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Game-Winning Goals
The top 2 junior hockey leagues in the United States - United States Hockey League (Tier 1) and North American Hockey League (Tier 2) - are in the home stretch of their regular seasons. The 9 UNH commits playing in the USHL are battling for positions in the playoffs, which begin on April 25th. Same goes for the 3 commits in the NAHL (playoffs start 4/21). Scoring goals, in particular game-winning goals, has become that much more important for the players and their teams. This update features 4 UNH commits who have scored a game-winning goal in recent games.~ JP Turner (DOB: 1/31/03), the 6'0", 195 lbs., right-shot center/forward from East Falmouth, Massachusetts, has scored 8 goals and 5 assists in 16 games since his trade from Sioux Falls to the Fargo Force in early February. Fargo is currently 5th place in the USHL Western Conference. The top 6 teams in each conference qualify for the USHL playoffs. A 4th or 5th place finish will earn home-ice in the best-of-3 opening round.
In the March 20th matchup between the Force and Stampede, Turner's former team, he scored the game-winner in the second period. Turner entered the offensive zone, charged down the slot, received a centering pass, and beat the Sioux Falls' goalie under the blocker arm. The goal stood as the winner as Fargo went on to win 3-1. Here's JP Turner's second game-winning goal since he joined the USHL last season:
~ Jake Dunlap (DOB: 12/5/01) the 5'9", 170 lbs., left-shot forward from Windham, New Hampshire, has scored 21 goals and 18 assists in 50 games with the Madison Capitols. He's been hot over the last 5 games scoring 5 goals and 3 assists. Madison is battling to maintain 5th place and home-ice advantage in the opening round of the USHL Western Conference playoffs.
On March 19th, Dunlap scored the game-winning goal early in the 2nd period as the Capitols downed the Green Bay Gamblers. It was his 3rd game-winner of the season which is tied for 8th in the USHL. The goal came on the power play as Dunlap initiated and finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play. It gave Madison a 4-0 lead and they went on to win 7-3. Here's his game-winning goal:
~ Morgan Winters (DOB: 12/8/01), the 6'0", 174 lbs., left-shot center/forward from Osprey, Florida, has tallied 12 goals and 20 assists in 47 games of his final season in junior hockey. In the 35 games since his trade from the Youngstown Phantoms to the Omaha Lancers, he's scored 9 goals and 15 assists. In recent weeks, Omaha clinched a USHL playoff berth and currently is in 4th place in the Western Conference. If the Lancers maintain that position, they'll earn a bye in the opening round.
On March 12th, Winters helped the Lancers clinch a playoff berth by scoring two goals, including the game-winner, in a 5-2 victory over the Waterloo Black Hawks. Midway through the 3rd period, the teams were tied 2-2. Winters won the faceoff in the offensive zone, skated to the slot, and redirected a shot from the point to beat the Black Hawks goalie. It was Winters second game-winning goal of the season. Here's his goal:
~ Kristaps Skrastins (DOB: 11/20/01), the 5'11", 180 lbs., right-shot center/forward from Riga, Latvia, has scored the 3rd most goals (33) and 4th most points (66) in the North American Hockey League. His 9 game-winning goals are the most in the NAHL. With only 6 games remaining in the regular season, Skrastins and the Amarillo Wranglers are fighting to move up to 4th place in the Southern Division and earn a slot in the NAHL playoffs. Currently in 6th place, Amarillo trails 4th place Shreveport Mudbugs by 10 points. If they don't move up to 4th place, their season will be over. Needless to say, the Wranglers have needed Skrastins to step up as the regular season draws to a close, and he has.
On March 19th, Skrastins lead Amarillo to a 5-3 win over the El Paso Rhinos by posting 2 goals and 3 assists. With a minute left in the 2nd period, he broke down the left wing on a 3-on-2 break, buried a cross-ice pass, and gave the Wranglers a 4-2 lead. It ended up being the game-winner. Late in the game, Krastins iced the game with a short-handed, empty net goal. Here's his game-winning goal:
2021-22 Statistics
| Player | NZ Stars** | Team | League | GP | Goals | Asst | Pts | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Commits | |||||||||
| Damien Carfagna* 12/12/02 (D) | 4.0 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | +6 |
| Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | 40 | 5 | 32 | 37 | 39 | +8 | ||
| Jake Dunlap* 12/5/01 (F) | 3.75 | Madison Capitols | USHL | 50 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 38 | +11 |
| Brendan Fitzgerald* 3/6/03 (D) | 4.0 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | 48 | 2 | 20 | 22 | 56 | -3 |
| Cy LeClerc* 8/17/02 (F) | 3.75 | Janesville Jets | NAHL | 53 | 30 | 38 | 68 | 6 | +23 |
| Conor Lovett 4/7/01 (F) | 3.75 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | 51 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 89 | -7 |
| Tyler Muszelik* 7/1/04 (G) | 4.0 | US National U18 | Overall | 30 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 3.09 | .894 |
| Team USA U-18 | USHL | 15 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 3.26 | .895 | ||
| NCAA Exh. | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 | .896 | |||
| INTL | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.67 | .942 | |||
| Cade Penney* 3/23/01 (D) | 3.75 | Surrey Eagles | BCHL | 36 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 14 | - |
| Madison Capitols | USHL | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | +3 | ||
| Stiven Sardarian* 2/7/03 (F) | 4.0 | Youngstown Phantoms | USHL | 36 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 6 | -4 |
| Kristaps Skrastins* 11/20/01 (F) | 3.75 | Amarillo Wranglers | NAHL | 53 | 33 | 33 | 66 | 69 | +9 |
| JP Turner* 1/31/03 (F) | 3.75 | Fargo Force | USHL | 16 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 4 | +8 |
| Sioux Falls Stampede | USHL | 31 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 24 | -7 | ||
| Morgan Winters* 12/8/01 (F) | 3.5 | Omaha Lancers | USHL | 35 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 24 | -2 |
| Youngstown Phantoms | USHL | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 | -1 | ||
| 2022 or '23 Commits | |||||||||
| Jed Baliotti 2/7/02 (G) | 3.5 | Nanaimo Clippers | BCHL | 17 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 3.99 | .888 |
| Northeast Generals | NAHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.76 | .910 | ||
| Aberdeen Wings | NAHL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | .872 | ||
| 2023 Commits | |||||||||
| Nick Ring 10/26/03 (F) | 3.75 | New Jersey Titans | NAHL | 49 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 10 | +9 |
| 2023 or '24 Commits | |||||||||
| Ryan Conmy 10/23/04 (F) | 3.75 | Bishop Kearney Selects 18U | 18U AAA | 33 | 27 | 23 | 50 | 0 | - |
| Sam Court 1/7/04 (D) | 3.75 | NV River Rats U18 | 18U AAA | 17 | 1 | 9 | 10 | - | - |
| Avon Old Farms | NE Prep | 27 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 2 | - | ||
| Connor DeTurris 10/8/04 (F) | 3.5 | Madison Capitols | USHL | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -1 |
| Chicago Fury 18U | 18U AAA | 33 | 26 | 19 | 45 | 38 | - | ||
| T1EHL 18U | 10 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 12 | - | |||
| MES 18U | 12 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 6 | - | |||
| Connor MacPherson 3/2/05 (F) | 3.75 | Leamington Flyers | GOJHL | 47 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 12 | - |
| Ryan MacPherson 3/2/05 (F) | 3.75 | Leamington Flyers | GOJHL | 47 | 14 | 39 | 51 | 6 | - |
| * = Signed National Letter of Intent | |||||||||
| ** = Neutral Zone 5-Star Rating | |||||||||
The statistics for the commits, presented in the above table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2022 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2022. I have based these projections on the following factors:
~ Number of UNH players leaving the team at the end of the previous season and the position they played.
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the commit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH.
~ How old the commit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The commit's performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
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