2017-18 USHL Season

This is the '''2017-18 United States Hockey League season. '''This is the league's 41st season as a junior hockey league. The schedule ran from October 6 to April 14 and had each team playing 60 games.

Membership Changes

 * None, the Indiana Ice continue to be on hiatus as they pursue a new home in the Indianapolis area.
 * On July 28, the Madison Capitols announce they are shifting their home games to the Hartmeyer Ice Arena after playing out of the Alliant Energy Center.  The new arena has a capacity of 3,500 as opposed to 8,000.  The team would later announce that they were unable to come to a complete agreement and would end up having to move to their practice facility the Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena in suburban Middleton, Wisconsin
 * The Bloomington Thunder were renamed the Central Illinois Flying Aces in August of 2017.
 * A proposed team to be called the BluHawks who were to be based out of a new arena to be built in Overland Park, Kansas was reported.  However, by the middle of October 2017 the arena was dropped from the plans for the larger facility which is to be known as the BluHawk development.

USHL Fall Classic
The United States Hockey League announced that the USHL Fall Classic will return to suburban Pittsburgh for the second consecutive season. The preseason showcase will be hosted at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, and for the first time since the 2012-13 season, all 17 organizations that compete in the USHL will take to the ice in one location.

Clark Cup Playoffs
The playoff format has be modified to have the top six teams in each conference qualifying for the playoffs with the top two seeds in each conference earning a bye to the conference semifinals. The conference quarterfinals will be best of three hosted by the #3 and #4 seeds. The balance of the playoffs will be best of five with home ice advantage going to the higher seed.

Eastern Conference First Round

 * Chicago Steel defeated Muskegon Lumberjacks 2 games to 1
 * Dubuque Fighting Saints defeated Green Bay Gamblers 2 games to none

Western Conference First Round

 * Fargo Force defeated Tri-City Storm 2 games to none
 * Lincoln Stars defeated Sioux Falls Stampede 2 games to 1

Eastern Conference Semifinals

 * USA Hockey National Team Development Program defeated Chicago Steel 3 games to 1
 * Youngstown Phantoms defeated Dubuque Fighting Saints 3 games to none

Western Conference Semifinals

 * Waterloo Black Hawks defeated Lincoln Stars 3 games to 1
 * Fargo Force defeated Omaha Lancers 3 games to 1

Eastern Conference Final

 * Youngstown Phantoms defeated USA Hockey National Team Development Program 3 games to 1

Western Conference Final

 * Fargo Force defeated Waterloo Black Hawks 3 games to 1

Clark Cup Final

 * Fargo Force defeated Youngstown Phantoms 3 games to 1