Lancers Weekly
December 9, 2013 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
RALSTON, NE - By virtue of a pair of wins over the Fargo Force at Ralston Arena on Friday and Saturday by 1-0 and 5-2 final scores, the Omaha Lancers have won five consecutive games and at 19-3-2, sit alone atop both the Western Conference and overall USHL standings. On Friday, Lancers goaltender Cole Bruns (18 GP, 13-3-2, 7 SO, 1.72 GAA, .935 S%) was phenomenal, turning in a perfect, 16-save performance to claim his league-leading 7th shutout and league-best 13th win of the year. The Prairie Grove, Illinois native and future Army Black Knight currently leads the USHL in goals-against average and save percentage. After tallying the lone goal in Friday's victory for Omaha, a shorthanded marker and his first-career game-winning score, Stockholm, Sweden native Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (6G, 9A - 15 PTS) collected a goal and an assist on Saturday to claim a point-per-game pace over the course of his last five games played. Besides " JFK ", four other Lancers ( Jake Randolph, Tucker Poolman, Ryan Tait and Tyler Vesel ) provided multi-point showings on Saturday. Next up for the Lancers, it's a busy three game week, as Omaha plays host to the Tri-City Storm (6-15-2, 14 pts., 7th in Western Conference) on Wednesday at Ralston Arena on " College Night " before the always pesky Waterloo Black Hawks (16-5-1, 33 pts., 3rd in Western Conference) come to town for the first time this season on Friday, presented by Cox Communications. Then on Saturday, the Lancers cap off their pre-holiday schedule with a Saturday trip to the IceBox Arena in Lincoln to do battle with the Lincoln Stars (5-12-5, 15 pts., 6th in Western Conference).
LANCERS NOTES:
OMAHA LANCERS (19-3-2), 40 pts., 1st in Western Conference, W5
- Omaha G Cole Bruns (18 GP, 13-3-2, 7 SO, 1.72 GAA, .935 S%) is currently tied for the league-lead in wins and ranks first alone in shutouts, goals-against average and save percentage.
- Still the USHL's leading scorer, Lancers F Jake Randolph (12G, 32A - 44 PTS) leads the USHL in assists and power-play assists (12) and is tied for the league-lead in plus/minus (+25).
- Rookie Omaha F Tyler Vesel (20G, 15A - 35 PTS) leads the league in goals and game-winning goals (4), ranks second in points and is tied for tops in the USHL in plus/minus (+25)
- Omaha's five shorthanded goals are tied for the USHL lead.
- The Lancers have scored the second-most goals in the USHL this season (91) and have allowed the fewest (45) for a league-best goal differential of +46. Of Omaha's 91 total goals-for this year, 46.2% of them have come in the third period of games (42).
- The newest Lancer is 17 year-old, 6'3", 200 lb., right handed winger Zach Jordan, a Collinsville, Illinois native and Michigan Tech recruit, who was acquired by Omaha via trade on Saturday from the Minnesota Wilderness of the NAHL in exchange for future considerations.
- Lancers D Tucker Poolman (7G, 10A - 17 PTS) currently leads all USHL defensemen in goals, ranks second in points and is tied for the league-lead in power-play goals among defensemen (5).
- The Lancers' current five game winning streak is the longest such active streak in the USHL.
- Omaha's overall power-play (22.7%), road power-play (28.3%), overall penalty-kill (90.5%), home penalty-kill (94.0%) and road penalty-kill (87.9%) all rank second in the USHL this season.
OPPONENT NOTES:
TRI-CITY STORM (6-15-2), 14 pts., 7 th in Western Conference, W1
- Tri-City is one of only two teams in the USHL this season (Waterloo) to not allow a shorthanded goal so far this year.
- The Storm rank second-worst in the league in goals scored per game (2.09), shots-on-goal per game (29.0) and shots allowed per game (37.0).
- Tri-City G Jacob Johansson (19 GP, 5-11-2), 2 SO, 3.02 GAA, .917 S%) ranks third in the league in total saves this season (585).
WATERLOO BLACK HAWKS
(16-5-1), 33 pts., 3rd in Western Conference, OTL1 (SO)
- Black Hawks D Mark Friedman (3G, 16A - 19 PTS) ranks first among USHL defensemen in assists, points and plus/minus (+18).
- As a team, Waterloo are the least penalized squad in the USHL this year, averaging just 14.6 PIM's per game.
- The Hawks are a perfect 2-0-0 vs. the Lancers this season, but each of those games were played in Waterloo on Young Arena's Olympic-size ice sheet.
- The Black Hawks rank in the USHL's top five in goals-for per game (3.73, 3rd ), goals-against per game (2.68, 4th ) and shots-on- goal per game (37.8, 1st ).
LINCOLN STARS (5-12-5), 15 pts., 6 th in Western Conference, W1
- Lincoln defensemen Zach Frye (96 PIM's) and Connor Frantti (72 PIM's) rank first and second in the USHL in penalty minutes.
- The Stars are the second most-penalized team in the USHL this year (22.4 PIM's per game).
- Stars G Michael Bitzer has appeared in all 22 games for Lincoln this year (20 starts) and the future Bemidji State Beaver leads the league in minutes played (1312:05) and ranks second in total saves (613).
United States Hockey League Stories from December 9, 2013
- L'Esperance, Vanko, and Hayton Earn Weekly USHL Honors - Sioux City Musketeers
- Vieth Headed North to Alaska - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Lancers Weekly - Omaha Lancers
- Hayton Named Reebok Goaltender of the Week - Sioux City Musketeers
- Des Moines Buccaneers Weekly - Des Moines Buccaneers
- L'Esperance Named Player of the Week - Tri-City Storm
- Ice Home Friday at Pan Am Pavilion - Indiana Ice
- Waterloo Black Hawks Name Players of the Week - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Gluchowski Chosen as Team Captain - Tri-City Storm
- Fargo Force Offer NDSU Bison Ticket Discount - Fargo Force
- Meet Santa at Holidays with the Herd this Friday - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Stampede's Molino & Nanne Make College Commitments - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Affiliate Grant Jozefek Commits to Northeastern - Muskegon Lumberjacks
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