USHL Omaha Lancers

Omaha Lancers News & Notes - Week 26

Published on March 20, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release


Omaha, Neb. - The Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) look to remain atop the Western Conference this week when they travel to Sioux Falls and Tri-City for road contests with the Stampede and Storm.

Omaha (33-17-3, 69 pts.) maintained a one-point lead in the Western Conference standings after splitting a pair of games last weekend. The Lancers earned their Western Conference-best 33rd win of the season Friday evening when the team improved to 7-0 against Sioux Falls this season with a 4-3 victory over the Stampede. Mark Miller tallied a goal and an assist and Kevin Schulze added a pair of helpers as Omaha earned its 17th home win of the season. After an off day Saturday, the Lancers closed the weekend on a sour note with a 1-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Fargo Force. Colton Hargrove scored the lone goal while Zane Gothberg set a franchise record with his fifth shutout of the season turning aside all 26 Omaha shots on goal.

With just four weeks of regular season competition remaining, the Lancers return to action this Wednesday when they head to Sioux Falls for their regular season finale with the Stampede. Sioux Falls (15-30-6, 36 pts.) earned just two of a possible six standings points last weekend after claiming one win in a busy three-day stretch. After falling in Omaha on Friday, the Stampede suffered a 1-0 shootout defeat at the Sioux City Musketeers on Saturday before snapping the team's five-game losing skid Sunday with a 2-1 home victory over the Des Moines Buccaneers. The win was just the Stampede's second over the last 12 games as Sioux Falls has posted just a 2-7-3 record over its last dozen games. After hosting the Lancers on Wednesday, the Stampede will head to Waterloo Friday to battle the Black Hawks before returning home Sunday to take on the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

Meanwhile, the Lancers close their week Friday when the team travels to Kearney, Nebraska for its final regular season showdown with the Tri-City Storm. Tri-City (23-29-0, 46 pts.) swept its weekend series with Fargo last weekend earning a 5-1 victory over the Force on Friday followed by a 2-1 win on Saturday. The Storm have now won five of their last eight games overall and enter the season's final month in sole possession of the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. After hosting the Lancers on Friday, Tri-City plays host to the Dubuque Fighting Saints on Saturday.

Omaha Notes:

Omaha Lancers - 33-17-3, 69 pts. (1st Western Conference)

- Omaha has clinched a berth in the Clark Cup Playoffs for a USHL record 23rd consecutive season. The Lancers enter the week one standings points ahead of second-place Lincoln. The Stars have played two fewer games to date than Omaha.

- The Lancers are 16-7-2 on the road this season and have outscored their opponents 88-73 in 25 prior road games. Entering the week, Omaha has won four straight road contests and nine of the team's last 11 road games overall (9-1-1).

- F Jimmy Murray continues to lead all Lancers and is third among all USHL skaters in scoring with 61 points (17 goals, 44 assists). Committed to St. Cloud State University, Murray leads all USHLers with 44 assists this season and leads all Omaha skaters with 18 multi-point games. Murray is just three assists shy of matching Matt White and Paul Stastny for the most assists tallied by a Lancer in the last 10 years. Omaha's record for most assists in a single season remains 55 set by Donny Riendeau during the 1989-1990 season and Steve Suk during the 1990-1991 campaign.

- D Nolan Zajac enters the week leading all Lancers defensemen and is tied for the USHL lead among blueliners in scoring with 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) this season. Committed to the University of Denver, Zajac has tallied points 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) over his last 22 games.

- F Anthony Hamburg had his six-game point streak snapped in Sunday's loss to Fargo. Still, the veteran from Phoenix has tallied 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) during his last 24 games.

- Omaha's penalty kill hasn't surrendered a power play goal-against during the last five games and has given up just three power play goals-against over the last 12 games overall. Omaha's penalty kill is 47-for-50 (94%) during that stretch and enters the week ranked second overall at 86.5%.

Opponents Notes:

Wednesday, March 21 @ Sioux Falls Stampede - 15-30-6, 36 pts. (8th Western Conference)

- Sioux Falls enters the week eight points back of seventh place Des Moines and 10 points back of Tri-City for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

- Wednesday's meeting is the eighth and final regular season meeting between Omaha and Sioux Falls. The Lancers are 7-0 against the Stampede this season and have outscored Sioux Falls 31-20 in seven prior meetings.

- F Kyle Rankin leads all scorers in the season series with 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) while F Jimmy Murray ranks second with nine points (2 goals, 7 assists).

- Sioux Falls is 10-12-2 at home this season and has been outscored 78-61 in 24 prior home games. The Stampede are 0-2-1 in three prior home games against Omaha.

- F Kyle Rankin leads all Stampede skaters in scoring with 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) while Justin Selman ranks second with 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists).

- G Jay Williams is 1-4-2 in seven appearances with Sioux Falls while compiling a 3.17 goals-against average coupled with a .906 save percentage since joining the Stampede in a trade deadline move with Waterloo.

- Entering the weekend, the Stampede's power play ranks 16th and last in the league at 10.7% while the Sioux Falls penalty kill ranks 16th at 78.0%. The Stampede's power play is 5-for-22 (22.7%) against the Lancers while Omaha's power play is 7-for-29 (24.1%) against the Stampede.

Opponents Notes:

Friday, March 23 @ Tri-City Storm - 23-29-0, 46 pts. (6th Western Conference)

- Tri-City enters the week one standings point back of fifth place Sioux City and two points ahead of Des Moines for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

- Friday's meeting is the eighth and final meeting of the 2011-2012 regular season between Omaha and Tri-City. The Lancers are 4-3 against the Storm this season and have outscored Tri-City 21-14 in seven prior head-to-head meetings. F Jimmy Murray leads all scorers in the season series with eight points (three goals, five assists) while F Casey Bailey and F Anthony Hamburg rank second with six points apiece.

- Tri-City is 15-12 at home this season and has scored 81 goals-for while surrendering 81 goals-against in 27 prior home contests.

- F Nick Lappin and F Kenny Brooks lead all Storm skaters in scoring with 39 points each. Lappin has registered 23 goals and 16 assists this season while Brooks has notched 15 goals and 24 assists.

- G Adam Wilcox enters the week having started 13 consecutive games in goal for the Storm. Committed to the University of Minnesota, Wilcox is an 8-5 during that stretch and has posted a 14-14 overall mark in 28 appearances with Tri-City since coming over from the Green Bay Gamblers.

- Tri-City's power play ranks 15th overall at 13.3% while the Storm's penalty kill ranks 10th overall at 82.0%. Tri-City's power play is 2-for-29 (6.9%) against the Lancers while Omaha's power play is just 1-for-33 (3.0%) against the Storm.

Check out the Omaha Lancers Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2012


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