Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Correspondent Steve Beideck ranks the teams, through games played Sunday
1. Green Bay (32-7-2, 66 points, 1st in East): Ryan McKay continues to dazzle in goal for the Gamblers with a 16-3-2 record and league-leading 2.11 goals-against average. Green Bay already has scored 172 goals, 29 more than second place Indiana, and is 17-3-0 in road games.
2. Indiana (25-10-5, 55 points, 2nd in East): Omaha's one and only game with the Ice is a home game Saturday night. Indiana is first in the league on the power play (.286) and fourth in penalty killing (.845). The Ice also have the No. 2 (Danill Tarasov, 54 points) and No. 9 (Sean Kuraly, 42 points) scorers in the league, and goaltender Jon GIllies is fourth in GAA (2.56).
3. Waterloo (21-12-5, 47 points, 3rd in West): Yes, the Black Hawks are behind both Omaha and Lincoln in the Western Conference standings, but they have played three fewer games than the Lancers. If they win those three they would be tied for first and hold the edge in the season series with a 3-1 record. Though they are middle of the pack on special teams, they have six players who have scored at least 20 points.
4. Omaha (25-13-3, 53 points, 1st in West): The Lancers continue to have one of the league's most balanced offensive attacks with seven players who have scored at least 21 points and two others sitting at 19. Jimmy Murray leads the way in points with 48 (14 goals, 34 assists) and Casey Bailey leads four forwards in double figures in goals with 19.
5. Lincoln (23-13-3, 49 points, 2nd in West): The Stars are near the top of the league in many categories. Jackson Teichroeb and Charles Williams both are top eight in GAA (fifth and eighth), and Kevin Roy is the league leader in points (62) and goals (34). The Stars also are third in power play percentage (.228) and second in penalty minutes (926).
6. Dubuque (25-13-3, 53 points, 3rd in East): The Fighting Saints still rule the roost when it comes to penalty killing, having surrendered only 22 goals in 182 attempts in man-down situations (.879). A big reason for that is having Matt Morris and Gabe Antoni sharing the goaltending duties. Morris is ranked No. 2 in GAA (2.29 in 24 games), and Antoni is tied for fifth (2.65 in 16 appearances).
7. Fargo (21-16-4, 46 points, 4th in West): The Force are 3-3-1 since the end of their nine-game winning streak. Forward Austin Farley is tied for third in the league with 48 points evenly distributed between goals and assists. Bryn Chyzyk gives the Force one of the USHL's best 1-2 punches, as he is 14th in scoring with 38 points (22 goals, 16 assists).
8. Cedar Rapids (17-15-8, 42 points, 5th in East): The Lancers finally will get a chance to play the RoughRiders on Friday night. Nick Saracino is Cedar Rapids' leading scorer with 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) and Gerald Mayhew leads the team in goals with 14. Goaltenders Jake Hildebrand and Matt McNeely both have surrendered just over three goals per game apiece.
9. Team USA (18-13-4, 40 points, 6th in East): Team USA's record hasn't changed since the Jan. 30 ratings. Scheduling quirk has both Team USA squads off from Jan. 29 until they host Green Bay Feb. 17.
10. Youngstown (24-13-4, 52 points, 4th in East): The Phantoms have continued to be up-and-down but do have those 52 standings points, so a spot in the playoffs is starting to look more realistic. Forward Mike Ambrosia remains one of the league's leading scorers with 47 points (sixth place) and a league-leading 35 assists, one more than Omaha's Jimmy Murray.
11. Sioux City (18-22-1, 37 points, 5th in West): Sioux City is heating up at the right time, having won six of its past eight games. Part of the reason for the Musketeers' recent success is their improved play in man-down situations. They now are third in the league in penalty killing, behind only Dubuque and Fargo, with an .846 success rate.
12. Tri-City (16-25-0, 32 points, 7th in West): After splitting a road doubleheader with Fargo last weekend, the Storm have a chance to make it rain in the Western Conference with six of their next seven games in Kearney. The only road trip is to Lincoln on Feb. 21. To make those games mean something, Tri-City will need to improve on its 15th-ranked power play conversion percentage (.121).
13. Des Moines (15-20-4, 34 points, 6th in West): After losing six in a row, the Buccaneers bounced back over the weekend with victories over Sioux Falls (3-1) and Sioux City (4-3). Only one Des Moines skater - Anthony Greco - has scored more than 26 points. Greco has a team-leading 18 assists, which accounts for 60 percent of his 30 points.
14. Sioux Falls (12-23-3, 27 points, 8th in West): The Stampede scored just one standings point the past two weeks and have a seven-game winless streak, one shy of the longest streak in the league this season. The Stampede will be the last team in the league to get to 100 goals, and they still have a ways to go with just 83.
15. Muskegon (12-20-5, 29 points, 7th in East): A 4-3 shootout victory Sunday over Youngstown allowed the Lumberjacks to avoid remaining in last place in wins; they're now tied with Sioux Falls for 15th place. Last weekend they also cleared the 1,000 penalty minutes barrier (1,037), more than 100 points ahead of second-place Lincoln.
16. Chicago (13-27-1, 27 points, 8th in East): The Steel also are offensively challenged with just one player - forward Michael Fallon - who has more than 21 points. Fallon has 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points. In Sunday's 3-2 loss to Green Bay, Chicago finally cracked the 100-goal barrier (101).
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