USHL Lincoln Stars

Stars Weekly

Published on March 5, 2018 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release


LAST WEEK...

Friday, March 2: Waterloo Black Hawks 2, Stars 3 (OT)Shots: Black Hawks 35, Stars 32

PP: Black Hawks 2-for-6, Stars 2-for-3

The Lincoln Stars (22-20-1-1) took down the Waterloo Black Hawks (27-14-4-1) in a 3-2 overtime win on Friday night at the Ice Box.

Black Hawks forward Garrett Wait (PP, 4:18 1st) opened the scoring before two tallies from Stars forward Gustaf Westlund (4:57 1st; PP, 11:43 1st) propelled ahead to a 2-1 lead. Black Hawks forward Ben Copeland (PP, 19:23) tied the game before the end of the first period, 2-2. After no score through the final two periods, Stars defenseman Eero Teravainen (PP, 1:29 OT) ended the game with a 3-2 win.

Stars goaltender Tomáš Vomá?ka (16-16-0) saved 33 of 35 shots in the win, while Black Hawks netminder Matej Tomek (11-8-3) halted 29 of 32 shots in the overtime loss.

Saturday, March 3: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders 1, Stars 5Shots: RoughRiders 26, Stars 39

PP: RoughRiders 0-for-4, Stars 2-for-4

The Lincoln Stars (23-20-1-1) scored early and often in a 5-1 win over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (17-23-6-1) on Saturday night at the Ice Box.

Stars forward Josiah Slavin (15:53 1st) opened the scoring with a deflection followed by a tally from forward Tristan Ashbrook (18:13 1st) to double the lead, 2-0. The Stars scored three more goals from defenseman Eero Teravainen (3:26 2nd) and forwards Dominick Mersch (PP, 6:33 2nd) and Philippe Lapointe (PP, 19:21 3rd) in the second period to spread the lead to 5-0. RoughRiders forward Nathan Smith (11:27 3rd) ended the shutout bid, but the Stars came away with a 5-1 win.

Stars goaltender Tomáš Vomá?ka (17-16-0) stopped 25 of 26 shots in the win. RoughRiders goaltender Blake Pietila (10-10-3) saved 15 of 19 shots in the loss, and Jiri Patera halted 19 of 20 shots in relief.

THIS WEEK...

Friday, March 9 @ Dubuque Fighting Saints - 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 10 vs. Omaha Lancers - 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, March 11 @ Sioux Falls Stampede - 6:05 p.m.

The Lincoln Stars embark on two-straight three-game weekends beginning with a road meeting against the Dubuque Fighting Saints followed by a home game against the Omaha Lancers and a trip north against the Sioux Falls Stampede. This is the second three-game, three-day set the Stars have seen this season with their last coming on February 16-18. The Stars went 1-1-1-0 in those games and played both Dubuque and Omaha during that stretch. The Stars have won two of three games against the Stampede, have one point against the Fighting Saints, and earned their first win over Omaha on February 17. The Stars have wins in four-straight games and in nine of their last 12 games.

PROMOTIONS:

The Stars host American Outlaws Family Night, presented by West Gate Bank, on Saturday in the final home game against Omaha this season. Fans can purchase Family 4-Packs that include four tickets to the game, four GrannyWeav's Soul Food & Catering meal coupons, four 2017-18 Stars team posters, four Stars alumni trading card sets, and four tickets to Eagle Raceway for just $64 (a $200 value). In addition, the Stars will wear special soccer-themed jerseys that will be auctioned to the public following the game, benefitting the Boys & Girls Club of Lincoln/Lancaster County.

The Dubuque Fighting Saints split their two-game weekend against the Muskegon Lumberjacks, winning 5-4 on Friday and falling 5-3 on Saturday. Forwards Quinn Preston and Alex Steeves each led with three assists while forward Chayse Primeau followed with two goals on Saturday. Matias Maccelli and Jacob Semik each posted two points (1g, 1a) with Maccelli tallying a two-point night on Friday. Goaltender James Durham saved 48 of 52 shots in Friday's win, while Cole Weaver halted 27 of 31 shots in Saturday's loss.

The Omaha Lancers split their two-game eastern trip, winning 6-4 against the Chicago Steel on Friday and falling 7-2 on Saturday to Team USA. Forwards Filip Suchy (2g, 2a) and Noah Cates (1g, 3a) each totaled four points in Friday's win and scored half of the team's goals that night. Forwards Jack Randl (2g) and Ethan Price (2a) each posted multi-point weekends with Randl's goals coming split between each game. Goaltender Vincent Purpura saved 35 of 39 shots in Friday's win, while Zach Driscoll stopped 24 of 31 shots in Saturday's loss.

The Sioux Falls Stampede also split a two-game road weekend, winning 2-1 in a shootout over the Des Moines Buccaneers on Friday but falling 4-2 to the Chicago Steel on Saturday. Forward Adam Dawe scored shorthanded on Friday to help the Stampede into the shootout, where both Cameron Burke and Kevin Conley sealed the win with goals. Defenseman Jack St. Ivany tallied two assists in Saturday's loss, and forwards Conley and Matt Gould scored goals. Goaltender Mikhail Berdin saved 56 of 60 shots between both games including two saves in the shootout.

Western Conference Outlook:

The Omaha Lancers saw their lead shrink in the Western Conference to four points thanks to points in all three games by the Waterloo Black Hawks. The Fargo Force leaped into third place with a pair of wins and some help from a split weekend by the Sioux Falls Stampede. A three-point weekend kept the Tri-City Storm one point back of fourth place. Wins in four-straight games and points in six-straight helped the Lincoln Stars move into a share of sixth place with the Sioux City Musketeers. The Des Moines Buccaneers picked up one point on Saturday night and remain in the playoff hunt.

IN THE NEWS...

Stars goaltender Tomáš Vomá?ka was named USHL Goaltender of the Week and becomes the second-straight week a Stars player has been awarded weekly honors. The Nashville Predators draft pick stopped 58 of 61 shots in both games last week to help lead the Stars to a pair of wins. The wins extend his win streak to five games, and he now has wins in nine of his last 11 games. Vomá?ka sits in the top-15 among USHL goaltenders in goals-against average and the top-20 in save percentage, posting a 17-16-0 record with a 2.92 GAA and .900 SV%.

STAR BITS...

The Stars completed the third quarter of the 2017-18 season and enter the final push for the postseason. The third quarter was the best statistically for the Stars, finishing with a 9-5-1-0 record and 19 points, just edging out their first quarter point total (18). After a 0-3 start, the Stars have gone 9-2-1-0 since January 30 while averaging 4.17 goals per game and posting four or more goals in seven of those 12 games. The Stars also played strong on the power play, going 12-for-60 (20.0%) during the last 15 games. The Stars will play seven of their final 15 games at the Ice Box as well as six against Nebraska teams.

Check out the Lincoln Stars Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 5, 2018


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