USHL Honors - Week Seven

Press Release

 The United States Hockey League today announced the CCM and Reebok player awards for the seventh week of the 2013-14 USHL regular season.

Winners include Keith Burchett of the Sioux Falls Stampede and Dylan Larkin from Team USA, selected as co-recipients of CCM Forward of the Week; Tyler Mueller of the Sioux City Musketeers, chosen as CCM Defenseman of the Week; and Jared Rutledge of the Green Bay Gamblers, earning honors as Reebok Goaltender of the Week.

Keith Burchett, F, Sioux Falls Stampede: The Oak Brook, Illinois native recorded five points (2g, 3a) as the Stampede won two of three games on the road during the week.  On Wednesday, he scored the lone Stampede goal in a 7-1 loss to Team USA.  Two nights later in Youngstown, the Bowling Green State University commit dished out three assists in a 6-1 win over the Phantoms.  He rounded out his week with his second goal in three games on Saturday as Sioux Falls completed the weekend sweep of the Phantoms, 3-1.  The 18-year-old is currently riding a four-game point streak and has collected 10 points (4g, 6a) while appearing in all 14 Stampede games this season.

Dylan Larkin, F, Team USA: The 17-year-old led Team USA’s Under-18 squad to a big mid-week win over the Sioux Falls Stampede.  He tallied a pair of goals in the second period to go along with two assists in Wednesday’s 7-1 victory.  It was his third multi-goal game of the season.  The Waterford, Michigan also finished the night with a plus-four on-ice rating and fired a game high seven shots on goal.  Committed to the University of Michigan, Larkin has nine points (6g, 3a) through seven USHL games this season to go along with a plus-eight rating.  He is just one goal shy of tying his total in 37 USHL games last season.

Tyler Mueller, D, Sioux City Musketeers: For the second week in a row, the 19-year-old earns the defenseman weekly honor.  He registered two points (1g, 1a) and a plus-six on-ice rating over three victories to help the Musketeers extend their win streak to eight games. He netted his third goal of the season in a 4-1 win over the Fargo Force on Wednesday and finished with a game high plus-two rating.  He then dished out an assist in Saturday’s 6-1 win over the Tri-City Storm and tied a game high plus-three rating.  The Regina, Saskatchewan also helped the Musketeers limit their opponents to four total goals over the three wins and led a penalty killing unit that stopped 14-of-15 opponent power play chances.  The University of Massachusetts-Lowell commit is tied for fourth in scoring among USHL defensemen with seven points (3g, 4a) and leads his team with a plus-nine rating.

Jared Rutledge, G, Green Bay Gamblers: The 19-year-old posted a 2-0-0 record with a 0.50 goals-against average and .980 save percentage in a weekend sweep of the Des Moines Buccaneers.  He stopped all 29 shots he saw in Friday’s 3-0 win, earning his first shutout of the season and fourth of his USHL career.  He was strong again on Saturday as he made 21 saves in the 3-1 win over the Bucs.  The Skokie, Illinois native has posted a 7-1-1 record with a 1.97 GAA and .926 SV% this season, and has won each of his last three starts.  His seven victories are currently tied for the lead among USHL goaltenders and his GAA is tied for fourth in the League.

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