Nicholas Moldenhauer, Aaron Pionk and Conor Callaghan Earn Weekly Honors
October 12, 2022 – United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced Wednesday the Players of the Week for Week 3 of the 2022-23 regular season. Another trio of players earned their first Player of the Week awards as Nicholas Moldenhauer, Aaron Pionk and Conor Callaghan were awarded for their outstanding performances on the ice last week with the Forward, Defenseman and Goaltender of the Week awards, respectively.
Forward – Nicholas Moldenhauer, Chicago Steel (Mississauga, Ontario)
Moldenhauer continued his impressive early start to the season with four goals (4-0-4) in a weekend split for the Chicago Steel. The Mississauga, Ontario native currently leads the USHL with nine points and seven goals and picked up his first career USHL hat trick in a Saturday night win over the Madison Capitols. Moldenhauer scored a pair of back-to-back goals late in the second period to extend the Steel lead to 4-0. After a furious comeback attempt by the Capitols, Moldenhauer capped the game with an empty net goal, ensuring the 6-4 Chicago win. The hat trick came a night after Moldenhauer scored in a 6-4 loss to the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The strong weekend was evidence of why the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Moldenhauer with the 95th overall pick of this summer’s 2022 NHL Draft. The forward is in his second full season in the USHL with the Steel after he collected 43 points (18-25-43) in 41 regular season games last season before adding a pair of points (1-1-2) in a trio of Clark Cup Playoff games. Moldenhauer’s performance last season earned him a spot on the USHL All-Rookie Second Team. Prior to his full season last year with the Club, Moldenhauer appeared in nine total games, including three playoff games during the 2020-21 Clark Cup Championship season for the Steel.
Defenseman – Aaron Pionk, Waterloo Black Hawks (Hermantown, Minn.)
Pionk’s offensive performance from the blue line was critical in Waterloo’s 4-1 win over the Tri-City Storm on Saturday night as he opened the scoring midway through the second period and capped it with an empty net goal late in regulation. The Minnesota State University commit has been a point-per-game player so far in his first four USHL games (3-1-4) after playing for the Minnesota Wilderness in the NAHL last season. Pionk was selected fourth overall in the 2022 USHL Phase II Draft by the Black Hawks and is the younger brother of current New York Rangers forward, and former Sioux City Musketeers Captain, Neal Pionk as well as former Lincoln Stars forward Nate Pionk. Aaron’s father, Scott Pionk, served seven seasons behind USHL benches, including two as Waterloo’s Head Coach (1997-99) after five years as an Assistant Coach for the Omaha Lancers (1992-97).
Goaltender – Conor Callaghan, Muskegon Lumberjacks (Upper Saddle River, N.J.)
Callaghan was the lone USHL netminder to win a pair of games last week, backstopping the Lumberjacks to a weekend sweep of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. On Friday night, the New Jersey native turned aside 22 of the 24 shots he saw, and kept the RoughRiders off the board after a pair of first period goals, allowing his team to mount a comeback in the eventual 3-2 overtime win. The following night, Callaghan was beat only twice, both times in the second period, in a 6-2 win. Last weekend’s pair of wins were the first in Callaghan’s inaugural USHL season as the netminder currently holds a 2-1-0-0 record with a 3.51 goals against average and 0.874 save percentage in four appearances. Callaghan joins Muskegon, who selected him in the Fifth Round of the 2022 USHL Phase II Draft, after serving as a Captain for Avon Old Farms last season and holding a 1.27 goals against average and 0.948 save percentage in 27 games.
The USHL season continues with 14 games this week, beginning with a Thursday night matchup between the Madison Capitols and Youngstown Phantoms live on FloSports.
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