The second-place teams in each conference headline this weekend's slate of games in the USHL.
Another exciting weekend of USHL action kicks off Friday, featuring a battle of two second-place teams in each conference.
The Muskegon Lumberjacks travel to Lincoln to face the Stars for a two-game series Friday and Saturday at the Ice Box.
The Lumberjacks are currently second in the Eastern Conference with a 20-8-2-4 record (46 points), two points behind the first-place Dubuque Fighting Saints. Last weekend, they went 1-1-0-1 against the Youngstown Phantoms, who are currently third in the East.
David Deputy had a fine week for Muskegon after scoring eight points (4-4-8) over three games to pick up USHL Forward of the Week honors. Deputy has been a big contributor to the Lumberjacks since being acquired from the Omaha Lancers in early December. He’s registered 13 points in as many games (4-9-13) with the Lumberjacks.
Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev has been impressive in net, leading the USHL with a 2.29 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.
Since Dec. 11, Muskegon is 4-3-0-3, but have an impressive 10-3-4 record on the road. They rank10th on the power-play at 20.4% and are sixth on the penalty-kill at 81.1%.
The Stars (21-11-1-0, 43 points) are second in the West behind Sioux Falls. They were thoroughly dominating in their two-game sweep of USA Hockey’s NTDP U17 squad last weekend.
Lincoln won last Friday’s game 8-2, then posted an even more impressive 11-2 win Saturday. The 11-goal game marked the ninth time in franchise history the Stars reached double digits in goals. The last time they reached that milestone was on Feb. 5, 2005 in an 11-3 win over Sioux Falls.
The most goals Lincoln has scored in a game occurred in a 14-3 rout of Cedar Rapids on Oct. 27, 2000.
Jack Pechar is currently tied for fifth in the league in points with 33 and is tied for seventh in assists with 20.
Tanner Hendricks is the most recent USHL Defenseman of the Week for Lincoln after collecting five points (1-4-5) and finishing a team-best +6 over the weekend. He becomes the third Stars player to win a league POTW award this season.
Dashel Oliver scored seven points (4-3-7) last weekend. The Stars are a perfect 14-0 when the fourth-year forward scores at least one point. After putting together back-to-back multi-point games, Oliver now has six on the season to go along with four multi-goal contests.
Lincoln is in the middle of a four-game homestand and is riding a four-game home winning streak. Overall, they are 11-5 at the Ice Box this season.
On the power-play, the Stars rank second in the USHL at 26% and are tied for second on the penalty-kill (84%).
Puck drop for Friday’s game is 7:05 Pm CT, while Saturday’s contest is scheduled for 6:05 Pm CT.