Omaha Lancers News & Notes - Week Eight
Published on November 14, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
Ralston, Neb. - After back-to-back wins last weekend, the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) look for their season-high third straight victory this Friday when the team heads up to the Scheels Arena in Fargo for a weekend series with the Force.
Omaha (6-9, 12 pts.) is coming off its first weekend sweep of the season after the Lancers knocked off the Waterloo Black Hawks 6-1 Friday evening before returning to Ralston Arena on Saturday where the team earned a 3-1 victory over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Alex Rauter notched a pair of goals Friday as Omaha improved to 4-7 on the road this season. Then, Luca Frigo and Tyler Hynes each registered a goal and an assist Saturday as the Lancers earned their first victory of the season against an Eastern Conference opponent in improving to 2-2 at the Ralston Arena. All told, the Lancers have now won five of their last nine games and enter the week in sole possession of sixth place in the Western Conference. Omaha is presently just one standings point back of fifth place Des Moines and only four points back of the fourth place Force.
The Lancers return to action this Friday when the team heads up north to Fargo to open up a weekend series with the Force. Fargo (7-6-2, 16 pts.) is coming off a successful weekend of its own as the team captured two wins in three games in a span of less than 50 hours. Fargo's weekend began on a sour note as the Force suffered a 3-2 loss in Des Moines after Buccaneers' goaltender Billy Christopoulos registered 39 saves on 41 Fargo shots. The Force exacted some revenge the following evening as Fargo earned a 5-4 victory over the Buccaneers just 24 hours later. Dominic Toninato and Brendan Harms each tallied a goal and two assists while Gabe Guertler, Jordan Nelson and Taylor Fleming each chipped in two points of their own. Fargo's busy weekend came to an end Sunday when the Force earned another one-goal victory after dropping the Tri-City Storm 5-4. Guertler and Dave Gust each registered a goal and an assist as Fargo improved to 5-3-2 in one-goal games this season.
Omaha Notes:
Omaha Lancers - 6-9-0, 12 pts. (6th Western Conference)
- F Eli Lichtenwald, F Jake Randolph and D Matias Cleland continue to remain tied for the team lead in scoring with eight points. Lichtenwald has tallied three goals and five assists while Cleland has notched two goals and six assists and Randolph has contributed one goal and seven assists.
- F Kenny Gillespie, F Connor Chatham and F Alex Rauter lead all Lancers with five goals scored. Gillespie and D Tucker Poolman are tied for fifth among all USHL skaters with three power play goals.
- D Ben Ostlie was named CCM Defenseman of the Week last week after recording three assists and a plus-four rating in two games.
- G Alex Lyon was named co-Reebok Goaltender of the Week after going 2-0 in two starts while compiling a 1.00 goals-against average coupled with a .963 save percentage. It's the third time in two seasons in Omaha that Lyon has earned the USHL's weekly honor.
- Omaha's power play enters the week eighth in the league at 17.1%. The Lancers are 12-for-53 (22.6%) on the man-advantage in 11 road games this season.
- Omaha's penalty kill currently ranks fifth overall at 86.4%. The Lancers are 38-for-43 (88.4%) when skating shorthanded on the road this season.
- Friday's contest begins a four-game road trip for the Lancers. Omaha is 4-7 on the road this season and has been outscored 33-32 in 11 prior road tilts.
Opponents Notes:
Friday, Nov. 16 @ Fargo Force - 7-6-2, 16 pts. (4th Western Conference)
Saturday, Nov. 17 @ Fargo Force
- Friday and Saturday's contests will be the first two meetings of the 2012-2013 regular season between the Lancers and Fargo Force. Omaha and Fargo face off eight total times this season. The Lancers are 14-8-6 (.607) all-time in 28 regular season meetings with the Force.
- Fargo's roster currently features 10 returning skaters from last year's team. The Force finished fourth overall in the Western Conference a season ago with a 31-23-6 overall record.
- F Alex Iafallo is the team's leading returning scorer after recording 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 58 games last season.
- F Brendan Harms currently leads all Force skaters and is tied for the USHL lead in overall scoring with 23 points (five goals, 18 assists). Committed to Bemidji State University, Harms has already registered nine multi-point games this season.
- F Gabe Guertler is tied for the USHL lead in goals scored with 12 goals. Guertler has notched at least one goal in 10 of his first 15 games.
- Fargo's power play enters the week ranked 10th overall at 15.2% while the Force's penalty kill currently ranks 14th overall at 79.1%.
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