Sunday, April 19, 2009

USHL Round-Up

Press Release

The Lincoln Stars advanced to the second round of the Clark Cup Playoffs after earning a 6-1 win over Sioux Falls in Game Four to win the series three games to one. The Indiana Ice forced a deciding Game Five with Cedar Rapids after defeating the RoughRiders 5-1 on Friday night.

Garrett Vermeersch set the tone for Lincoln scoring just 32 seconds into Friday's contest. He added a goal later in the period then completed the hat trick in the second period to give the Stars a 3-0 lead. The Stars never looked back as Kirt Hill chipped in two goals in the third period and Anthony Borelli made 34 in goal to earn the victory. Lincoln will now face Fargo in a best-of-five series to determine the West Division representative for the Clark Cup finals.

Indiana had five different players score a goal and 12 different skaters earn a point to keep their playoff hopes alive and force a Game Five with Cedar Rapids. The Ice benefited from special teams as they scored three times with the man advantage. Brett Bennett turned away 34 shots in goal to record the win for Indiana. The Ice and RoughRiders meet Saturday night in Cedar Rapids with the winner advancing to meet the Green Bay Gamblers.

Click here for photo gallery of Lincoln Stars vs. Sioux Falls Stampede. (Gallery by Robert J. Meyer/USHL Images)

The USHL is celebrating its 30th season of junior hockey in 2008-09. With over 160 players already committed to NCAA Division I schools and 16 NHL Draft picks playing in the league, the USHL is the nation's foremost producer of junior hockey talent. For more information, visit us on the web at www.ushl.com.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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