Plymouth, MI – The Dubuque Fighting Saints (28-14-2-0, 58 pts) open a road series against the USA NTDP U17s (3-20-2-0, 8 pts) on Friday night.
Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup.
1. Heading Home
Michael Barron, Gavin Lock and Trevor Theuer are all Detroit-area natives as are coaches Evan Dixon and Jacob Semik.
Over four career games at USA, Barron has a goal and four points for the Fighting Saints. Trevor Theuer returns to face the NTDP for the first time after spending time last season on the U17s squad.
2. Goals Galore
The Fighting Saints scored eight goals to finish last weekend against Cedar Rapids and scored 18 over two wins against the U17s during a January series in Dubuque.
Saturday was the ninth time this season the Saints have reached at least seven goals in a game. Dubuque averages 4.4 goals per game to lead the USHL in offense.
3. Bright Backstops
Vojtech Hambálek logged his second shutout of the season on Friday against Cedar Rapids with 19 saves, while Owen Crudale made a career-high 35 saves in the road win over the RoughRiders on Saturday.
Hambálek has a .921 save percentage over his last three games for the Fighting Saints and the goaltender made 32 of 33 saves in a win over the U17s on Jan. 9 in Dubuque.
4. Road Rundown
Dubuque makes just its second back-to-back road trip of the calendar year, and its only such trip in February. The Saints have an 11-8-1-0 record on the road this season as they make their only trip to Plymouth of the season.
Dubuque will make two more long-weekend trips in March to Youngstown and Fargo as they continue the stretch-run into the spring.
5. American Advantage
The U17s have won just three of 25 USHL games this season, but all three have come on home ice. Moreso, all three have come against the top-four teams in the Eastern Conference.
The U17s defeated Muskegon twice on home ice in the first half before beating Green Bay in overtime on Jan. 17. Carter Meyer scored the game-winning goal for USA in a 6-5 win over the Gamblers.
Friday's game begins at 6:00 p.m. CST at the USA Hockey Arena. The game is available on Eagle 102.3 and via USA Hockey on USA HockeyTV.
