# 2017–18 USHL season

The 2017–18 USHL season was the 39th season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season ran from October 6, 2017, to April 14, 2018. The regular season champions, the Waterloo Black Hawks, were awarded the Anderson Cup. The playoff champions, the Fargo Force, were awarded the Clark Cup.

## League changes

The Bloomington Thunder were rebranded as the Central Illinois Flying Aces.
While the alignment remained the same from the previous season, the league increased the number of teams that qualify for the playoffs from eight to twelve. The top two seeds in each conference now have a bye in the first round. The third and fourth conference seeds than host the fifth and sixth conference seeds in a best-of-three series. The rest of the playoffs are a best-of-five series.

## Regular season

Final standings:
x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched conference title; z = clinched regular season title

## Statistical leaders
### Scoring leaders

Players are listed by points, then goals.
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts. = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Anthony Del Gaizo | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 60 | 40 | 32 | 72 | 89 |
| Filip Suchý | Omaha Lancers | 54 | 31 | 38 | 69 | 66 |
| Jack Dugan | Chicago Steel | 54 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 104 |
| Jack Drury | Waterloo Black Hawks | 56 | 24 | 41 | 65 | 83 |
| Jackson Cates | Waterloo Black Hawks | 57 | 33 | 30 | 63 | 18 |
| Ben Copeland | Waterloo Black Hawks | 60 | 18 | 44 | 62 | 26 |
| Alex Steeves | Dubuque Fighting Saints | 55 | 20 | 37 | 57 | 28 |
| Casey Dornbach | Lincoln Stars | 59 | 21 | 35 | 56 | 10 |
| Quinn Preston | Dubuque Fighting Saints | 58 | 24 | 31 | 55 | 28 |
| Trenton Bliss | Green Bay Gamblers | 60 | 21 | 34 | 55 | 55 |

### Leading goaltenders

These are the goaltenders that lead the league in GAA that have played at least 1380 minutes.
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | OTL | SOL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Filip Larsson | Tri-City Storm | 30 | 1667 | 18 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1.65 | 0.941 |
| Strauss Mann | Fargo Force | 34 | 1972 | 22 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1.86 | 0.932 |
| Zach Driscoll | Omaha Lancers | 38 | 2054 | 23 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1.90 | 0.934 |
| Jared Moe | Waterloo Black Hawks | 32 | 1828 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.23 | 0.919 |
| Ryan Bischel | Fargo Force | 29 | 1664 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2.24 | 0.920 |

## Post season awards
### USHL awards

| Award | Name | Team |
| Player of the Year | Anthony Del Gaizo | Muskegon Lumberjacks |
| Forward of the Year | Jackson Cates | Waterloo Black Hawks |
| Defenseman of the Year | Ben Finkelstein | Waterloo Black Hawks |
| Rookie of the Year | Matěj Pekař | Muskegon Lumberjacks |
| Goaltender of the Year | Filip Larsson | Tri-City Storm |
| Coach of the Year | P.K. O'Handley | Waterloo Black Hawks |
| Scholar-Athlete | Alex Steeves | Dubuque Fighting Saints |
| Curt Hammer | Marc McLaughlin | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders |
| General Manager of the Year | P.K. O'Handley | Waterloo Black Hawks |
| Executive of the Year | Brandon Bruss | Green Bay Gamblers |
| Organization of the Year | Sioux Falls Stampede | Sioux Falls Stampede |

### All-USHL First Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| G | Filip Larsson | Tri-City |
| D | Ben Finkelstein | Waterloo |
| D | Graham Lillibridge | Chicago |
| F | Jackson Cates | Waterloo |
| F | Anthony Del Gaizo | Muskegon |
| F | Jack Dugan | Chicago |
Source

### All-USHL Second Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| G | Zach Driscoll | Youngstown |
| D | Marc Del Gaizo | Muskegon |
| D | Ty Farmer | Fargo |
| F | Jack Drury | Waterloo |
| F | Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup | Fargo |
| F | Filip Suchý | Omaha |
Source

### All Rookie First Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| G | Oskar Autio | Chicago |
| D | Michael Callahan | Youngstown |
| D | Tyler Jubenvill | Cedar Rapids |
| F | Paul Cotter | Lincoln |
| F | Robert Mastrosimone | Chicago |
| F | Matěj Pekař | Muskegon |
Source

### All Rookie Second Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| G | Zach Borgiel | Muskegon |
| D | Mason Klee | Lincoln |
| D | Matt Staudacher | Muskegon |
| F | Ryan O'Reilly | Madison |
| F | Tyler Madden | Tri-City |
| F | Michael Mancinelli | Madison |

## Clark Cup playoffs

| First Round (Best-of-3) | First Round (Best-of-3) | First Round (Best-of-3) | | | Conference Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Conference Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Conference Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Conference Finals (Best-of-5) | Conference Finals (Best-of-5) | Conference Finals (Best-of-5) | | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) |
| | | | | | E1 | Team USA | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E6 | Chicago | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Muskegon | 1 | | | E6 | Chicago | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Chicago | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Chicago | 2 | | | | | | E1 | Team USA | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Team USA | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Youngstown | 3 | | | | |
| E4 | Green Bay | 0 | | | | | | | | | E2 | Youngstown | 3 | |
| E5 | Dubuque | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Dubuque | 2 | | | E2 | Youngstown | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E5 | Dubuque | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | E2 | Youngstown | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W3 | Fargo | 3 |
| | | | | | W1 | Waterloo | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W5 | Lincoln | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Sioux Falls | 1 | | | W5 | Lincoln | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Lincoln | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Lincoln | 2 | | | | | | W1 | Waterloo | 1 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Waterloo | 1 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | Fargo | 3 | | | | |
| W3 | Fargo | 2 | | | | | | | | | W3 | Fargo | 3 | |
| W6 | Tri-City | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Tri-City | 0 | | | W2 | Omaha | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W3 | Fargo | 3 | | | | | | | |

## First Round
### Eastern Conference
#### (E3) Muskegon Lumberjacks vs. (E6) Chicago Steel

* Chicago wins series 2 – 1

#### (E4) Green Bay Gamblers vs. (E5) Dubuque Fighting Saints

* Dubuque wins series 2 – 0

### Western Conference
#### (W4) Sioux Falls Stampede vs. (W5) Lincoln Stars

* Lincoln wins series 2 – 1

#### (W4) Fargo Force vs. (W5) Tri-City Storm

* Fargo wins series 2 – 0

## Conference Semifinals
### Eastern Conference
#### (E1) Team USA vs. (E6) Chicago Steel

* USA wins series 3 – 1

#### (E2) Youngstown Phantoms vs. (E5) Dubuque Fighting Saints

* Youngstown wins series 3 – 1

### Western Conference
#### (W1) Waterloo Black Hawks vs. (W5) Lincoln Stars

* Waterloo wins series 3 – 1

#### (W2) Omaha Lancers vs. (W3) Fargo Force

* Fargo wins series 3 – 1

## Conference Finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (E1) Team USA vs. (E2) Youngstown Phantoms

* Youngstown wins series 3 – 1

### Western Conference
#### (W1) Waterloo Black Hawks vs. (W3) Fargo Force

* Fargo wins series 3 – 1

## Clark Cup Championship
### (E2) Youngstown Phantoms vs. (W3) Fargo Force

* Fargo wins series 3 – 1

## Playoff scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Chase Gresock | Youngstown Phantoms | 11 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| Matt Barry | Youngstown Phantoms | 11 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 8 |
| Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup | Fargo Force | 14 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 15 |
| Evan Bell | Fargo Force | 14 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 24 |
| Grant Hebert | Fargo Force | 14 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
| Robbie Stucker | Fargo Force | 14 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Griffin Loughran | Fargo Force | 13 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 14 |
| Eric Esposito | Youngstown Phantoms | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 10 |
| Nick Cardelli | Youngstown Phantoms | 11 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 |
| William Fällström | Fargo Force | 14 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 |

## Playoff leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Jared Moe | Waterloo Black Hawks | 6 | 366 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 2 | .933 | 1.81 |
| Strauss Mann | Fargo Force | 14 | 831 | 11 | 3 | 29 | 2 | .932 | 2.09 |
| Cole Weaver | Dubuque Fighting Saints | 5 | 294 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 0 | .915 | 2.25 |
| Zach Driscoll | Omaha Lancers | 3 | 294 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 | .929 | 2.29 |
| Derek Schaedig | Lincoln Stars | 6 | 138 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 0 | .916 | 2.55 |