USHL Playoffs Round 1 Sunday Recap, Stats Update

Only one Round 1 game was on the 2017 USHL Clark Cup Playoffs schedule Sunday (April 16), and once again, it was the home team that prevailed.

DES MOINES BUCCANEERS AT SIOUX CITY MUSKETEERS: Game 2
Goalie Matiss Kivlenieks (SC) was a stonewall Sunday as he stopped all 23 shots he faced to lead Sioux City to a 5-0 shutout win over Des Moines. Kristian Pospisil (SC) lead Sioux City's scoring attack with 3 points (1G, 2A).  The Musketeers lead the best-of-five series 2-0. Game 3 is set for Friday, April 21 in Buccaneer Arena in Des Moines (Urbandale, IA).

The next game on the USHL Clark Cup Playoffs schedule is Tuesday, April 18 when the Waterloo Black Hawks takes their 2-0 lead to Fargo and try to eliminate the the Force at Scheels Arena.

TOP SCORERS:
Sioux City has three of the top five scores during the 2017 USHL Clark Cup Playoffs. The Chicago Steel have the other two. Kristian Pospisil's three-point night Sunday puts him on top with 5 points (1G, 4A). Reggie Lutz (CHI, 3G 1A) is tied with Charlie Kelleher (SC, 2G 2A), Tarek Baker (SC, 4A), and Graham Lillibridge (CHI, 4A) with four points.

TOP GOALIES:
Ales Stezka (CHI) tops the netminder's list so far during the playoffs. Stezka has a 0.985 save percentage, and he's only allowed one goal in two games. Matiss Kivlenieks (SC) also has only been scored on once, and his save percentage is a tick off of Stezka's (0.978%). It's interesting to note that Kivlenieks has faced the least amount shots after two games, 45 versus Stezka's 66. Jaxon Castor (DBQ, 0.953%) is third followed by Robbie Beydoun (WAT, 0.925%), and Ryan Bischel (FGO, 0.921%).

POWER PLAYS:
The Chicago Steel have an impressive 36.4% success rate while skating with the extra man advantage (4 for 11). Sioux City (3 for 9) and the Waterloo Black Hawks (2 for 6) are tied for second at 33.3%. The Dubuque Fighting Saints are fourth (16.7, 2 for 12), and the Muskegon Lumberjacks sit fifth (11.%, 1 for 9). The Youngstown Phantoms, the Fargo Force, and the Des Moines Buccaneers have yet to score while on the Power Play.