1995–96 USHL season
Sports season
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The 1995–96 USHL season was the 17th season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season began in September 1995 and concluded in March 1996. The Green Bay Gamblers won the Anderson Cup as regular season champions. The Green Bay Gamblers also defeated the Rochester Mustangs 4 games to 3 for the Clark Cup.
| 1995–96 USHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | United States Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 1995 – March 1996 Postseason March – April 1996 |
| Games | 46 |
| Teams | 11 |
| Regular season | |
| Anderson Cup | Green Bay Gamblers |
| Clark Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Green Bay Gamblers |
| Runners-up | Rochester Mustangs |
Member changes
- The Wisconsin Capitols folded after the previous season. Their place in the league was taken by an expansion franchise, the Fargo-Moorhead Bears.
- The St. Paul Vulcans rebranded as the Twin City Vulcans.
Regular season
Final standings[1]
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched league title
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Green Bay Gamblers | 46 | 32 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 67 | 219 | 137 |
| x – Omaha Lancers | 46 | 30 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 66 | 195 | 132 |
| Fargo-Moorhead Bears | 46 | 27 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 56 | 182 | 146 |
| x – North Iowa Huskies | 46 | 26 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 55 | 184 | 181 |
| x – Rochester Mustangs | 46 | 24 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 196 | 174 |
| x – Waterloo Black Hawks | 46 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 48 | 157 | 176 |
| x – Des Moines Buccaneers | 46 | 21 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 46 | 177 | 174 |
| x – Twin City Vulcans | 46 | 18 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 43 | 169 | 184 |
| x – Sioux City Musketeers | 46 | 17 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 39 | 150 | 190 |
| Dubuque Fighting Saints | 46 | 15 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 33 | 145 | 214 |
| Thunder Bay Flyers | 46 | 13 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 30 | 136 | 202 |
Note: The Fargo-Moorhead Bears failed to pay league dues and were suspended at the end of the regular season. As a result, they were excluded from postseason play.
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games.[2]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Panzer | Fargo-Moorhead Bears | 42 | 27 | 47 | 74 | 36 |
| Mike Rucinski | North Iowa Huskies | 44 | 24 | 42 | 66 | 61 |
| Andrew Tortorella | Waterloo Black Hawks | 41 | 18 | 47 | 65 | 44 |
| Matt Noga | North Iowa Huskies | 39 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 101 |
| Klage Kaebel | Des Moines Buccaneers | 46 | 32 | 31 | 63 | 28 |
| Chad Stauffacher | Green Bay Gamblers | 46 | 34 | 27 | 61 | 213 |
| Jesse Rooney | Fargo-Moorhead Bears | 46 | 33 | 27 | 60 | 88 |
| Aaron Fox | Green Bay Gamblers | 46 | 23 | 36 | 59 | 20 |
| Brian McDonald | Green Bay Gamblers | 46 | 24 | 34 | 58 | 57 |
| Jerry Keefe | Omaha Lancers | 46 | 18 | 40 | 58 | 40 |
Clark Cup playoffs
The Fargo-Moorhead Bears were barred form postseason play, however, because the first round matches had already been set, the Sioux City Musketeers were inserted as the 3-seed in spite of their record.
Teams were reseeded after the quarterfinal round based upon their regular season records.
| Quarterfinal (Best-of-7) | Semifinal (Best-of-7) | Championship (Best-of-7) | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Green Bay Gamblers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Twin City Vulcans | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Green Bay Gamblers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Sioux City Musketeers | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Omaha Lancers | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Des Moines Buccaneers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Green Bay Gamblers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Rochester Mustangs | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Sioux City Musketeers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Waterloo Black Hawks | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Rochester Mustangs | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Des Moines Buccaneers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | North Iowa Huskies | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Rochester Mustangs | 4 | ||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Awards
| Award | Recipient | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Jeff Panzer | Fargo-Moorhead Bears |
| Matt Noga | North Iowa Huskies | |
| Forward of the Year | Jeff Panzer | Fargo-Moorhead Bears |
| Defenseman of the Year | Josh DeWolf | Twin City Vulcans |
| Dan Peters | Omaha Lancers | |
| Goaltender of the Year | Mike Correia | Omaha Lancers |
| Coach of the Year | Steve Johnson | Fargo-Moorhead Bears |