Tuesday, April 9, 2013

USHL Honors - Week 28

Press Release

 The United States Hockey League today announced the CCM and Reebok player awards for the 28th week of the 2012-13 USHL regular season.

Award winners include Zach Stepan of the Waterloo Black Hawks and Alex Iafallo of the Fargo Force who have been named co-recipients of the CCM Forward of the Week; Daniel Renouf from the Youngstown Phantoms, selected as CCM Defenseman of the Week; and Sean Romeo of the Youngstown Phantoms, collecting honors as Reebok Goaltender of the Week.

Zach Stepan, F, Waterloo Black Hawks: The Hastings, MN native put up monster number with nine points (5g, 4a) and a plus-six on-ice rating over four games played.  On Tuesday night in Green Bay, he tallied a pair of goals, one assist, and finished with a game high plus-three on-ice rating in Waterloo’s 7-4 win.  He dished out an assist and had the lone goal in the shootout in the 4-3 shootout win over the Dubuque Fighting Saints on Friday.  His stellar week continued on Saturday with a power play goal, two assists, and a game high plus-two on-ice rating in a 5-2 win over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.  The 19-year-old rounded out the week with another two-goal performance in Sunday’s 7-1 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers.  The Nashville Predators draft pick is third on the team and tied for third in the USHL in scoring with 76 points (32g, 44a) in 54 games this season.

Alex Iafallo, F, Fargo Force: The second-year forward led the Force to a pair of wins over the weekend, tallying six points (3g, 3a) with a plus-five on-ice rating.  Friday night in Sioux Falls, he registered a goal and a season-high three assists in a 7-4 win over the Stampede. One of his assists came shorthanded and he tied a game-high with a plus-three on-ice rating.  He responded with a pair of goals and an assist in Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Sioux City Musketeers.  His second goal was the game-winner to help the Force overcome a 3-1 deficit and it was also his 20th goal of the season.  The 19-year-old from Eden, NY is sixth on the team in scoring with 42 points (20g, 22a) and is tied for sixth in the League with a plus-35 rating.  He is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Daniel Renouf, D, Youngstown Phantoms: The Pickerington, ON native was a driving force on the Phantoms’ blueline, tallying a pair of goals and three assists in three games played.  He also recorded a plus-five on-ice rating and was a part of a penalty killing unit that went 10-for-12 on the weekend.  After being held off of the score sheet in Friday’s 5-2 win over Team USA’s Under-17 team, he potted a pair of third-period goals, including one shorthanded, and dished out an assist in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Steel.  His first goal held up to be the game-winner and he tied a game high with a plus-three on-ice rating. He finished out his week by dishing out a pair of assists in Sunday’s 5-2 win over the Indiana Ice.  The University of Maine commit is second amongst Youngstown defensemen with 27 points (10g, 17a) on the season and he leads the team with a plus-24 rating.

Sean Romeo, G, Youngstown Phantoms: The netminder from Cary, NC posted a 2-0-0 record with a 1.50 goals against average and a .955 save percentage in two games played.  He put together a 31-save performance in Friday’s 5-2 win over Team USA’s Under-17 squad.  The win gave him 29 for the season, passing Matthew O’Connor (2011-12) for most wins in a season by a Phantoms goaltender.  It was more of the same on Saturday as the University on Maine commit stopped 32 shots in Youngstown’s 4-1 win over the Chicago Steel to collect his 30th win of the season, second most among USHL goaltenders.  He is currently sixth in the League in both GAA (2.76) and SV% (.909).   It is the fourth time this season that the 18-year-old has won weekly goaltender honors.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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