# 2018–19 USHL season

The 2018–19 USHL season was the 40th season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season ran from September 27, 2018, to April 13, 2019. The Tri-City Storm were awarded the Anderson Cup as regular season champions for accumulating 95 points over 62 games. The season concluded with the Sioux Falls Stampede defeating the Chicago Steel in the Clark Cup Final series 3–0 on May 17, 2019.

## League changes

After serving as the interim commissioner since November 2017, Tom Garrity was named the ninth commissioner in league history. He replaced Bob Fallen who had served as commissioner since 2014. On April 5, 2018, the league announced the annual Fall Classic in partnership with the National Hockey League would count towards the regular season standings, with all member clubs playing two games between September 27 and 30 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Pittsburgh.

## 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 |
| Nick Abruzzese | Chicago Steel | 62 | 29 | 51 | 80 | 20 |
| Brett Murray | Youngstown Phantoms | 62 | 41 | 35 | 76 | 35 |
| Matias Maccelli | Dubuque Fighting Saints | 54 | 31 | 41 | 72 | 42 |
| Bobby Brink | Sioux City Musketeers | 43 | 35 | 33 | 68 | 22 |
| Ben Meyers | Fargo Force | 59 | 33 | 32 | 65 | 26 |
| Ronnie Attard | Tri-City Storm | 48 | 30 | 35 | 65 | 66 |
| Hank Crone | Fargo Force | 60 | 19 | 46 | 65 | 66 |
| Emil Öhrvall | Waterloo Black Hawks | 59 | 31 | 32 | 63 | 52 |
| Martin Pospíšil | Sioux City Musketeers | 44 | 16 | 47 | 63 | 118 |
| Egor Afanasyev | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 58 | 27 | 35 | 62 | 36 |

### 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% |
| Isaiah Saville | Tri-City Storm | 34 | 1992 | 25 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1.90 | 0.925 |
| Akira Schmid | Omaha Lancers | 37 | 2012 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2.18 | 0.926 |
| Blake Pietila | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | 47 | 2794 | 30 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2.30 | 0.912 |
| Brandon Bussi | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 52 | 2824 | 33 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2.44 | 0.915 |
| Ryan Bischel | Fargo Force | 55 | 3205 | 28 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2.55 | 0.905 |

## 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 | Muskegon | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E6 | Dubuque | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Youngstown | 0 | | | E6 | Dubuque | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Dubuque | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Dubuque | 2 | | | | | | E1 | Muskegon | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Muskegon | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Chicago | 3 | | | | |
| E4 | Cedar Rapids | 2 | | | | | | | | | E2 | Chicago | 3 | |
| E5 | Team USA | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Team USA | 0 | | | E2 | Chicago | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E4 | Cedar Rapids | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | E2 | Chicago | 0 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W3 | Sioux Falls | 3 |
| | | | | | W1 | Tri-City | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W4 | Des Moines | 0 | | | | | | | |
| W3 | Sioux Falls | 2 | | | W4 | Des Moines | 0 | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Sioux City | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Sioux City | 0 | | | | | | W1 | Tri-City | 0 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Tri-City | 0 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | Sioux Falls | 3 | | | | |
| W4 | Des Moines | 2 | | | | | | | | | W3 | Sioux Falls | 3 | |
| W5 | Fargo | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Fargo | 0 | | | W2 | Waterloo | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W3 | Sioux Falls | 3 | | | | | | | |

## First Round
### Eastern Conference
#### (E3) Youngstown Phantoms vs. (E6) Dubuque Fighting Saints

* Dubuque wins series 2 – 0

#### (E4) Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. (E5) Team USA

* Cedar Rapids wins series 2 – 0

### Western Conference
#### (W3) Sioux Falls Stampede vs. (W6) Sioux City Musketeers

* Sioux Falls wins series 2 – 0

#### (W4) Des Moines Buccaneers vs. (W5) Fargo Force

* Des Moines wins series 2 – 0

## Conference Semifinals
### Eastern Conference
#### (E1) Muskegon Lumberjacks vs. (E6) Dubuque Fighting Saints

* Muskegon wins series 3 – 1

#### (E2) Chicago Steel vs. (E4) Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

* Chicago wins series 3 – 1

### Western Conference
#### (W1) Tri-City Storm vs. (W4) Des Moines Buccaneers

* Tri-City wins series 3 – 0

#### (W2) Waterloo Black Hawks vs. (W3) Sioux Falls Stampede

* Sioux Falls wins series 3 – 1

## Conference Finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (E1) Muskegon Lumberjacks vs. (E2) Chicago Steel

* Chicago wins series 3 – 1

### Western Conference
#### (W1) Tri-City Storm vs. (W3) Sioux Falls Stampede

* Sioux City wins series 3 – 0

## Clark Cup Championship
### (E2) Chicago Steel vs. (W3) Sioux Falls Stampede

* Sioux City wins series 3 – 0

## Playoff scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Robert Mastrosimone | Chicago Steel | 11 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 4 |
| Nick Abruzzese | Chicago Steel | 11 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| Gunnarwolfe Fontaine | Chicago Steel | 9 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 2 |
| Andre Lee | Sioux Falls Stampede | 12 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 10 |
| Max Crozier | Sioux Falls Stampede | 12 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 10 |
| Bobby Lynch | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 8 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Jason Polin | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| Shane Pinto | Tri-City Storm | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 |
| Mikael Hakkarainen | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 |
| Matteo Pietroniro | Chicago Steel | 11 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

## 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 |
| Jaxson Stauber | Sioux Falls Stampede | 12 | 821 | 11 | 1 | 20 | 1 | .941 | 1.46 |
| Ben Kraws | Sioux City Musketeers | 2 | 181 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .936 | 1.66 |
| Evan Fear | Waterloo Black Hawks | 4 | 241 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | .922 | 1.99 |
| Isaiah Saville | Tri-City Storm | 6 | 355 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 1 | .910 | 2.20 |
| Justin Robbins | Chicago Steel | 11 | 704 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 0 | .910 | 2.38 |

## Post season awards
### USHL awards

| Award | Name | Team |
| Player of the Year | Ronnie Attard | Tri-City Storm |
| Forward of the Year | Bobby Brink | Sioux City Musketeers |
| Defenseman of the Year | Ronnie Attard | Tri-City Storm |
| Rookie of the Year | Zac Jones | Tri-City Storm |
| Goaltender of the Year | Isaiah Saville | Tri-City Storm |
| Coach of the Year | Anthony Noreen | Tri-City Storm |
| Scholar-Athlete | Mason McCormick | Dubuque Fighting Saints |
| Curt Hammer | Liam Walsh | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders |
| General Manager of the Year | Ryan Hardy | Chicago Steel |
| Executive of the Year | Jim Olander | Sioux Falls Stampede |
| Organization of the Year | Muskegon Lumberjacks | Muskegon Lumberjacks |

### All-USHL First Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| G | Isaiah Saville | Tri-City |
| D | Ronnie Attard | Tri-City |
| D | Alex Yakovenko | Muskegon |
| F | Nick Abruzzese | Chicago |
| F | Bobby Brink | Sioux City |
| F | Brett Murray | Youngstown |
Source

### All-USHL Second Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| G | Blake Pietila | Cedar Rapids |
| D | Zac Jones | Tri-City |
| D | Matteo Pietroniro | Chicago |
| F | Matt Brown | Des Moines |
| F | Matias Maccelli | Dubuque |
| F | Ben Meyers | Fargo |
Source

### All-Rookie First Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| G | Isaiah Saville | Tri-City |
| D | Ryan Johnson | Sioux Falls |
| D | Zac Jones | Tri-City |
| F | Vladislav Firstov | Waterloo |
| F | Marcus Kallionkieli | Sioux City |
| F | Shane Pinto | Tri-City |
Source

### All-Rookie Second Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| G | Logan Stein | Waterloo |
| D | Anthony Kehrer | Sioux City |
| D | Owen Power | Chicago |
| F | Josh Nodler | Fargo |
| F | Anthony Romano | Sioux Falls |
| F | Grant Silianoff | Cedar Rapids |