Fargo Force

The Fargo Force is a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won one league championship in 2018 and was awarded USHL Organization Of The Year for 2008–09 and 2012–13.

Fargo Force
City	Fargo, North Dakota
League	United States Hockey League
Conference	West
Founded	2008
Home arena	Scheels Arena
Colors	Black, blue, white
Owner(s)	Ace Brandt
General manager	Cary Eades
Head coach	Pierre-Paul Lamoureux
Franchise history
2008–present	Fargo Force
Championships
Playoff championships	1 (2018)

History

In early 2007, Fargo was granted a USHL team, intended as an anchor tenant for the then-under-construction Urban Plains Center, which is now called Scheels Arena. Dean Blais, former coach of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey program, was installed as the franchise's initial coach and general manager. The team was formed, in conjunction with a name-the-team contest to decide what the team would be called. After the choices were narrowed to Fargo Force, Fargo Phantoms, and Fargo Fire, the Force name was chosen. Twelve people submitted the Force name; as a result, they won a dinner with head coach Dean Blais and each received two season tickets to the Force's inaugural season.[1]

As a result of the Force's entry, the area's previous hockey team, the Fargo-Moorhead Jets of the North American Hockey League announced they were leaving the area in April 2008,[2] and folded later that year.[3]

Blais coached the team to the USHL's Clark Cup Finals in 2008–09, leaving to take the head coaching position at Nebraska-Omaha. His successor, Chad Johnson, a former assistant, again led the Force to the Clark Cup Finals in 2009–10. Assistant Jason Herter took over the team in 2010 when Johnson left to join the Lincoln Stars. Jason Herter left after the 2010–11 season to become an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. John Marks became head coach after leaving the same position for the Winkler Flyers in Manitoba, Canada.

Marks retired following the 2014–15 season and was replaced by former University of North Dakota player/assistant coach Cary Eades, who had just led the Sioux Falls Stampede to the 2014–15 Clark Cup Championship. In 2018, Fargo won the Clark Cup Finals over the Youngstown Phantoms to win their first championship in team history. Following the 2018–19 season, Eades stepped down from his coaching position, retaining the general manager title, and associate coach Pierre-Paul Lamoureux was named head coach.[4]

Season-by-season records

Season	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
2008–09	60	32	23	5	69	191	166	1135	3rd, Western Conf.	Won quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Omaha Lancers Won semifinals, 3–0 vs. Lincoln Stars Lost Clark Cup Finals, 1–3 vs. Indiana Ice
2009–10	60	37	17	6	80	227	214	1474	2nd Western Conf.	Won quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Sioux Falls Stampede Won semifinals, 3–2 vs. Omaha Lancers Lost Clark Cup Finals, 2–3 vs. Green Bay Gamblers
2010–11	60	33	22	5	71	173	151	1201	4th, Western Conf.	Won conf. quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Lincoln Stars Lost conf. semifinals, 0–3 vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints
2011–12	60	31	23	6	68	188	160	1007	4th, Western Conf.	Won conf. quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Sioux City Musketeers Lost conf. semifinals, 1–3 vs. Lincoln Stars
2012–13	64	38	19	7	83	201	187	981	2nd, Western Conf.	Won conf. semifinals, 3–2 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks Won conf. finals, 3–2 vs. Sioux Falls Stampede Lost Clark Cup Finals, 0–3 vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints
2013–14	60	14	39	7	35	122	229	1275	8th, Western Conf.	Did not qualify
2014–15	60	26	28	6	58	148	191	933	6th, Western Conf.	Did not qualify
2015–16	60	32	26	2	66	157	150	995	5th, Western Conf.	Did not qualify
2016–17	60	36	19	4	77	193	149	792	3rd, Western Conf.	Lost conf. semifinals, 0–3 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks
2017–18	60	37	16	7	81	208	133	985	3rd, Western Conf.	Won first round, 2–0 vs. Tri-City Storm Won conf. semifinals, 3–1 vs. Omaha Lancers Won conf. finals, 3–1 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks Won Clark Cup finals, 3–1 vs. Youngstown Phantoms
2018–19	62	34	23	5	73	188	172	910	5th, Western Conf.	Lost first round, 0–2 vs. Des Moines Buccaneers
2019–20	48	27	15	6	60	153	143	847	3rd, Western Conf.	Season cancelled

Coaches

• Head coach: Pierre-Paul Lamoureux
• Assistant coach and goalie coach: Eli Rosendahl
• Assistant coach and director of scouting: Brad Lutsch
• General manager: Cary Eades

NHL draft picks

The Fargo Force have had the following players picked in the NHL draft.[5]

Year drafted	Player	Drafted team	Pick
2008	Luke Witkowski	Tampa Bay Lightning	6th round, 160th overall
2009	Josh Birkholz	Florida Panthers	3rd round, 67th overall
	Mike Lee	Arizona Coyotes	3rd round, 91st overall
	Nick Oliver	Nashville Predators	4th round, 110th overall
2010	Zane McIntyre	Boston Bruins	6th round, 165th overall
2011	Garrett Haar	Washington Capitals	7th round, 207th overall
2012	Ben Johnson	New Jersey Devils	3rd round, 90th overall[6]
	Dominic Toninato	Toronto Maple Leafs	5th round, 126th overall[7]
	Brian Cooper	Anaheim Ducks	5th round, 127th overall[8]
	Colton Hargrove	Boston Bruins	7th round, 205th overall
2013	Teemu Kivihalme	Nashville Predators	5th round, 140th overall
	Jonny Brodzinski	Los Angeles Kings	5th round, 148th overall[9]
2016	Riley Tufte	Dallas Stars	1st round, 25th overall[10]
	Chase Priskie	Washington Capitals	6th round, 177th overall
2017	Clayton Phillips	Pittsburgh Penguins	3rd round, 93rd overall[11]
	Denis Smirnov	Colorado Avalanche	6th round, 156th overall[12]
	Jack Adams	Detroit Red Wings	6th round, 162nd overall
2018	Ryan O'Reilly	Detroit Red Wings	4th round, 98th overall[13]
	Michael Kesselring	Edmonton Oilers	6th round, 164th overall[14]
2019	Aaron Huglen	Buffalo Sabres	4th round, 102nd overall
	Josh Nodler	Calgary Flames	5th round, 150th overall

Awards and player recognition

• Jack Adams – 2016–17 All-USHL Team, 2016-17 USHL Most Goals[15]
• Ryan Bischel – 2017 U.S. Junior Select Team[16]
• Dean Blais – 2008-09 USHL Coach of the Year
• Hank Crone – 2016 U.S. Junior Select Team,[17]
• Cary Eades – 1991-92 USHL General Manager of the Year, 2012–13 USHL Coach of the Year
• Ty Farmer – 2017–18 All-USHL Team[18]
• Teemu Kivihalme - 2013 U.S. Junior Select Team[19]
• Mike Lee - 2008-09 USHL Goaltender of the Year
• Blake Lizotte – 2016–17 All-USHL Team,[20] 2016 U.S. Junior Select Team
• Michael Mancinelli – 2017–18 USHL All-Rookie Team
• Strauss Mann – 2017–18 All-USHL Team
• Ben Meyers – 2018–19 All-USHL Team[21]
• Zane McIntyre - 2011-12 USHL Goaltender of the Year
• Josh Nodler - 2018 U.S. Junior Select Team[22] 2018-19 USHL All-Rookie Team[23]
• Ryan O'Reilly – 2017–18 USHL All-Rookie Team, 2018 U.S. Junior Select Team
• Clayton Phillips – 2016–17 USHL All-Rookie Team
• Nate Schmidt – 2009–10 USHL All-Rookie Team
• Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup – 2017–18 All-USHL Team
• Denis Smirnov – 2015–16 All-USHL Team[24]
• Anthony Taranto – 2008–09 All-USHL Team

Prospects games participants

• Jack Adams – 2017 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game[25]
• Kaden Bohlsen – 2019 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Charlie Dovorany – 2017 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Mikey Eyssimont – 2015 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game[26]
• Cedric Fiedler – 2019 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game[27]
• Gabe Guertler – 2013 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game[28]
• Brendan Harms – 2013 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Matt Kessel – 2018 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Josh Nodler – 2019 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Ryan O'Reilly – 2017 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game, 2018 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Clayton Phillips – 2016 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game, 2017 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Ryan Savage – 2017 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game, 2018 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game[29]
• Nate Schmidt – 2010 USHL All-Star Game
• Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup – 2018 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Denis Smirnov – 2015 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
• Riley Tufte – 2015 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game[30]
• Luke Witkowski – 2009 USHL All-Star Game

References

1. "Fargo Force : About". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
2. Archive_order | INFORUM | Fargo, North Dakota - Moorhead, Minnesota
3. Fargo-Moorhead ceases operations
4. "Eades stepping away from coaching hockey, Lamoureux named head coach of the Force". inforum.com. May 28, 2019.
5. "USHL Players In NHL Drafts". USHL.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
6. "Ben Johnson: The Third Round Pick of the New Jersey Devils in the 2012 NHL Draft". allaboutthejersey.com.
7. "NHL Draft 2012: Dominic Toninato - 5th Round 126th Overall". pensionplanpuppets.com.
8. "Bruins Sign Force Alum to NHL Deal". USHL.com.
9. "Jonny Brodzinski Selected By Los Angeles Kings 5th Round and 148th Overall in 2013 NHL Draft". National Hockey League.
10. "Dallas Stars Select Left Wing Riley Tufte In The First Round Of 2016 NHL Draft". National Hockey League.
11. "2017 NHL Draft: Pittsburgh Penguins select Clayton Phillips in 3rd round". pensburgh.com.
12. "Avalanche Picks Denis Smirnov No. 156 Overall At 2017 NHL Draft". National Hockey League.
13. "Detroit Red Wings Select Ryan O'Reilly in 4th Round and 98th Overall In 2018 NHL Draft". National Hockey League.
14. "Sixth Round: Edmonton Oilers draft defenceman Michael Kesselring 164th overall". Oilersnation.com.
15. "Awards - USHL Most Goals". eliteprospects.com.
16. "2017 U.S. Junior Select Team". USAHockey.com.
17. "21 USHL Players Selected to US World Junior A Challenge Squad". sbncollegehockey.com.
18. "2018 All-USHL Teams Announced". USHL.com.
19. "NHL Draft prospects top U.S. World Junior A roster". National Hockey League.
20. "2017 All-USHL Teams Announced". USHL.com.
21. "All-USHL Teams Announced". USHL.com. USHL.
22. "2018 U.S. Junior Select Team Coaching Staff and Player Roster Unveiled". USAHockey.com.
23. "USHL All-Rookie Teams Announced". USHL.com. USHL.
24. "2016 All-USHL Teams Announced". USHL.com.
25. "2017 USHL / NHL Top Prospects Game Rosters". USHL.com.
26. "Rosters Named For 2015 USHL / NHL Top Prospects Game". USHL.com.
27. "2019 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game Rosters Announced". USHL.com.
28. "40 Players Chosen For USHL / NHL Top Prospects Game". National Hockey League.
29. "2018 USHL / NHL Top Prospects Game Rosters Announced". USHL.com.
30. "All-American Prospects Game All-Time Roster". AllAmericanProspectsGame.com.

External links

• Fargo Force official webpage