USHL

The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced Thursday its Players of the Week for the Clark Cup Final of the 2021-22 Clark Cup Playoffs. The Clark Cup Champion Sioux City Musketeers provided both the Forward and Goaltender of the Week with Dylan James and Alex Tracy winning the awards, respectively. Luke Mittelstadt took home the final Defenseman of the Week award after he and the Madison Capitols claimed the Eastern Conference Championship before finishing just short of the ultimate goal of a Clark Cup. 

James was named Forward of the Week for the second time this season and first since Week 27 of the regular season. The University of North Dakota commit collected four points (3-1-4) in the Clark Cup Final, helping lead the Musketeers to their fourth Clark Cup Championship in Club history and first in the Tier I era. James found the back of the net in Game 1, which the Capitols took 3-2. The next night, the Calgary, Alberta native assisted on a third period, insurance goal in a 3-0 win to level the series. James capped his scoring with a big two-goal performance on Friday night, helping Sioux City take a 2-1 series lead. The forward scored the game’s first goal just 4:11 into the action and would later pick up the game-winning goal with just 3:44 remaining in regulation. James led all USHL rookies with eight points (5-3-8) in 10 games in the Playoffs, which finished second on his team. The NHL Draft-eligible forward finished the regular season with 61 points (28-33-61) in 62 games with the Musketeers, with all three totals leading all USHL rookie scorers. 

Mittelstadt is no stranger to the Defenseman of the Week award, with his Clark Cup Final performance earning him his fourth such award of the season. The University of Minnesota commit had three goals in four Final games, bringing his goal total to five, which led all defensmen in the Playoffs. Mittelstadt scored his first goal of the Final in Game 1, a powerplay goal in the second period, which held up as the game-winner in a 3-2 win for the Capitols. The Eden Prairie, Minn. native capped his scoring with a goal in both Game 2 and Game 4. Mittelstadt finished the Playoffs with nine points (5-4-9) in 14 games, which was just one point back of the defensive leaders for the 2021-22 Playoffs. The defenseman finished the regular season with 55 points (19-36-55) in 60 games and participated in the 2022 BioSteel All-American Game, which features the league’s best NHL Draft-eligible players each season. 

Tracy earned his third Goaltender of the Week award of the season and second consecutive in the Playoffs after backstopping the Musketeers to the Clark Cup Championship and earning the Clark Cup Playoffs MVP award. The Minnesota State University commit finished the Final with a 3-1-0-0 record and allowed six goals in four games, including picking up his third shutout in 10 Playoff games. Tracy picked up a 20-save shutout in Game 2 before making 31 and 23 saves, respectively in Game 3 and Game 4. The Chicago native finished the Playoffs with an 8-2-0-0 record, 1.59 goals against average and 0.937 save percentage. Tracy’s regular season finished with a 27-10-3-0 record, 2.50 goals against average and 0.896 save percentage in 44 appearances.