Looking ahead to some of the key matchups and players to watch in Week 3 of the USHL schedule
Looking ahead to some of the key matchups and players to watch in Week 3 of the USHL schedule.
Waterloo Black Hawks vs. Des Moines Buccaneers
The Waterloo Black Hawks pick up where they last left off: a meeting with the Des Moines Buccaneers before facing Dubuque on Saturday night. The Black Hawks topped the Bucs in their only game on the weekend behind Calvin Vachon's 22-save performance. Waterloo has looked sharp defensively thus far, allowing just eight goals through the first three games, the second-fewest in the league during that stretch.
Meanwhile, Des Moines opened the season with a 2-1 victory over Green Bay but have dropped their last two games. Overall, the Bucs have scored just seven goals, which is good for the second-fewest in the league. Friday's game will mark their first game of the season at the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex.
Player to watch (Waterloo): Kaeden Hawkins
Hawkins has made the transition from Shattuck to the USHL look seamless. The 19-year-old already has four points on two goals and two assists while recording ten shots, making him one of Waterloo's most active offensive forwards.
Player to watch (Des Moines): Reese Shaw
Shaw has made the most of an early-season trade from Lincoln to Des Moines and found the back of the net for the first time last weekend. Added, the forward has already registered 11 shots on goal, compared to 35 in 43 games last season.
Youngstown Phantoms vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
The Phantoms split their two-game road series last weekend, taking Friday's opener in Madison in a shootout. Melvin Strahl (CBJ) made 31 saves while Adam Benak recorded his first career USHL goal and added another in the shootout. The following night, Youngstown fell to Chicago, 3-2, despite putting up 29 shots on goal.
Cedar Rapids suffered their first loss of the season last weekend, dropping a 4-1 game at home against Tri-City. Haeden Ellis (2025) picked up his first goal of the season, and Heath Nelson led all skaters with three shots on goal.
Player to watch (Youngstown): Ryan Rucinski
Rucinski is still looking for his first goal of the season despite registering 16 shots on goal, which are tied for the second-most in the USHL. The Ohio State commit put up a team-high seven shots on goal for Youngstown against the Steel last weekend. Let's see if he can find the back of the net this week.
Player to watch (Cedar Rapids): Landan Resendes
Similar to Rucinski, Resendes has yet to record his first goal of the season, even though he leads the team with 12 shots on goal after the first three games. I was super impressed with the Boston College commit in preseason, and I still think he has a solid season.
Omaha Lancers vs. Green Bay Gamblers
The Lancers resume play after having last weekend off. Omaha last played at the USHL Fall Classic, dropping both games while recording just three goals in their first two games. Coming into this season, I thought the Lancers had one of the better goaltending duos in the league, but both Mikhail Yegorov (NJD) and Kam Hendrickson were pulled in relief in their first starts. Let's see how they respond.
The Gamblers will look to shake off a two-game weekend sweep at the hands of the Lincoln Stars, in which Green Bay was outscored 14-5. Saturday was a much more closely-contested game as the Gamblers forced overtime with two third-period goals.
Player to watch (Omaha): Sam Scheetz
Scheetz was an impactful player last year despite only playing in 27 games, but he's still looking for his first point this season. The Vermont commit looked more comfortable in Omaha's second game, registering five shots on goal, which could bode well for this weekend's slate of games.
Player to watch (Green Bay): Aidan Park
Park is an intriguing re-entry candidate for next year's NHL Draft after recording 93 points with Shattuck during the 2023-24 season. He was a solid late-season addition for Green Bay and has picked up where he left off. The Michigan commit already has three points on two goals, both on the power play, and one assist.