2017–18 USHL season

2017–18 USHL Season
League	United States Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 6, 2017 – April 14, 2018
Games	60
Teams	17
Draft
Top draft pick	Graham Slaggert
Picked by	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
Regular season
Anderson Cup	Waterloo Black Hawks
Season MVP	Anthony Del Gaizo (Muskegon Lumberjacks)
Top scorer	Anthony Del Gaizo (Muskegon Lumberjacks)
Clark Cup Playoffs
Clark Cup Playoffs MVP	Griffin Loughran (Force)
Finals champions	Fargo Force
Runners-up	Youngstown Phantoms
USHL seasons
2016–17 2018–19

The 2017–18 USHL season was the 39th season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season ran from October 6, 2017, to April 14, 2018. ^[1] The regular season champions, the Waterloo Black Hawks, were awarded the Anderson Cup. The playoff champions, the Fargo Force, were awarded the Clark Cup.

League changes

The Bloomington Thunder were rebranded as the Central Illinois Flying Aces. ^[2]

While the alignment remained the same from the previous season, the league increased the number of teams that qualify for the playoffs from eight to twelve. The top two seeds in each conference now have a bye in the first round. The third and fourth conference seeds than host the fifth and sixth conference seeds in a best-of-three series. The rest of the playoffs are a best-of-five series. ^[1]

Regular season

Final standings: ^[3]

Eastern Conference Team GP W L OTL SOL PTS GF GA PIM y – Team USA 60 41 18 0 1 83 295 211 739 x – Youngstown Phantoms 60 33 20 5 2 73 180 189 976 x – Muskegon Lumberjacks 60 33 25 1 1 68 202 206 1131 x – Green Bay Gamblers 60 30 24 4 2 66 172 170 1019 x – Dubuque Fighting Saints 60 26 21 10 3 65 179 194 606 x – Chicago Steel 60 28 25 2 5 63 219 218 907 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders 60 26 24 8 2 62 179 198 933 Madison Capitols 60 23 33 2 2 50 183 224 755 Central Illinois Flying Aces 60 14 39 3 4 35 161 258 928

Western Conference Team GP W L OTL SOL PTS GF GA PIM y – Waterloo Black Hawks 60 38 14 6 2 84 199 150 1017 x – Omaha Lancers 60 39 16 2 3 83 192 143 996 x – Fargo Force 60 37 16 3 4 81 208 133 985 x – Sioux Falls Stampede 60 32 19 4 5 73 187 181 1018 x – Lincoln Stars 60 35 23 1 1 72 197 168 1260 x – Tri-City Storm 60 29 27 2 2 62 137 155 967 Sioux City Musketeers 60 26 26 4 4 60 159 197 981 Des Moines Buccaneers 60 20 33 4 3 47 145 199 796

x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched conference title; z = clinched regular season title

Statistical leaders

Scoring leaders

Players are listed by points, then goals.

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts. = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Anthony Del Gaizo	Muskegon Lumberjacks	60	40	32	72	89
Filip Suchý	Omaha Lancers	54	31	38	69	66
Jack Dugan	Chicago Steel	54	31	35	66	104
Jack Drury	Waterloo Black Hawks	56	24	41	65	83
Jackson Cates	Waterloo Black Hawks	57	33	30	63	18
Ben Copeland	Waterloo Black Hawks	60	18	44	62	26
Alex Steeves	Dubuque Fighting Saints	55	20	37	57	28
Casey Dornbach	Lincoln Stars	59	21	35	56	10
Quinn Preston	Dubuque Fighting Saints	58	24	31	55	28
Trenton Bliss	Green Bay Gamblers	60	21	34	55	55
Noah Cates	Omaha Lancers	60	21	34	55	26

Leading goaltenders

These are the goaltenders that lead the league in GAA that have played at least 1380 minutes.

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage

Player	Team	GP	Mins	W	L	OTL	SOL	SO	GAA	SV%
Filip Larsson	Tri-City Storm	30	1667	18	10	0	0	7	1.65	0.941
Strauss Mann	Fargo Force	34	1972	22	8	2	1	5	1.86	0.932
Zach Driscoll	Omaha Lancers	38	2054	23	9	1	1	8	1.90	0.934
Jared Moe	Waterloo Black Hawks	32	1828	23	6	1	0	2	2.23	0.919
Ryan Bischel	Fargo Force	29	1664	15	8	1	3	3	2.24	0.920

Post season awards

USHL awards

Award	Name	Team
Player of the Year	Anthony Del Gaizo	Muskegon Lumberjacks [4]
Forward of the Year	Jackson Cates	Waterloo Black Hawks [4]
Defenseman of the Year	Ben Finkelstein	Waterloo Black Hawks [4]
Rookie of the Year	Matěj Pekař	Muskegon Lumberjacks [4]
Goaltender of the Year	Filip Larsson	Tri-City Storm [4]
Coach of the Year	P.K. O'Handley	Waterloo Black Hawks [5]
Scholar-Athlete	Alex Steeves	Dubuque Fighting Saints [6]
Curt Hammer	Marc McLaughlin	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders [7]
General Manager of the Year	P.K. O'Handley	Waterloo Black Hawks [5]
Executive of the Year	Brandon Bruss [8]	Green Bay Gamblers
Organization of the Year	Sioux Falls Stampede [9]

All-USHL First Team

Pos	Name	Team
G	Filip Larsson	Tri-City
D	Ben Finkelstein	Waterloo
D	Graham Lillibridge	Chicago
F	Jackson Cates	Waterloo
F	Anthony Del Gaizo	Muskegon
F	Jack Dugan	Chicago

Source ^[10]

All-USHL Second Team

Pos	Name	Team
G	Zach Driscoll	Youngstown
D	Marc Del Gaizo	Muskegon
D	Ty Farmer	Fargo
F	Jack Drury	Waterloo
F	Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup	Fargo
F	Filip Suchý	Omaha

Source ^[10]

All Rookie First Team

Pos	Name	Team
G	Oskar Autio	Chicago
D	Michael Callahan	Youngstown
D	Tyler Jubenvill	Cedar Rapids
F	Paul Cotter	Lincoln
F	Robert Mastrosimone	Chicago
F	Matěj Pekař	Muskegon

Source ^[11]

All Rookie Second Team

Pos	Name	Team
G	Zach Borgiel	Muskegon
D	Mason Klee	Lincoln
D	Matt Staudacher	Muskegon
F	Ryan O'Reilly	Madison
F	Tyler Madden	Tri-City
F	Michael Mancinelli	Madison

Clark Cup playoffs

First Round (Best-of-3)

Conference Semifinals (Best-of-5)

Conference Finals (Best-of-5)

Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5)

E1

Team USA

3

E6

Chicago

1

E3

Muskegon

1

E6

Chicago

2

E1

Team USA

1

Eastern Conference

E2

Youngstown

3

E4

Green Bay

0

E5

Dubuque

2

E2

Youngstown

3

E5

Dubuque

0

E2

Youngstown

1

W3

Fargo

3

W1

Waterloo

3

W5

Lincoln

1

W4

Sioux Falls

1

W5

Lincoln

2

W1

Waterloo

1

Western Conference

W3

Fargo

3

W3

Fargo

2

W6

Tri-City

0

W2

Omaha

1

W3

Fargo

3

First Round

Eastern Conference

(E3) Muskegon Lumberjacks vs. (E6) Chicago Steel

April 16	Muskegon Lumberjacks		3 – 2		Chicago Steel	L.C. Walker Arena
3:06 - Wyatt Bongiovanni (1) 13:12 - Nolan Sullivan (1)		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
12:18 - Jáchym Kondelík (1)		Third period			Erik Urbank (1) - 10:22 Jack Dugan (1) - 17:48
Keegan Karki (25 saves / 27 shots)		Goalie stats			Oskar Autio (38 saves / 41 shots)

April 17	Muskegon Lumberjacks		2 – 6		Chicago Steel	L.C. Walker Arena
7:16 - pp - Alexander Yakovenko (1)		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			Aaro Vidgren (1) - 2:14 Baker Shore (1) - pp - 5:32 Aaro Vidgren (2) - 6:17 Brian Hurley (1) - 9:17
15:40 - pp - Wyatt Bongiovanni (2)		Third period			Blake McLaughlin (1) - 10:58 Robert Mastrosimone (1) - pp - 13:29
Keegan Karki (8 saves / 11 shots) Zach Borgiel (11 saves / 14 shots)		Goalie stats			Oskar Autio (38 saves / 40 shots)

April 18	Muskegon Lumberjacks		4 – 5	OT	Chicago Steel	L.C. Walker Arena
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Marc Del Gaizo (1) - pp - 3:03 Marc Del Gaizo (2) - 9:59		Second period			3:47 - Baker Shore (2) 4:50 - Tyler Gratton (1)
Vincent De Mey (1) - 6:12 Vincent De Mey (2) - pp - 14:10		Third period			6:01 - Samuel Buček (1) 15:54 - Blake McLaughlin (2)
No scoring		First overtime period			4:37 - pp - Aaro Vidgren (3)
Keegan Karki (25 saves / 30 shots)		Goalie stats			Oskar Autio (48 saves / 52 shots)

Chicago wins series 2 – 1

(E4) Green Bay Gamblers vs. (E5) Dubuque Fighting Saints

April 16	Green Bay Gamblers		1 – 3		Dubuque Fighting Saints	Resch Center
1:19 - Nolan Moyle (1)		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			Tyce Thompson (1) - 19:03
No scoring		Third period			Taylor Schneider (1) - 2:40 Quinn Preston (1) - en - 19:50
Maksim Zhukov (27 saves / 29 shots)		Goalie stats			Cole Weaver (23 saves / 24 shots)

April 17	Green Bay Gamblers		1 – 5		Dubuque Fighting Saints	Resch Center
No scoring		First period			Logan Pietila (1) - 0:47 Alex Steeves (1) - 7:50 Quinn Preston (2) - pp - 18:57
No scoring		Second period			Dalton Hunter (1) - 8:34
1:52 - Robert Herrman (1)		Third period			Alex Steeves (2) - en - 19:05
Maksim Zhukov (3 saves / 5 shots) Jake Begley (27 saves / 29 shots)		Goalie stats			Cole Weaver (28 saves / 29 shots)

Dubuque wins series 2 – 0

Western Conference

(W4) Sioux Falls Stampede vs. (W5) Lincoln Stars

April 17	Sioux Falls Stampede		5 – 3		Lincoln Stars	Denny Sanford Premier Center
12:43 - pp - Kevin Conley (1) 13:09 - A.J. Villella (1)		First period			Logan Jenuwine (1) - 3:53
4:19 - Jack St. Ivany (1) 13:30 - Kirill Panyukov (1)		Second period			Cole Krygier (1) - 7:38
9:22 - sh - Cameron Burke (1)		Third period			Paul Cotter (1) - pp - 18:30
Mikhail Berdin (34 saves / 37 shots)		Goalie stats			Tomáš Vomáčka (11 saves / 15 shots) Derek Schaedig (9 saves / 10 shots)

April 18	Sioux Falls Stampede		3 – 6		Lincoln Stars	Denny Sanford Premier Center
9:46 - pp - Adam Dawe (1)		First period			Logan Jenuwine (2) - 8:14
1:06 - pp - Noah Walker (1) 11:33 - Cameron Burke (2)		Second period			Gustaf Westlund (1) - 4:31 Collin Peters (1) - 5:15 Josiah Slavin (1) - 7:09
No scoring		Third period			Casey Dornbach (1) - pp - 2:02 Ashton Calder (1) - sh - 7:59
Mikhail Berdin (37 saves / 43 shots) Jaxson Stauber (1 save / 1 shot)		Goalie stats			Derek Schaedig (27 saves / 30 shots)

April 19	Sioux Falls Stampede		4 – 5	OT	Lincoln Stars	Denny Sanford Premier Center
Adam Dawe (2) - 3:19 Adam Dawe (3) - 14:00		First period			19:17 - Tristan Ashbrook (1)
Kirill Panyukov (2) - pp - 6:40		Second period			No scoring
Paul DeNaples (1) - 10:19		Third period			1:15 - Collin Peters (2) 8:56 - Casey Dornbach (2) 14:09 - Eero Teräväinen (1)
No scoring		First overtime period			19:26 - Paul Cotter (2)
Mikhail Berdin (44 saves / 49 shots)		Goalie stats			Derek Schaedig (21 saves / 25 shots)

Lincoln wins series 2 – 1

(W4) Fargo Force vs. (W5) Tri-City Storm

April 17	Fargo Force		5 – 1		Tri-City Storm	Scheels Arena
7:08 - Carter Randklev (1) 10:13 - Robbie Stucker (1)		First period			No scoring
2:23 - pp - Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup (1) 5:32 - A.J. Drobot (1)		Second period			Tyler Ward (1) - 19:35
4:54 - Carter Randklev (2)		Third period			No scoring
Strauss Mann (32 saves / 33 shots)		Goalie stats			Jake Barczewski (16 saves / 21 shots)

April 18	Fargo Force		3 – 0		Tri-City Storm	Scheels Arena
5:36 - Garrett Van Wyhe (1)		First period			No scoring
10:23 - pp - Griffin Loughran (1)		Second period			No scoring
6:22 - Carter Randklev (3)		Third period			No scoring
Strauss Mann (20 saves / 20 shots)		Goalie stats			Jake Barczewski (30 saves / 33 shots)

Fargo wins series 2 – 0

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference

(E1) Team USA vs. (E6) Chicago Steel

April 21	Team USA		3 – 0		Chicago Steel	USA Hockey Arena
No scoring		First period			No scoring
5:53 - sh - Owen Lindmark (1)		Second period			No scoring
5:47 - Drew Helleson (1) 10:30 - sh - John Beecher (1)		Third period			No scoring
Cameron Rowe (34 saves / 34 shots)		Goalie stats			Oskar Autio (24 saves / 27 shots)

April 22	Team USA		2 – 6		Chicago Steel	USA Hockey Arena
No scoring		First period			Samuel Buček (2) - 9:51
2:46 - Matt Boldy (1)		Second period			Nick Abruzzese (1) - 9:26 Graham Lillibridge (1) - 14:59 Matteo Pietroniro (1) - 17:02
9:18 - pp - Danny Weight (1)		Third period			Graham Lillibridge (2) - 4:54 Samuel Buček (3) - pp - 11:51
Cameron Rowe (33 saves / 39 shots) Josh Graziano (2 saves / 2 shots)		Goalie stats			Oskar Autio (43 saves / 45 shots)

April 26	Chicago Steel		2 – 3	OT	Team USA	Fox Valley Ice Arena
No scoring		First period			John Beecher (2) - 6:37
9:52 - pp - Blake McLaughlin (3)		Second period			No scoring
19:00 - Robert Mastrosimone (2)		Third period			Erik Middendorf (1) - 6:46
No scoring		First overtime period			Danny Weight (2) - 2:51
Oskar Autio (27 saves / 30 shots)		Goalie stats			Cameron Rowe (34 saves / 36 shots)

April 27	Chicago Steel		3 – 4	OT	Team USA	Fox Valley Ice Arena
No scoring		First period			Erik Middendorf (2) - 6:33 Drew Helleson (2) - 17:01
3:03 - Jérémie Bucheler (1) 5:20 - Jack Dugan (2)		Second period			Trevor Zegras (1) - 14:19
6:28 - pp - Aaro Vidgren (4)		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			Alex Vlasic (1) - sh - 3:48
Oskar Autio (32 saves / 36 shots)		Goalie stats			Cameron Rowe (38 saves / 41 shots)

USA wins series 3 – 1

(E2) Youngstown Phantoms vs. (E5) Dubuque Fighting Saints

April 20	Youngstown Phantoms		3 – 1		Dubuque Fighting Saints	Covelli Centre
1:07 - Chase Gresock (1) 17:05 - Joseph Abate (1)		First period			No scoring
1:25 - Matt Barry (1)		Second period			Quinn Preston (3) - pp - 18:39
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Ivan Prosvetov (33 saves / 34 shots)		Goalie stats			Cole Weaver (31 saves / 34 shots)

April 21	Youngstown Phantoms		3 – 2		Dubuque Fighting Saints	Covelli Centre
No scoring		First period			No scoring
5:40 - Curtis Hall (1) 16:21 - sh - Matt Barry (2)		Second period			Quinn Preston (4) - 0:38 Dalton Hunter (2) - 7:44
14:40 - Samuel Salonen (1)		Third period			No scoring
Ivan Prosvetov (30 saves / 32 shots)		Goalie stats			Cole Weaver (17 saves / 20 shots)

April 24	Dubuque Fighting Saints		0 – 3		Youngstown Phantoms	Mystique Ice Center
No scoring		First period			Tommy Parrottino (1) - pp - 6:19
No scoring		Second period			Joseph Abate (2) - 1:05 Chase Gresock (2) - pp - 13:59
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Cole Weaver (19 saves / 22 shots)		Goalie stats			Ivan Prosvetov (36 saves / 36 shots)

Youngstown wins series 3 – 1

Western Conference

(W1) Waterloo Black Hawks vs. (W5) Lincoln Stars

April 21	Waterloo Black Hawks		2 – 3	OT	Lincoln Stars	Young Arena
No scoring		First period			No scoring
2:02 - Ethan Johnson (1) 2:37 - Garrett Wait (1)		Second period			Ashton Calder (2) - 2:44
No scoring		Third period			Josiah Slavin (2) - pp - 5:37
No scoring		First overtime period			Paul Cotter (3) - 3:10
Matej Tomek (30 saves / 33 shots)		Goalie stats			Derek Schaedig (40 saves / 42 shots)

April 22	Waterloo Black Hawks		3 – 0		Lincoln Stars	Young Arena
11:47 - Garrett Klee (1)		First period			No scoring
2:52 - Bobby Trivigno (1)		Second period			No scoring
14:58 - Garrett Wait (2)		Third period			No scoring
Jared Moe (21 saves / 21 shots)		Goalie stats			Derek Schaedig (29 saves / 32 shots)

April 25	Lincoln Stars		1 – 2	OT	Waterloo Black Hawks	Ice Box
No scoring		First period			Jack Drury (1) - 1:36
9:05 - pp - Paul Cotter (4)		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			Jackson Cates (1) - 3:00
Tomáš Vomáčka (38 saves / 40 shots)		Goalie stats			Jared Moe (27 saves / 28 shots)

April 26	Lincoln Stars		2 – 3		Waterloo Black Hawks	Ice Box
No scoring		First period			Garrett Klee (2) - sh - 14:36
17:00 - Ashton Calder (3)		Second period			Ethan Johnson (2) - 14:35 Jack Drury (2) - 16:05
8:48 - Casey Dornbach (3)		Third period			No scoring
Tomáš Vomáčka (27 saves / 30 shots) Derek Schaedig (16 saves / 16 shots)		Goalie stats			Jared Moe (22 saves / 24 shots)

Waterloo wins series 3 – 1

(W2) Omaha Lancers vs. (W3) Fargo Force

April 21	Omaha Lancers		1 – 2		Fargo Force	Ralston Arena
No scoring		First period			Calvin Pokorny (1) - 3:07
No scoring		Second period			Mark Senden (1) - sh - 18:17
11:53 - Noah Cates (1)		Third period			No scoring
Zach Driscoll (18 saves / 20 shots)		Goalie stats			Strauss Mann (29 saves / 30 shots)

April 22	Omaha Lancers		6 – 3		Fargo Force	Ralston Arena
No scoring		First period			Grant Hebert (1) - 6:12
4:29 - Jack Randl (1) 9:47 - Brendan Furry (1) 15:42 - Ryan Savage (1) 18:42 - Cole Gallant (1)		Second period			Sammy Steele (1) - 5:08
2:03 - Brendan Furry (2) 6:00 - pp - Cole Gallant (2)		Third period			Ty Farmer (1) - 4:45
Vinnie Purpura (17 saves / 20 shots)		Goalie stats			Strauss Mann (14 saves / 19 shots) Ryan Bischel (5 saves / 6 shots)

April 24	Fargo Force		6 – 5		Omaha Lancers	Scheels Arena
1:41 - Ben Meyers (1) 9:45 - Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup (2) 16:35 - A.J. Drobot (2)		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			Jesper Peltonen (1) - 2:57 Mathieu De St. Phalle (1) - 4:04 Cole Gallant (3) - 5:14 Ethan Price (1) - 7:23
4:19 - pp - William Fällström (1) 5:56 - pp - A.J. Drobot (3) 13:05 - Robbie Stucker (2)		Third period			Cole Gallant (4) - pp - 8:15
Strauss Mann (31 saves / 36 shots)		Goalie stats			Vinnie Purpura (14 saves / 17 shots) Zach Driscoll (20 saves / 23 shots)

April 25	Fargo Force		2 – 0		Omaha Lancers	Scheels Arena
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
8:22 - Ty Farmer (2) 19:50 - en - Ben Meyers (2)		Third period			No scoring
Strauss Mann (36 saves / 36 shots)		Goalie stats			Zach Driscoll (40 saves / 41 shots)

Fargo wins series 3 – 1

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

(E1) Team USA vs. (E2) Youngstown Phantoms

May 1	Team USA		3 – 4	OT	Youngstown Phantoms	USA Hockey Arena
3:45 - Patrick Moynihan (1)		First period			Max Ellis (1) - sh - 12:31 Joey Abate (3) - 15:35
4:05 - sh - Erik Middendorf (3) 18:02 - Matt Boldy (2)		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			Eric Esposito (1) - 13:18
No scoring		First overtime period			Tommy Parrottino (2) - 5:59
Cameron Rowe (31 saves / 35 shots)		Goalie stats			Ivan Prosvetov (37 saves / 40 shots)

May 2	Team USA		10 – 6		Youngstown Phantoms	USA Hockey Arena
3:40 - Owen Lindmark (2) 6:21 - Danny Weight (3) 14:25 - sh - Owen Lindmark (3) 19:42 - pp - Henry Thrun (1)		First period			No scoring
0:40 - Marshall Warren (1) 2:10 - Owen Lindmark (4) 12:06 - Matt Boldy (3)		Second period			Jason Smallidge (1) - 1:57 Michael Regush (1) - 10:46 Eric Esposito (2) - 11:11 Joey Abate (4) - 17:25 Curtis Hall (2) - 18:25
11:06 - Marshall Warren (2) 11:28 - Patrick Moynihan (2) 17:51 - en - Erik Middendorf (4)		Third period			Samuel Salonen (2) - 1:45
Cameron Rowe (29 saves / 35 shots)		Goalie stats			Ivan Prosvetov (16 saves / 21 shots) Wouter Peeters (5 saves / 9 shots)

May 4	Youngstown Phantoms		7 – 5		Team USA	Covelli Centre
5:39 - Jason Smallidge (2) 6:55 - Chase Gresock (3) 14:39 - Chase Gresock (4)		First period			Henry Thrun (2) - 14:15
1:09 - pp - Chase Gresock (5) 9:32 - pp - Chase Gresock (6)		Second period			Erik Middendorf (5) - 6:09 Matt Boldy (4) - pp - 11:01
3:02 - Jake Gingell (1) 19:05 - en - Dalton Messina (1)		Third period			Danny Weight (4) - pp - 17:37 Owen Lindmark (5) - 19:43
Ivan Prosvetov (21 saves / 26 shots)		Goalie stats			Cameron Rowe (33 saves / 39 shots) Josh Graziano (1 save / 1 shot)

May 5	Youngstown Phantoms		5 – 1		Team USA	Covelli Centre
12:42 - Dalton Messina (2) 14:59 - Mike Regush (2)		First period			Erik Middendorf (6) - 10:25
1:05 - Matt Barry (3)		Second period			No scoring
18:25 - en - Eric Esposito (3) 18:47 - en - Chase Gresock (7)		Third period			No scoring
Ivan Prosvetov (32 saves / 33 shots)		Goalie stats			Cameron Rowe (19 saves / 22 shots)

Youngstown wins series 3 – 1

Western Conference

(W1) Waterloo Black Hawks vs. (W3) Fargo Force

April 28	Waterloo Black Hawks		2 – 0		Fargo Force	Young Arena
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
15:40 - Evan Dougherty (1) 19:23 - en - Joe Cassetti (1)		Third period			No scoring
Jared Moe (29 saves / 29 shots)		Goalie stats			Strauss Mann (33 saves / 34 shots)

April 29	Waterloo Black Hawks		2 – 3	OT	Fargo Force	Young Arena
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			Griffin Loughran (2) - 19:46
8:05 - Joe Cassetti (2) 12:13 - sh - Jack Drury (3)		Third period			Ben Meyers (3) - pp - 4:40
No scoring		First overtime period			Spencer Meier (1) - pp - 3:42
Jared Moe (28 saves / 31 shots)		Goalie stats			Strauss Mann (28 saves / 30 shots)

May 4	Fargo Force		6 – 4		Waterloo Black Hawks	Scheels Arena
14:15 - pp - Griffin Loughran (3)		First period			Jackson Cates (2) - 8:53 Garrett Wait (3) - 9:15
3:05 - Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup (3) 3:36 - Grant Hebert (2)		Second period			No scoring
2:07 - Grant Hebert (3) 6:44 - William Fällström (2) 19:21 - en - Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup (4)		Third period			Ben Finkelstein (1) - 17:44 Niko Esposito-Selivanov (1) - 19:59
Strauss Mann (26 saves / 30 shots)		Goalie stats			Jared Moe (26 saves / 31 shots)

May 5	Fargo Force		3 – 2		Waterloo Black Hawks	Scheels Arena
7:17 - Griffin Loughran (4)		First period			Solag Bakich (1) - 4:16
No scoring		Second period			Ben Finkelstein (2) - pp - 13:36
5:01 - Mark Senden (2) 10:33 - John Schuldt (1)		Third period			No scoring
Strauss Mann (35 saves / 37 shots)		Goalie stats			Matej Tomek (25 saves / 28 shots)

Fargo wins series 3 – 1

Clark Cup Championship

(E2) Youngstown Phantoms vs. (W3) Fargo Force

May 11	Fargo Force		4 – 1		Youngstown Phantoms	Scheels Arena
Evan Bell (1) - pp - 8:58		First period			No scoring
Griffin Loughran (5) - pp - 14:17		Second period			17:35 - pp - Michael Joyaux (1)
Ben Meyers (4) - pp - 3:43 Garrett Van Wyhe (2) - en - 17:51		Third period			No scoring
Strauss Mann (24 saves / 25 shots)		Goalie stats			Ivan Prosvetov (33 saves / 36 shots)

May 12	Fargo Force		2 – 3	OT	Youngstown Phantoms	Scheels Arena
No scoring		First period			No scoring
John Schuldt (2) - 4:24		Second period			15:30 - Eric Esposito (4) 8:16 - pp - Nick Cardelli (1)
Griffin Loughran (6) - sh - 19:08		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			6:32 - Nick Cardelli (2)
Strauss Mann (24 saves / 27 shots)		Goalie stats			Ivan Prosvetov (36 saves / 38 shots)

May 18	Youngstown Phantoms		2 – 3		Fargo Force	Covelli Centre
No scoring		First period			13:40 Griffin Loughran (7)
Chase Gresock (8) - 1:04 Nick Cardelli (3) - pp - 13:39		Second period			13:45 - Evan Bell (2)
No scoring		Third period			13:07 - Bartek Bison (1)
Ivan Prosvetov (22 saves / 25 shots)		Goalie stats			Strauss Mann (38 saves / 40 shots)

May 19	Youngstown Phantoms		2 – 4		Fargo Force	Covelli Centre
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Matt Barry (4) - 19:21		Second period			5:15 - pp - Evan Bell (3) 14:45 - Garrett Van Wyhe (3)
Curtis Hall (3) - 3:43		Third period			16:06 - Ty Farmer (3) 19:59 - en - Mark Senden (3)
Ivan Prosvetov (31 saves / 34 shots)		Goalie stats			Strauss Mann (26 saves / 28 shots)

Fargo wins series 3 – 1

Playoff scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Chase Gresock	Youngstown Phantoms	11	8	6	14	2
Matt Barry	Youngstown Phantoms	11	4	10	14	8
Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup	Fargo Force	14	4	8	12	15
Evan Bell	Fargo Force	14	3	8	11	24
Grant Hebert	Fargo Force	14	3	7	10	10
Robbie Stucker	Fargo Force	14	2	8	10	12
Griffin Loughran	Fargo Force	13	7	2	9	14
Eric Esposito	Youngstown Phantoms	11	4	5	9	10
Nick Cardelli	Youngstown Phantoms	11	3	6	9	8
William Fällström	Fargo Force	14	2	7	9	6

Playoff leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	Mins	W	L	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Jared Moe	Waterloo Black Hawks	6	366	4	2	11	2	.933	1.81
Strauss Mann	Fargo Force	14	831	11	3	29	2	.932	2.09
Cole Weaver	Dubuque Fighting Saints	5	294	2	3	11	0	.915	2.25
Zach Driscoll	Omaha Lancers	3	294	0	3	11	0	.929	2.29
Derek Schaedig	Lincoln Stars	6	138	3	1	13	0	.916	2.55

References

1. "USHL Announces 2017-18 Schedule". USHL. July 18, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
2. "It's Official: Thunder Hockey Team Becomes Flying Aces". WGLT. August 24, 2017.
3. "USHL Standings". USHL. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
4. "USHL Announces End of Year Awards". OurSportsCentral.com. April 30, 2018.
5. "P.K. O'Handley Named USHL Coach & General Manager of the Year". USHL. May 2, 2018.
6. "USHL Scholar-Athlete Award and All-Academic Team Announced". USHL. May 1, 2018.
7. "Marc McLaughlin Named Curt Hammer Award Recipient". USHL. May 1, 2018.
8. "EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR". USHL. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
9. "Sioux Falls Stampede Named USHL Organization of the Year". OurSportsCentral.com. June 27, 2018.
10. "All-USHL Teams Announced". USHL. May 1, 2018.
11. "All-USHL Rookie Teams Announced". USHL. May 1, 2018.

External links

• Official website of the United States Hockey League