Omaha Lancers News & Notes - Week 18
Published on January 26, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
Omaha, Neb. - The Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) will face three Western Conference opponents in a span of three days this weekend as the team looks to remain atop the conference.
Omaha (21-11-2, 44 pts.) split a pair of games last weekend and enters Week 18 action having won six of its last seven games and 12 of 15 overall. The Lancers saw their five-game home winning streak and five-game winning stretch overall snapped last Friday in a 3-2 setback to the Sioux City Musketeers. The Musketeers notched a pair of goals in the third period sending the Lancers to just their second loss of the season when leading after two periods. Omaha bounced back Saturday and regained sole possession of first place in the Western Conference with a 3-2 victory over the Lincoln Stars. Anthony Hamburg, Kenney Morrison and Ken Babinski all scored for the Lancers as Omaha persevered for its ninth one-goal win of the season. The game featured a USHL season-high 192 penalty minutes and 10 player ejections.
The Lancers return to action tomorrow when they welcome the Tri-City Storm back to the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Tri-City (12-23-0, 24 pts.) snapped its six-game losing skid last Saturday with a 3-2 victory over the Waterloo Black Hawks. Before that, the Storm had fallen in six straight tilts while having been outscored 35-9 by their opponents. Following Friday's showdown in Omaha, Tri-City returns home Saturday to face off against the Sioux Falls Stampede.
Omaha continues its busy weekend Saturday as the team travels to Des Moines to battle the Buccaneers. Des Moines (13-15-3, 29 pts.) split a pair of games last week in a weekend home stand with the Youngstown Phantoms. After winning a 2-1 defensive battle on Friday, Des Moines came out on the wrong end of an 8-6 offensive slugfest on Saturday. The Buccaneers enter the weekend having dropped six of their last eight games overall. Before hosting the Lancers on Saturday, Des Moines will be in Lincoln Friday and will close out a busy weekend of its own on Sunday when the team travels to Waterloo.
Meanwhile, Omaha concludes its busy three-game weekend Sunday when the team returns home to face off against the Fargo Force. Fargo (18-13-3, 39 pts.) enters the week as the hottest team in the league having won a USHL-best nine consecutive games. The Force extended their winning streak last week with 4-1 and 5-2 victories over Sioux Falls with a 5-1 win at Lincoln in between. Fargo has outscored its opposition 43-13 during its recent surge and hasn't lost since a 5-3 setback to Lincoln on December 28. The Force kick off Week 18 action at home tonight against the Musketeers and then will be in Sioux City Saturday before facing the Lancers in Omaha on Sunday.
Omaha Notes:
Omaha Lancers - 21-11-2, 44 pts. (1st Western Conference)
- Omaha enters the weekend having won six of its last seven games at home and six of the team's last seven tilts overall. The Lancers are 6-1 in the month of January and have already matched their season-high for wins in a single calendar month.
- F Anthony Hamburg, F Max Vallis, D Kevin Schulze and G Alex Lyon are all suspended for Friday's showdown with Tri-City as a result of last Saturday's in-game altercation with Lincoln. G Chase Wilson will serve as an emergency goaltender Friday night and all four players are expected to be back in the lineup Saturday in Des Moines.
- F Jimmy Murray continues to lead all Lancers and is tied for seventh among all USHL skaters in scoring with 36 points (eight goals, 28 assists). Committed to St. Cloud State University, Murray leads all USHLers with 28 assists.
- F Casey Bailey leads all Lancers and is tied for seventh among all USHL skaters with 17 goals this season. Bailey enters the week second among all Lancers with 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) and is currently in the midst of a seven-game point streak having tallied four goals and seven assists during the recent run.
- F Ken Babinski enters the week in the midst of a seven-game point streak having notched five goals and three assists over his last seven games. The veteran from Midland, Michigan has already matched his goal output from a season ago (eight) and surpassed his points total (17) from last year.
- Omaha's power play has been red hot of late having produced 12 man-advantage markers over the last six games. During that stretch, the Lancers power play is clicking at 38.7% (12-for-31) and has produced at least one power play goal in each of the team's last six straight games.
Opponents Notes:
Friday, Jan. 27 vs. Tri-City Storm - 12-23-0, 24 pts. (8th Western Conference)
- Friday's meeting is the fourth head-to-head meeting this season between Omaha and Tri-City. The Lancers are 2-1 against the Storm overall this season. Omaha's Jimmy Murray and Matt Gaudreau lead all scorers in the season series with three points apiece through the first three meetings.
- The Storm are 4-13 on the road this season and have been outscored 66-41 in 17 prior road games.
- F Nick Lappin leads all Tri-City skaters in scoring and is tied for 20h among all USHLers with 30 points (17 goals, 13 assists) this season.
Opponents Notes:
Saturday, Jan. 28 @ Des Moines Buccaneers - 13-15-3, 29 pts. (5th Western Conference)
- Saturday's meeting is the fifth of six regular season meetings between Omaha and Des Moines. The Lancers are just 1-3 against the Buccaneers this season but claimed the most recent meeting with a 4-3 victory at the Civic Auditorium on January 6th. Omaha's Casey Bailey along with Des Moines forwards Patrick Kirtland, Cal Decowski and Justin Hussar lead all scorers in the season series with five points each.
- Des Moines is 7-6-3 at home this season and has outscored the opposition 54-50 in 16 prior home contests.
- F Anthony Greco leads all Buccaneers in scoring with 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) this season.
Opponents Notes:
Sunday, Jan. 29 vs. Fargo Force - 18-13-3, 39 pts. (3rd Western Conference)
- Sunday's meeting is the fifth of eight regular season meetings between Omaha and Fargo. The Lancers are just 2-1-1 against the Force this season and are looking to rebound off a 7-1 defeat at the Scheels Arena on December 16th in the most recent head-to-head match-up. Fargo's Austin Farley leads all scorers in the season series with four points (goal, three assists) through the first four meetings.
- Fargo is 8-6-2 on the road this season and has outscored its opposition 52-50 in 16 prior road games.
- F Farley leads all Force skaters and enters the week second among all USHL skaters in scoring this season with 48 points (24 goals, 24 assists). Committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Farley enters the week in the midst of a nine-game point streak having registered seven goals and 11 assists during his recent surge.
United States Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2012
- Ambrosia's Two Goal Third Powers Phantoms Past Black Hawks 4-3 - Youngstown Phantoms
- Penalty-Killers Succeed, But Hawks Fall - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Tri-City Storm News & Notes - Week 18 - Tri-City Storm
- Omaha Lancers News & Notes - Week 18 - Omaha Lancers
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