Cammarata earns USHL top forward award

Top 2013 NHL Draft prospects Taylor Cammarata of the Waterloo Black Hawks and Youngstown Phantoms teammates Ryan Lowney and Sean Romeo were among those honored by the United States Hockey League on Monday.

Cammarata, along with teammate Zach Stepan (Nashville) was named CCM Forward of the Week after totaling nine points in three games last week. The 5-foot-7, 156-pound forward had a goal and two assists last Wednesday in a 6-5 loss to the Des Moines Buccaneers. He celebrated Thanksgiving with a goal and two assists in a 4-3 defeat of the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders on Thursday, and finished his week with his third straight one-goal, two-assist game in a Saturday in a 7-3 defeat of Cedar Rapids. His goal in the third period Saturday was the 100th point of his USHL career, in just 74 games.

The big week also extended Cammarata's scoring streak to seven games -- all of them multi-point games -- and he leads the league with 31 points in just 14 games. Cammarata is No. 18 on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary top 25 ranking of 2013 NHL Draft-eligible skaters in the USHL.

Lowney was named the CCM Defenseman of the Week after finishing with seven points and a plus-5 rating in three wins last week. He tied a USHL Tier I-era (2002-present) record and set the new standard among league defensemen with five assists in the Phantoms' 5-3 win against the Indiana Ice on Wednesday. He had a goal and a game-high plus-4 rating in a 6-0 defeat of Team USA on Friday, and he added an assist as Youngstown closed its week with a 3-0 defeat of Team USA on Saturday.

The 5-7, 156-pound blueliner is third among USHL defensemen in scoring with 13 points in 20 games.

Lowney's teammate, Sean Romeo, was named the Reebok Goaltender of the Week after winning all three of his game, the last two via shutout. Romeo, No. 3 on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary ranking of USHL goalies, started his week by making 31 saves on 34 shots in a 5-3 win against Indiana. On Friday he stopped all 23 shots in the 6-0 win against Team USA for his first USHL shutout. One night later, he earned his second shutout, stopping all 24 shots he faced in the 3-0 win.

Romeo has won four straight games, and has a shutout streak of 137:42. For the season, the 5-11.75, 166-pounder is 7-6-0 with a 3.19 goals-against average and .895 save percentage.

Here is how a few other 2013 draft prospects from the USHL fared over the weekend.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK