USHL Omaha Lancers

Omaha Lancers News & Notes - Week 29

Published on April 11, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release


Omaha, Neb. - The Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) will close out the 2011-2012 regular season this weekend as the team looks to secure a first round bye and the number one overall seed in the Western Conference for the 2012 Clark Cup Playoffs.

Omaha (36-19-3, 75 pts.) won its only game last weekend earning a 3-1 victory over the Sioux City Musketeers last Friday evening at the Tyson Events Center. Max Vallis scored two goals, including the game-winner, while Alex Lyon registered 28 save propelling the Lancers to their 36th win of the season. Omaha has now won seven of its last eight road games and has produced a 11-2-1 record in the team's last 14 road games overall. With 19 road victories this season, the Lancers have won the most road games of any Western Conference team and the second-most road contest in the USHL.

Omaha returns to action Friday with its final road game of the regular season when the team travels to Des Moines for its regular season finale with the Buccaneers. Des Moines (20-32-6, 46 pts.) dropped both of its games last weekend suffering a 4-2 loss to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Friday before falling to the Lincoln Stars 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday. The Buccaneers have now dropped 12 consecutive games posting a 0-10-2 record during that stretch while garnering just two of a possible 24 standings point. Des Moines enters the week having lost six consecutive games at home and hasn't found itself in the win column since a 4-2 victory over the Muskegon Lumberjacks on March 2nd. The Buccaneers have been outscored 45-20 during their recent slide. After hosting the Lancers on Friday, Des Moines concludes its regular season Saturday at the Indiana Ice.

Meanwhile, the Lancers close out their regular season Saturday when they welcome the Musketeers back to the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Sioux City (28-29-1, 57 pts.) split its two games last weekend suffering a 3-1 loss to the Lancers on Friday before rebounding with a 3-2 overtime victory at the Tri-City Storm on Saturday. The Musketeers have now won six of their last seven games and eight of 10 overall. Before traveling to Omaha for its regular season finale, Sioux City opens the weekend in Sioux Falls against the Stampede.

Omaha Notes:

Omaha Lancers - 36-19-3, 75 pts. (2nd Western Conference)

- Omaha has clinched a berth in the Clark Cup Playoffs for a USHL record 23rd consecutive season. The Lancers enter the weekend one standings point behind Conference-leading Lincoln with both teams having played 58 games to date. The Stars have a home-and-home series with the Fargo Force this weekend. Should Lincoln and Omaha finish the season with the same number of standings points, the Lancers would default to the first overall seed by virtue of owning the first tie-breaker (head-to-head record).

- The Lancers need just one win of any variety (regulation, overtime or shootout) or a Waterloo loss in regulation on either Friday or Saturday for Omaha to finish in the top two of the Western Conference and earn a first round bye. The Black Hawks are home to Tri-City on Friday and welcome Cedar Rapids on Saturday.

- Omaha is 19-8-2 on the road this season and has outscored its opposition 104-84 in 29 prior road games. With 104 goals scored on the road this season, the Lancers have tallied the fourth most road goals of any of the 16 USHL teams. Meanwhile, Omaha is 17-11-1 at home this season and has outscored its opponents 100-84 in 29 prior games at the Civic Auditorium.

- F Jimmy Murray continues to lead all Lancers and is now tied for sixth among all USHL skaters in scoring with 66 points (18 goals, 48 assists). Committed to St. Cloud State University, Murray is tied for the USHL-lead with 48 assists this season, which passes former Lancers Matt White and Paul Stastny for the most assists by an Omaha skater in the last 10 years. Omaha's record for most assists in a single season remains 55 set by Donny Riendeau during the 1989-1990 season and Steve Suk during the 1990-1991 campaign.

- D Nolan Zajac enters the week leading all Lancers defensemen and is third among all USHL blueliners in scoring with 39 points (11 goals, 28 assists) this season. Committed to the University of Denver, Zajac is fourth among all USHL defensemen with 14 power play assists this season.

- Omaha's penalty kill has surrendered just five power play goals-against over the last 12 games. The Lancers' penalty kill has successfully gone 50-for-55 (90.9%) during that stretch and enters the week ranked third overall at 86.4%.

Opponents Notes:

Friday, April 13 @ Des Moines Buccaneers - 20-32-6, 46 pts. (7th Western Conference)

- Des Moines enters the weekend five standings back of sixth-place Sioux City in the Western Conference standings. The Buccaneers have been mathematically eliminated from playoff competition and are 0-3-2 under Graham Johnson who assumed the head coaching reigns after Regg Simon was relieved on March 27th.

- Friday's meeting is the sixth and final regular season meeting between Omaha and Des Moines. The Lancers are 2-3 against the Buccaneers this season but enter Friday's showdown having won back-to-back meetings with Des Moines. The Buccaneers have outscored Omaha 20-15 through the first five get-togethers.

- F Casey Bailey currently leads all scorers in the season series with seven points (four goals, three assists) while Des Moines has been paced with five points each from Patrick Kirtland, Cal Decowski and Justin Hussar.

- The Buccaneers are 12-12-5 at home this season and have been outscored 96-90 in 29 prior games at home.

- F Anthony Greco leads all Des Moines skaters in scoring this season with 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists).

- The Buccaneers' power play enters the weekend ranked 13th overall at 14.3% and has gone 3-for-19 (15.8%) against the Lancers while Des Moines' penalty kill currently ranks 14th overall at 79.9% and has seen Omaha go 6-for-25 (24.0%) on the power play in the head-to-head series.

Opponents Notes:

Saturday, April 14 vs. Sioux City Musketeers - 28-29-1, 57 pts. (5th Western Conference)

- Sioux City has clinched a berth in the Clark Cup Playoffs for the second straight season and third time in the last five years. The Musketeers are guaranteed the fifth seed in the Western Conference and will face fourth-seeded Fargo in a best-of-three first round series beginning Monday, April 16 at the Scheels Arena in Fargo.

- Saturday's meeting is the eighth and final regular season meeting between Omaha and Sioux City. The Lancers are 4-2-1 against the Musketeers this season while Sioux City has produced a 3-4 record against Omaha this year. Omaha snapped Sioux City's three-game head-to-head winning streak last Friday with a 3-1 victory at the Tyson Events Center. The Lancers are 2-1 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium vs. Sioux City this season.

- F Jimmy Murray currently leads all scorers in the season series with eight points (three goals, five assists) while Sioux City's Brad Robbins and Omaha's Casey Bailey are tied for second with seven points each.

- Sioux City is 14-14 on the road this season and has been outscored 96-91 in 28 prior road tilts.

- F David Goodwin and F Brad Robbins are tied for the team lead in scoring this season with 49 points apiece. Goodwin has tallied 21 and 28 assists while Robbins has registered 25 goals and 24 assits.

- Sioux City's power play ranks 10th overall at 15.6% while the Musketeers' penalty kill ranks fifth overall at 83.9%. Sioux City's power play is 3-for-24 (12.5%) against the Lancers this season while Omaha's man-advantage is 7-for-29 (24.1%) against the Musketeers.

Check out the Omaha Lancers Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from April 11, 2012


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