Monday, January 27, 2014

USHL Honors - Week 19

Press Release

 The United States Hockey League today announced the CCM and Reebok player awards for the 19th week of the 2013-14 USHL regular season.

Winners include Chris Wilkie of the Tri-City Storm, recognized as CCM Forward of the Week; Brandon Montour of the Waterloo Black Hawks and Zach Frye of the Lincoln Stars, chosen as co-recipients of CCM Defenseman of the Week; and Jared Rutledge of the Green Bay Gamblers and Ed Minney of Team USA, tabbed as co-recipients of Reebok Goaltender of the Week.

Chris Wilkie, F, Tri-City Storm: The 17-year-old recorded four points (3g, 1a) and a plus-two rating as he led the Storm to three wins during the week.  He first dished out an assist in Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout win against the Lincoln Stars.  Wilkie then registered his first USHL multi-goal game as he netted two goals, plus converted his shootout attempt, in Friday’s 3-2 shootout victory over the Sioux Falls Stampede.  The Omaha, Nebraska native completed his week by scoring a goal in the third period on Saturday, which began a three-goal period for the Storm to earn a 4-3 win against Sioux Falls.  The goal by the University of North Dakota commit extended his point streak to eight games (5g, 6a), and he is now second on the Storm in scoring with 23 points (12g, 11a) in 35 games.

Brandon Montour, D, Waterloo Black Hawks: The defenseman scored three points (1g, 2a) and posted a plus-four rating over two contests to help the Black Hawks extend their win streak to a team record 13 games.  The Oshweken, Ontario native netted the game-winning goal in Friday’s 3-1 victory over the Fargo Force.  He then dished out a pair of assists in Saturday’s 6-2 win against Fargo.  The 19-year-old has at least one point (4g, 14a) in each of the 13 consecutive victories for the Hawks, tying for the second longest point streak in the USHL this season.  The University of Massachusetts commit is tied for the scoring lead among USHL defensemen with 31 points (9g, 22a) in 35 games.

Zach Frye, D, Lincoln Stars: The 19-year-old netted a pair of goals for the Stars during a two-game week.  His two tallies came in the second period of Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Tri-City Storm.  It was the first multi-goal game of his USHL career.  The Spokane, Washington native also helped the Stars go a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill over their two games.  Frye, who leads the League with 137 penalty minutes, did not commit a penalty in either game for the Stars during the week.  Playing in his fourth USHL season, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks commit has already established USHL career highs in goals (4) and points (12) through 21 games this season.

Jared Rutledge, G, Green Bay Gamblers: The goaltender allowed just one goal over two appearances for the Gamblers during the weekend, posting a 0.54 goals-against-average and .979 save percentage in two victories.  He stopped all 19 shots he faced before being relieved in the third period of Friday’s 6-0 win against the Chicago Steel.  The 19-year-old followed up with a 27-save performance in the 2-1 overtime win over Team USA on Saturday.  It was the 18th win of the season for the Skokie, Illinois native, third most among League goaltenders.  Rutledge has played more minutes than any USHL netminder this season (1,804).

Ed Minney, G, Team USA: The 17-year-old posted his first USHL career shutout when he stopped all 38 shots in Saturday’s 7-0 win against the Muskegon Lumberjacks.  He made 21 of his season high 38 saves in the third period alone.  The Wind Gap, Pennsylvania native has accumulated a 7-1-1 record over 10 USHL contests this season to go along with a 2.38 GAA and .923 SV%.  Minney, a Michigan State University commit, was recently tabbed as the second highest rated North American goaltender in the midterm rankings by NHL Central Scouting for the 2014 NHL Draft.

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

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