Stars Look to Halt Storm's Surge
October 16, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
Tonight's Contest:
The Stars (2-3-1-0) enter Tuesday night looking to end a losing streak while the Storm (4-0-0-0) will look to extend their red-hot start to 2018-19.
Last Game:
The Stars are coming off a tough loss to Des Moines on the road Saturday. After a slow start that saw them fall into a 2-0 deficit, Lincoln picked up their attack in the waning minutes of the second, channeling momentum into the third. Samuli Niinisaari clapped home his first goal of his Stars career to initiate a furious comeback attempt. Lincoln laid down a barrage of shots and quality chances on Bucs netminder Roman Durny, who stood tall throughout the night. Backed by their steady defense, one turnover was all Des Moines needed to put the contest out of reach. On a 2-on-1, Matt Brown connected with TJ Walsh to beat Tyler Johnson for the 3-1 lead late in the third. With extra attacker on late, the Stars pulled within one with under a minute and a half to go. Declan Carlile let go a hammer from the blue line off the stick of Philippe Lapointe for the score. In the mad dash to the net over the final minute, Durny held firm through multiple chances in front, closing out a 3-2 Buccaneers win.
Tri-City fared better in their last contest, which also came against Des Moines. On his way to goaltender of the week, Isaiah Saville and the Storm defense shut down a vaunted Buccaneers offense, blanking them on 25 shots and earning the 3-0 win. Asa Kinnear, Ronnie Attard, and Ruben Rafkin all scored goals in the victory. Filip Forsmark added two helpers on the evening to help Tri-City extend their record to a perfect 4-0-0-0.
Head-to-Head:
Lincoln and Tri-City met twice in the pre-season, each coming away with a 3-2 win. The Storm won the first meeting at the Viaero Center when Asa Kinnear scored in the final second of regulation. Isaiah Saville and Jacob Mucitelli each played 30:04 and made 17 of 18 saves. The Stars returned the favor two weeks later at the Ice Box when Josiah Slavin scored a power play goal just 44 seconds in overtime. In last season's regular season series, the Storm won the first five games by a combined score of 16-5. The Stars rallied back, winning the last three meetings 13-2.
By the Numbers:
GF: TC-3.75 (6) to LIN-3.33 (t-9)
GA: TC-1.50 (1) to LIN-3.83 (12)
PP: LIN-6 for 27, 22.2% (t-5) to TC-2 for 14, 14.3% (t-10)
PK: LIN-23 for 25, 92.0% (4) to TC-14 for 18, 77.8% (13)
Top-Scorers:
Goals: LIN-Pinto, 4 TC-Eckerle, Crespie, Kinnear, Murphy, 2
Assists: LIN-Lapointe, Slavin, 5 TC-Forsmark, Pehrson-4
Points: LIN-Pinto, 7 TC-Eckerle, Morrissey, Forsmark, Pehrson, 4
GAA: LIN-Mucitelli, 2.00 TC-Saville, 0.67
SV%: LIN-.923%, TC-Saville, .970%
What to Watch For:
Lapointe on Point:
The second-ranked scorer on the Lincoln Roster is coming off his second multi-point performance of the season. The Stars assistant captain scored his first goal of the season in the final minutes of play on Saturday. The night before, Lapointe was all over the ice generating chances in bunches despite not cracking the scoresheet. Playing at a point-per-game pace through the first six games of the season, Lapointe will be one of the key factors in tonight's outcome.
Power Up:
The Stars opened the season going 6-for-17 on the power play (35.3%). They are now 6-for-27 on the season, looking to re-capture the momentum they held through the first four games. They face a Tri-City penalty kill that started slow, currently canceling just 77.8% of their chances against, but the kill unit had heated up lately, nullifying their last seven penalties.
Solving Saville:
Isaiah Saville has made three-straight starts, winning them all. In the trio of games, he's allowed just two goals on 67 shots in that span. The Stars faced him twice in the preseason. In 90:50, the goalie from Anchorage, Alaska made 53 saves on 57 shots, good for a .930 save percentage and a 2.64 GAA. The Stars will have to work on solving the goaltender if they want to emerge with the road victory.
Tonight's contest will be available on hockeytv.com as well as Stars Radio. The new Stars radio link can be found.The Stars then return to the Ice Box Friday, October 19th at 7:05 pm for a game against Madison. 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!
United States Hockey League Stories from October 16, 2018
- Storm Set Team Record in 3-1 Defeat of Rival Lincoln - Tri-City Storm
- Slow Start Dooms Stars against Storm - Lincoln Stars
- Stephen Halliday Named to Team Canada Roster - Central Illinois Flying Aces
- Stars Look to Halt Storm's Surge - Lincoln Stars
- Owen Power Named to Team Canada Roster - Chicago Steel
- Waterloo Black Hawks Weekly Preview - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Preview: Storm to Host Lincoln for Color out Cancer Night - Tri-City Storm
- Kaiser Named Saints Affiliate of the Month - Dubuque Fighting Saints
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