USHL Lincoln Stars

Preview - Stars vs. Storm

Published on November 24, 2018 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release


SATURDAY, NOV. 24, 2018 | 7:05 P.M. | ICE BOX

ADIO: LINCOLN STARS RADIO | WATCH: HOCKEYTV

Tonight's Contest:

The Stars (5-9-3-1) host the Tri-City Storm (13-4-1-0) tonight in a rematch of Wednesday night's heated affair.

Last Game:

Lincoln battled hard in Iowa against the Buccaneers last night, but ultimately came up short following a Scooter Brickey goal at 12:41 in the third. Previously, the Stars received two scores from Josh Lopina and one from Shane Pinto to stay even with tallies from Mac Welsher, Rylee St. Onge, and Reed Lebster. A late push with an extra attacker failed to net the game-tying goal despite several near misses, pushing the Stars to 1-6-0-0 on the road, and 5-9-3-1 on the season.

Tri-City won their third straight Friday night against Omaha. After nearly 33 minutes passed without a goal, Colby Ambrosio continued his red-hot scoring tear with his seventh strike of the year. The Lancers would never respond, as Isaiah Saville clamped down, stopping all 17 shots he faced en route to his third shutout of the season. Blais Richartz and Asa Kinnear added goals for the Storm before the game came to a close, earning Tri-City the 3-0 win.

Head-to-Head:

Game four of the Stars-Storm season series saw Tri-City charge out of the gate to a 3-0 lead through the first 31 minutes of play. Elias Rosen scored first, followed by two second-period tallies from Ambrosio to put Lincoln behind the 8-ball. The Stars finally answered when Matthew Barbolini scored at 11:55 into the second, sending the game into third with Lincoln trying to rally back from the two-goal deficit. Hindered by penalties and injuries, Lincoln had trouble sustaining a late push. In the final five minutes, the Storm broke the game open. Ambrosio capped a hat trick at 14:46. Connor McMenamin added a power play tally at 17:15. Khristian Acosta found a puck through traffic in front and fired it through to build a 6-1 Tri-City lead. Shane Pinto got one back for Lincoln with under 2:00 to play, only to see Zac Jones fire back with one more for the Storm in the game's final minute. The 7-2 loss tied the Stars most lopsided of the season. Tri-City leads the head-to-head tilt 3-1 entering tonight's play.

By the Numbers:

GF: TC-3.00 (13th) to LIN-2.78 (15th)

GA: TC-2.00 (1st) to LIN-3.72 (12th)

PP: TC-15 for 77, 19.5% (9th) to LIN-11 for 75, 14.7% (15th)

PK: TC-65 for 76, 85.5% (t2nd) to LIN-66 for 81, 81.5% (5th)

What to Watch For:

Heating Up:

Josh Lopina, Matthew Barbolini, and Devlin McCabe have come together to form a formidable line. Lopina scored two goals against the Buccaneers last night to give him three in his last three games. Barbolini tallied two assists in Iowa, giving him three points in his last two outings. Devlin McCabe has a goal and an assist over his last three. The trio's blend of skill and physicality carried play at times for Lincoln last night. They will look to continue to do so against the USHL's top defensive team in Tri-City this evening.

You Again:

For Tri-City Colby Ambrosio, has proven to be the hottest scorer in the USHL this week. The '02 has notched four goals in his last two games, including a hat trick against the Stars on Wednesday. Half of his 10 points on the season have come against Lincoln. Along the blue line, Zac Jones has been one of the more consistent scorers in the league. His 13 points in 18 games ranks fourth best among USHL defenders. The speedy puck-mover has recorded one goal and one assist against Lincoln this season plus the shootout game-winner back on October 27th. In net Isaiah Saville has been a wall against nearly every team this year, but has been extraordinary against the Stars. In two starts he has two wins stretched across 125 minutes of play. In that span he's stopped 52 of 54 shots, plus three shootout saves, good for a 0.96 GAA and a .963 save percentage.

Stay Out of the Box:

Familiarity breeds contempt. The Storm have been the Stars most-common opponent this season, and tonight's game marks their third meeting in the last two weeks. The Stars recent struggles can be tied directly to an abundance of penalty minutes. In their last four games, Lincoln has averaged 21:15 of bin time, and their normally lock down penalty kill has suffered. Though still ranked 5th in the USHL, the PK has gone 16/24 over Lincoln's four-game losing streak. They'll face a Tri-City power play that is ranked ninth in the USHL, converting on 19.5% of their chances.

Check out the Lincoln Stars Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from November 24, 2018


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