Stars Weekly
March 19, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
LAST WEEK...
Thursday, March 15: Des Moines Buccaneers 4, Stars 6Shots: Buccaneers 25, Stars 36
PP: Buccaneers 1-for-2, Stars 1-for-2
The Lincoln Stars (27-20-1-1) came from behind in the third period to take a 6-4 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers (18-25-2-3) on Thursday night at the Ice Box.
Stars forward Gustaf Westlund (4:16 1st) gave the home side an early 1-0 lead before Buccaneers forward Marshall Rifai (5:25 2nd) tied the game, 1-1. Stars forward Josiah Slavin (SH, 15:33 2nd) answered back with a 2-on-1 rush, and Buccaneers forward Reed Lebster (PP, 15:59 2nd) tied the game again, 2-2. Buccaneers forward Luke Manning (2:05 3rd) and Matt Gosiewski (2:34 3rd) helped take a 4-2 lead before the Stars made their run. Slavin (7:49 3rd) added his second followed by two swift tallies from forwards Devlin McCabe (12:05 3rd) and Austen Long (12:23 3rd) and one more from forward Casey Dornbach (PP, 16:58 3rd) to seal the 6-4 win.
Stars goaltender Tomáš Vomá?ka (20-16-0) stopped 21 of 25 shots in the win, while Buccaneers netminder Roman Durny (7-8-3) halted 30 of 36 shots in the loss.
Friday, March 16: Stars 3, Omaha Lancers 2 (SO)Shots: Stars 33, Lancers 38
PP: Stars 1-for-1, Lancers 1-for-5
The Lincoln Stars (28-20-1-1) edged out a 3-2 shootout win against the Omaha Lancers (31-14-2-2) on Friday night at Ralston Arena.
Stars forward Collin Peters (PP, 5:48 2nd) began the scoring midway through the game to take a 1-0 lead. The Lancers scored two goals from forwards Filip Suchy (PP, 0:40 3rd) and Michael Maloney (14:53 3rd) to jump ahead, 2-1. Stars forward Josiah Slavin (15:54 3rd) tied the game at 2-2 just over one minute later and sent the game to overtime. In the shootout, Stars forwards Dominick Mersch (1st) and Paul Cotter (2nd) both scored to seal the 3-2 victory.
Stars netminder Derek Schaedig (8-4-2) stopped 36 of 38 shots plus both attempts in the shootout during the win, while Lancers goaltender Zach Driscoll (18-8-2) saved 30 of 32 shots while allowing both attempts in the shootout during the loss.
Saturday, March 17: Stars 2, Des Moines Buccaneers 1 (OT)Shots: Stars 26, Buccaneers 33
PP: Stars 0-for-2, Buccaneers 1-for-4
The Lincoln Stars (29-20-1-1) scored twice in 85 seconds to take a 2-1 overtime win over the Des Moines Buccaneers (18-25-4-3) on Saturday night from Buccaneer Arena.
Buccaneers forward Brian Halonen (PP, 5:17 2nd) broke the deadlock in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. With the netminder pulled, Stars forward Paul Cotter (EA, 19:05 3rd) scored the game-tying goal to send the game to overtime, 1-1. In the extra period, Stars forward Gustaf Westlund (0:30 OT) slotted the game-winner from the right circle, completing the comeback for a 2-1 win.
Stars goaltender Derek Schaedig (9-4-2) halted 32 of 33 shots in the win, while Buccaneers netminder Jake Kucharski (7-11-2) stopped 24 of 26 shots in the overtime loss.
THIS WEEK...
Friday, March 23 vs. Youngstown Phantoms - 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, March 24 vs. Youngstown Phantoms - 7:05 p.m.
The Lincoln Stars play their first two-game home weekend since the first weekend of March with a two-game series against the Youngstown Phantoms at the Ice Box. The Stars and Phantoms have been close and competitive during their head-to-head series over the last eight seasons. The two teams have played 10 of their 17 games (58.8%) in either overtime or a shootout including five of their last eight games. The Stars split their series in Youngstown last season and went 1-1-0-0 in their previous meetings at the Ice Box in 2015-16. The Stars are 9-4-1-3 against the Phantoms since the series began in 2009-10 and 4-3-0-1 at the Ice Box.
PROMOTIONS:
The Stars bring back Country Night on Friday at the Ice Box and invite fans to wear their country best, including boots, hats and pearl snap shirts. Fans can purchase $3 beer draws throughout the evening, and a greased pig competition will take place during the first intermission.
The Youngstown Phantoms won both games against the Green Bay Gamblers on the road, winning 3-2 on Friday night and 1-0 on Saturday night. Forward Eric Esposito scored two of the team's four goals, and both goals were game-winning goals. Forward Joey Abate helped with two assists, forward Jack Malone and Matthew Barry each scored on Friday night. Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov stopped 36 of 38 shots in Friday's win, and Wouter Peeters halted all 39 shots in Saturday's shutout win.
Western Conference Outlook:
The Waterloo Black Hawks leaped into first place in the Western Conference with wins in both games last week, while the Omaha Lancers picked up two points in shootout losses to maintain their potential first round bye in the postseason. The Sioux Falls Stampede and Fargo Force remain right behind them with each winning their pair of games to create a four-point swing between first place and fourth place. The Lincoln Stars tied a league-high 10-game win streak during their final three contests during their six-game, nine-day stretch. The Tri-City Storm and Sioux City Musketeers each split their two game weekends, and the Des Moines Buccaneers earned points in two of three games.
IN THE NEWS...
The Lincoln Stars donated $10,620Â from their Faith & Family Day on February 18. The Stars recently launched the Lincoln Stars Foundation, a 501c3 with local and global initiatives to provide access to the sport of hockey and build sustainable clean water solutions around the world. The Stars donated $5 from every ticket sold to the February 18 Faith & Family Day game to the Lincoln Stars Foundation. In turn, the foundation donated 100% of the money raised to Food for the Hungry, which used matching grants of $22 for each dollar donated. As a result, Food for the Hungry will be using $233,640 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to build and maintain sustainable water solutions.
STAR BITS...
The Stars are running into unprecedented territory while on their hot streak. The Stars reached a 10-game win streak, which not only ties the USHL season-high with Team USA's run from January 13 to February 2 but also shares the longest win streak by the Stars in the Tier I Era (2002-03), sharing the mark from Dec. 29, 2007 to Jan. 25, 2008 and from Sep. 28, 2012 to Nov. 2, 2012. The 12-game point streak is one game shy of the longest streak in the USHL this season and the longest for the Stars since 2002-03, surpassing their 11-game runs from Jan. 4, 2003 to Feb. 11, 2003 (9-0-1-1) Dec. 29, 2077 to Jan. 26, 2008 (10-0-1-0). The Stars have posted a 15-2-1-0 record in their last 18 games since January 30.
United States Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2018
- Stars Weekly - Lincoln Stars
- Omaha Lancers Sign Chase Bradley to Tender - USHL
- Lancers Sign Chase Bradley to Tender - Omaha Lancers
- Wouter Peeters Named USHL Goaltender of the Week - Youngstown Phantoms
- USHL Names Players of the Week for Week 24 - USHL
- Finkelstein Keeps on Cruising - Waterloo Black Hawks
- NTDP Set for 6th Annual Military Appreciation Weekend - U.S. National Team
- Former Force D-Man Goff Signs with AHL's San Antonio - Fargo Force
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.
