USHL Lincoln Stars

Preview - Stars vs. Storm

Published on October 27, 2018 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release


Tonight's Contest:

Lincoln (3-5-1-0) will play Tri-City (7-1-1-0) as the Stars look to rebound against the West-leading Storm in the pair's second meeting of the season.

Last Game:

Last night the Stars were bewildered by Blake Pietila and the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Though Lincoln dictated much of the play throughout the game, their inability to finish quality chances proved costly. The RoughRiders capitalized on the Stars mistakes and ran up a 7-2 victory despite being out-shot by 18 on the scoreboard. Jack O'Leary, Grant Silianoff, Max Sasson, Will Francis, Liam Walsh, Harrison Roy, and Evan McIntyre scored for Cedar Rapids in their victory. Blake Pietila stopped 45 on his way to his fifth victory of the season. The Stars received goals from Caleb Rule and Shane Pinto in defeat.

The Storm are coming off their second-straight extra-time affair with the Lancers. After coming up on the wrong end of an overtime loss to Omaha last Sunday, Tri-City inflicted its revenge in a shootout last night. Each side found the scoreboard in the early going of the first period. Joseph Molenaar kicked off the scoring when he bested Vinnie Purpura for the 1-0 lead just over five minutes in. Less than two minutes later, Brian Silver returned the favor when he put his third marker of the year past Jake Barczewski to pull Omaha even at one. Jan Kern notched a power play goal to give the Lancers their first lead 14:50 into the second. Tri-City's Ian Murphy scored at 3:39 in the third to knot the game again. No goals were found for the next 16:21 or the following five minutes of overtime, forcing a shootout. After a scoreless opening round, each team scored on their second try of the showdown. In round three, Zac Jones beat Purpura for what ended up being the clincher as Barczewski denied Jaxon Nelson to seal the Tri-City win.

Head-to-Head:

Two weeks ago, Lincoln made a Tuesday trip to Kearney to try their hand at ending a perfect record for the then-unbeaten Storm. Isaiah Saville had other plans. The goalie stopped 27 of 28 shots en route to his fourth-straight win. Chase McLane, Colby Ambrosio, and Khristian Acosta notched tallies for Tri-City in the victory. Mason Klee registered Lincoln's lone tally, and Jacob Mucitelli made 23 saves in the loss.

By the Numbers:

GF: TC-3.44 (t-7th) to LIN-3.00 (12th)

GA: TC-2.00 (t-1st) to LIN-3.78 (t-15th)

PP: TC- 8 for 38 (6th at 21.1%) to LIN-7 for 38, (8th at 18.4%)

PK: LIN-33 for 36, (2nd at 91.7%) to TC- 30 of 37 (t-10th at 81.1%)

What to Watch For:

About Face:

In his post-game comments following last night's loss, Stars head coach Cody Chupp emphasized that his team had not been beaten as badly as the 7-2 score indicated. He felt that for good portions of the contest, the Stars had actually put forth one of their best efforts, save for the last ten feet in front of both nets. Chupp's hope is that Lincoln will return to the ice with an edge this evening, taking the positives of what was often an overwhelming forecheck into Saturday, while leaving the lack of finish and ill-fated bounces behind them.

Drought and Streak End:

It will be pivotal to see how the special teams are affected, it at all, after last night ended two runs Lincoln had been on over the last several weeks. The Stars saw a 17-for-17 streak on the penalty kill and an 0-for-18 stretch on the power play broken last night. The Stars kill canceled 3-of-4 power plays against Cedar Rapids, while the man-advantage went 1-for-6, made to look worse by two abbreviated chances at the end of the third. Lincoln's kill still enters play ranked 2nd in the USHL, at 91.7%. Their power play ranks eighth at 18.4%.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt:

Both teams held rematches last night, and both teams took plenty of trips to the sin bin. Lincoln and Cedar Rapids combined to accrue 60 PIM's yesterday, while 34 were wracked up by the Lancers and Storm. With tonight's game being yet another rematch, any time spent shorthanded or up a man could loom large in a meeting of two skilled special teams units.

Heat Check x4:

Four players enter tonight's competition on three-game point streaks. For the Stars, Shane Pinto kept his offense rolling with a late tip-in goal last night. Over his past three outings, he's posted three goals and one assist. The rookie leads Lincoln with seven tallies and four helpers on the season. For Tri-City, defenseman Zac Jones has recorded an assist in three consecutive games, in addition to last night's shootout game-winner for the Storm. Forward Ian Murphy joins him with a goal and two assists in the same span. Jake Crespi missed last night's game against Omaha, but has two goals and four points over his last three games.

After their contest against the Tri-City Storm, the Stars will hold a jersey auction below the Ice Box's John Henry's Comfort Zone, where game-worn custom jerseys will be available for purchase. All proceeds will be donated to Project Pink'd, a local, non-profit organization that supports those diagnosed with breast cancer.

Visit Project Pink'd at their website, and follow their social media to learn more and help their mission. 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!

Check out the Lincoln Stars Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from October 27, 2018


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