Lancers Earn Nail Biting 4-3 Victory over Lincoln
December 8, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
Ralston, Neb. - The Omaha Lancers received four goals from four different goal scorers and weathered a third period surge by the Lincoln Stars Saturday evening in earning a 4-3 victory in front of 3,666 fans at Ralston Arena. With the win, the Lancers improved to 13-11 on the year and moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Western Conference with 26 standings points. The victory was Omaha's ninth in its last 11 games as the team improved to 6-3 inside Ralston Arena.
Omaha grabbed the game's opening goal just over three minutes into the contest when, while on the power play, Matias Cleland connected with Tucker Poolman on the right wing back door for Poolman's sixth goal of the season. Matt Gaudreau earned the secondary assist on the man-advantage marker netted 3:03 into the first period. The goal, which was Poolman's team-leading sixth power play goal of the season, marked the 14th time in 24 games this season that the Lancers have scored first. Omaha doubled its lead just over two minutes later when Tyler Moy broke in on the right wing before snapping home his second goal of the year. The unassisted even strength strike came 5:15 into the opening period of play. Lincoln found a way to trim the deficit back to a single goal in the dying moments of the frame when Mike McKee won a battle for a loose puck atop the Omaha goal crease before sending in his second goal of the season. Luke Johnson and Jake Wood assisted on the five-on-five goal scored 18:10 into the first period.
Omaha reestablished its two-goal lead seven and a half minutes into the second period when Alex Rauter fired in his sixth goal of the season from the left wing. Niklas Folin earned the only assist on the even strength strike netted 7:37 into the middle stanza. The Lancers then grabbed their largest lead of the night with just under three minutes remaining in the second period when brilliant tic-tac-toe passing on the power play produced Kyle Osterberg's sixth goal of the season and third of the weekend. Cleland and Gaudreau assisted on the man-advantage marker notched 17:37 into the second frame.
Lincoln remained resilient though and trimmed Omaha's lead down to a single goal with a pair of conversions less than seven minutes apart in the final period. First, Luke Johnson won a loose puck battle atop the goal crease before sending in his fourth goal of the season. Eric Scheid and Trent Samuels-Thomas assisted on the man-advantage marker scored 9:09 into the third period. Then, Johnson poked in a rebound 15:42 into the final frame cutting the deficit down to just one. The Stars pressured the Lancers net throughout the final minute and saw one final attempt blocked as regulation ended sealing the Omaha triumph. With the win, the Lancers improved to 9-3 in one-goal games this season.
Lancers goaltender Cole Bruns earned the victory in goal after matching a season-high with 34 saves on 37 Stars shots. With the win, Bruns improved to 5-2 on the year. Meanwhile, Lincoln's Michael Bitzer suffered the loss after 13 saves on 17 Lancers shots.
The Lancers are back in action next Friday evening when they head to Lincoln for a rematch with the Stars.
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