2017–18 USHL season
# 2017–18 USHL season

The 2017–18 USHL season was the 39th season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season ran from October 6, 2017, to April 14, 2018. The regular season champions, the Waterloo Black Hawks, were awarded the Anderson Cup. The playoff champions, the Fargo Force, were awarded the Clark Cup.

## League changes

The Bloomington Thunder were rebranded as the Central Illinois Flying Aces.

While the alignment remained the same from the previous season, the league increased the number of teams that qualify for the playoffs from eight to twelve. The top two seeds in each conference now have a bye in the first round. The third and fourth conference seeds than host the fifth and sixth conference seeds in a best-of-three series. The rest of the playoffs are a best-of-five series.

## Regular season

Final standings:

x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched conference title; z = clinched regular season title

## Post season awards

### USHL awards

| Award | Name | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Player of the Year | Anthony Del Gaizo | Muskegon Lumberjacks |
| Forward of the Year | Jackson Cates | Waterloo Black Hawks |
| Defenseman of the Year | Ben Finkelstein | Waterloo Black Hawks |
| Rookie of the Year | Matej Pekar | Muskegon Lumberjacks |
| Goaltender of the Year | Filip Larsson | Tri-City Storm |
| Coach of the Year | P.K. O'Handley | Waterloo Black Hawks |
| Scholar-Athlete | Alex Steeves | Dubuque Fighting Saints |
| Curt Hammer | Marc McLaughlin | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders |
| General Manager of the Year | P.K. O'Handley | Waterloo Black Hawks |
| Executive of the Year | Brandon Bruss | Green Bay Gamblers |
| Organization of the Year | Sioux Falls Stampede | Sioux Falls Stampede |

### All-USHL First Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| - | - | - |
| G | Filip Larsson | Tri-City |
| D | Ben Finkelstein | Waterloo |
| D | Graham Lillibridge | Chicago |
| F | Jackson Cates | Waterloo |
| F | Anthony Del Gaizo | Muskegon |
| F | Jack Dugan | Chicago |

Source

### All-USHL Second Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| - | - | - |
| G | Zach Driscoll | Youngstown |
| D | Marc Del Gaizo | Muskegon |
| D | Ty Farmer | Fargo |
| F | Jack Drury | Waterloo |
| F | Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup | Fargo |
| F | Filip Suchy | Omaha |

Source

### All Rookie First Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| - | - | - |
| G | Oskar Autio | Chicago |
| D | Michael Callahan | Youngstown |
| D | Tyler Jubenvill | Cedar Rapids |
| F | Paul Cotter | Lincoln |
| F | Robert Mastrosimone | Chicago |
| F | Matej Pekar | Muskegon |

Source

### All Rookie Second Team

| Pos | Name | Team |
| - | - | - |
| G | Zach Borgiel | Muskegon |
| D | Mason Klee | Lincoln |
| D | Matt Staudacher | Muskegon |
| F | Ryan O'Reilly | Madison |
| F | Tyler Madden | Tri-City |
| F | Michael Mancinelli | Madison |

## Clark Cup playoffs

| First Round (Best-of-3) | First Round (Best-of-3) | First Round (Best-of-3) | | | Conference Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Conference Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Conference Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Conference Finals (Best-of-5) | Conference Finals (Best-of-5) | Conference Finals (Best-of-5) | | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) | Clark Cup Championship (Best-of-5) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | E1 | Team USA | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E6 | Chicago | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Muskegon | 1 | | | E6 | Chicago | 1 | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Chicago | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Chicago | 2 | | | | | | E1 | Team USA | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Team USA | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Youngstown | 3 | | | | |
| E4 | Green Bay | 0 | | | | | | | | | E2 | Youngstown | 3 | |
| E5 | Dubuque | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Dubuque | 2 | | | E2 | Youngstown | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E5 | Dubuque | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | E2 | Youngstown | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W3 | Fargo | 3 |
| | | | | | W1 | Waterloo | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W5 | Lincoln | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Sioux Falls | 1 | | | W5 | Lincoln | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Lincoln | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Lincoln | 2 | | | | | | W1 | Waterloo | 1 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Waterloo | 1 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | Fargo | 3 | | | | |
| W3 | Fargo | 2 | | | | | | | | | W3 | Fargo | 3 | |
| W6 | Tri-City | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Tri-City | 0 | | | W2 | Omaha | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W3 | Fargo | 3 | | | | | | | |
