Lancers Weekly
January 6, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
RALSTON, NE - Still reigning atop not only the Western Conference, but also the overall USHL standings with 50 points at 23-5-4, the Omaha Lancers enjoyed a mostly productive start to the new year that featured a 2-1-0 combined showing in the first of back-to-back three game weeks. On New Year's Eve, the Lancers spoiled the holiday for a sold out crowd at Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa as Omaha claimed a 2-1 victory over the Sioux City Musketeers, the Lancers' first win over their I-29 rivals this season. A disappointing 3-2 home loss to Des Moines on Friday served as the week's lone blemish as the Lancers redeemed themselves on Saturday in a thrilling 8-1 dissection of the rival Lincoln Stars on " TeamMates Night " at Ralston Arena. Clad in specialty " TeamMates " jerseys that were auctioned off following the game to raise money for the TeamMates Mentoring Program, Omaha drew inspiration from a ceremonial puck drop from TeamMates co-founders and Nebraska icons, Tom and Nancy Osborne, and subsequently exacted revenge on their foes from Lincoln in a game that featured four points from Ryan Tait (1G, 3A), two goals, including the game winner, from Tait's linemate Luca Frigo and a grand total of 119 combined penalty minutes. In front of a capacity crowd of over 3,700 fans, the Lancers celebrated their third sellout of the season and first head-to-head win vs. the Stars in the two teams' past two meetings. Next up for the Lancers, it's a nother busy three game week, as Omaha plays host to the Tri-City Storm (11-17-2, 24 pts., 6th in Western Conference) on Wednesday at Ralston Arena on Ralston Community Night, presented by Ramada Plaza Omaha, before traveling to the Viaero Event Center in Kearney on Friday for a rematch with the Storm. Then on Saturday, the Lancers cap off a packed week with a home game vs. the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (15-12-1, 31 pts., 6th in Eastern Conference) on another " $1 Suds & Dogs Night " at Ralston Arena, presented by Cox Communications.
LANCERS NOTES:
OMAHA LANCERS (23-5-4), 50 pts., 1st in Western Conference, W1
- Omaha G Cole Bruns (23 GP, 14-4-4, 7 SO, 1.91 GAA, .929 S%) currently leads the USHL in shutouts, goals-against average and save percentage.
- Lancers F and future Nebraska-Omaha Maverick Jake Randolph (32GP, 15G, 40 A - 55 PTS), leads the USHL in assists, points and power-play points (3G, 17A - 20 PTS).
- Omaha center and UNO recruit Tyler Vesel (32 GP, 24G, 24A - 48 PTS) ranks second to his linemate Randolph in scoring league-wide, leads the USHL in goals and plus/minus (+30), ranks tied for first in game-winning goals (4) and tied for second in shorthanded goals (2).
- Lancers captain, NHL Draft pick (2013 - Winnipeg Jets, 6th round, 127th overall) and North Dakota recruit Tucker Poolman (31 GP, 9G, 16A - 25 PTS) leads all USHL defensemen in goals, points and power-play goals (7).
- A native of Luserna San Giovanni, Italy, Omaha F and future Minnesota State-Mankato Maverick Luca Frigo (32 GP, 11G, 8 A - 19 PTS) is currently tied for the league-lead with four game- winning goals.
- The Lancers are a perfect 6-0-0 vs. Tri-City this season and will wrap up the two teams' nine-game regular season series on January 17th at Ralston Arena in a stretch that will see the two Nebraska rivals square off in three of Omaha's next four games.
OPPONENT NOTES:
TRI-CITY STORM (11-17-2), 24 pts., 6 th in Western Conference, W3
- After a lopsided 8-3 loss to the Lancers on December 27th, Tri-City strung together three straight wins over the defending Western Conference regular season champions, the Sioux Falls Stampede.
- Storm G Jacob Johansson (25 GP, 10-12-2, 2 SO, 2.76 GAA, .920 S%) is tied for second league-wide in appearances and shutouts and ranks third in the USHL in save percentage and total saves (727).
- Storm F Joel L'Esperance (18G, 11A - 29 PTS) has notched ten goals and 15 total points in his past ten games.
- As a team, Tri-City ranks third-worst (14th ) in the USHL in goals for per game (2.50), shots for per game (28.9) and shots allowed per game (35.4) CEDAR RAPIDS ROUGHRIDERS (15-12-1), 31 pts., 6 th in Eastern Conference, W1
- As a team, Cedar Rapids averages 14.2 penalty minutes per game this season, the USHL's second-lowest mark this year.
- The RoughRiders will face the Lancers only twice this season with the brief season-series concluding in Cedar Rapids on March 21st .
- In 2012-13, the Lancers earned a 2-1-0 mark in the season series with the RoughRiders, including a 2-0-0 mark vs. Cedar Rapids at Ralston Arena.
- In last year's season series, Luca Frigo led all Omaha skaters in scoring with three goals and five total points in three head-to- head meetings with Cedar Rapids.
United States Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2014
- Sheehy Latest USHL Honoree - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Lancers Weekly - Omaha Lancers
- Sheehy, McMurphy, Schueneman, and Olson Earn Weekly USHL Honors - USHL
- Schueneman Earns USHL Defenseman of the Week Award - Des Moines Buccaneers
- McMurphy Named Forward of the Week - Tri-City Storm
- SpongeBob at Hawks Game Saturday - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Fans Rise to Occassion; Raise over $11k for John Stoddard Cancer Center - Des Moines Buccaneers
- Ice Close Home Stretch Saturday at Bankers Life - Indiana Ice
- Saints Acquire Defenseman Josh Elmes from Fargo - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Force Trade Josh Elmes to Dubuque - Fargo Force
- Stampede Weekly Update: Stampede Pride Night & Social Media Night Highlight Home Games - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Waterloo Black Hawks Name Players of the Week - Waterloo Black Hawks
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.
