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USHL Lincoln Stars

Preview - Waterloo Black Hawks at Lincoln Stars

February 22, 2019 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release


PREVIEW: WATERLOO BLACK HAWKS AT LINCOLN STARS

SUNDAY, FEB. 22, 2019 | 7:05 P.M. CST | ICE BOX

RADIO: LINCOLN STARS RADIO | WATCH: HOCKEYTV

Tonight's Contest:

The Stars (10-30-3-2) will host the Waterloo Black Hawks (28-13-3-1) for their pair's final meeting in 2018-19.

Last Game:

Round two of Stars-Force took place Sunday evening as the Stars looked to regroup following Saturday's tough loss. From the early 1st period, the Stars played with an edge. For much of the opening period, Lincoln out-muscled and out-maneuvered the Force, driving the pace of play to the tune of a 10-5 shots advantage. Their pressure was rewarded at 9:15, when Steven Agriogianis cranked a puck off the back wall, which found a crashing Wyatt Schlaht in front, where he buried his second of the year past former Stars goalie Tyler Johnson. Mason Klee picked up the secondary assist on the lone goal of the first. Jacob Mucitelli, making his first start since February 2nd, stopped all five shots he faced in the first period. In the second, the Stars maintained quality pressure through the first half of the frame, but were denied several grade-A looks on strong saves made by Tyler Johnson. Lincoln was unable to capitalize on two power plays, and at the end of the second Fargo kill, the Stars paid for it. A bad break in the form of a snapped stick led to a Force breakaway for Daniel Russell who stepped out of the box and behind the Stars defense for the game-tying goal. A dormant Fargo forecheck awoke, as they pressured well in the second half of the frame, but were turned away from further scoring by a sharp Mucitelli. A quick Fargo strike in the third period gave the Force a lead they wouldn't surrender. Tanner Vescio fired home his third goal of the season through traffic in front to put the Force up 2-1 at 1:10 into the frame. The Stars would push back and would be supported by strong play from Mucitelli, who stopped a total of two Ben Meyers breakaways and two, 2-on-1 rushes on the evening. Unfortunately for Lincoln, their former netminder was equal to the task, as Tyler Johnson stopped 29 of 30 in his Fargo debut. Two goals from Hank Crone-one on an empty net at 18:47 and one again at even strength at 19:21-put the game away and handed the Force a 4-1 victory.

In their last outing, Waterloo hosted the Tri-City Storm Sunday. A monstrous day for the Storm's Brendan Furry kicked when Shane Pinto found him for the 1-0 lead just 4:55 into play. Connor McMenamin bested Waterloo and Logan Stein at 9:06 to build a 2-0 advantage. Connor Caponi struck back while shorthanded for Waterloo at 13:19 to leave the score 2-1 after one. In the second the Black Hawks would draw even following a goal from Brehdan Engum at 2:42. The Storm would quickly re-take the lead off the back of Brendan Furry's second goal just 30 seconds later. At 8:53, Ronnie Attard remained the USHL's hottest defenseman, notching his 20th tally of the season on a power play at 8:53. In the third, Patrick Guzzo would bring Waterloo back within one, beating Isaiah Saville at 4:10. Tri-City locked down through the last 16 minutes of play, despite taking just six shots to Waterloo's 15. The Black Hawks could not solve Saville, and Tri-City added key insurance. At 17:58, Brendan Budy recorded his sixth goal of the season to build a 5-3 lead for the Storm. Brendan Furry would cap a hat trick on a penalty shot he drew on the next shift down the ice, capping the Tri-City win with a score of 6-3.

Head-to-Head:

The Black Hawks lead the season series 2-1, though the Stars won the last meeting with a decisive, January road victory. Waterloo led off the contest with Matej Blümel scoring his 18th tally of the year at 5:56 into play. Declan Carlile responded with his third goal at 9:19 on the power play to even the game for Lincoln. Caleb Rule then gave the Stars the lead at 14:39. Wyatt Schingoethe ended the period's scoring with a shorthanded, game-tying goal at 17:34. In the middle period, Kyle Haskins provided the Black Hawks their first lead at 5:39, besting Tyler Johnson to put the Black Hawks up 3-2. Tristan Ashbrook tied the game at 9:07, when he beat Logan Stein for his fourth goal of the year. With hold of momentum, Shane Pinto put the Stars back ahead with a power play goal at 16:55, only to be answered by Blümel at 19:02. In the third, the Stars took command. Max Ellis struck first at 6:23 to put Lincoln ahead 5-4. Josiah Slavin added insurance with his ninth marker of the year at 18:34, and Devlin McCabe put the game to rest with 40 seconds left to secure the Stars 7-4 victory.

GF: WAT-3.64 (6th) to LIN-2.60 (15th)

GA: WAT-2.82 (4th) to LIN-3.91 (17th)

Shots For/G: WAT-33.51 (1st) to LIN-28.02 (t-12th)

Shots Against/G: WAT-28.00 (7th) to LIN-30.76 (14th)

PP: WAT-53/195, 27.2% (1st) to LIN-26/176, 14.8% (16th)

SHGA: WAT-6 (t-12th) to LIN-8 (16th)

PK: WAT-162/196, 82.7% (4th) to LIN-142/174, 81.6% (5th)

SHGF: WAT-8 (t-3rd) to LIN-2 (t-14th)

Leading Scorers:

G: WAT-Matej Blümel 25, LIN-Brock Bremer and Caleb Rule 12

A: WAT-

Matej Blümel 25, LIN-Brock Bremer, Jordan Power, and Hunter Skinner with 14

TP: WAT-

Matej Blümel 50, LIN-Brock Bremer 26

Goalies:

W: WAT-Logan Stein 15, LIN-Jacob Mucitelli 3

GAA: WAT-Logan Stein 2.59, LIN-Jacob Mucitelli 3.61

SV%: WAT-Jared Moe .905, LIN-Jacob Mucitelli .873

Shutouts: WAT-Jared Moe 3, LIN-Jacob Mucitelli 1

MIN: WAT-Jared Moe 1417, LIN-Jacob Mucitelli 798

What to Watch For:

High-Octane Offense:

In each of their three previous meetings, the Stars and Black Hawks have combined to produce at least nine goals. Lincoln had their most productive offensive output of the season (later tied with a 7-3 win in Green Bay) in their last meeting with Waterloo. Five of the seven goal scorers that night for the Stars are no longer on the roster. They'll attempt to search for more contributions tonight after the offense has stalled of late, scoring three goals over their last three games. Waterloo's normally prolific attack has been held to 2.25 goals per game over their past four contests. With the prolific head-to-head scoring numbers-15 goals for Waterloo, 14 for Lincoln-expect scoring to pick up this evening.

Top Scorers:

For the third-straight weekend, the Stars will be faced with an opponent that boasts a top-10 scoring threat. Waterloo has two: Matej Blümel is tied for sixth with 25-25-50 and Emil Ohrvall is tied for eighth with 22-22-44. Just outside the top-10 is Vladislav Firstov, who with 20-23-43, is tied for 11th. Emil Ohrvall leads all scorer's in the head to head with 5-4-9 in three games against Lincoln. On the opposite end, the Stars have four players who've averaged a point-per-game against Waterloo in Tristan Ashbrook (1-2-3, 3 gp), Josh Lopina (2-1-3 3 gp), Samuli Niinisaari (1-2-3, 3 gp), and Caleb Rule (1-1-2 in 2 gp).

Mind the Middle:

In their victory against Waterloo back in January, the Stars sustained strong second period play, matching the Black Hawks two goals with two of their own. The second has been a trouble spot for the Stars this season, having allowed 64 goals in that frame. In the second, Black Hawks have scored a +16 in goal differential, the second-best mark in the USHL. Though hockey is a 60-minute effort, the team that can control the middle period could very well win tonight's contest.

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 22, 2019


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