Lancers Off To Record-Setting Start In 2013-14
October 7, 2013 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
RALSTON, NE - A 2012-13 season in which the Omaha Lancers missed the playoffs for the first time in nearly a quarter century seems quite a distance in the rearview mirror as the Lancers continued a scintillating start to the 2013-14 campaign, the team's 28th as a member of the United States Hockey League (USHL), with a 4-0 shutout victory over the defending Western Conference champion Sioux Falls Stampede on Friday at Sioux Falls Arena. With the shutout, Omaha's third in a row to start the season, the Lancers, along with veteran netminder Cole Bruns, matched an all-time USHL record for consecutive shutouts (3- Sioux City Musketeers 1999-2000) and set new league marks in consecutive shutouts to start a season as a team and individual consecutive shutouts to begin the regular season by a goaltender. All of those benchmarks also established new Lancers franchise records. After posting 17-save and 19-save performances in his first two games of the season, Bruns, a Prairie grove, Illinois native, stopped all 25 Stampede shots he faced on Friday, meaning the as-yet uncommitted backstop has turned aside the first 61 shots he's seen in 2013 - 14. Bruns' 0.00 goals -against average and 1.000 save percentage both naturally rank first league-wide. It hasn't just been Bruns setting the world on fire for the Lancers to start the season, as Omaha boats three players currently in the USHL's top -15 in scoring including Omaha native Gage Hough (2G, 3A - 5 PTS) and future UNO Maverick Tyler Vesel (3G, 2A - 5 PTS), both tied for 15th in the league in points, and Jake Randolph, also a UNO recruit, whose six points (2G, 4A) have him off to a two points-per-game pace and slot him tied for ninth in the USHL in scoring. Next up for the Lancers, it's a back -to-back weekend homestand as Omaha plays host to Sioux Falls on Friday at Ralston Arena at 7:05 pm in a rematch of what was a chippy affair at Sioux Falls Arena last Friday night, and the Des Moines Buccaneers on Saturday, Omaha's victims in a 4-0 road win at Buccaneer Arena on September 28th . Full coverage of both games begins at 6:50 pm with the "Valpak Pregame Show" Friday on 1620 "The Zone" KOZN and on Saturday on the flagship station for Lancers hockey, "The Mighty" 1290 KOIL with Lancers broadcaster Tony Brown providing the play -by-play.
LANCERS NOTES: OMAHA LANCERS (3-0-0), 6 pts., 2nd in Western Conference, W3
- Lancers goaltender COLE BRUNS is off to the best start by an individual goaltender in USHL history, stopping each of the first 61 shots he's faced to start the season in three consecutive shutouts, tying a USHL all-time league and individual record and setting new franchise records in both categories in the process.
- Omaha's JAKE RANDOLPH (2G, 4A - 6 PTS) currently ranks tied for ninth in the USHL in scoring, GAGE HOUGH (2G, 3A - 5 PTS) and TYLER VESEL (3G, 2A - 5 PTS) are tied for 15th in points, Vesel and LUCA FRIGO (3G, 1A - 4 PTS) rank tied for fifth in the USHL in goals and Hough and Vesel (2PPG apiece) currently rank tied for second league-wide in power-play goals.
- As a team, the Lancers currently rank second in the Western Conference in goals (13, eighth in the USHL overall), but are the stingiest team in the league to this point, having yet to surrender a goal to the opposition in the 2013-14 season. In 2012-13, the Lancers struggled to score, ranking dead last in the league in goals with 177. Last year, it took Omaha until their seventh game of the season to score their 13th overall goal.
- Through three games, the Lancers' power-play ranks first in the league with a 38.46% conversion rate (5/13), converting on three of its four chances in Friday's 4-0 win in Sioux Falls and burying at least one extra-man tally in each of the Lancers three victories this season. The Lancers' penalty kill is also tops in the league, as Omaha has killed off all 13 of the penalties they've faced (100%).
OPPONENT NOTES:
SIOUX FALLS STAMPEDE (4-1-0), 8 pts., 1st in Western Conference, W1
The Powerful Stampede return 14 players from their regular-season Western Conference champion squad from a year ago, including four of that team's top five scorers.
- Sioux Falls native and Minnesota State-Mankato commit Zeb Knutson (8G, 1A - 9 PTS) currently leads the USHL in goals and ranks tied for second in points while fellow Mankato-bound forward CJ Franklin (1G, 7A - 8 PTS) ranks sixth in the league in scoring and is tied for second in assists and UMass-Amherst commit Dennis Kravchenko (1G, 6A - 7 PTS) is tied for fourth in assists and tied for 7th in points.
- In their only meeting with the Lancers to this point in 2013-14, the Stampede dropped a 4-0 decision to Omaha at Sioux Falls Arena on October 4th .
DES MOINES BUCCANEERS
(1-3-0), 2 pts., T7th in Western Conference, L1
The Bucs leading scorer, forward Ryan Galt (3G) is an Omaha native and recently made his commitment to UNO.
- The Bucs' only victory of the season came on the road in a 4-3 shootout win in Lincoln on October 4th .
- In their only meeting with the Lancers to this point in 2013-14, the Buccaneers dropped a 4-0 decision to Omaha at Buccaneer Arena in Des Moines on September 28th .
United States Hockey League Stories from October 7, 2013
- Lancers Off To Record-Setting Start In 2013-14 - Omaha Lancers
- Johansson Named USHL Goaltender of the Week - Tri-City Storm
- Phantoms' Piccinich Nets Offensive Player of the Week Accolades - Youngstown Phantoms
- Friedman Is Top Defenseman - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Piccinich, Friedman, and Johansson Earn USHL Weekly Honors - USHL
- Ice Fieldhouse Home Opener this Saturday - Indiana Ice
- Defense, Goaltending Shine for Buccaneers - Des Moines Buccaneers
- USAH out in Front on Safety - U.S. National Team
- Waterloo Black Hawks Name Players of the Week - Waterloo Black Hawks
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