Now that the turkey has begun to burn off and the holiday season is in full-swing, it’s time to get back to some junior hockey. For starters, the Frosty Cup has been announced and scheduled for January, 2020. The event includes one indoor and one outdoor hockey game between the Chicago Steel and Green Bay Gamblers.
Slated to take place at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, the event comes in conjunction with the NHL’s Winter Classic between the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators. For tickets, the Stars are offering participating youth teams the opportunity to purchase tickets to the 2020 Bridgestone Winter Classic January 1-3.
In other USHL news, Chicago Steel’s Greg Moore has been named the new head coach of the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Assistant Coach, Brock Sheahan, has been named head coach of the Steel as of now. Moore has had a phenomenal tenure with the Steel and will look to bring the same mentality and work ethic to the AHL.
Some unfamiliar faces have made the most recent edition of the the players of the week. Forward Christian Sarlo of the Stars, defenseman Evan Nause of the Stampede, and goaltender Logan Stein of the Black Hawks were all named for their respective positions. Sarlo had three games, three goals, three assists, and a +4. Nause also played in three games, scored one goal and two assists for a +4. Stein continues to improve his draft stock in two games last week with two shutouts. He made 58 saves in total last week and is a big reason the Black Hawks are tied for the league lead with 31 points.
A quick rundown of the standings includes the Black Hawks leading the Western Conference with 33 points and the Stars hot on their tails with 25 points. The Force, Lancers, Buccaneers, and Storm are all tied with 23 points while the Musketeers and Stampede cling to 19 and 17 points, respectively.
In the East, the Steel hold a slim lead on Team USA with a 35 to 34 point difference. The Saints are the next closest with 33 points and then there’s q relatively large gap between the rest of the division. tied at 26 points are the Phantoms and Gamblers. Following the Gamblers are the RoughRiders with 21 points, Lumberjacks with 20 points, and rounding out the league are the Capitols with 7 points.
Points Leaders:
Sean Farrell, Steel, 30 points
Matty De St. Phalle, Steel, 28 points
Jesse Tucker, Gamblers, 25 points
Goals Leaders:
Matty De St. Phalle, Steel, 15
Jesse Tucker, Gamblers, 14
Trevor Kuntar, Phantoms, 13
Assists Leaders:
Sean Farrell, Steel, 21
Ty Jackson, Saints, 17
Owen Power, Steel, 17
Goalie Wins Leaders:
Erik Portillo, Saints, 12
Victor Ostman, Steel, 12
Cole Brady, Force, 10
Save Percentage:
Logan Stein, Black Hawks, .938%
Nicholas Grabko, Gamblers, .933%
Erik Portillo, Saints, .912%
Goals Against Average:
Logan Stein, Black Hawks, 1.58
Erik Portillo, Saints, 2.05
Nicholas Grabko, Gamblers, 2.08
Come back next week for your junior hockey news and be sure to follow me on Twitter @Nwinansw.
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