Force

 

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Inforum.com: Chicago Steel take down Fargo Force, draws level in Clark Cup Finals