Photo Courtesy of the Muskegon LumberjacksIvan Ryabkin continues to dazzle, while Grady Deering made each of his three goals count. Here are three standouts from Friday night’s slate of games in the USHL.
Lumberjacks’ Ryabkin Chops Up Gamblers
The 17-year-old Muskegon Lumberjacks left-shot center continues to impress since coming over from Russia. He not only scored a hat trick but added an assist in a 6-3 home win over the Green Bay Gamblers Friday night.
After Green Bay got on the board first, Ryabkin sent a one-timer into the back of the net from the far slot just four seconds into a power play at 6:28 of the second period.
The Gamblers regained the lead 30 seconds later, but Carter Sanderson knotted the game back up 2-2.
Once again, Green Bay took the lead, only to see the Jacks roar back with four unanswered goals in the final frame.
Ryabkin picked up an assist on a Tynan Lawrence goal, then potted his own goal a minute and a half later on a redirect into a practically empty net.
Ryabkin completed the hattrick at the 15:45 mark, capping off his four-point performance with a shot from the far side.
Deering Clutch In Road Victory Over Saints
Ryabkin wasn’t the only one who picked up a hatty on Friday. Grady Deering scored a pivotal goal in each period, keying a 7-3 Waterloo Black Hawks road win against the Dubuque Fighting Saints at ImOn Arena.
It was the veteran forward’s first USHL hat trick, pushing his goal total to 15 this season, matching the 15 he scored in 2023/24.
The Black Hawks led for much of the first period after Deering capitalized at the 57-second mark. He put a shot under the crossbar after the puck came free to him off the right wing boards.
The Saints tied the game on their first power-play at 16:26. The Hawks, however, had a big second period, reeling off three consecutive goals, starting at 4:50.
After Kaeden Hawkins scored the go-ahead goal, Brock Schultz added to the lead at 15:15.
Less than a minute later, Deering recorded his second of the game, gaining control in the left circle and beating Dubuque netminder Liam Beerman between the pads. That would prove to be the game-winner.
The Fighting Saints drew back a goal 50 seconds later
However, the Hawks pulled away with two power play goals during a five-minute head contact penalty against Teddy Merrill. Deering completed the hat trick at 9:13, tipping Dylan Compton’s shot, then shoveled the rebound off of Beerman and in from below the icing line.
Strahl The Stopper
The Youngstown Phantoms scored four unanswered goals, then rode on the back of their goaltender Melvin Strahl for a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Storm.
Four different skaters lit the lamp for the Phantoms, who have won 10 of their last 13 games. Strahl picked up his league-leading 29th win of the season after stopping 32 of 33 Tri-City shots.
After the Storm took a 1-0 lead 13:01 into the first period, the Phantoms answered with a pair of second period goals, both of which took place during 4-on-4 situations, and took a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.
The Phantoms added two more in the third to complete their string of four unanswered tallies and walk away with a 4-1 win.