Mac Swanson of Anchorage was up to his usual exploits over the weekend, racking points and contributing to victories.
The left winger for the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League, the country’s top junior circuit, delivered a pair of two-point performances for the league leaders and extended his point streak to a career-best 11 games.
Swanson, who will join perennial power North Dakota in the fall, scored a 5-on-3, power-play goal and added a primary assist in Friday’s 6-1 win over Youngstown, then furnished two assists in Saturday’s 3-2 Fargo win in the rematch.
Swanson has bagged three straight multiple-point efforts and pocketed multiple points in five of the last six games. He owns 6-11—17 totals in his 11-game point streak and has scored at least one point in 17 of his last 18 games.
With 24-46—70 totals in 50 games, Swanson is second in the league in points, leads the league in assists and ranks second in both points per game (1.40) and plus-minus rating (plus-35).
Swanson, 18, was listed Monday as an honorable mention among the 105 players Scott Wheeler of The Athletic listed as his top prospects for the coming NHL Draft.
Swanson has a shot at his family’s single-season scoring record in the USHL. His dad, former NHL center Brian, put up 38-42—80 totals for the Omaha Lancers in 47 games in 1993-94, when he helped the Lancers seize the Clark Cup as playoff champions. Brian Swanson was a fifth-round draft pick, 115th overall, by the San Jose Sharks in 1994. Mac Swanson would need to score 10 points in Fargo’s final six regular-season games to match his old man.
Elsewhere in the USHL over the weekend:
- Sioux City Musketeers forward Colin Kessler of Anchorage generated three points in a pair of losses at Muskegon. Committed to Vermont, Kessler scored a goal in Friday’s 3-2 loss and two assists in Saturday’s 6-3 setback. Kessler owns 12-17—29 totals in 54 games after going 5-10—15 in 60 games as a rookie last season.
- Omaha Lancers forward Camron VanSickle of Fairbanks scored a goal in Friday’s 5-4 shootout win at Des Moines.