Stars Weekly
February 19, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
The Stars Weekly is a new weekly recap and preview of Stars news, games, and more. The Stars Weekly will bereleased every Monday during the 2017-18 season.
LAST WEEK...
Friday, February 16: Omaha Lancers 4, Stars 3Shots: Lancers 26, Stars 31
PP: Lancers 1-for-3, Stars 0-for-0
The Lincoln Stars (18-20-0-1) played well despite a 4-3 loss to the Omaha Lancers (28-10-2-1) at the Ice Box.
After Lancers defenseman Hunter Carrick (16:13 1st) scored the first goal, Stars forwards Dominick Mersch (18:47 1st) and Casey Dornbach (4:26 2nd) answered back to take a 2-1 lead. Lancers forward Filip Suchy (9:35 2nd) and Brendan Furry (10:46 2nd) also pushed back to re-take the lead, 3-2. Stars forward Paul Cotter (15:53 2nd) tied the game at 3-3, however two late penalties allowed Suchy (PP, 19:40 3rd) to score and gave the Lancers the win.
Lancers goaltender Zach Driscoll (17-5-1) saved all shots in relief in the win, and Vincent Purpura stopped 17 of 20 shots. Tomáš Vomá?ka (12-16-0) halted 22 of 26 shots in the loss.
Saturday, February 17: Stars 4, Omaha Lancers 2Shots: Stars 35, Lancers 31
PP: Stars 1-for-3, Lancers 2-for-7
The Lincoln Stars (19-20-0-1) Stars forward Josiah Slavin (PP, 3:15 1st) converted on the first power play of the night to take a 1-0 lead, and forward Ashton Calder (9:54 1st) followed up to double the lead, 2-0. Lancers forward Filip Suchy (PP, 11:26 1st; PP, 12:19 1st) answered with two power play goals to tie the game at 2-2. Stars forward Logan Jenuwine (5:48 2nd) scored a wrap around goal to edge ahead, 3-2. With the netminder pulled, Stars defenseman Cole Krygier (EN, 18:53 3rd) sealed the game and the 4-2 win. Stars goaltender Tomáš Vomá?ka (13-16-0) stopped 29 of 31 shots in the win, while Lancers netminder Zach Driscoll (17-6-1) halted 31 of 34 shots in the loss. Sunday, February 18: Dubuque Fighting Saints 4, Stars 3 (OT)Shots: Saints 28, Stars 31 PP: Saints 1-for-4, Stars 1-for-2 The Lincoln Stars (19-20-1-1) Fighting Saints forward Chayse Primeau (PP, 10:16 1st) opened the scoring on the first power play to take a 1-0 lead, Stars forward Casey Dornbach (14:42 1st) answered back to tie the game, 1-1. Fighting Saints forward Matias Maccelli (19:59 1st) scored just before the end of the first period, and Stars forward Devlin McCabe (12:39 2nd) leveled the score, 2-2, again during the second period. Fighting Saints defenseman Brendan Bushy (10:15 3rd) pushed ahead with a tally, and Dornbach (PP, 15:27) sent the game to overtime at 3-3 with his second goal. Fighting Saints forward Quinn Preston (0:16 OT) sealed the game at 4-3. Fighting Saints goaltender Cole Weaver (11-7-3) stopped 28 of 31 shots in the win, while Stars netminder Derek Schaedig (6-4-2) saved 24 of 28 shots in the loss. THIS WEEK... Friday, February 23 vs. Fargo Force - 7:35 p.m. Saturday, February 24 @ Waterloo Black Hawks - 7:05 p.m. The Lincoln Stars close out February with a home meeting against the Fargo Force at the Ice Box and a road contest against the Waterloo Black Hawks from Young Arena. The Stars met the Force on November 17 and won 3-0 in their second shutout of the season overall. This is the second of four games in the season series, and the Stars now own a 29-22-2-1 record against the Force since their first meeting in 2008-09 and are 17-9-1-1 at the Ice Box. The Stars and Black Hawks have met twice, and Waterloo has taken both games in the series. The Black Hawks have won seven-games and look for five-straight season series with a win. The Stars are 17-13-1-0 against Waterloo at the Ice Box since 2002-03 and are 27-31-3-1 overall. PROMOTIONS: FRIDAY: Come enjoy $3 Miller Lite draws from doors open and throughout the game. Plus, keep an eye out for the Stars' in-game promotions, including the Cane's Challenge and Stars 5-Goal Challenge. The Fargo Force split their two-game weekend with the Tri-City Storm, winning 3-0 on Friday night but falling 2-1 in overtime on Saturday. Three players earned multi-point weekends, including forwards Ben Meyers (1g, 1a), Spencer Meier (2a) and Evan Bell (2a), and nine players earned at least one point on the weekend. Meyers, Griffin Loughran and Mark Senden all scored on Friday, and Sammy Steele tallied on Saturday. Goaltender Strauss Mann saved 44 of 46 shots on the weekend including all 24 shots on Friday. The Waterloo Black Hawks dropped both road games against the Youngstown Phantoms last weekend, falling 2-1 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday. Forwards Jackson Cates (1g, 1a) and Ben Copeland (1g, 1a) each totaled two points in Saturday's loss and were two of seven players to record a point on the weekend. Jared Moe saved 23 of 28 shots in Friday's loss, and Matej Tomek halted 27 of 32 shots in Saturday's loss. Western Conference Outlook: The Omaha Lancers spread the gap to five points atop the conference thanks to two wins out of a three-game week and a pair of losses by the Waterloo Black Hawks out east. A Sioux Falls Stampede win during their lone game on Friday helped them into a share of second place, and three points gained by the Fargo Force in two games pushed them one point away from second place. The Tri-City Storm broke a six-game losing skid with an overtime win on Saturday, and the Sioux City Musketeers dropped their lone game on Friday. The Lincoln Stars moved within two points of a playoff spot with a three-point week, and the Des Moines Buccaneers kept pace with two wins. IN THE NEWS... Stars forward Zach Dubinsky committed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Thursday morning, marking the second player to commit to the NCAA Division I program this year. Dubinsky has 10 points (2g, 8a) through now 39 games with the Stars in his rookie season following two seasons with the Chicago Mission U16 program. He was drafted 92nd overall (6th Round) by the Stars in the 2017 USHL Phase II Draft. He also becomes the 19th player with a NCAA commitment this season. STAR BITS... Stars forward Gustaf Westlund played his 100th career USHL game on Sunday afternoon, becoming the third Stars player on the active roster to reach the plateau. Westlund has tallied 53 points (14g, 3a) through his two-year career with five power play goals, a +10 rating and one game-winning goal. The Ohio State commit has 18 points (6g, 12a) through 41 games this season. He was drafted 27th overall (2nd Round) by the Stars in the 2016 USHL Phase II Draft. Despite the overtime loss, the Stars have points in six of their last eight games, which stands as the second-best stretch this season. The Stars also posted wins in six of eight games from November 4 to December 1 and currently stand with a 5-2-1-0 record in their current run. In that time, the Stars have also closed the gap from seven points to two points for sixth place in the Western Conference.
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United States Hockey League Stories from February 19, 2018
