5 Things: Stars Stun Bucs with Late Comeback
November 13, 2021 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
The Lincoln Stars (9-3-1) rallied from a 4-2 deficit with under 30 seconds to go in regulation for a 5-4 victory in overtime over the Des Moines Buccaneers. Here are five things that happened:
1.) Antonio Gets Things Started
Following a goalless first period, Antonio Fernandez found the back of the net with a shot from the right point 10:13 into the middle frame.
Keaton Peters, playing in his first USHL game, collected the secondary assist by pushing the puck back to the blue line for Dalton Norris. Norris then fed it across to Fernandez, who picked the top right corner on Lucas Szyszka.
The San Jose, CA native's second goal of the season gave the Stars a well-needed boost after being heavily outshot early on.
2.) The "C" stands for Comeback
One of the most chaotic third periods you'll ever see began with Michael Bevilacqua's power-play goal for the Bucs inside the first 90 seconds. Norris responded with his team-leading fourth power-play goal of the season, hammering a one-timer home at 7:26. Aidan Thompson and Jo Lemay were credited with the assists.
Under a minute later, Mitchell Wolfe blistered a shot under the crossbar, immediately swaying momentum back to the visitors by tying the game. Scout Truman gave Des Moines their first lead of the game with a shot from the slot that beat Kaidan Mbereko following an impressive retrieval by Killian Kiecker-Olson.
Truman's goal came with under five minutes left in regulation. Davis Burnside added an empty-net tally after the Stars were unable to get set up in the offensive zone for an extra attacker, increasing Des Moines' lead to 4-2 with 1:18 left.
With Stars fans starting to pile out of the Ice Box, Jo Lemay cashed in on a 6-on-4 advantage, scoring his second goal of the season with 26.7 seconds remaining. Down 4-3 with under a half a minute to go, Mbereko started the shift on the bench, putting Lincoln on a 6-on-5 advantage to begin the shift.
The Stars won the face-off and broke into the offensive zone, looking for one last chance. Lemay then found a loose puck along the far-side circle, dished it rinkwide for Norris, who made no mistake for his second goal of the game. The Stars captain's goal came 14 seconds after Lemay's, tying the game at four and sending the Ice Box into a frenzy.
Lucas Wahlin, who had a penalty shot earlier in the game and was stopped, had one last chance in regulation, but we would need overtime to solve this one.
3.) Nelson Calls Game
Wahlin would be called upon in overtime following a pass from Mason Marcellus in the neutral zone that set up a Stars 2-on-1. The University of St. Thomas commit settled down the puck with his right hand, drove down the right-wing and hit Henry Nelson with a perfect pass.
Nelson's quick snapshot beat Szyskza, securing the win and one of the best comebacks in recent memory for Lincoln in the process. Nelson snapped an eight-game goalless drought with the GWG and was mobbed by his teammates.
4.) Mbereko STANDS ON HIS HEAD
This storybook ending would not be possible without the play of Mbereko, however. The 18-year-old goaltender stopped all 19 shots he faced in the first period, keeping Des Moines' high-octane offense at bay. This included a 5-on-3 sequence that saw him make an incredible left pad save on Joshua Barnes.
Mbereko came up big time and time again, bailing out his teammates and giving them an opportunity to stay in the game. It was an all-out battle for the Stars goaltender, who was starting for the first time since October 23rd following two tough outings. Stars head coach Rocky Russo had all the faith in the world that Mbereko would bounce back and boy, did he deliver.
"He's the reason we won the game tonight," Russo said postgame. "He was so big for us in our most desperate moments in this game. I'm so proud of him because obviously, he dealt with some adversity with his last two starts. He's so mentally tough and has such high character. For him to do what he did tonight says a lot about him as a human being."
5.) WWWW
You have to go all the way back to March 3rd, 2018 for the last time the Lincoln Stars won four consecutive games. During the 2017-18 season, Lincoln rattled off ten straight wins to rescue their season and make the playoffs.
This year's group has started the year off 9-3-1, including a 4-1 record at the Ice Box. The power play scored twice, the penalty kill was 6-for-7 and the boys had an answer for every obstacle that came their way on Friday night. Not a lot of teams boast the mental toughness to lock in as a cohesive unit when their backs are against the wall.
The Stars did that and then some in the late stages of regulation, scoring two goals in 14 seconds in the final half-minute. The team has to have a short memory as the boys head to Des Moines to face the Bucs on Saturday night, but Stars fans will be remembering Friday night's finish for a long, long time.
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