Stars Play Final Three-Game Weekend of Regular Season
March 5, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
The Lincoln Stars play their fourth and final three-game weekend this regular season as they face the Sioux City Musketeers for a home-and-home set Thursday and Friday before hosting Waterloo Saturday.
Lincoln (36-12-1-0) is in first place in the Western Conference and has the best record in the USHL. The Stars locked up a 2025 Clark Cup Playoff berth two weeks ago and now look to lock up home ice for entire postseason with 13 games to go in the regular season.
Last week resulted in another weekend sweep to stretch the Stars' winning streak to five games, although the two wins came in very different fashion. Last Friday Lincoln cruised to a 7-2 victory to open up the road trip to Fargo thanks to hat tricks from Jack Pechar and Bruno Idzan. On Saturday the Stars were unable to hold four different leads as they were outscored 3-1 in the third period to force overtime before Daniel Shlaine recoded his fourth point of the night and second goal with the overtime winner to secure a 6-5 triumph.
Lincoln defenseman Etienne Lessard was the most recent recipient of the USHL's Defenseman of the Week honor after five assists last weekend. He recorded a season-high four assists last Friday for his 12th multi-point game and 10th multi-assist effort. Lessard has two goals and 13 assists over the last 10 games. He previously was named USHL Defenseman of the Week Jan. 13-19 and is second among league blueliners in assists (32) and points (37).
The Musketeers are tied with Fargo for fourth in the Western Conference. They are 2-6-1 since a five-game winning streak Jan. 17-31 and have lost three straight games. Sioux City lost at home vs. Tri-City, 4-2, last Friday before losing, 5-3, at Sioux Falls the next day.
Forward Landen Gunderson leads the USHL with 60 points and 37 assists. Sioux City's penalty kill (82.9-percent) is second in the USHL and its eight shorthanded goals are tied for second-most. His frequent lineman Giacomo Martino is tied for third in the USHL with 24 goals and is tied for fourth with 54 points.
The Black Hawks are third in the Western Conference entering this weekend. Waterloo is four points ahead of Fargo and Sioux City but is 11 points back of second-place Sioux Falls and 16 behind first-place Lincoln. The Black Hawks have earned home-ice advantage for their first postseason series in each of the previous two seasons.
Waterloo made two significant trades last month to bolster its playoff push, acquiring Hunter Ramos from Omaha and Reid Daavetila from Fargo. Ramos was the Lancers' leader in points and goals at the time of the trade while Daavettila was first on the Force in points and its captain. Defenseman Dylan Compton has won USHL Defenseman of the Week four times and is tied for third among USHL defensemen with 34 points and is tied with 31 assists.
Lincoln is 2-2 against Sioux City after the Stars defeated the Musketeers, 4-3, at home Nov. 30 and on the road, 4-3, Feb. 2 while dropping a road contest, 3-1, Nov. 6 and a home game, 5-2, Dec. 12. The Stars are 2-1 vs. the Black Hawks after Lincoln shut out Waterloo at home, 3-0, Oct. 12 and won in a shootout on the road, 4-3, Nov. 23 after falling at Young Arena, 3-1, the day before.
Thursday is Aubri Brown Club Night. The Stars will be wearing specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game to benefit families that have lost a child far too soon. Saturday is Teacher Appreciation Night and all educators can receive discounted tickets by emailing christian@lincolnstars.com. Fans are encouraged to come to Big 10 Sports Bar & Grill to catch Friday's game with fellow Stars fans. Tickets for Thursday and Saturday's games are available at lincolnstars.com
• Discuss this story on the United States Hockey League message board...
United States Hockey League Stories from March 5, 2025
- Phantoms Dominate in 5-2 Win over Madison - Youngstown Phantoms
- Stars Play Final Three-Game Weekend of Regular Season - Lincoln Stars
- Steel Host Biggest Promotional Weekend of Season During Home Tripleheader - Chicago Steel
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
