Preview - Stars vs. Lancers
November 30, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
FRIDAY, NOV. 30, 2018 | 7:05 P.M. | ICE BOX
RADIO: LINCOLN STARS RADIO | WATCH: HOCKEYTV
Tonight's Contest:
The Stars (5-10-3-1) host the Omaha Lancers (6-11-0-2) for the third time this season with each team trying to get off a losing streak and out of seventh place.
Last Game:
The Stars met the Tri-City Storm twice in three games last week with neither contest going the way Lincoln envisioned. After losing 7-2 on Wednesday to Tri-City, the Stars fell 6-2 in the rematch Saturday. A slow start saw Lincoln allow two goals in the first eight minutes of the first. Devlin McCabe gave the Stars a spark with a power play goal at 11:33, but Jake Crespi answered with one for the Storm at 14:34, chasing Tyler Johnson in favor of Jacob Mucitelli. Tri-City ended the period with a 3-1 lead. Logan Britt kept the Stars in it in the second, firing a puck through Isaiah Saville to bring Lincoln back within one after 40 minutes. In the third, the Storm would pull away, as the visitors put up three goals in the final frame to come away with another lopsided win.
In Omaha, the Lancers started fast, but could not sustain their success against the Fargo Force. Things started well for Omaha when Logan Will fired a puck past Ryan Bischel just 2:45 into play. Tyler Gratton scored at 8:18 to even the score at one for Fargo. In a penalty-ridden middle frame, Brendan Furry would end each teams' scoring drought late in the second, scoring to give the Lancers a brief 2-1 lead. Carter Randklev answered back for Fargo at 18:34, which was followed by Ryan O'Reilly's goal less than a minute later. The Lancers would tilt the see-saw back to begin the third, after Aleksi Peltonen's first goal of the season knotted the game at three. Ryan O'Reilly's second tally of the game at 4:29 would hold up as Fargo's game-winner.
Head-to-Head:
Like their first meeting, the Stars and Lancers needed more than regulation to produce a winner. Justin Lee struck first, burying a power play goal at 7:58 in. Brendan Furry tied the game for Omaha at 11:35. In the second, Lincoln would answer with back-to-back tallies from Caleb Rule and Logan Britt. Seemingly in control through a dominant period, one of the Stars few mistakes would prove costly. Furry would score again, this time on the power play, putting the Lancers back on the board and back in the game. In the third, Cameron Berg would even the score at three just past 5:30. Lincoln captain Josiah Slavin would put his team back in the lead at 7:05 with a power play tally. Ryan Savage wouldn't allow the Stars lead to linger, tying the game again at 8:35. No further scoring came in regulation, leading to the second-straight overtime meeting between the bitter foes. Unfortunately, for the Stars the ending of round two, matched that of its predecessor. The Lancers walked off in overtime once again, this time courtesy of Jerry Harding, giving the Lancers a 2-0 head-to-head lead in the season series.
By the Numbers:
GF: LIN-2.74 (15th) to OMA-2.58 (16th)
GA: LIN-3.84 (15th) to OMA-4.00 (t-16th)
PP: OMA-15 for 63, 23.8% (6th) to LIN-12 for 79, 15.2% (15th)
PK: LIN-65 for 76, 81.2% (6th) to OMA-59 for 77, 76.6% (t-13th)
What to Watch For:
New Talent:
The Stars added two 2000-born forwards this past week. Egor Postnov joins the team from the OHL's North Bay Battalion. He recorded one goal and six assists in 17 games this season. A second move brought Max Ellis over from Central Illinois. There he scored five goals and 10 assists in 21 games through the first third of the 2018-19 season. Ellis has two previous years of experience with the Youngstown Phantoms in which he recorded 24 goals and 36 assists in 123 games. The Plymouth, Michigan native currently ranks third in the USHL with 66 shots on goal.
Trending Up and Down:
Both teams enter play looking to turn things around. The Stars have dropped five-straight while the Lancers losing streak is up to seven games. One team will snap their skid tonight. Special teams will be key. The Stars power play has struggled of late, going 1-12 over its last three games. The Lancers, are just one for their last 16 over their last four. On the flip side, Omaha is 17 of their last 19 on the kill, after canceling just 73.7% of their penalties through their first six games of November. The Stars started the month 18 for 21 shorthanded, but have gone just 15 of their last 24 through the last four outings.
Return to the Rivalry:
Two familiar names make their return to the Stars-Lancers showdown this weekend in forwards Tristan Ashbrook and Austen Long. Both players missed the first two meetings of the season recovering from injury. Ironically enough, the pair were teammates for Lincoln last season. Long has two assists in three games since returning for the Lancers, Ashbrook, a one-time Lancers youth player, has a goal and three points in his eight games since his re-entry into Lincoln's lineup.
To purchase tickets, call the Stars Box Office at (402)-474 7827, or order tickets online! Enjoy All You Can Eat Hockey at single games by purchasing a group of five or more, or grab one of our multi-game memberships to secure the same seat each game. Parking is completely FREE this season!
United States Hockey League Stories from November 30, 2018
- Storm Win Fifth Game in a Row in 7-3 Defeat of Stampede - Tri-City Storm
- Muskegon Downs Green Bay 4-2 in Rubber Match - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Stampede Can't Weather the Storm in Kearney - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Central Illinois Drops 5-4 Game to Chicago - Central Illinois Flying Aces
- Stars Snap Skid with Gritty Win over Omaha - Lincoln Stars
- Putting November to Bed with a Win - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Gameday Preview: Storm Host Stampede for Final Time this Season - Tri-City Storm
- Preview - Stars vs. Lancers - Lincoln Stars
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