USHL

The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced Friday its Players of the Week for the First Round of the 2021-22 Clark Cup Playoffs. A trio of first-time winners helped propel their teams to First Round wins as Waterloo Blackhawks forward Connor Brown took home Forward of the Week while Muskegon Lumberjacks blueliner Noah Ellis and netminder Chase Clark brought home Defenseman and Goaltender of the Week awards, respectively.  

Brown earned his first Forward of the Week award this season after coming up large for the Black Hawks in a pivotal Game Three during the First Round. After the Lincoln Stars held the Estero, Fla. native off the scoresheet in the first two games of the series, Brown exploded for four goals, including the series-clinching tally in overtime of the final game of the series. Brown picked up his first goal of the game late in the first period to stop the bleeding and send Game Three to the first intermission with Lincoln up 3-1. The Western Michigan University commit then tallied a pair of goals in the final three minutes of regulation to tie things late before he found the game-winning goal just 1:21 into the overtime frame. This was the first time this season Brown scored multiple goals in a game and is currently tied for second in Playoff scoring, is one of only two players with four Playoff goals and is tied for the rookie Playoff scoring lead with four points. Brown finished the regular season with 24 points (11-13-24), appearing in 61 of the Black Hawks 62 regular season games this season and Wednesday was the first multiple-goal game of Brown’s USHL career. 

Ellis earned Defenseman of the Week after picking up three points (2-1-3) in a two-game sweep of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders during the First Round. The Urbandale, Iowa native started the series with a powerplay goal and an assist in the third period of a 6-0 Monday night win in Game One. The next night, Ellis scored again on the powerplay as the Lumberjacks capped a series win with a 6-1 Tuesday night win. The Vegas Golden Knights prospect (2020, Round 6, #184) and University of Massachusetts commit previously was awarded Defenseman of the Week once during the 2019-20 season when he was a part of the Des Moines Buccaneers. For his career, Ellis has 64 points (20-44-64) in 157 games. 

Clark backstopped a near perfect series for the Lumberjacks, stopping 64 of the 65 shots Cedar Rapids sent his way during the First Round matchup. The Williamsville, N.Y. native started off the series with a 31-save shutout on Monday night, his second of the season and first with Muskegon. The following night, the Quinnipiac University commit made 33 saves on 34 shots to cap off the series victory and send Muskegon to an Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup with the second-seed Dubuque Fighting Saints. Clark, who is a Washington Capitals prospect (2021, Round 6, #183), is 3-0-0-0 in his last four appearances with the Lumberjacks, accumulating a 0.966 save percentage and 1.20 goals against average in that time.