Preview - Stars at Phantoms
February 8, 2019 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
FRIDAY, FEB. 8, 2019 | 6:05 P.M. CST | COVELLI CENTRE
RADIO: LINCOLN STARS RADIO | WATCH: HOCKEYTV
Tonight's Contest:
After making the trip east to Ohio, the Stars (10-25-3-2) are set to start a back-to-back with the Youngstown Phantoms (19-16-1-3) this evening.
Last Game:
The Stars traveled up to Omaha Friday for their fifth bout with Lancers last Saturday. A slow start put Lincoln behind the eight-ball. An early penalty pitted the Stars red-hot penalty kill against the Lancers surging power play. 15 seconds in, Travis Mitchell ripped a shot through traffic and by Jacob Mucitelli for the 1-0 lead. At 12:53, Omaha moved ahead 2-0 after Tyler Carpenter fed a perfect pass from the corner to an open Kyle Kawamura in front. The Stars, were not without chances in the first, but Akira Schmid stood tall on every shot sent his way, finishing 7-for-7 in the first period. In the second, the Stars struggled to sustain offense, while also struggling to stay out of the box. Though the penalty kill went three-for-three in the period, far too much time was spent in Stars territory, seeing a lopsided shot total of 12-5 favoring the Lancers. Two of those Omaha shots found the net. The first came from former Star Austen Long at 6:26. The second came from Logan Will through a screen at 17:50, putting the Stars down 4-0 at the end of 40 minutes. In the third, Lincoln was able to break the shutout when Ross Mitton nipped a perfect, top-shelf snipe at 13:46 into the third. The rest of the period saw a slew of power plays for the Stars that failed to net a goal. Lincoln's push down the stretch was denied by Schmid, and at the horn, the Stars fell 4-1.Youngstown, third place in the East, took on the second-place Steel last Saturday in Chicago. The game started poorly for the Phantoms after Gunnarwolfe Fontaine and Owen Power combined to give the Steel a 2-0 lead in the first 7:39 of play. Despite out-shooting Chicago 8-5 in the first, Youngstown went to intermission down 2-0. Robert Mastrosimone tacked on his 17th marker of the year just 3:06 into the second, building a 3-0 advantage for the Steel. Fontaine struck again at 10:25 to chase Phantoms starter Chad Veltri. Like his first, Fontaine's second came on the power play. Christian Stoever entered play in relief and stopped all 14 shots he faced over the remainder of play. On the other end of the ice, Justin Robbins and Chicago's defense remained perfect, finishing the night with a 4-0 shutout win.
Head-to-Head:
The Stars and Phantoms have yet to meet in 2018-19. The pair split their series last season 1-1, but Youngstown had a 3-2 points edge having salvaged a point in the shootout in game two. In game one, the Stars were blanked 3-0, despite putting 34 shots on future Stars netminder Wouter Peeters. Mike Regush's two first period goals and Jack Malone's third period tally put the game to bed. The next night, the Stars would avenge the loss in a wild 2-1 shootout victory. The first period saw the sides combine for 10 penalties. Neither side cracked the scoreboard until 18:37 of the third period. Paul Cotter notched the game's first goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. The Phantoms struck back on a last-minute power play with the net empty, when future Stars forward Max Ellis found Tommy Parrottino for the game-tying score with 45 seconds left on the clock. Overtime saw both Ivan Prosvetov and Tomas Vomacka stand their ground in net, forcing a shootout. Each team scored twice in the first three rounds to push the showdown to seven rounds. Josiah Slavin scored the walk-off in the bottom of the 7th to net the Stars the dramatic win.
Team Stats:
GF: YNG-3.23 (t-8th) to LIN-2.51(16th)
GA: LIN-3.80 (15th) to YNG-3.82 (16th)
Shots For/G: LIN-28.23 (11th) to YNG-27.00 (15th)
Shots Against/G: YNG-28.62 (9th) to LIN-30.30 (13th)
PP: YNG-43/175, 24.6% (2nd) to LIN-25/166, 15.1% (16th), SHGA: YNG-7 (15th) to LIN-8 (t-16th)
PK: LIN-132/159, 83.0% (3rd) to YNG-128/166, 77.1% (14th), SHGF: YNG-9 (2nd) to LIN-2 (t-13th)
Leading Scorers:
G: YNG-Brett Murray 22, LIN-Caleb Rule 12
A: YNG-Brett Murray 27, LIN-Brock Bremer 14
TP: YNG-Brett Murray 49, LIN-Brock Bremer 25
Goalies:
W: YNG-Chad Veltri 9, LIN-Jacob Mucitelli 3
GAA: LIN-Jacob Mucitelli 3.67, YNG-Chad Veltri 3.67
SV%: YNG-Chad Veltri .876, LIN-Samuel Hlavaj .873
SO: LIN-Jacob Mucitelli 1, YNG-None
MIN: YNG-Veltri 1045, LIN-Jacob Mucitelli 719
What to Watch For:
Bremer's Presence:
Brock Bremer has been a point-per-game player since being acquired from the Muskegon Lumberjacks, scoring seven points over seven games with the Stars. After leaving last Friday's game early against Sioux Falls with an injury, the Stars offense struggled to maintain pressure against both the Stampede and the Lancers the following evening in Omaha. Lincoln scored just three times in the two games without their leading scorer on the ice.
Contain Brett Murray :
Hockey is a team sport, but one threat that has to garner the Stars attention is USHL-leading scorer Bryan Murray. A fourth-round pick for the Buffalo Sabres in the 2016 NHL Draft, Murray has taken the league by storm in his second stint with the Phantoms. With 22 goals and 27 assists through 39 games, The 6-5, 235 lbs Murray has been a force. He's recorded more multi-point outings (15) than he has scoreless games (11).
Carmichael a steadying presence:
Quickly assimilating to the Stars has been recent addition Ryan Carmichael. Acquired from the Fargo Force in the Justin Lee trade, the right-handed defender has garnered more ice time of late next to blue-liner Jordan Power. Both players, along with Ross Mitton, a forward added in the same trade as Carmichael, received praise from head coach Cody Chupp following last Saturday's loss to Omaha, as Chupp lauded both for their competitiveness and buy-in.
"I think Ryan Carmichael, and Jordy Power were two guys on the back end that were engaged all night long," said Chupp. "Ultimately, we've talked a lot about setting a culture, and an identity of this group going forward, throughout the rest of this year and ultimately leading into next year. It's the new guys driving that culture right now. Credit to those new guys to buy-in and to commit to it. They've been impressive, and not just tonight."
Carmichael has one assist in three games since joining the Stars.
United States Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2019
- Recap: Storm Blast Green Bay 7-0 at Viaero Center - Tri-City Storm
- Muskegon Holds off Central Illinois 4-3 for 29th Win - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Greenway and Lipe Tally Two Points Each, Dubuque Clips CR 4-2 - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Stampede Win 8-6 Barnburner over Steel in South Dakota - Chicago Steel
- Stampede Stomp the Steel in Wild One at PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Central Illinois Valiantly Fights Back But Can't Overcome First Period - Central Illinois Flying Aces
- Stars Can't Sustain 2nd Period Rally, Fall to Phantoms - Lincoln Stars
- Gameday Preview: Storm Host Green Bay Gamblers Tonight at Viaero Center - Tri-City Storm
- Preview - Stars at Phantoms - Lincoln Stars
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