USHL Lincoln Stars

Preview - Stars vs Stampede

Published on December 31, 2018 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release


MONDAY, DEC. 31, 2018 | 6:05 P.M. | DANNY SANFORD PREMIER CENTER

RADIO: LINCOLN STARS RADIO | WATCH: HOCKEYTV

Tonight's Contest:

The Stars (7-16-3-1) travel to take on the Sioux Falls Stampede (15-8-2-1) on Saturday at the Danny Sanford Premier Center.

Last Game:

On Saturday, the Stars faced the Sioux City Musketeers at the Tyson Events Center in a Western Conference showdown. Lincoln hopped out to a fast start following Josh Lopina's power play goal just 4:18 into the contest, a score Lopina tipped through Ben Kraws off of Jordan Power's point shot. Justin Lee picked up the secondary helper on the goal. The Musketeers answered back at 12:34 when Jordan Steinmetz bested Jacob Mucitelli for the game-tying score. Though the Stars out-shot Sioux City 10-5 in the opening 20 minutes, they could not put another goal past Kraws, sending the teams into the second locked in a 1-1 tie. For the first half of the second frame, the Stars continued their solid push from the opening period, but time and again were turned away by Kraws. Midway through the period, Sioux City swung the contest as they began mounting pressure in the Stars zone. They were rewarded at 13:50 when Parker Ford drove his way through the Lincoln defense to beat Jacob Mucitelli for a 2-1 lead. The score kicked off Musketeers surge: Matthew Miller struck just over a minute after Ford on a power play tip-in, which was followed 35 seconds later with Ford's second goal of the evening. Down 4-1, the Stars turned to Tyler Johnson in net to stop the bleeding. With 21 seconds remaining in the second, Tristan Ashbrook fired home Lincoln's second goal while falling to the ice on a faceoff win. Lincoln's comeback effort was stymied for much of the third as the Musketeers defense continually turned back Lincoln's efforts to enter the offensive zone. With the extra attacker on for the last two minutes of play, Shane Pinto scored in the game's final second, but it proved too little too late as the Stars fell 4-3.

Sioux Falls also played Saturday night, taking on the Fargo Force at Scheels Arena. Stampede forward Austen Swankler scored the lone goal of the opening frame on a power play at 17:33. In the second, Fargo and Josh Nodler would come back with two goals at 7:04 and 9:42 to take a 2-1 lead. Matt Kessel would even the game at 14:01, with his first goal of the year, on yet another Stampede power play. Fargo would re-take the lead just 2:36 into the third off of Hank Crone's eighth tally of the season. Sioux Falls would answer with the final three goals of the night. Andrew Lee tied the game at 7:02, which was followed by Brian Chambers' seventh tally at 10:32. Jami Krannila scored his 10th goal at 15:22, pushing the score to it's 5-3 final. At the buzzer, the Stampede took home their second straight victory, good for their 15th win of the season.

Head-to-Head:

The Stars and Stampede have met twice in 2018-19. Lincoln earned a 2-1 win at the Ice Box back on November 9th. Jacob Mucitelli was sensational in net for the Stars, stopping 33 of 34, while goals came from Tristan Ashbrook and Declan Carlile in the win. Sam Stevens registered the lone goal for Sioux Falls in the loss, his first of the year. Jaxson Stauber was solid in defeat, stopping 19 of 21 shots.

A rematch in Lincoln occurred one week later with the Stampede returning the favor in a 4-3 overtime win. A monster performance from the Stars top line wouldn't be enough on the day but saw impressive numbers posted. Josiah Slavin led the way with two goals and an assist. Caleb Rule added a goal while chipping in an assist as well. Shane Pinto, Mason Klee, and Logan Britt tallied one helper apiece to round out the Stars scoring. Lincoln led 1-0 through after one following Slavin's first period goal. Andre Lee tied the game 48 seconds into the second providing the only other score in the first 40 minutes. Lincoln erupted to start the third, seeing goals from Slavin and Rule, jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the first 10:20 of the frame. The Stampede stormed back with a score from Ryan Sullivan and Jami Krannila's game-tying goal in the second half of the period. After regulation failed to provide a winner, Cade Borchardt tallied the game-winning goal just 1:07 into the extra time.

By the Numbers:

GF: SF-3.50 (5th) to LIN-2.63 (15th)

GA: SF-3.38 (t-8th) to LIN-3.67 (14th)

PP: SF-24 for 116, 20.7% (t-7th) to LIN-16 for 110, 14.5% (15th)

PK: LIN-92 for 114, 80.7% (9th) to SF-81 for 104, 77.9% (14th)

SHGF: SF-2 (t-10th) to LIN-1 (t-14th)

SHGA: SF-2 (t-3rd) to LIN-4 (t-11th)

What to Watch For:

Stampeding into 2019:

Sioux Falls enters play on a two-game winning streak, and in the midst of a tremendous December. They've posted an 7-1-1-0 record on the month, and have scored four or more goals in all but one of their games in that same span. In December they've outscored their opposition 39-20.

Lincoln Power Play Trending Upward:

The Stars have notched power play goals in each of their last two games. Lincoln's looked particularly solid on the man-advantage against Sioux City, netting one goal, hitting one post, and seeing improved zone time and puck movement. They face a penalty kill that has struggled for Sioux Falls this season, killing off under 78% of their penalties, but has picked up their play in the month, killing off 86.5% of power plays against.

The Showdown in Net:

The Stampede's recent dominance is the result of a collective team effort, but they've found major stability in recent addition Alec Calvaruso. The '98 netminder has been red hot after leaving Colorado College at the beginning of the month. Fresh off of winning the USHL's goaltender of the week award, Calvaruso has posted a 5-0-1-0 record with a 1.64 GAA, and a .934 save percentage since joining the Stampede.

On the opposite end, Lincoln will look to counter with a steadying presence of their own. Tyler Johnson entered Saturday's game in a relief role on Saturday, stopping all 11 shots he faced. Johnson has posted solid numbers in his last three appearances, despite not earning a win. In that span he's stopped 76 of 81 shots, good for a save percentage of .938.

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United States Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2018


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