USHL

The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced Thursday its Players of the Week for the Conference Semifinals Round of the 2021-22 Clark Cup Playoffs. Madison Capitols netminder Simon Latkoczy earned his third Goaltender of the Week award of the season, Muskegon Lumberjacks blueliner Jacob Guevin earned his second Defenseman of the Week award and the Tri-City Storm’s own Ilya Nikolaev received his first Forward of the Week award as all three helped propel their teams to the Conference Finals. 

Nikolaev earned his first Forward of the Week award this week after collecting six points (4-2-6) in a two-game sweep of the Storm’s Conference Semifinals matchup with the Omaha Lancers. The Yaroslavl, Russia native spurred the Tri-City offense, picking up four points (2-2-4) in Saturday night’s 7-4 Game One victory. Nikolaev assisted on the game’s opening tally before firing home a pair of goals in the middle period and capping his scoring with a second assist in the final frame. The following night, the Calgary Flames prospect (2019, Round 3, #88) again tallied a pair of goals (2-0-2), including his second game-winning goal in as many nights in a 4-0 Game Two win. His pair of Conference Semifinals game-winning goals was the second time this season after doing so in back-to-back nights of a home-and-home series with the Lincoln Stars on January 27 and 28. Nikolaev extended his current point streak to four games (4-5-9) dating back to the regular season and now has a point in 19 of his last 22 games (14-21-35). Saturday night’s four-point scoring outburst matched a season-high mark, originally set on March 12. The same night, Nikolaev registered a hat trick, which was his only multi-goal game of the regular season. The forward finished the 2021-22 regular season with 72 points (23-49-72) in 58 games, including a quartet of game-winning goals. His 49 assists and 72 points were both Top 10 for skaters this season. 

Guevin became a two-time Defenseman of the Week winner after collecting three points (1-2-3) in a pair of Semifinals wins over the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The Drummondville, Quebec native had a two-point night (1-1-2) in Game One, opening the score with a powerplay goal before picking up an assist with the man advantage midway through the third frame of a 4-3 win. On Sunday, Guevin registered a second assist on the weekend midway through the opening period of a Game Two, 8-5 win on Sunday night. The University of Nebraska-Omaha commit now has five points (2-3-5) in four Playoff games this season with a point in all four of Muskegon’s contests this postseason. Guevin is NHL Draft eligible this summer after having been ranked 176th among North American skaters on the NHL Central Scouting Midseason Rankings and finished the 2021-22 regular season with 57 points (6-51-57) in 59 games. Guevin is in his second full season with the Lumberjacks and was named to the USHL All-Rookie FIrst Team after picking up 45 points (7-38-45) in 53 games his rookie season. 

Latkoczy earned another Goaltender of the Week award after backstopping the Capitols through the Semifinals in the Club’s first Playoff appearance. The Trencin, Slovakia native allowed a pair of goals in all three games against the defending Clark Cup Champion Chicago Steel. Latkoczy combined for a 2.01 goals against average and 0.930 save percentage in three games against the team he helped lead to a Clark Cup last season, sending Madison to its first Eastern Conference Final appearance in Club history. The University of Nebraska-Omaha commit has a 4-1-0-0 record this postseason with a 2.21 GAA and 0.921 SV% and now holds an 11-2-0-0 Clark Cup Playoff record with a 1.91 GAA and 0.931 SV%. Latkoczy’s 2021-22 regular season ended with a 23-16-2-0 record in 42 appearances, was listed on NHL Central Scouting’s Midseason Rankings and represented Slovakia at the 2022 World Junior Championships.