The Next Level: Day 1 of the USHL Fall Classic

Every year, the United States Hockey League (USHL), a Tier I junior league, ends its preseason with a round robin-type tournament for its 14 teams. They call it the USHL Fall Classic. Each team plays three games, one game per day, all in Sioux City, Iowa.

Here are how some Minnesotans fared in day one (Thursday) at the Fall Classic:

Sam Coatta (Minnetonka) scored for the Sioux Falls Stampede in their 4-1 victory over the Chicago Steel.

Ryan Furne (Hill-Murray) scored a powerplay goal in the Green Bay Gamblers 4-2 loss to Des Moines.

Corey Leivermann (Mankato West) scored the first game for the Fargo Force early the first period and Matt Johnson (Stillwater) of the Waterloo Black Hawks answered. The Black Hawks ended up winning 4-2, scoring two unanswered goals in the third period. J.T. Brown (Rosemount) scored an empty net goal for the Black Hawks. Colton Warner (Apple Valley) had an assist for the Black Hawks while Nick Oliver (Roseau) had one for the Force.

In the Fargo/Waterloo game, it was not the final score or the scoring that caught my attention as much as the excessive number of penalties did. Both teams had a total of 64 penalty minutes. Half of those penalty minutes were served by Minnesotans. Joey Benik (St. Francis), last year's Minnesota high school scoring leader and now playing for the Force, spent the most time in the box, nine minutes. He even got into his first USHL scrap late in the game with 2009 Apple Valley graduate Colton Warner. Benik, a St. Cloud State University recruit, was a junior at St. Francis in 2008-2009.

Penalties by Minnesotans in that game:

Waterloo:

J.T. Brown (Rosemount) - 6 min (2 interference, 2 roughing, 2 roughing)
Dan Sova (Hill-Murray) - 2 min (roughing)
Colton Warner (Apple Valley) - 7 min (2 roughing, 5 fighting)
Wally Cossette (Maple Grove) - 2 min (cross checking)

Fargo:

Nick Oliver (Roseau) - 2 min (roughing)
Corey Leivermann (Mankato West) - 2 min (diving)
Nate Schmidt (St. Cloud Cathedral) - 2 min (hooking)
Joey Benik (St. Francis) - 9 min (2 min delay of game, 2 min checking from behind, 5 min fighting)

Benik had no points in this preseason game.

Benik had started out a couple of weeks ago on the Minnesota Owls roster of the MJHL, which is a Tier III junior league. He accumulated two goals and three assists in just two games for the Owls. Now, he's playing with the Force. I am curious to know if he will play out the year for the Force or if he will come back for his senior season at St. Francis. I would think that he would come back for his final year so that he can play with his twin brother Andy, a skilled goaltender.

A Minnesota Gophers recruit, defenseman Nate Schmidt, was also a junior this past high school season with St. Cloud Cathedral. My assumption would have been that he would play for Fargo for about a month and then be back to play for his high school team this season when practice begins in November. The St. Cloud Cathedral Crusaders are a top Class A high school team in Minnesota. He would be an important piece on the Crusaders' that will include fellow senior standouts Jordan Palusky and Alex Koopmeiners. However, I got an email saying that he is not planning to return to his high school team.

The USHL regular season starts next week.