# 2002–03 USHL season

The 2002–03 USHL season is the 24th season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season began on September 27, 2002, and concluded on March 30, 2003, with the regular season champion winning the Anderson Cup. The 2002–03 season was the first for the River City Lancers after relocating to Council Bluffs, Iowa, from Omaha, Nebraska, and the last for the Topeka ScareCrows, which relocated to Chesterfield, Missouri, after the season concluded.
The Clark Cup playoffs features the top eight team from the eleven-team league regardless of division competing for the league title.

## Regular season

Final standings
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched league title

### East Division

| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA |
| yWaterloo Black Hawks | 60 | 38 | 17 | 5 | 81 | 221 | 171 |
| xCedar Rapids RoughRiders | 60 | 27 | 26 | 7 | 61 | 157 | 180 |
| xDes Moines Buccaneers | 60 | 27 | 27 | 6 | 60 | 200 | 223 |
| Chicago Steel | 60 | 26 | 28 | 6 | 59 | 178 | 204 |
| Green Bay Gamblers | 60 | 16 | 36 | 8 | 40 | 139 | 215 |

### West Division

| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA |
| zLincoln Stars | 60 | 37 | 14 | 9 | 83 | 214 | 153 |
| xTopeka ScareCrows | 60 | 36 | 17 | 7 | 79 | 211 | 166 |
| xSioux City Musketeers | 60 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 78 | 210 | 186 |
| xRiver City Lancers | 60 | 36 | 19 | 5 | 77 | 178 | 149 |
| xTri-City Storm | 60 | 27 | 28 | 5 | 59 | 183 | 200 |
| Sioux Falls Stampede | 60 | 24 | 30 | 6 | 54 | 179 | 223 |

## Clark Cup playoffs

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Clark Cup Championship | Clark Cup Championship | Clark Cup Championship | Clark Cup Championship | Clark Cup Championship | Clark Cup Championship | Clark Cup Championship |
| 1 | Lincoln | 5 | 4 | 6 | – | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Tri-City | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Tri-City | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | Lincoln | 6 | 3 | 5 | – | – | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | 6 | Cedar Rapids | 3 | 2 | 2 | – | – | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Topeka | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | 6 | Cedar Rapids | 3 | 2 | 2 | – | – | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Cedar Rapids | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Cedar Rapids | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | – | | | | | | | | 1 | Lincoln | 3 | 0 | 4 | 5 | – |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | River City | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 2 | Waterloo | 6 | 3 | 5 | 5 | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | River City | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 7 | Des Moines | 3 | 7 | 2 | 4 | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Des Moines | 3 | 7 | 2 | 4 | – | 2 | River City | 2 | 4 | 3 | – | – | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | 5 | Waterloo | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | – | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Sioux City | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | – | 5 | Waterloo | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | – | | | | | | | |
| 5 | River City | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Quarterfinals
### (1) Lincoln Stars vs. (8) Tri-City Storm

* Lincoln wins series 3 – 0

### (3) Topeka Scarecrows vs. (6) Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

* Cedar Rapids wins series 3 – 1

### (2) Waterloo Black Hawks vs. (7) Des Moines Buccaneers

* Waterloo wins series 3 – 1

### (4) Sioux City Musketeers vs. (5) River City Lancers

* River City wins series 3 – 1

## Semifinals
### (1) Lincoln Stars vs. (6) Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

* Lincoln wins series 3 – 0

### (2) River City Lancers vs. (5) Waterloo Black Hawks

* River City wins series 3 – 0

## Clark Cup Finals
### (1) Lincoln Stars vs. (2) River City Lancers

* Lincoln wins series 3 – 1

## Players
### Scoring leaders

| | Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 1 | Ryan Potulny | Lincoln Stars | 54 | 35 | 43 | 78 | +32 | 18 |
| 2 | Luke Erickson | Lincoln/Topeka | 64 | 31 | 40 | 71 | +21 | 72 |
| 3 | Joe Pavelski | Waterloo Black Hawks | 60 | 36 | 33 | 69 | +26 | 32 |
| | David Backes | Lincoln Stars | 57 | 28 | 41 | 69 | +10 | 126 |
| 5 | Jacob Micflikier | Sioux Falls Stampede | 59 | 31 | 36 | 67 | +5 | 26 |
| | Tomáš Jasko | Des Moines Buccaneers | 60 | 30 | 37 | 67 | -3 | 33 |
| 7 | Morod Radmacher | Sioux Falls Stampede | 60 | 26 | 38 | 64 | -3 | 50 |
| 8 | Marty Guerin | Des Moines Buccaneers | 60 | 27 | 33 | 60 | +14 | 30 |
| | Grant Goeckner-Zoeller | Sioux City Musketeers | 60 | 27 | 33 | 60 | +19 | 60 |
| | Brandon Polich | Sioux City Musketeers | 60 | 17 | 43 | 60 | +20 | 79 |

### Leading goaltenders

| | Player | Team | GP | MIN | W | L | OTL | SO | GA | GAA | SV | SV% |
| 1 | Dominic Vicari | River City Lancers | 45 | 2507 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 85 | 2.03 | 902 | .914 |
| 2 | Jean-Philippe Lamoureux | Lincoln Stars | 34 | 1967 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 71 | 2.16 | 781 | .917 |
| 3 | Jordan Parise | Waterloo Black Hawks | 35 | 1927 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 82 | 2.55 | 878 | .915 |
| | Michael Zacharias | Topeka ScareCrows | 27 | 1578 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 67 | 2.55 | 545 | .891 |
| 5 | Nate Ziegelmann | Lincoln Stars | 28 | 1672 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 72 | 2.58 | 713 | .908 |

## Awards

* Coach of the Year: P.K. O'Handley Waterloo Black Hawks
* Curt Hammer Award: Jake Taylor Green Bay Gamblers
* Defenseman of the Year: Matt Carle River City Lancers
* Forward of the Year: Ryan Potulny Lincoln Stars
* General Manager of the Year: P.K. O'Handley Waterloo Black Hawks
* Goaltender of the Year: Dominic Vicari River City Lancers
* Organization of the Year: Waterloo Black Hawks
* Player of the Year: Ryan Potulny Lincoln Stars
* Rookie of the Year: Joe Pavelski Waterloo Black Hawks