The Dubuque Fighting Saints took down the Fargo Force in a rematch of the 2024 Clark Cup Finals, with Lucas Van Vliet racking up three points in the win.
Lucas Van Vliet (VGK) seems to be settling into his new digs. The Vegas Golden Knights draft pick and Michigan State commit opted for a third of development after spending the last two seasons at the U.S. National Team Development Program.
Despite registering five combined shots on goal, Van Vliet was held off the scoresheet in his first two games.
However, he has been on quite the run lately. The forward racked up a season-high three points in Dubuque's 7-4 win over the Fargo Force on Thursday.
The game was a rematch of the 2024 Clark Cup Finals. This time around, though, the Fighting Saints looked like the more dominant squad.
Van Vliet scored his first goal of the night after the midway point in the first period. With Dubuque up 1-0 and on the power play, Van Vliet entered the offensive zone and took the puck uncontested to the net before he fired a shot into the back of the net.
Early in the third period, Van Vliet tallied his second of the night. He was sprung free on a stretch past and skated to the net before sending a backhanded shot into the Fargo net. At the time, the marker gave Dubuque a 7-3 advantage.
Van Vliet also picked up the primary assist on Colin Frank's first goal. Frank scored again at the end of the second period, marking his first career multi-goal game. Michael Barron also tallied his fourth goal of the season early in the second period to give Dubuque a 3-1 lead. Barron now has goals in three straight games and points in four of his last five.
Melvin Ekman and Heikki Ruohonen (PHI) also tallied goals to round out the scoring for Dubuque.
Meanwhile, Jan Spunar made just his second start between the pipes since being added to Dubuque's active roster in late September. The Czechian netminder turned aside 31-of-35 to pick up his second win.
The victory marks Dubuque's fifth straight after dropping their season opener at the USHL Fall Classic. The Fighting Saints lead the USHL in goals scored (25) and will look to keep the win streak going in Sioux Falls on Friday night.