Lancers Meet Bucs In Division Matchup
Published on March 30, 2007 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
A renewal of a long standing USHL rivalry continues tonight, when the Des Moines Buccaneers meet the Lancers at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. Game time for tonight's contest is 7:00 PM. The Lancers will seek to continue their hold on the top spot in the USHL standings, while the Bucs are in striking distance of home-ice advantage for a first-round Clark Cup playoff series in their quest to defend the trophy they won last season.
The Lancers enter this evening's contest with a record of 34-14-5 for 73 points and first place in the USHL West Division and in the overall Anderson Cup regular season race. The Lancers have a home record of 18-6-1, are 7-1-2 in their last ten games played and have a one-game winning streak. The Lancers lead second-place Lincoln by two points in both the West Division standings and overall league ledger. After tonight's game, the Lancers host Green Bay tomorrow night at the Mid-America Center with start time of 7:00 PM. Tomorrow night's game will be the final regular season contest against an East Division opponent this season. Tuesday, April 3rd, the Lancers will return to West Division play against the Tri-City Storm in a home game that will also begin at 7:00 PM.
The Buccaneers have a record of 28-18-4 for 64 points and fourth place in the USHL West Division race. Des Moines is two points behind third place Tri-City and home ice advantage in the first round of the Clark Cup playoffs, and is one point ahead of fifth place Sioux City. Des Moines is also in sixth place overall in the race for the Anderson Cup. The Bucs are 12-9-6 in road games this season, 4-4-2 in their last ten games, and have a one-game winning streak going into tonight's contest. Des Moines is coming off a 6-2 victory over Tri-City on Tuesday night of this week in Des Moines. After tonight's game, Des Moines will play host to Lincoln on Saturday, March 31st.
RECENT HISTORY
In the season series against the Des Moines Buccaneers, the Lancers have a record of 4-3-0 for eight points, while the Buccaneers have a 3-2-2 mark, also for eight points. Tonight's final meeting between the two teams will determine the winner of the season series. After losing the first three games against Des Moines, the first two consecutive games by shutout, the Lancers rebounded with a 3-2 shootout win in Des Moines on December 29th, followed by a 4-1 victory the next night, December 30th, at the Mid-America Center. The Lancers also claimed a 7-4 victory on January 19th in Des Moines, and beat the Bucs 3-2 in overtime on St. Patrick's Day at the MAC.
VALENT IS GOALIE OF THE WEEK RUNNER-UP
Goaltender Michal Valent was the runner up to Lincoln's Bryan Hogan for this week's USHL Goaltender of the Week award. Valent posted a 1-0-0 record over last weekend with a 1.22 goals-against-average and a save percentage of .944. Michal posted the win in last Friday's 3-2 overtime victory over Sioux Falls, collecting 20 saves and allowing just two goals. Since then, Valent was the winning goaltender in this past Tuesday's 5-2 victory over Cedar Rapids, making 31 saves and allowing just two goals. Valent has played in only ten games since arriving in Omaha, or else his name would be near the top of several league-leading stat categories. For the season, the native of Martin, Slovakia has fashioned a 8-0-1 record, a goals-against-average of 2.13, and a save percentage of .921. At home this year, Michal is 5-0-0 with a goals-against-average of 1.55 and a save percentage of .931. In his last five games with the Lancers, Valent has played in four games, starting three and posting a 3-0-0 record, with a goals-against-average of 1.61 and a save percentage of .933.
Valent was chosen 147th overall (5th round) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, but they released their rights to him last year. He has been in international competition, having played with Slovakia's Under-18 national team and was in the 2006 Under-20 World Junior Championships in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
LOOK TO OLVER FOR OFFENSE
A constant throughout the 2006-07 USHL regular season for the Lancers has been the offensive production of veteran forward Mark Olver. The Northern Michigan recruit leads the Lancers in points and is tied for 14th in the overall USHL points race. Olver has 27 goals and 28 assists for 55 points in 50 games, an average of 1.1 points per game. Olver is fifth in the USHL in shots on goal with 187, or 3.74 shots per game. He's in a tie for third in the USHL in game-winning goals with five and is one-game winning goal off a tie for the league lead. Olver's plus-26 puts him in a tie for second in the USHL.
LANCERS' SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY UPDATE
On the power play, the Lancers have scored 48 goals in 375 chances, a 12.8% rate, which falls in a tie for tenth-best (with Chicago) in the USHL. At home, the Lancers have scored 22 power play goals in 187 chances, an 11.8% rate, which ranks eleventh in the USHL.
At home on the penalty kill, the Lancers have allowed 26 power play goals in 164 chances for 84.1% (ninth in the USHL). Overall this season, the Lancers have allowed 69 power play goals in 376 opportunities for 83.1%, or 11th best in the USHL.
At home, the Lancers have scored nine shorthanded goals and have allowed none. Overall, 12 shorthanded goals have been scored by the Lancers, who have allowed four shorthanded goals this year.
ALSO OF NOTE....
The Lancers average 22.09 penalty minutes per game, which include one-game misconduct penalty and nine 10-minute misconducts.
In overtime games, the Lancers are 5-2, while in shootouts they're 5-3. When scoring first, the Lancers have a record of 17-5-2.
In games against the West Division this season, the Lancers have a mark of 14-13-2.
The Lancers are averaging 3.70 goals per game, third best in the USHL, and are allowing 3.23 goals a contest, sixth in the league rankings.
When leading after two periods, the Lancers have won 20 games this season (20-1-1) and are 24-7-3 when out shooting their opponents. Even when trailing after one period, the Lancers have posted a winning record at 10-8-2. In one-goal contests, the record is 16-5-5.
At home when tied after two periods, the Lancers' record is 4-2-1 and is 8-3-0 when tied after one frame of play.
Last Friday's 3-2 overtime victory over Sioux Falls marked the third straight home overtime victory by the Lancers, a feat that has not happened before in at least five years. Tuesday's regulation time win over Cedar Rapids stopped that skein.
Before Tuesday night's victory over the RoughRiders, four of the previous five games played by the Lancers had ended with overtime decisions, with the Lancers winning three of four (3-0-1).
Nick Petrecki has been tagged for 26 penalty minutes in his last seven straight games, a streak dating back to March 10th.
The Lancers have put together a string of nine straight home wins, going back to January 16th, and is tied for the longest active home winning streak in the USHL. The Lancers also have a streak going of three straight games without a loss, dating back to March 23rd, a streak that's the third longest active streak in the league.
QUARTET MAKING MUSIC IN LANCERS' LAST FIVE
A quartet of Lancers, including three forwards and a defenseman, have paced the team's offense in the club's last five games. Forwards Mark Olver, Andrew Conboy, Barry Almeida, and defenseman Jake Marto each have collected five points during the team's last quintet of games. Olver and Matt Thurber have each scored three goals to lead the team in goal scoring during the Lancers' last five contests, while Marto and Almeida each have four assists to pace the team in that category. Marto has also earned a plus-eight plus/minus rating at the same time. Both of Conboy's goals have come on the power play, and Brett Bruneteau and Jarmo Jokila each have game-winning overtime goals during that period. In net, Michal Valent has posted a perfect 3-0-0 record, a stingy 1.61 goals-against-average, and an impressive .933 save percentage.
TRIO LEADS IN SCORING DURING LANCERS LAST 10
Three players have averaged over a point a game for the Lancers in the team's last ten games, during which they've earned a record of 7-1-2. The group is led by Andrew Conboy, whose team-leading eight goals and 13 points (1.3 points per game) lead the Lancers in points during the team's last ten contests. Three of Conboy's goals have come on the power play, while Mark Olver and Nick Petrecki have provided shorthanded goals. Conboy also has two game-winning goals and one empty-net score. Matt Thurber and Barry Almeida are also in the point-a-game category, as each player has 11 points in the last ten games, or 1.1 points per contest. Thurber, Almeida, Travis Novak and Jarmo Jokila each have six assists. Thurber and Jake Marto have posted a plus-10 plus/minus ranking in the last ten encounters. Between the pipes, Drew Palmisano has a 4-1-1 record, a 3.96 goals-against-average, and a save percentage of .896. Meanwhile, Michal Valent has provided a 3-0-1 record, a goals-against-average of 2.08, and a save percentage of .914. saves (1248), and shootout wins (6).
LANCER COLLEGE COMMITMENTS
Boston College: Nick Petrecki, Barry Almeida
Michigan State: Drew Palmisano
Minnesota: Nick Larson
Nebraska-Omaha: Andrew Conboy
North Dakota: Jake Marto, Brett Bruneteau
Northern Michigan: Mark Olver
Ohio State: Corey Toy, Patrick Schafer
St. Cloud State: Travis Novak, Chris Hepp
Vermont: Jack Downing
Wisconsin: Matt Thurber
NCAA TOURNAMENT HAS DISTINCT LANCER FLAVOR
As the NCAA Division One men's hockey tournament has moved into its Frozen Four in St. Louis, Missouri, starting April 6th, it should be noted that the tournament field of teams had a distinctive Lancer flavor. A league-high 21 former Lancers were on the rosters of the 16 teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament. A total of 130 former USHL players were involved in the tournament, with every team in the league having at least one alum in the tournament.
Among the Lancers alumni in the tournament were:
Michigan: Jason Dest, Tim Miller, Brandon Naurato, Tim Cook
Minnesota: Mike Howe, Evan Kaufmann, Tony Lucia
Notre Dame: T.J. Jindra, Ryan Thang
Michigan State: Jeff Lerg, Ryan Turek, Matt Schepke, Bobby Jarosz
Clarkson: Zech Klann
St. Cloud State: Nate Raduns, Grant Clafton
New Hampshire: Nick Krates, Trevor Smith
Boston College: Brett Motherwell, Nathan Gerbe, Brock Bradford
In addition to the players, Air Force head coach Frank Serratore coached the Rochester Mustangs (1982-87) and the Lancers (1989-90).
CLAFTON SIGNS WITH UTAH
Former Lancer Grant Clafton has signed a professional contract with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL. A defenseman, Clafton recently completed a four-year career with St. Cloud State University, where this season, he scored two goals and added six assists for eight points in 38 games. Clafton also recorded 28 minutes in penalties. With the River City Lancers, Grant recorded 12 goals and 46 assists in two seasons (2001-02 and 2002-03).
United States Hockey League Stories from March 30, 2007
- Third Period the Hawks Undoing - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Cepis Ties Team Record with 31st Goal - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
- Dignitaries in Kearney for Sled Hockey clinic - Tri-City Storm
- Lancers Meet Bucs In Division Matchup - Omaha Lancers
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