| 2001–02 USHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | United States Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 2001 – March 2002 Postseason April 10 – May 12, 2002 |
| Games | 61, 13 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Regular season | |
| Anderson Cup | Omaha Lancers |
| Clark Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Sioux City Musketeers |
| Runners-up | Omaha Lancers |
The 2001–02 USHL season was the 23rd season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season began in September 2001 and concluded in March 2002. The Omaha Lancers won the Anderson Cup as regular season champions. The Sioux City Musketeers defeated the Omaha Lancers 3 games to 2 for the Clark Cup.
Member changes
- After the dissolution of the Topeka ScareCrows, a minor professional team, in 2001, the franchise's owners were approved to found an expansion team in the USHL.[1] The team began play this season.
- The Dubuque Fighting Saints relocated and became the Tulsa Crude.
Regular season
Final standings[2]
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched league title
Eastern Conference
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Green Bay Gamblers | 61 | 35 | 20 | 6 | 76 | 184 | 179 |
| x – Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | 61 | 33 | 21 | 7 | 73 | 188 | 161 |
| x – Des Moines Buccaneers | 61 | 32 | 24 | 5 | 69 | 222 | 202 |
| x – Chicago Steel | 61 | 29 | 24 | 8 | 66 | 191 | 209 |
| Waterloo Black Hawks | 61 | 21 | 38 | 2 | 44 | 138 | 220 |
| Rochester Mustangs | 61 | 17 | 39 | 5 | 39 | 145 | 226 |
Western Conference
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz – Omaha Lancers | 61 | 46 | 12 | 3 | 95 | 215 | 111 |
| x – Lincoln Stars | 61 | 43 | 15 | 3 | 89 | 240 | 157 |
| x – Sioux City Musketeers | 61 | 41 | 16 | 4 | 86 | 237 | 162 |
| x – Sioux Falls Stampede | 61 | 35 | 21 | 5 | 75 | 252 | 217 |
| Tri-City Storm | 61 | 27 | 30 | 4 | 58 | 181 | 208 |
| Topeka ScareCrows | 61 | 25 | 30 | 6 | 56 | 198 | 225 |
| Tulsa Crude | 61 | 12 | 43 | 6 | 30 | 121 | 237 |
USNTDP
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USNTDP | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 35 | 34 |
Note: The USNTDP played one game against each of the full league members.
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games.[3]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Vanek | Sioux Falls Stampede | 53 | 46 | 45 | 91 | 54 |
| Vince Bellissimo | Topeka ScareCrows | 61 | 37 | 39 | 76 | 33 |
| Eric Przepiorka | Sioux Falls Stampede | 61 | 43 | 29 | 72 | 118 |
| Brad Zancanaro | Sioux City Musketeers | 50 | 26 | 45 | 71 | 69 |
| Brandon Schwartz | Sioux City Musketeers | 57 | 30 | 35 | 65 | 52 |
| Chris Collins | Des Moines Buccaneers | 60 | 26 | 39 | 65 | 112 |
| Alexander Materukhin | Des Moines Buccaneers | 59 | 37 | 26 | 63 | 154 |
| Matt Ciancio | Sioux City Musketeers | 48 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 86 |
| Aaron Slattengren | Omaha Lancers | 52 | 19 | 42 | 61 | 58 |
| Tim Stapleton | Green Bay Gamblers | 61 | 24 | 36 | 60 | 10 |
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | OTL | SO | GA | SV | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marty Magers | Omaha Lancers | 30 | 1780 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 48 | 608 | .927 | 1.62 |
| Dominic Vicari | Omaha Lancers | 33 | 1890 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 56 | 700 | .926 | 1.78 |
| Bobby Goepfert | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | 51 | 2918 | 27 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 99 | 1,446 | .936 | 2.04 |
| Jean-Philippe Lamoureux | Lincoln Stars | 31 | 1758 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 66 | 728 | .917 | 2.25 |
| Nate Ziegelmann | Lincoln Stars | 26 | 1490 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 62 | 601 | .906 | 2.50 |
| Andy Franck | Sioux City Musketeers | 38 | 2135 | 25 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 89 | 1,022 | .920 | 2.50 |
Clark Cup playoffs
The regular season division champions received the top two seeds.
All teams were reseeded after the quarterfinal round.
| Quarterfinal (Best-of-5) | Semifinal (Best-of-5) | Championship (Best-of-5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Omaha Lancers | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Chicago Steel | 2 | 1 | 4* | 0 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Omaha Lancers | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Green Bay Gamblers | 5 | 5 | 6* | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Des Moines Buccaneers | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Omaha Lancers | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Sioux City Musketeers | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Lincoln Stars | 3 | 3 | 3* | 0 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | 4* | 4* | 2 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Green Bay Gamblers | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Sioux City Musketeers | 1 | 4 | 7 | 6 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Sioux City Musketeers | 7 | 1 | 3 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Sioux Falls Stampede | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Awards
References
- "Fans Have Voted and Topeka Pro Hockey Has a Name". TOPEKA SCARECROWS. May 5, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
- "USHL Standings". Ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
- "USHL - 2001-2002". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- "2024-25 USHL Media Guide". USHL. Retrieved June 18, 2025.