Highlighting the takeaways from Friday’s USHL action, plus some notes on the NTDP U18s and LJ Mooney's iniury

That's a wrap on Friday's slate of USHL games. Across five contests, Cedar Rapids stormed back to top Youngstown, Green Bay pulled away from Omaha, Dubuque defeated Chicago, Waterloo held off Des Moines, and Madison beat Tri-City.

Here are three takeaways from Friday's matchups and a few notes, including LJ Mooney's injury in the NTDP U18s exhibition contest against Notre Dame.

Hajibi Tallies Three-Point Night, Riders Win Again

Amine Hajibi has been so good since coming over from Green Bay in a trade last year, and he's off to a great start this season.

The Northeastern commit opened the scoring for Cedar Rapids on a play in transition. Loa Milfors sent a drop pass to a trailing Hajibi, who sniped his shot into the back of the net.

The RoughRiders forward then returned the favor and picked up the primary assist on Milfors' goal. Hajibi also collected the primary assist on Hans-Martin Ulvebne's marker in that wild second period, which saw Cedar Rapids score three times to take the lead.

The Riders' top line, paired with their goaltending depth, is a big reason why they are 3-1 to start the season.

Zellers Scores Twice, Gamblers Pull Away Late

Will Zellers (COL) made his highly anticipated season debut after missing all of the preseason and first two weeks of the regular season with an injury.

Green Bay was clinging to a one-goal lead after scoring late in the first period until Zellers potted his first goal of the year. The North Dakota commit showed great anticipation to read the play and strip the puck in Omaha's defensive zone before a give-and-go play set up his shot from the low slot.

Up by two goals, the Lancers pulled Mikhail Yegorov (NJD), and Zellers scored again on the empty net.

McMorrow Scores Twice, Black Hawks Win Again

Brendan McMorrow is making the most of his third year of development thus far. On Friday, the former NTDP forward scored two more goals in Waterloo's 4-2 win over Des Moines.

The Black Hawks and Buccaneers were knotted at two goals apiece in the third period before Waterloo went to the power play near the midway point of the frame. Dylan Compton fired a puck on net from the top of the point, and while he was initially credited with the goal, it was later changed to McMorrow's goal as he redirected it in front.

The Denver commit added another via the empty netter before the end of regulation. McMorrow already has four goals on the year, which are the second-most in the league entering Saturday's slate of games, despite registering just eight shots on goal.

Meanwhile, Waterloo quietly sits at a 3-1 record, tied atop the Western Conference.

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