Omaha Lancers News & Notes - Week 19
February 1, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
Omaha, Neb. - The Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) look to maintain their lead atop the Western Conference this weekend as they prepare for road games in Fargo and Sioux City.
Omaha (23-12-2, 48 pts.) earned four of a possible six standings points last weekend to vault into a four-point lead atop the West. The four standings point edge is the greatest cushion the Lancers have had atop the Western Conference this season. After suffering a 3-2 setback to the Tri-City Storm last Friday, Omaha responded with a 4-0 shutout at the Des Moines Buccaneers on Saturday followed by a 6-2 home victory over the Fargo Force on Sunday. Saturday's road win in Des Moines stretched the team's road winning streak to four consecutive games while the Lancers have won claimed victories in eight of the team's last 10 games and 14 of 18 overall.
Omaha looks to run its road winning streak to a season-high five games this Friday when the team travels north to the Scheels Arena in Fargo for a rematch with the Force. Fargo (19-5-3, 41 pts.) dropped two of three games last week in suffering the team's first losses since a December 28th showdown with the Lincoln Stars. The Force saw their nine-game winning streak snapped last Thursday in a 2-0 shutout at the hands of the Sioux City Musketeers. The team rebounded 48 hours later though and scored three unanswered goals Saturday in a 3-2 victory at Sioux City. Fargo's weekend ended on a sour note though in a 6-2 loss at Omaha. The six goals-against were as many as the Force had surrendered in their previous three games combined and the most that Fargo has surrendered in a single game since an 8-3 loss in Lincoln on November 5th. After hosting the Lancers on Friday, the Force travel to Sioux Falls Saturday for a showdown with the Stampede.
Omaha concludes its weekend road trip Saturday when the team travels to the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City for a match-up with the Musketeers. Sioux City (15-22-0, 30 pts.) won two of three games last week and, with victories in three of its last four outings, has vaulted into fifth place in the highly competitive Western Conference. The Musketeers snapped Fargo's nine-game winning streak Thursday and then rattled off their third win in a row Friday with a 6-3 victory over Sioux Falls. Sioux City saw its three-game run come to an end Saturday though in a 3-2 loss to the Force. The Musketeers are currently in the midst of a six-game home stand and will play host to Tri-City on Friday before welcoming the Lancers to town Saturday.
Omaha Notes:
Omaha Lancers - 23-12-2, 48 pts. (1st Western Conference)
- D Nolan Zajac was named CCM Defensive Player of the Week last week while G Alex Lyon was recognized as Reebok Goaltender of the Week. Zajac notched two goals and four assists in three games while Lyon went 2-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average coupled with a .964 save percentage. It's the second time Lyon has been recognized with the USHL's weekly honor this season.
- Omaha enters the weekend having won eight of its last 10 games and 14 of 18 overall. The Lancers went 8-2 in January - the team's most successful month since November 2009 when the club won nine of 11 games.
- The Lancers are currently in the midst of a four-game road winning streak. Omaha has outscored its opposition 21-10 during the recent surge and hasn't suffered a loss away from the Civic Auditorium since a 3-0 shutout at Tri-City on New Year's Eve.
- F Jimmy Murray continues to lead all Lancers and is tied for sixth among all USHL skaters in scoring with 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists). Committed to St. Cloud State University, Murray leads all USHLers with 30 assists and leads all Omaha skaters with 11 multi-point games this season.
- F Casey Bailey leads all Lancers and is tied for eighth among all USHL skaters with 18 goals this season. Bailey enters the week second among all Lancers with 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists).
- D Nolan Zajac enters the weekend tied for first among all USHL defensemen in scoring with 25 points this season (six goals, 19 assists). Committed to the University of Denver, Zajac begins the week in the midst of a season-long seven-game point streak in which the blueliner has registered three goals and nine assists during that stretch.
- Omaha's power play has been red hot of late having produced 14 man-advantage markers over the last nine games. The Lancers have tallied at least one power play goal in eight of those nine games and have posted a 32.6% (14/43) efficiency rating with the man-advantage during that stretch.
Opponents Notes:
Friday, Feb. 3 @ Fargo Force - 19-15-3, 41 pts. (4th Western Conference)
- Friday's meeting is the sixth of eight regular season get-togethers between Omaha and Fargo. The Lancers are 3-1-1 against the Force this season. Omaha's Greg Gozzo and Jimmy Murray along with Fargo's Austin Farley lead all scorers in the season series with four points apiece.
- Fargo is 10-8-1 at home this season and has outscored its opposition 64-51 in 19 prior games at the Scheels Arena.
- F Austin Farley leads all Force skaters and is tied for second among all USHLers in scoring this season with 48 points (24 goals, 24 assists). Committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Farley is tied for second in the league with nine power play goals this season but hasn't registered a single point in each of his last three outings - his second longest scoring drought this year.
- Fargo's power play enters the week ranked fifth overall at 20.1% but is just 2-for-17 (11.8%) in five prior meetings with the Lancers. Meanwhile, the Force's penalty kill ranks third overall at 85.4% and has kept Omaha's man-advantage to just two conversions in 23 opportunities (8.7%).
Opponents Notes:
Saturday, Feb. 4 @ Sioux City Musketeers - 15-22-0, 30 pts. (5th Western Conference)
- Saturday's meeting is the fifth of eight regular season meetings between Omaha and Sioux City. The Lancers are 3-1 against the Musketeers this season and Omaha's Jimmy Murray leads all scorers in the season series with seven points (two goals, five assists).
- Sioux City is 7-10 at home this season and has been outscored 57-53 in 17 prior games at the Tyson Events Center.
- F Brad Robbins and F David Goodwin lead all Musketeers and are tied for 18th in the USHL in scoring with 32 points each. Robbins has tallied 18 goals and 14 assists while Goodwin has registered 16 goals and 16 assists.
- Sioux City's power play enters the week ranked ninth overall at 17.6% and is 2-for-13 (15.4%) in four prior meetings with Omaha. Meanwhile, the Musketeers penalty kills currently ranks fifth overall at 83.9% but has allowed five power play goals-against (5/17) to the Lancers in four prior get-togethers.
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