It was a triple-double for the Fargo Force this past weekend. After three games against the Des Moines Buccaneers at home, two of its players came away with weekly USHL honors. Kyle Smolen and Joe Palodichuk were joined by Cedar Rapids goaltender Bruno Bruveris .
Smolen scored four goals and added three assists in the series against Des Moines to pick up forward of the week honors. On Thursday, Dec. 29, he pocketed a goal and two assists, picking up a helper on the eventual game-winner that broke a 3-3 tie. The Arizona State commit from Crystal Lake, Illinois, has scored in six straight games (5-6—11).
The Wisconsin-bound Palodichuk had two goals and three assists in the Des Moines series — scoring twice in Thursday's victory — to earn defenseman of the week. The Cottage Grove, Minnesota, product is a plus-16 in 22 games this season, registering four goals and 13 assists along the way. He's ninth in scoring by USHL defensemen.
Bruveris, of Riga, Latvia, went 3-0-0 in the net and was named goaltender of the week. He stopped 78 of 83 shots for a 1.67 goals against average and a .939 save percentage. He had a season-high 37 saves in the RoughRiders' 4-2 victory over Youngstown on Dec. 31. The Miami-bound netminder improved his record to 11-6-1 and owns a 2.90 GAA and a .893 save percentage.
