Lancers weekly
Published on October 27, 2004 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
THE LANCERS THIS WEEK: The Lancers play host to a pair of games at the Mid America Center in Council Bluffs this weekend. The Lancers are hosting the Sioux City Musketeers Friday evening, October 29th, at 7:05 PM, followed on Saturday, October 30th with another 7:05 PM encounter against the Chicago Steel. Both contests, along with all Lancer games the entire season, are broadcast live on Fox Sports Radio 1490, KOSR-AM, in Omaha, and online at www.lancers.com, with veteran USHL broadcaster Bob Bakken providing the play-by-play. Bob is in his third season with the Lancers, and 11th season overall providing play-by-play coverage of USHL hockey. Broadcast coverage will start 15 minutes prior to face-off.
THE LANCERS' LAST GAME: Jeff LoVecchio scored a pair of goals as the Lancers rallied for a 3-1 victory over the Black Hawks in Waterloo, Sunday, October 24th, the Lancers' third straight victory. Waterloo scored first with a power play goal from David Meckler at 9:26 of the first period. But, LoVecchio's first goal came at 17:05 of the frame, from Nick Fanto and Andy Meyer, fashioning a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes. After a scoreless second period, LoVecchio got the eventual game winning goal at 3:17 of the third period on the power play, helped again by Fanto and Meyer, for a 2-1 lead. Tim Miller added an unassisted empty net goal at 18:24 to ice the contest for the Lancers. Waterloo outshot the Lancers for the game 26-25, with Lancer goalie Jeff Lerg winning his seventh game in net. Lerg stopped 25 shots on goal, while losing Waterloo goalie Joe Grossman stopped 22 of 24 shots on goal. The Lancers were 1-for-7 on the power play, while Waterloo went 1-for-5. The Lancers received nine penalties for 18 minutes; the Black Hawks took 11 penalties for 32 minutes. Trevor Smith led the Lancers' plus-minus statistics with a plus-two for the game.
SCOUTING SIOUX CITY: The Musketeers enter Friday's contest with a record of 4-3-2 for 10 points and fourth place in the Western Division standings. The Muskies are playing their fifth road game of the season, and are 1-2-1 away from the Tyson Events Center. Sioux City is first in the league in average penalty minutes with 28.44 PIMs per game. Sioux City also leads the USHL in ten-minute misconduct penalties with six. Dennis McCauley leads the Musketeers in scoring with eight points (5 goals, 3 assists), putting him in a tie for 12th in the USHL. McCauley's five goals put him in a tie for seventh in the league. Jon Ralph and Joe Charlebois lead the squad with five assists. Ralph's plus-six puts him in a tie for fifth in the league. Charlesbois is tied for third in the league in penalty minutes with 43, followed by McCauley in fifth place in 38. Travis Turnbull has three power play goals on the season, one more than McCauley's two. Between the pipes, Jimmy Spratt is seventh among goaltenders with a 2.37 goals-against-average. His .925 save percentage is sixth in the league statistics. Sioux City's 12.70% power play percentage is seventh in the league, while the power play rates 88.14%, fifth in the USHL. In the teams' previous encounter, Sioux City held off the Lancers at Sioux City 3-2, on September 30th, as Turnbull, McCauley, and Nick Kemp scored goals.
AROUND THE USHL: Dennis McCauley of the Sioux City Musketeers has committed to the Northeastern University program for next season, where he will be joining former Lancer Yale Lewis. Former Musketeer Tim Judy is a senior defenseman on this year's Huskies' roster. Cedar Rapids forward Gary Steffes has committed to Miami of Ohio for next season, where he will be joining former Lancer Matt Davis. Veteran forward Jeff Hazelwood has been traded from Green Bay to Des Moines for first-year forward Joe Long. Players of the Week in the USHL from last week's play were Green Bay's Blake Wheeler on offense and Waterloo's Drew O'Connell on defense.
CHECKING CHICAGO: The defending Eastern Division champions start the weekend with a record of 4-7-0 for 8 points, and fourth place in the division standings. The Steel have played the most number of games in the league to this point with 11 contests already in the books, including the Lancers' season-opening 5-3 win in Chicago on September 24th. Chicago has done well on the road this season, with a road mark of 3-2-0 before the weekend began. The Steel is first in the division in penalty minutes with 233, third in the East in goals scored with 25, and is fourth in goals allowed with 29. T.J. Fox leads the Steel in scoring with eight points (5 goals, 3 assists). His five goals lead the team in that category, while teammate Chris Walsh tops the Steel in assists with five. Eric Lampe paces Chicago in penalty minutes with 29, while Fox is tied for third in the league in power play goals with three. Billy Sauer has emerged as a top goaltender for the Steel, posting a 3-2-0 record, a scintillating 1.49 goals-against-average (second in the USHL), and a save percentage of .951 (also second in the USHL). Chicago is looking to improve its 9.68% power play average (10th in the league), and has a penalty killing percentage of 83.58% (9th in the league).
THE OFFICIALS: The USHL has assigned Ian Croft as referee for Friday night's game with Sioux City, assisted by linesmen Bryan Pancich and Michael Oliver. On Saturday night, Nicholas Suhy serves as referee, with linesmen Mark Bradley and Anthony Czech.
NEXT UP FOR THE LANCERS: The "Beast of the East" comes to the MAC for the first time this year next Friday night, as Eastern Division frontrunner Cedar Rapids visits the Lancers for a 7:05 PM contest. The following night, the Lancers travel to Lincoln for another 7:05 PM contest at the State Fair Park Coliseum "IceBox." It will be the first game for the Lancers against the RoughRiders this season, while the Lancers handled the Stars in the home opener October 2nd, 7-1.
NOTING THE LANCERS: Corey Carlson's hat trick last Friday night was the second by a Lancer player this season, as Trevor Smith scored four goals at Green Bay on September 25th. Two-goal efforts have come this season from the following Lancers: Brock Bradford (at Chicago, September 24th, vs. Lincoln October 1st), Ted Cook (at Des Moines, October 9th), and Jeff LoVecchio (vs. Tri-City, October 16th, and at Waterloo, October 24th). The Lancers (3-0-0) are the only group to have a perfect record at home this season. The Lancers have the top three scorers in the United States Hockey League, led by Brock Bradford's 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists). Trevor Smith and Corey Carlson are tied for second in scoring with 14 points. Smith has eight goals and six assists, while Carlson has six goals and eight assists. Smith's eight goals are the most by a USHL player this season, so far, while Bradford's 11 assists put him in a tie with Dan Riedel for the league lead in that category. Smith also leads the league in power play goals with five. Bradford's nine shots on goal in the season-opening win at Chicago September 24th are the most taken by a Lancer in a game this year. Kyle Acre's 15 minutes in penalties against Chicago September 24th are the most taken in a game by a Lancer this season. Corey Carlson's 38 shots on goal are the most by a USHL player so far this season, followed by Trevor Smith with 33 and Brock Bradford with 32. Jeff Lerg's shutout of Tri-City October 16th was the fifth of his USHL career. Lerg leads the league in wins with seven, and is third in the league in goals-against-average with a 1.71 GAA. He's also third in saves (209) and third in save percentage (.933). Jeff LoVecchio is on an offensive tear, with six goals in his last four contests. In addition, Tim Miller has two goals in his last two games. The Lancers have the longest active winning streak in the league at three, and the longest active home winning streak, also at three. The last time the Lancers were held under three goals was the 3-2 loss at Sioux City September 30th. That is the fewest number of goals the Lancers have scored in any game this season.
THIS WEEKEND IN THE USHL:
(Friday, October 29th)
Sioux City at LANCERS (7:05 PM)
Des Moines at Sioux Falls
Indiana at Waterloo
Chicago at Lincoln
Tri-City at Green Bay
(Saturday, October 30th)
Chicago at LANCERS (7:05 PM)
Tri-City at Green Bay
Lincoln at Sioux Falls
Indiana at Cedar Rapids
Sioux City at Des Moines
United States Hockey League Stories from October 27, 2004
- Lancers weekly - Omaha Lancers
- Dale Jarrett #88 UPS Car And Simulator At RoughRiders Game Saturday - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
- Bucs acquire additional veteran help - Des Moines Buccaneers
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