USHL Lincoln Stars

Stars Fall Inches Short against Buccaneers

November 23, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release


Urbandale, Iowa - Lincoln returned to Buccaneer Arena for the first time in over a month Friday looking to end a three-game losing streak.

In front of a rowdy crowd attending the Buccanneers first blackout night, Des Moines dictated the early tempo. After Tyler Johnson was able to fend off a few early chances, the Buccaneers broke through just shy of the halfway mark of the first. After Kaden Bohlsen pushed a puck to the net front, Mac Welsher tunneled his way through traffic to put home the game's first score.

Lincoln came back on an impressive rush into the Des Moines end of the ice. On a quick entry over the right wing, Samuli Niinisaari led Matthew Barbolini through the left circle. Barbolini threaded the puck to the back door where Josh Lopina tapped it by Roman Durny to even the score at one. Bad luck bit the Stars in the final seconds of the first when Declan Carlile took a puck to the face and fell to the ice. Capitalizing, the Bucs fed Rylee St. Onge on the back door where he put home his sixth goal of the season with one second left in the first.

Lincoln's response was immediate. Just over a minute into the second, Lopina exploded up the ice to pick up a perfect feed from Barbolini, burying the reception past Durny to even the game at two. Another quick blitz up the ice saw Devlin McCabe fire a puck off Durny to a waiting Shane Pinto. The Stars leading scorer powered the puck home, extending his point streak to five games, giving the Stars their first lead. Penalties slowed the Lincoln attack in the second half of the frame. With four seconds left on a 5-on-3 power play, the Bucs found Reed Lebster on the left circle with space which he used to tie the game at three on his 11th tally of the season.

In the third, penalties became relevant in that they opened up the ice via multiple stretches of four-on-four play. Through an even battle in the final frame, the tide finally turned when TJ Walsh found Tyler Brickey on an odd-man rush into the Stars zone. Brickey made a nice move in front to beat Johnson at 12:41. Through the final minute and a half, the Stars battled with an empty net, coming within inches of tying the game off an awkward bounce off a stanchion that left the Des Moines goal empty for a fleeting moment. There would be no such luck for the Stars on Friday, as the puck skipped away. The final horn gave Des Moines the 4-3 win.

Lincoln will return home tomorrow, Saturday, November 24th to play Tri-City at 7:05 pm. 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!

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United States Hockey League Stories from November 23, 2018


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