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USHL sets NCAA commit record

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Adam Huska - Photo Courtesy of USHL

Adam Huska – Photo Courtesy of USHL

Green Bay Gamblers goaltender Adam Huska has committed to play college hockey at the University of Connecticut following his USHL career.  The announcement gave the USHL 380 college commits playing in the 2015-16 season, a new all-time record.

The Zvolen, Slovakia native is in his first full season in the USHL, and he’s taken the league by storm.  He is first among all goalies with a .933 save percentage and a 1.80 goals against average.  He’s fourth in the league with 22 wins, and has won USHL Goaltender of the Week twice this season.  Huska was a 7th round pick (184th overall) of the New York Rangers in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Before joining the Gamblers, Huska spent four seasons with HKM Zvolen in Slovakia, and he also played for the Slovakian U17 and U18 teams, including two appearances in the Under-18 World Championships.

With the help of Huska, Green Bay is currently third in the Eastern Conference and has clinched a spot in the 2016 Clark Cup Playoffs.

Huska now gives the Gamblers 21 NCAA Division 1 commits on their roster.

USHL Fall Classic to be hosted by Green Bay and Sioux City

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The United States Hockey League (USHL) opens its preseason showcase this September in two different cities.

For the second straight year, the preseason showcase is being played in two regional sites.  The USHL Fall Classic East will be hosted by the Green Bay Gamblers on September 15-17 and USHL Fall Classic West is being hosted by the Sioux City Musketeers on September 18th and 19th.

The USHL Fall Classic annually is the most highly-scouted event in hockey as hundreds of scouts, coaches, and personnel from both NHL teams and NCAA programs attend to evaluate the next wave of USHL talent.

The Green Bay Gamblers are hosting the preseason event for the first time with nine games being played over three days at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

The event includes USHL expansion newcomers Madison and Bloomington.  A total of eight teams from the Eastern Conference plus the Waterloo Black Hawks are participating in the USHL Fall Classic East.

Mikesch named 7th Gamblers head coach (Video)

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The Green Bay Gamblers didn’t have to look very long or far for their next head coach after DerekLalonde left to take the Toledo job in the East

Pat Mikesch

Pat Mikesch

Coast Hockey League last week.

After serving three seasons as associate head coach and director of player personnel under Derek Lalonde, Pat Mikesch has been named the new head coach of the Gamblers.

Mikesch spent the last ten years developing as an assistant, the last three in Green Bay and the previous seven as an assistant at his alma mater, Michigan Tech of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.  On the international level, Mikesch led the United States U-17 team to three straight gold medals at the Five Nations Cup (2011, 2012 & 2013).  In Mikesch’s three years behind the bench at the Five Nations Cup, the U.S. team was a perfect 15-0.

At Michigan Tech, Mikesch was a four-year member of the Huskies hockey team.  He helped them to three WCHA Final Fives in four years.  Mikesch is one of the most decorated players to ever adorn the Huskies jersey, as he [Read more…]

Lalonde leaving Gamblers for Toledo

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Green Bay Gamblers head coach and General Manager Derek Lalonde is leaving the team to become the head coach of the Toledo Walleye of the

Derek Lalonde

Derek Lalonde

East Coast Hockey League.  Toledo is a professional team affiliated with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

In three seasons in Green Bay, Lalonde compiled a 114-56-14 regular season record with the Gamblers making the playoffs all three seasons he coached the team, including winning both the Clark and Anderson Cups in his first season when he was named USHL coach of the year.  Lalonde was the team’s sixth head coach.

Gamblers President Brendan Bruss said, “The USHL is a developmental league not only for players, but coaches as well.  We wish him nothing but the best as he takes this next step in his career.”

The Gamblers will immediately begin the process to find a new head coach.

Gamblers earn playoff spot on final day of regular season

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The Green Bay Gamblers are headed to the USHL playoffs for a sixth consecutive year after beating Muskegon 4-3.  The Gamblers pulled ahead of the Lumberjacks for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot in both teams’ regular season finale.

Matthew Weis scored a pair of goals, including the game winner on the power play.

Weis is the only remaining player from the Gamblers 2012 Clark Cup championship team.  He now has 23 goals this season.

Green Bay will face the Indiana Ice in the Eastern Conference semifinals.  The best-of-five series starts with games at Indiana on Friday and Saturday.

Gamblers host annual Teddy Bear Toss

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It started some 15 years ago and has turned into the most popular promotion on the Green Bay Gamblers schedule.  But instead of

Green Bay Gamblers Teddy Bear Toss

Green Bay Gamblers Teddy Bear Toss

the Gamblers giving a gift to the fans, it’s the fans bringing stuffed Teddy Bears to the game.

A near capacity crowd at the Resch Center will throw Teddy Bears on the ice when the Gamblers score their first goal.  Those Bears will be collected and donated to pediatric patients at local hospitals and other charities that serve children.

At the first Teddy Bear toss, the Gamblers collected 400 stuffed Bears.  The number grew to 17-hundred in year two.  Last year, 7,500 fans tossed 7,988 Teddy Bears on the ice.

It’s become such a popular event that the hockey game, with one of the top junior hockey programs in the country, is secondary.

This years event is Saturday night, with the Gamblers playing host the US National Development program (Team USA).

If you’re looking for something to put on your bucket list, this event may be it.  Purchase a stuffed animal or two, bring them to the game and be a part of Teddy Bear pandemonium.  In less than 30-seconds, nearly 8,000 bears will hit the ice.  It’s heavier than any snowstorm you’ve ever seen.  And I promise, the experience will give you chills.

Over the years, the Gamblers have never been shutout and they don’t intend to start on Saturday night.  Faceoff time is 7:05pm.

Gamblers LaLonde to head U.S. Junior Select Team

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Green Bay Gamblers head coach Derek Lalonde has been named head coach for the

Derek LaLonde

Derek LaLonde

U.S. Junior Select Team that will compete in the 2013 World Junior A Challenge next month in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

The World Junior A Challenge is a six-team international tournament featuring the United States, Czech Republic, Russia, Switzerland, and two teams from Canada.  The U.S. team is annually made up of USHL players and has dominated the tournament, winning it four of the last five years.

Lalonde is currently in his third season behind the bench for the Gamblers and already has the team off to a 3-1-2 start.  During his first season in the League, LaLonde led the Gamblers to a team record 47 wins on the way to capturing the Anderson Cup for best regular season finish.  The 98 points earned in the standings established a new USHL record.  LaLonde then guided the team to the Clark Cup title in the playoffs.

 

Gamblers’ Rutledge earns USHL honor

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The United States Hockey League (USHL) has named Green Bay Gamblers goaltender

Jared Rutledge / Photo courtesy of USANTDP.com

Jared Rutledge / Photo courtesy of USANTDP.com

Jared Rutledge as the Reebok USHL Goaltender of the Week.

Back for his second stint in the USHL, Rutledge backstopped the Gamblers to a 5-1 win over the Chicago Steel on Friday night.  The Skokie, Illinois native recorded a 1.00 goals-against average as he turned aside 39 of 40 shots he saw to register a .975 save percentage.

The 19-year-old Rutledge comes to Green Bay after spending last season at the University of Michigan.  Previously, he spent two seasons in the USHL with Team USA and recorded a 15-11-2 record with a 2.63 GAA and a .911 save percentage.

 

Gamblers season comes to an end

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The Green Bay Gamblers saw their season come to an end, falling to the Youngstown Phantoms 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Covelli Center.

The Gamblers were eliminated from the best-of-5 series in four games.  Green Bay was bounced from the playoffs in the opening round for the first time in five seasons and will not be in the Clark Cup Finals for the first time since 2009.

Defenseman Christian Wolanin scored the only goal in the loss for the Gamblers.

Tony Kujava suffered the loss, stopping 20 of 22 shots for the game.

Youngstown will face the winner of the series between Dubuque and Muskegon in the Eastern Conference finals.

 

Gamblers fall on home ice to Youngstown

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The Youngstown Phantoms accomplished what they had hoped to accomplish.  They captured one of two games in Green Bay in the USHL’s Clark Cup playoffs.

After the Gamblers won the series opener 3-1 on Wednesday night, the Phantoms rebounded to take game 2 on Thursday night 4-2 and will head home with the Eastern Conference semifinal series even at a game apiece.

Alex Kile opened the scoring to put the Gamblers in front 1-0.  Nick Schmaltz tallied his first career USHL playoff goal early in the second to put the Gamblers up again, 2-1.  Youngstown then scored 3-straight 3rd period goals to close out the scoring.

Tony Kujava took the loss in-goal, stopping 24 of 28 shots on net.

The Gamblers will hit the road for games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Sunday nights.  Faceoff is set for 6:15pm both nights.