The 2002–03 USHL

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

is the 24th season of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

as an all-junior league. The regular season began on September 27, 2002, and concluded on March 30, 2003, with the regular season champion winning the

Anderson Cup The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

. The 2002–03 season was the first for the River City Lancers after relocating to

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

, from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, and the last for the Topeka ScareCrows, which relocated to

Chesterfield, Missouri Chesterfield is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is a western suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,999, making it the state's 14th most populous city. The broader valley of Chesterfield was ...

, after the season concluded. The

Clark Cup The United States Hockey League began in 1961 as a semi-professional ice hockey league. Starting with the 1979–80 season, the league became a strictly Amateur league, and began awarding its champion the Clark Cup Trophy. All champions of the USH ...

playoffs features the top eight team from the eleven-team league regardless of division competing for the league title.

Regular season

Final standings ''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched league title''

East Division

West Division

Clark Cup playoffs

Quarterfinals

(1) Lincoln Stars vs. (8) Tri-City Storm

(3) Topeka Scarecrows vs. (6) Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

(2) Waterloo Black Hawks vs. (7) Des Moines Buccaneers

(4) Sioux City Musketeers vs. (5) River City Lancers

Semifinals

(1) Lincoln Stars vs. (6) Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

(2) River City Lancers vs. (5) Waterloo Black Hawks

Clark Cup Finals

(1) Lincoln Stars vs. (2) River City Lancers

Players

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Awards

*Coach of the Year: P.K. O'Handley Waterloo Black Hawks * Curt Hammer Award: Jake Taylor Green Bay Gamblers *Defenseman of the Year:

Matt Carle Matthew Carle (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey Defenceman, defenseman. Carle played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Pred ...

River City Lancers *Forward of the Year: Ryan Potulny Lincoln Stars *General Manager of the Year: P.K. O'Handley Waterloo Black Hawks *Goaltender of the Year: Dominic Vicari River City Lancers *Organization of the Year:

Waterloo Black Hawks The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under Head Coach Matt Smaby. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterloo, Iowa. History ...

*Player of the Year: Ryan Potulny Lincoln Stars *Rookie of the Year: Joe Pavelski Waterloo Black Hawks

References

External links

Official website of the United States Hockey League
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 USHL Season

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

United States Hockey League seasons