USHL Honors - Week 10

Press Release

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

Winners include Blake Winiecki of the Waterloo Black Hawks, named CCM Forward of the Week; Mark Friedman of the Waterloo Black Hawks, chosen as CCM Defenseman of the Week; and Mathias Israelsson of Waterloo and Cale Morris of the Chicago Steel, sharing honors as Reebok Goaltender of the Week.

Blake Winiecki, F, Waterloo Black Hawks: The 19-year-old tallied four goals and a plus-four rating as the Hawks split a pair of games over the weekend.  He scored a pair of goals, including his first-ever shorthanded marker in the USHL, in Friday’s 8-6 loss to Team USA’s Under-18 squad.  Despite the loss, Winiecki registered a plus-two on-ice rating.  The Lakeville, Minnesota native potted two more goals on Saturday, including the game-winner, in a 3-0 win over the Lincoln Stars.  Winiecki is currently third on the team in scoring with 14 points (9g, 5a) in 17 games.  He has recorded five goals over his last four games and is now tied for the team lead with nine goals for the season.

Mark Friedman, D, Waterloo Black Hawks: Committed to Bowling Green State University, the defenseman dished out five assists and registered a plus-four rating over a pair of games.  Friday night, he equaled a season high when handed out three assists in the 8-6 loss to Team USA.   The Toronto, Ontario native tallied two more assists on Saturday and tied a game high with a plus-three rating as Waterloo posted their first shutout of the season in the 3-0 win against Lincoln.  The 17-year-old leads all USHL defensemen in scoring with 16 points (2g, 14a) in 17 games played.  His 14 assists are tied for the fifth most in the League, and he is tied for fourth overall with a plus-13 rating.

Mathias Israelsson, G, Waterloo Black Hawks: The Goteborg, Sweden native picked up his first USHL shutout as he stopped all 25 shots he faced in Saturday’s 3-0 win against the Lincoln Stars.  It was his first start in two weeks and was the first shutout of the season for Waterloo.  He made 13 of his 25 saves in the third period alone.  The 19-year-old has won three of his last four starts, recording a 1.33 goals-against average and .953 save percentage over those three victories.  Overall this season, he has a 4-3-0 record with a 2.57 GAA and .910 SV% in seven appearances for the Hawks.

Cale Morris, G, Chicago Steel: The 17-year-old posted the first shutout of his USHL career when he stopped all 21 shots in the 2-0 victory over the Tri-City Storm on Friday.  It was just the fifth appearance this season for the native of Larkspur, Colorado and his second win for the Steel.  He has won each of his last two starts, allowing just one goal and making 50 saves over that span.  The rookie goaltender has an overall 2-1-0 record with a 3.13 GAA and .901 SV% this season.

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