Flying Aces Stymie Stars 5-1
April 5, 2019 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
Lincoln, NE - Lincoln hosted the Central Illinois Flying Aces Friday in the first of two meetings on the weekend.
Lincoln opened with the early push, and maintained the more aggressive play through much of the first period. They met strong resistance from Central Illinois netminder Mitchell Gibson, who stopped the Stars for the first 18:24 of play. In a first period of firsts, the Flying Aces would be first to find the twine. At 12:30 Michael Ferrandino fired a puck past Jacob Mucitelli from just inside the blue line to give Central Illinois the 1-0 lead. The marker was Ferrandino's first in the USHL. The Stars would apply pressure in response, and would finally break through at 18:24. Declan McDonnell hopped on a Jaden Shields rebound, and drove the puck through for his first career goal, tying the game at one at the end of one.
The Flying Aces stole the momentum back in the middle period. Their first marker of the frame came just under 2:30 in, when Joseph Dunlap cut his way around multiple Stars defenders and slipped a puck through for the 2-1 lead. A minute and a half later, Chase Foley lofted a Hail Mary pass over the heads of the Stars defense, and Tyler Gratton beat his man back to tip the puck home for the 2-1 lead 4:59 into the period. The Stars pushed back but could not maintain pressure as well as they did in the first, faltering twice on the power play, allowing Gibson and the Flying Aces to protect their lead through the end of the period.
In the third, Central Illinois withstood the Stars comeback effort through the first half of the frame. Lynden Breen helped deliver it a major set back when he scooped up loose change left by Joseph Dunlap at 10:52 in the third, depositing it under the bar to build a 4-1 Flying Aces lead. Lincoln couldn't solve Mitchell Gibson, and in an effort to find a spark, they pulled their goalie with just over 3:00 to play. Off a timeout shortly after the pull, Phil Lapointe broke free off a lead pass from John Driscoll and put home the empty netter against his former team. At the horn, the Stars fell 5-1.
Lincoln will meet Central Illinois again tomorrow night at the Ice Box at 7:05 pm CDT.
A full promo schedule for the remaining Stars home games this season can be found here. Enjoy All You Can Eat Hockey at single home games by purchasing a group of five or more, or grab one of our multi-game memberships to secure the same seat each game. Parking is completely FREE this season!
United States Hockey League Stories from April 5, 2019
- Stampede Runs over Phantoms 4-1 - Youngstown Phantoms
- Muskegon Clinches East Top Seed with 4-3 OT Win at Madison - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Storm Drop Road Game to Sioux City 4-2 - Tri-City Storm
- Steel Skate Away Friday - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Herbst Stops 36 as Chicago Beats Waterloo 3-1 Friday Night - Chicago Steel
- Dubuque Downs Cedar Rapids 4-3 Behind Gaber's Two Goals - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Flying Aces Outshine the Stars - Central Illinois Flying Aces
- Flying Aces Stymie Stars 5-1 - Lincoln Stars
- Stampede Top Phantoms, Take Sole Possession of 2nd Place - Sioux Falls Stampede
- 2019-20 U.S. National Under-17 Team Unveiled - U.S. National Team
- Gameday Preview: Storm Travel to Sioux City for Road Game against Musketeers - Tri-City Storm
- Preview - Flying Aces at Stars - Lincoln Stars
- Cedar Rapids and Chicago Come to Town for Possible Playoff Preview - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Steel Announce Special Playoff Ticket Offer - Chicago Steel
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
