Stars Weekly
February 26, 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 23: Fargo Force 2, Stars 4Shots: Force 25, Stars 23
PP: Force 0-for-1, Stars 0-for-4
The Lincoln Stars (20-20-1-1) held off the Fargo Force (23-14-3-4) in a 4-2 win on Friday night at the Ice Box.
After Force forward Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup (0:27 1st) opened the scoring early, Stars forward Tristan Ashbrook (7:43 1st; 17:36 1st) followed up with two goals to help take a 2-1 lead heading to the second period. Stars forward Casey Dornbach (0:18 2nd) added another tally to spread the lead to two, 3-1. Schmidt-Svejstrup (EA, 19:24 3rd) brought the Force within one, 3-2, with the goaltender pulled, but Stars forward Josiah Slavin (EN, 19:58 3rd) sealed the win at 4-2 with an empty net goal.
Stars goaltender Tomáš Vomá?ka (14-16-0) stopped 23 of 25 shots in the win, while Force netminder Ryan Bischel (11-7-4) halted 19 of 22 shots in the loss.
Saturday, February 24: Stars 8, Waterloo Black Hawks 5Shots: Stars 35, Black Hawks 44
PP: Stars 1-for-4, Black Hawks 1-for-4
The Lincoln Stars (21-20-1-1) outlasted the Waterloo Black Hawks (26-14-3-1) with a 8-5 win on Saturday night at Young Arena.
Stars forwards Tristan Ashbrook (6:27 1st), Dominick Mersch (PP, 14:07 1st) and Paul Cotter (SH, 17:06 1st) stretched the lead early to 3-0 before Black Hawks forward Jackson Cates (18:44 1st) found an answer before the end of the first period. The Stars and Black Hawks traded goals soon after with Stars forward Josiah Slavin (2:16 2nd) beginning the run followed by Cates (PP, 11:59 2nd), Cotter (12:20 2nd) and Black Hawks forward Ben Copeland (15:47 2nd), moving the scoreline to 5-3. After a goal by Stars forward Casey Dornbach (6:57 3rd), Cates (SH, 11:44 3rd) finished the hat-trick, and Black Hawks forward Garrett Wait (16:49 3rd) brought the home side within one, 6-5. Ashbrook (18:08 3rd) spread the lead, and Mersch (EN, 19:30 3rd) sealed the win at 8-5.
Stars goaltender Tomáš Vomá?ka (15-16-0) stopped 39 of 44 shots in the win. Black Hawks goaltender Jared Moe halted 10 of 13 shots, and Matej Tomek (11-8-3) saved 17 of 21 shots in relief during the loss.
THIS WEEK...
Friday, March 2 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks - 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, March 3 vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders - 7:05 p.m.
The Lincoln Stars open March with two games at the Ice Box beginning Friday against the Waterloo Black Hawks followed by the lone home meeting against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Saturday. The Stars broke a seven-game losing skid to the RoughRiders in Saturday's win and gave the team a chance to split their four-game season series. The Black Hawks have taken two of the three games played so far including their only meeting at the Ice Box on January 19. The Stars are 17-13-1-0 against Waterloo at the Ice Box since 2002-03 and are 28-31-3-1 overall. The Stars last met the RoughRiders on October 20, falling 4-2 in Iowa. Last season, the Stars split their two-game schedule against the RoughRiders, winning 5-4 on Jan. 14, 2017 at home while slipping 4-3 on Feb. 18, 2017 in Cedar Rapids. Since the 2002-03 season, the Stars have gone 20-25-2-3 against the RoughRiders including 4-6-0-1 over the last six seasons. The last winning season against the RoughRiders came in 2005-06 (3-2-0-0 record).
PROMOTIONS:
FRIDAY & SATURDAY: Enjoy three chances for more giveaways during both games this weekend. If the Stars score within the first three minutes of the game, all fans can purchase $3 Miller Lite until the end of the first intermission. If the Stars score in consecutive periods, fans can take their tickets to Raising Cane's for buy-one, get-one free combos the following day. If the Stars score five goals, fans can take their tickets to Hurts Donut Company for one free gourmet donut for the next two days.
The Waterloo Black Hawks split their two-game weekend, starting with a 2-1 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers followed by a 8-5 loss to the Lincoln Stars. Forward Jackson Cates was named USHL Forward of the Week after a five-point (4g, 1a) performance including a hat-trick in Saturday's loss. Forward Ben Copeland followed close behind with four points (1g, 3a) on the weekend, and forwards Garrett Wait (1g, 1a), Solag Bakich (2a) and Bobby Trivigno (2a) each earned a pair of points. Goaltender Jared Moe started in both games, saving 38 of 42 shots while getting the win on Friday, and Matej Tomek stopped 17 of 21 shots in Saturday's loss.
The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders were shutout in back-to-back games at home last weekend, falling 1-0 to the Tri-City Storm on Friday and 3-0 to the Fargo Force on Saturday. The RoughRiders posted 32 shots in Friday's loss but were denied by Filip Larsson and only conceded a goal in the second period. On Saturday, the RoughRiders were outshot 26-21 and slipped with three goals between the first two periods. Goaltender Blake Pietila saved 42 of 46 shots in both games but was saddled with the losses.
Western Conference Outlook:
The Omaha Lancers increased their lead for the top spot in the USHL to eight points with a pair of wins, and the Waterloo Black Hawks, Sioux Falls Stampede, and Fargo Force each split their two-game weekends. The Tri-City Storm moved to one point behind Fargo for fourth place with two wins, and the Lincoln Stars slipped into a share of sixth place thanks to two wins and points in four-straight games. The Sioux City Musketeers split a pair of games, and the Des Moines Buccaneers dropped of their both games.
IN THE NEWS...
The Stars released on social media a special huge announcement to come on Saturday, Apr. 7 at 6:00 p.m. prior to the final home game of the 2017-18 regular season. No further details have been shared.
Stars defenseman Wyatt Aamodt was named USHL Defenseman of the Week for Week 21 on Monday afternoon. The Minnesota State Mankato commit totaled four assists over the two-game weekend including three assists in Saturday's win. The Hermantown, Minn. product extended his point streak to five games, tallying seven assists since February 16 and doubling his point total on the season in that span. He has 13 points (2g, 11a) through 32 games and sits third among Stars defensemen in assists. In 98 career USHL games, Aamodt owns 33 points (3g, 30a) between the Stars and Chicago Steel.
STAR BITS...
The Stars finished February with points in seven of nine games, tabbing a 6-2-1-0 record through their nine-game schedule. The month is the best for the Stars on record this season with 11 points and the most wins in a single month. The Stars scored four goals or more in five of their nine games, averaging 3.89 goals per game, and converted on the power play in five of nine games. The Stars also won four games against the top-three teams in the USHL standings (Team USA, Omaha, Waterloo).
Stars forwards Dominick Mersch and Paul Cotter each had career nights in Saturday's win in Waterloo while helping the team to the victory. They became the first tandem to grab four points or more in a game this season with Mersch tallying five points (2g, 3a) and Cotter totaling four points (2g, 2a). The last four-point night on the road came on Apr. 8, 2017 in Omaha when Mersch posted four points (1g, 3a) in a 6-2 win. Josiah Slavin was the last player with four points (4 assists) on January 30 in a 7-1 win over Sioux City. Mersch set career highs in goals and points this season with 31 points (17g, 14a) through 41 games while sitting second in goals and scoring. Cotter has 24 points (12g, 12a) through 34 games while sitting fourth in goals and scoring.
United States Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2018
- Sioux City vs. Madison Finally Ends with a 5-4 Sioux City Victory - Sioux City Musketeers
- Capitols Fall in OT of Suspended Game - Madison Capitols
- Stars Weekly - Lincoln Stars
- Futures Camp Is Opportunity Camp - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Robbins Named USHL Goaltender of the Week - Chicago Steel
- 7,631 Teddy Bears Tossed - Green Bay Gamblers
- Wyatt Aamodt Named USHL Defenseman of the Week - Lincoln Stars
- USHL Names Players of the Week - Week 21 - USHL
- Jackson Cates is USHL Forward of the Week - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Stampede Acquire Forward Burke from Central Illinois - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Stormy Storylines - Tri-City Storm
- Steel Fundraiser for Geneva Schools this Friday - Chicago Steel
- Phantoms to Host 2018 USHL Futures Camp June 2nd and June 3rd - Youngstown Phantoms
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.
