USHL

The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced Tuesday its Players of the Week for Week 23 of the 2021-22 season. For the second time in two weeks, all three players earned their first Player of the Week honors this season as Aidan Thompson and Mitchell Miller earned Forward and Defenseman of the Week honors after offensive explosions while Remington Keopple allowed no offense of any kind in his Goaltender of the Week performances. 

Thompson brought the offense for Lincoln last weekend, picking up seven points (3-4-7) in three games. The University of Denver commit started the three-game slate with a four-point (2-2-4) performance Friday night in an 8-4 win in front of the home crowd. Thompson tallied a powerplay marker in the second period to send the game to the third tied, 2-2. The third period was all Thompson and Lincoln as the forward assisted on the first goal of the frame to give Lincoln its first lead of the game and then scored his second, giving the Stars a 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Thompson capped his four-point night, which tied his career high (March 12, 2021), with a powerplay assist late in the third. The Fort Collins, Co. native jumped back into the scoring less than 48 hours later, adding a trio of points (1-2-3) and factoring in all three Stars goals in a Sunday matinee against the Tri-City Storm. Thompson scored Lincoln’s first goal of the game less than a minute into the middle frame and added a powerplay assist in each of the second and third periods. Thompson leads Lincoln this season with 50 points (15-35-50) in 41 games played and his 35 assists this season ranks sixth in USHL scoring. Thompson leads the league with five shorthanded points this season as his two shorthanded assists is tied for second and three shorthanded goals is tied for third in league scoring. The second-year forward is also tied for seventh in the league with 15 powerplay assists. Thompson is the fifth Lincoln Player of the Week this season and third in the last two weeks, but is the first Stars player to earn Forward of the Week honors. Through 41 games this season, Thompson has far exceeded previous career high marks set in 52 appearances with the Stars last season when he had 10 goals and 23 assists. 

Miller earned his first Defenseman of the Week award of the season after his six-point weekend (5-1-6) brought the Tri-City Storm to a Magic Number of 2 for clinching the first Clark Cup Playoff spot in the league this season. The Storm and Miller were held off the scoresheet Friday night but bounced back with a combined 16 goals in a Saturday and Sunday sweep of the Lincoln Stars. On Saturday night, Miller opened the game’s scoring with a powerplay goal early in the first period and would go on to pick up an assist with the extra man in the second period before scoring his second goal of the game to cap the scoring in the third as the Storm went on to win 8-0. The next day, Miller struck twice on the powerplay in a 3:31 span in the first period and added a shorthanded goal in the third to complete the hat trick. The Sylvania, Ohio native leads USHL defensemen with 55 points (23-32-55) in 44 appearances this season. His 55 points ranks second on the Storm and eighth in the league among all skaters. Miller’s goals (23) and assists (32) are both tied for 10th in league scoring while his goal total leads defensemen and his assists total ranks third among blueliners. The third year defenseman is tied for first this season with 25 powerplay points and ranks third in powerplay goals with 13. Miller’s plus-28 plus-minus rating is tied for first in the league and he is one of four defensemen with a shorthanded goal this season. Miller is the first Tri-City Defenseman of the Week this year but is the sixth weekly winner for the Storm as goaltender Arsenii Sergeev has won four Goaltender of the Week awards and forward Jeremy Wilmer is a prior Forward of the Week. This season has been an offensive high for Miller as his 23 goals nearly doubles his prior goal total (12) in his first 94 league appearances and his 32 assists exceeds his previous high of 25 set with the Storm two seasons ago. Miller now has 105 career points (35-70-105) in 144 USHL appearances. 

Keopple was unbeatable last weekend, turning aside every one of the 68 shots sent his way on Friday and Saturday night, backstopping the Buccaneers to a weekend sweep of the Storm and Waterloo Black Hawks. The Cornell University commit picked up his first shutout of the season Friday night, turning aside 39 shots from the league-leading Tri-City Storm, helping Des Moines to a 2-0 win. The following night, Keopple was perfect again, stopping all 29 shots the Black Hawks sent his way, leading the Buccaneers to another 2-0 win. Friday night’s shutout was the first time all season the Storm were held scoreless and just the eighth loss of the season for Tri-City. With the weekend sweep, the Buccaneers moved to within 10 points of a Clark Cup Playoff spot with 18 games remaining in the season. This season, Keopple has been in net for 11 of his team’s 15 wins, holding an 11-12-1-1 record. His 3.00 goals against average is seventh among league netminders and with the pair of shutouts, the Somerset, Wis. native is now one of only six USHL goalies with multiple shutouts this season.