Fighting Saints Look To Clinch Playoff Spot Friday

The Lincoln Stars and Sioux Falls Stampede have clinched their spots in the USHL Clark Cup Playoffs. Dubuque could become the next team to punch their ticket this week.

The Fighting Saints are one point shy of claiming a berth in their 14th straight post-season. At 33-14-0-2, they will play nine more games in March after starting the month with a 7-2 victory over the Chicago Steel on March 1.

That night, Dubuque tied a season-high with five goals in the second period, breaking open a 1-1 tie to take a 6-1 lead late in the second. In the win, 17 of the Saints' 20 skaters recorded a point to complete a 15-goal weekend.

The clinching game could come Friday when the Saints square off against the Muskegon Lumberjacks before finishing the weekend against Chicago.

The Saints will be busy, beginning a stretch that includes two three-game weekends in a span of three weeks, playing eight games over a 16-day period.

Four of Dubuque’s games during the month are against other members of the Eastern Conference’s top four, starting with the Lumberjacks and twice more against the Madison Capitols.

Of the Saints’ remaining 13 games, seven will be at home. After Sunday’s game against Chicago, they will have 10 games remaining on its regular-season schedule.

Dubuque’s power-play unit has been firing on all cylinders recently. The team has scored a power-play goal in seven consecutive games entering Wednesday and are fifth in the USHL at 24.8% with the man advantage this season.

Josh Giuliani has been an offensive boost for the Saints, scoring points in five straight games and eight total in that span. Jonathan Morello scored a career-high four points on Feb. 28 and had five total in the weekend sweep over the Steel.

Dubuque’s offense will be put to the test against the Lumberjacks, who come into the week allowing the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference. Chicago, meanwhile, has allowed the second-most.

Muskegon sits in fourth place in the East as of Thursday at 28-13-3-4, good for 63 points and one point behind third-place Madison. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is six, with 14 games remaining.

Jacks netminder Stephen Peck picked up USHL Goalie of the Week honors on Monday after going 2-0-0 last week with a league-leading 1.00 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage.

Peck stopped 16 shots in a 3-1 win, then made 28 saves in a 4-1 win vs. the Fargo Force. He now has four wins over his last five games.

Puck drop for Friday’s game is set for 7:05 Pm CT.